new holland tractor

Soundguy · Jun 11, 2002

I was at the local new holland dealer this weekend, looking at some tractors a little bigger than my 1920. As I was walking across the lot, I saw a large new 2wd unit.. looked ok.. was a 3xxx series.. my bad memory is preventing me from remembering the number... 38??

Anyway, had the look of the older line like my 1920.. not like the boomers with the slant hood.

The salesman immediatly steered me away from that saying' You don't want that.. it won't last very long.. it is just thrown together and priced to compete with the massey fergusion 270, etc, etc. I looked at the dash, and it was a little stripped... just a throttle handle, and multigauge tach with idiot lights... nothing near the setup on my 1920. I was going to look further at it, but the salesman was insistant that it was 'trash'.

He steered me over to something in the 58XX series I think.. looked very similar.. but a bit bigger. probably alot more $$.

Now I am beginning to wonder about that 3xxx model. I don't farm full time, so I'm not as concerned with a unit that may not hold up for a full time farmer.... it may be fine for a hobby farmer who needs a low usage slightly larger tractor.. but with a smaller price tag.

Anyone have any idea what this unit might have been, and its stats?

The dealer is about an hours drive away. If I can get up there again, i will try to go look at it without the salesman dragging me away from it.
Any help is appreciated.

thanks,

Soundguy

treeboone · Jun 11, 2002

I went back into the archives and spent several hours reading old posts until I had a mental map of the model #s and eliminated quite a few that would not serve my needs.
Once I had a better idea what models were in the range I was wanting, I went back and re-read the posts relating to them.
Then I went back to the dealerships in some ratty clothes (not a difficult feat for me) and looked at the machines a little closer, trying to avoid contact with sales people. Then I went home and worked on the net some more and eliminated a couple more models.
Then back to the dealerships. This process went on for more than a month.
After 13 years with an inadequate tractor, purchased in ignorance (no internet for me in 88) I was determined to buy the best I could afford. I ended up buying a Kubota L4610HST. Not to recommend that particular model as it was a personal choice, but I DO recommend the search methods.
Spend a couple of weeks doing your home work and spend the next 10 to 20 years smiling....OR... be impulsive and spend alot of time in regret.

rockyridgefarm · Jun 11, 2002

Here is a lead on NH 3010 stuff. Definately an "economy" tractor part of the 10S Economy Series

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.newholland.com/na/Products/3010S.html>NH 3010S</A>

Somewhere I have a brochore on them, the website is pretty slim. I think it is also listed in deere's configurator.

My dealer skipped around that as well, while they'd talk about the TC30, it was TN65 all the way...

Soundguy · Jun 11, 2002

I agree completely.. I made the same mistake you did... I went out and bought a tractor that was not suited to my needs ( a yanmar 1700 ).. and then had to go and get another tractor that would do the larger jobs.

Don't get me wrong.. i love the yanmar to death... great little machine.. just not heavy or strong enough to work my hobby farm. The 1920 is great and does what I need. But me and the wife are getting more animals and more land, and we need to get a tractor for 'her' to help with. Obviously, we can't go smaller so we would need the same size as the 1920 or better.. that was why i was looking at that 38xx. My wife isn't comfterable with a big tractor.. but doesn't like the yanmar at all.. for one, she is 6' and the yanmar was designed for little asian farmers.. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.. and it is a 1979 model, and she doesn't understand the finer points of babying a old diesel.. plus it has only a hand throttle, and she hasn't mastered it yet either.... but she is ok on the 1920... so it may become 'hers' whilst I need another tractor...

Soundguy

"Spend a couple of weeks doing your home work and spend the next 10 to 20 years smiling....OR... be impulsive and spend alot of time in regret. "

Soundguy · Jun 11, 2002

Thanks for the reply.. perhaps it was the 3010.. he did say it was a 'low end' model..

But I'm not scared of an 'economy' model if i know what I'm buying, and why I'm buying it.. not expecting a heavy duty plow the north 200 all day tractor...

Soundguy

Robert_in_NY · Jun 11, 2002

My dealer told me the same things about the 10S series. They are made in Mexico as cheaply as possible and are not very reliable. They won't even put one on their lot. The one they originally sold has been in the shop a lot. I was originally looking at the 3930 but they were being discontinued at the time so I bought a TN 65 for the same money and am happy I did. The TN is extremly easy to use and quite strong for what NH list the HP at. MF does have nice economy tractors if you are going to just play around but they are basicly the same tractors from the 60's and 70's with out too many upgrades and don't even think of MFWA as I think it is only available on the 80+hp economy tractor from MF. I know the 231s is a nice machine as my friend bought one and it is reliable but there are no options and it is basicly the same as our MF 135 from way back.

spencer200 · Jun 11, 2002

We have sold a dozen of these over the years since they where introduced. We have only had one in the shop and that was for a clutch. The tractor is used heavily as a loader tractor and had over 3000 hours all ready with no other problems. Do not be afraid of this tractor it is very inexpensive and a lot of tractor for the money.

