Buying Advice New Holland Boomer 25 w/high hours inquiry

[falfrenzy]

Looking at a 2012 New Holland Boomer 25 with 1560 hours that was traded in by a lawn care company. It was used pretty good, and shows it. Lawn care company traded in for the next size bigger. Dealer admitted that the seal between the engine and hydrostatic trans needed to be replaced, which they would do at no cost.
Has a FEL, but prior owner welded on a skidsteer quick detach mount system. Dealer said they used a bucket and pallet forks on the FEL for attachments.

Dealership owner told me over the phone before I drove there 1100 hours from his memory (was higher, see above) is asking $6000, but that was before I pointed out some things, like a floppy front driveshaft (probably U-joint related, but has a plastic shield hiding it from view, and I asked specifically how they were going to fix the rear seal, and if that would include a complete hydraulic fluid replacement. Joystick for FEL lived a rough life, and the cable for the lift mechanism was stuck, and had to be freed up before FEL would lift.

Owner of the dealership said that he would have to look into what the repairs would cost, and since it had more hours than quoted, then he would call me with the new price.

I test drove it a short distance, but since there is ice on the ground, couldn't really test it to my liking.

My concerns I bring to the forum:
1. Is nearly 1600 hours on a 2012 model too much?

2. It has been well used, by a lawn care company at that.

3. Is $6000 (hopefully gets reduced) a suitable price?

 

[tomplum]

You know, there is certainly life left in it. If you want to dedicate additional labor time and parts into this, basically just need something for light use- than 5- 6K is better than 13k. These aren't expensive tractors new though with a big warranty. I have the LS XJ2025H which is comparable with a different grill and loader valve location if I remember correctly or there are New Hollands (made by LS) for not much more. This chassis comes with the quick attach or they offer a somewhat smaller chassis for even less $$ , but no quick attach.

 

[falfrenzy]

I wonder the following:
Is it better to have a newer tractor with high hours, or an 25-40 year old tractor with low hours? Budget is what drives this question. Age has its issues, but then again tractors were made better back then as well.

A quandry indeed.

 

[fishheadbob]

Sounds to me that this tractor has lead a hard life. 1560 isn't a ton of hours on some tractors, this one sounds like it was regularly ridden hard and put away wet. If the dealer does a good job on repairing everything that you have noticed, that could be a start. It doesn't sound like the dealer wants to do a good going over on everything, he is probably afraid of what else might pop up. He is probably thinking it's better to unload this one and be done with it, making it someone else's problem.
How are your mechanical skills ?

 

[nrosario]

I wonder the following:
Is it better to have a newer tractor with high hours, or an 25-40 year old tractor with low hours? Budget is what drives this question. Age has its issues, but then again tractors were made better back then as well.

A quandry indeed.

IMHO everything is driven by the price.
If the equipment is old but in good condition and meets my needs and requirements and I can get it for a low price, SOLD.
If the equipment is brand new with warranty, good dealer nearby, but the price is high, NOT SOLD.

When I was looking, which my watch ended recently, I had wrote down all my requirements and started looking using that scope. Mind you I was very flexible on Brand, Model, Year.

 

[Rock Crawler]

1560 hours for a 2012 is 260 hours a year, that is not high hours or excessive use to me. You can expect/assume a min engine life to bein the 5,000 hour area if reasonably maintained. There will be some repairs over that time to the machine, but not likely to be an engine internal failure. That said, freak things can and do happen at any hours. At the price of around $6,000 and only 1600 hours on it, it sounds like a heck of a deal. A Cub Cadet XT3 GSX garden tractor with mower deck is around $6,200 pre-tax. Put that into perspective..... Those hours would not bother me at all personally.

So you listed 3 items that need attention. Have the dealer take care of the seal issue, the cable issue and bolt a new joystick lever on if it is bent. Those are not big issues. I'm not sure what defines "been well used"... are you saying it's been rolled over, smashed body panels and bent loader arms? Or is it faded and dirty paint and typically worn tires? I suspect that many of us buy a tractor to d work with it, so they are all well used unless a person buys a tractor to wash it, wax it and look at it in a garage and every few weeks take it out for an hour or two to do some menial task before washing it again and putting it back into the garage to be gazed upon. Tractors are tools, most people spend $20K on a tool because they have to get jobs done. They use them well.

Your not buying a 2012 Mustang GT500 that rode to car cruises. Your buying a 6 year old tool that likely has 15-20 years of service life still in it unless it is an unmaintained train wreck.

 

[falfrenzy]

... It doesn't sound like the dealer wants to do a good going over on everything, he is probably afraid of what else might pop up. He is probably thinking it's better to unload this one and be done with it, making it someone else's problem.

Over 24 hours have transpired since I saw it yesterday, not a peep from the dealer. I am in agreement with you Fishheadbob. Time will tell.

 

[oosik]

JMHO - 1500 hours is not that much, IF, the tractor was properly maintained AND the needed repairs are done and done well. Otherwise - keep looking. And BTW - if you do back out because the dealer might not want to do all the proper repairs - - I would seriously NOT consider his dealership if I were to purchase a new tractor.

