New BX24 or used B7800?

[tractor888]

I have about $16k budget to buy a tractor. My intended uses are general landscape work at the ranch. Lots of trenching and digging. Driveway and trail maintenance. About 1/2 mile of dirt driveway and a couple of miles of ATV trails need fix every spring. Main project is to improve drainage so I don't have to fix the driveway and trails every year. All I really want is to replace my pick, shovel and wheelbarrow. I want something versatile, simple and reliable without too much maintenance.

After lots of reading and research on this forum, I have my mind set on a BX24 TLB. So, I visit my local Kubota dealer to try out the BX. After talking to the salesman and he introduced me to a smoking deal of the day.....
A used 2006 B7800, loader and BH75 backhoe with 200 hours and a few months of warranty left. He said I would be sorry if I buy the BX now and bet I will come back to him to upgrade later. Then it will cost me a fortune to do that. Both deals are at almost exactly the same price. A brand new BX24 TLB with full warranty and 0% financing or pay cash for a slightly used bigger B7800 TLB?

Is the used B7800 TLB really a smoking deal for $16K? or the dealer just want to get rid of this on-consignment unit on the lot?

Are there any better choices within the Kubota line? Why does Kubota make so many model of tractors and so confusing..... Thanks for your comments

 

[Charlesaf3]

I'd say go for the 7800. If that comes with the hoe, 16k is probably a decent deal. And for what you want to do you will find the 7800 small pretty quickly, let alone the bx24. I've got the 3030 with the bh80x to do similar work, and it gets the job done. A heck of a lot better than a wheelbarrow (have tried wheelbarrow approach prior to tractor).

But once you see what a tractor can do, its hard to not want a bigger one.

Get the tires loaded by the way if they aren't. Its a must.

 

[piller]

Welcome to TBN!

I manually worked to improve the drainage on my driveway last year so I feel your pain. I've hired the job out for this year and will hopefully have my own equipment next year.

If the B7800 is low hours, one owner, well maintained and still has some warranty, well that's just about like new so I would not be afraid to go that route. What's the price for a new B7800/FEL/BH?

Finally, I totally agree with your statement about the confusing Kubota lineup for 24-34 hp machines. There seems to be a lot of overlap between the BX, B, and L series.

 

[riptides]

I About 1/2 mile of dirt driveway and a couple of miles of ATV trails need fix every spring. Main project is to improve drainage so I don't have to fix the driveway and trails every year.

With a comment like that your going to need a bigger tractor than what is being offered. If your set on those models, I would go for the B7800 as it has better ground clearance. It would also pull a wider heavier cutter in the rear. This may allow you to either make one trip or two around your miles of trails.

I'd say that price point is pretty good, too.

-Best of luck.
-Mike Z.

 

[hazmat]

The B7800 will be at least twice as productive as the BX. I used to have a TC18 (slightly bigger than a BX, but less HP) and upgraded to a B3030 - the difference is amazing...

Since it is a used machine, see if you can demo (or rent) it for a couple days - that should help make up your mind.

 

[tractor888]

Welcome to TBN!

What's the price for a new B7800/FEL/BH?

Price for used B7800/FEL/BH with about 200 hours is $16k. Price for the new BX24 TLB is $15,900. Factor in the value of the 0% financing, the BX is a little bit cheaper.

I'm not totally set on only these particular models but prefer new or slightly used machines. What other Kubota TLBs or any brand/model is at around the $16k price???? Even the little B2320 cost more than the BX24 when you add the price of a backhoe to it. For some reason, when you buy the backhoe separately, it cost almost as much as the tractor....

Just want to clarify that the tractor is for maintenance work only and playing around primary to replace pick, shovel and wheelbarrow. I don't mind if it just taking longer to do the job. No intention to start any serious project or major dirt moving. I hire out all the major dirt work and contractor use much bigger machine to get the job done fast but they don't really paid attention to the details. It's hard to get them to come back to do small jobs and even tougher to get them to do the drainage right the 1st time because I don't really know until is rains and it's slightly different every year. So I figure this is going to be a long term maintenance work and the main reason to buy a tractor.

 

[Tom_H]

If you are going to be trenching a lot, that bigger backhoe, especially with its higher hydro pressure, will be a huge difference. Not only will it be faster, but the backhoe on a BX cannot dig in the hardest of true hardpans (duripan, ironpan, caliche) when the stuff is dry, and it must be wet a long time to soften it up (even then, the going is quite slow). The BH75 should be able to handle that stuff much better.

Definitely the B7800 for the uses you describe.

 

[z0lt3c]

Hi-
$16K, IMO, for the B7800 w/ BH75 backhoe is a great deal. If you have cash and don't need the financing this is a no brainer, I would jump on this immediately.

I just went through a similar situation comparing a new BX24 against a 200 hour B7800. My big difference was that the B7800 was a demo so both machines qualified for new machine financing. BX24 best price was $15,500 and the B7800 w/ 200 hours and FEL was $13,500. When I asked them to price out the B7800 w/ a BH75 backhoe the price went up to just around $20,000.

If you don't buy that B7800 TLB for 16K, let us know where you find it so somebody else can! This is a no brainer IMO, B7800 will run circles around BX24.



Good luck,
Z

 

[tractor888]

Hi-
$16K, IMO, for the B7800 w/ BH75 backhoe is a great deal. If you have cash and don't need the financing this is a no brainer, I would jump on this immediately.
Z

Well, I'm convinced the B7800 is the tractor to get. Do you really think $16K for the used B7800 and BH75 with 200 hrs (no financing incentive, no warranty and no free service) is a great deal? It sounds like a great deal until I do the math. I hope I got the math right... Need some help here.

Dealer's quote for B7800 w/BH75 backhoe around $22,000. That's brand new with 2-year warranty and 42 month 0% financing. plus free 1st 50-hour service. I figure if I invest the $22k at 5% return for 3.5 years, it's worth about $3,850. The 2 year warranty should worth about $2000. The 1st 50-hour service should worth $150. That makes the real cost of the tractor to be around $16,000. So, I'm really not saving anything to get a used tractor with 200 hours on it. Did I get this right?

 

[z0lt3c]

One point to consider is the equity depreciation for both machines. My thinking is the new machine will depreciate more, and quicker, then the "used" machine over the next few years. I don't know if you plan to keep this tractor for "forever" or sell it a few years from now and upgrade/downgrade... but that could play in. If you plan on selling soon, I think the 2005 will be financially superior because, given the rest of the math, it's pretty much break even, and at the end of the day you will loose more $$ on the new one when you go to resell. Where-as you may only loose $1k or $2k on the used machine over the next 2 to 3 years, looking at the price of a used machine, you may loose as much as $6k on the new machine.

If you plan on keep the machine "forever" and, you can absorb the cash flow hit a new financed machine would involve, your math looks like it's a pretty close call financially.