 

[Rock Crawler]

JMHO - 1500 hours is not that much, IF, the tractor was properly maintained AND the needed repairs are done and done well. Otherwise - keep looking. And BTW - if you do back out because the dealer might not want to do all the proper repairs - - I would seriously NOT consider his dealership if I were to purchase a new tractor.

No but at that price... If you back away from it.... PM me the dealership. For the price of my new Garden Tractor I can get a near new Boomer! Heck yes. I'm interested!

 

[Jchonline]

Looking at a 2012 New Holland Boomer 25 with 1560 hours that was traded in by a lawn care company. It was used pretty good, and shows it. Lawn care company traded in for the next size bigger. Dealer admitted that the seal between the engine and hydrostatic trans needed to be replaced, which they would do at no cost.
Has a FEL, but prior owner welded on a skidsteer quick detach mount system. Dealer said they used a bucket and pallet forks on the FEL for attachments.

Dealership owner told me over the phone before I drove there 1100 hours from his memory (was higher, see above) is asking $6000, but that was before I pointed out some things, like a floppy front driveshaft (probably U-joint related, but has a plastic shield hiding it from view, and I asked specifically how they were going to fix the rear seal, and if that would include a complete hydraulic fluid replacement. Joystick for FEL lived a rough life, and the cable for the lift mechanism was stuck, and had to be freed up before FEL would lift.

Owner of the dealership said that he would have to look into what the repairs would cost, and since it had more hours than quoted, then he would call me with the new price.

I test drove it a short distance, but since there is ice on the ground, couldn't really test it to my liking.

My concerns I bring to the forum:
1. Is nearly 1600 hours on a 2012 model too much?

2. It has been well used, by a lawn care company at that.

3. Is $6000 (hopefully gets reduced) a suitable price?

Find out the new price for a LS just as Tomplum mentioned. Then you will know if it is a good deal.

 

[falfrenzy]

Got a call from the dealer. They pulled it in the shop and looked it over.

Price is $6200 if they fix it, $4850 as-is. There is no maintenance history to review, prior owner did all their own maintenance, except it came into the dealer when they cracked the loader arm near the hinge pin behind the bucket. Dealership welded it up and added gusset plates to both sides, on the top side of the arm.

What is broken:

1.Engine- Hydrostat Transmission seal leaking $200 to fix
2. Hydrostat leaking at foot pedal linkage area, (control shaft that goes into transmission) $200 for the seal kit, but only one seal is needed. He says it appears to have been leaking for a while.
3. Decals are missing from hood completely, $60 for decals
4. Complete fluid and filter change(oil and hydraulic fluid), $200 in filter/fluids
5. They found a stripped out bolt(bolt spins) where the FEL frame mounts to the tractor frame by the rear axle. $20 for a thread insert, and an hour of shop labor.
6. Hood latch is bent and won't latch, so they'll adjust that.

I asked if they looked at the sloppy front driveshaft, and he said " Its about normal for a machine that has over 1000 hours". (My friend that went with me who has been a utility tractor owner for the last 20 years thought otherwise.)

I also asked if they were going to replace the turn signals that were broken off both sides of the ROPS? He said he didn't realize they were missing (I pointed this out to him Tuesday during my inspection, the hazards flashed on the dash but nothing flashed on the tractor)
I also failed to mention in my first post that the instrument cluster had a bunch of condensation in it from sitting outside in a blizzard last weekend so it was really hard to see the hour meter.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Sounds like you may be able get a heck of a deal on a machine with tons of life in it. Not many folks can say that they got into a CUT diesel with loader and only 1600 hours for $6000. I paid about $33k out the door for mine.... You may have found one sweet deal there since they are addressing the issues. The turn signals... If it means something to you, all them to replace those as well, or make little brackets and put trailer/Jeep tail lights on the rops. They don't mean much to me, but if your going to driving it on public roads than having hazard lights flashing is a wise choice.

Good luck, it is sounding better and better!

 

[falfrenzy]

Sounds like you may be able get a heck of a deal on a machine with tons of life in it. Not many folks can say that they got into a CUT diesel with loader and only 1600 hours for $6000....

Good luck, it is sounding better and better!

What is a "CUT diesel" good Sir?

 

[Rock Crawler]

CUT = Compact Utility Tractor
SCUT = Sub Compact Utility Tractor.
Diesel or gas engine variant.

 

[falfrenzy]

CUT = Compact Utility Tractor IPO
SCUT = Sub Compact Utility Tractor.
Diesel or gas engine variant.

Ah, that makes sense. Newb here.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Ah, that makes sense. Newb here.

Sun compact are ones like the Kubota BX, the LS MT-125, Massey Ferguson GC series, John Deere 1025 and others, the ones that look deceivingly like overgrown garden tractors. Trust me, they are much more than overgrown garden tractors!

Next up are compact tractors that have some range to the physical size, up to around 60 hp and somewhere around 5,000 lbs at the top. This is probably the most commonly discussed size/class at this forum.

Then you have Utility, and finally you have the Agricultural... Big working machines that can split the Earth in two.

 

[tomplum]

If you are comfortable with watching over the servicing, it could be good! You don't get a recent model , 4 wd with a loader for close to that by me.