Robert_in_NY · Jun 12, 2002

Spencer, why is it then that some other dealers don't want to sell these units. My dealer came out and told me point blank they were junk and he would not sell me one. I do know NH has had quality control problems with some of their machines as far as not tightening things properly or minor design flaws but to have two dealers speak the same way about one tractor doesn't make sense.

DVerbarg · Jun 12, 2002

Spencer, why is it then that some other dealers don't want to sell these units.

Is there a thinner margin on these? Or are the dealers a little "gun shy" because of some previous low-price units?

TBone · Jun 12, 2002

Soundguy,

One of my first jobs back in the dark ages was selling appliances. The place I worked for sold Hotpoint, Westinghouse and Frigidaire. One of the companies was always giving some kind of incentives (to the salespeople) for selling their brand. Guess which one we recommended? The others were just junk.

I remember Westinghouse was giving a Hawaiian vacation to the top 10 sales people in the southern region. Boy did the Frigidaires and Hotpoints have a bad reputation all of a sudden!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

My point is: Never trust a salesman./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Do the research yourself and check with others who have experienced the products firsthand.

These may be "economy models" but they ain't bare bones. 2wd/4wd, independent pto, 9.0 gpm hydraulics w/3847 lbs. of lift, wet brakes, position/draft control - a lot of nice features. And they are pretty too./w3tcompact/icons/love.gif/w3tcompact/icons/love.gif

TBone

Soundguy · Jun 12, 2002

That is what I thought... Other than a slightly umm..plain instrument cluster.. everything else looked very tractoresque... even had curb appeal.

I just couldn't even get the sales people to give me a spec sheet or even quote a price on it.. I'm thinking of disguising my voice and calling back down there and seeing if someone will give me aprice on it other than just steering me away from it.

Soundguy

"These may be "economy models" but they ain't bare bones. 2wd/4wd, independent pto, 9.0 gpm hydraulics w/3847 lbs. of lift, wet brakes, position/draft control - a lot of nice features. And they are pretty too."

spencer200 · Jun 12, 2002

I really can not answer that question certain dealers have preconcieved ideas about certain things and it is hard to change there minds. The open minded dealers are the real aggressive dealers.

spencer200 · Jun 12, 2002

no the margin is actually better on these units because on a whole they are slow moving for New Holland so they discount them heavily

spencer200 · Jun 12, 2002

That maybe part of the answer there is no sales bonus on this tractor for the sales people, but our dealership tends to put our customers needs first and not ours i guess that is the difference when you are family owned and the family works in the store.

bgott · Jun 13, 2002

My favorite dealer around here is a Massey dealer. He had more 8N parts than the Ford dealer so I've traded with him a lot. I looked at the 243 and 263 MFWD Masseys and went to New Holland. Massey has a rep for a dead reliable under 100 HP tractor but you're right, they are strictly 1965 technology. The 243 has less horsepower and less features than the TN65, ergomatics are poop and the price I got was higher than the TN.

TBone · Jun 13, 2002

Spencer, I hope you didn't take that jab at salesmen too seriously. It was made partly in jest but things like that did happen where I worked. It was a large chain store operation without any close supervision by the owner(s).

Your dealership is exactly like the one I deal with. Two brothers grew up in the tractor business and took over from their father. One runs the sales end and the other the service. Both are good folks that I enjoy doing business with. Now if I could find an automobile dealer like that....../w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif/w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif

TBone

Golfgar4 · Jun 13, 2002

"Now if I could find an automobile dealer like that......"

How about a dealership that is owned and operated by a father and son?

That's my dealer. I lease my truck, so every 3 years I'm doing a new deal. My lease normally expires in October, but I get a call from my dealer (the son) in May. He asks me if intended on staying with the same model truck that I currently had. I commented that my lease ran out in October, so why was he asking me now?

He said that if I wanted to stay with the same truck, but upgrade to power windows, etc., he could put me in a new one for $0.17 more a month for another 3 year lease!/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

I basically asked him why he wasn't standing in front of my desk with the papers to sign RIGHT NOW! I literally drove to the dealer after work that day, picked out the truck I wanted, and went back two days later to pick it up. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Now that's the kind of dealer to have!/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

TBone · Jun 13, 2002

Yeah, you're lucky Golfgar4. My favorite dealer is pretty large. I've only seen the owner a couple of times and I've bought several vehicles from them. I do have a favorite salesman that I like to deal with. He keeps me posted on special rebates, etc.

I enjoy doing business with small family operated businesses whenever I can. I hate Walleyworld (but that's another subject altogether).

Happy Golfing,

TBone

Soundguy · Jun 13, 2002

Funny you should say that, i have had nearly the same experience with my nh and massey dealer here. A while back, I broke the adjustable lift link ( between upper and lower lift arms ) on my yanmar 1700. JD didn't have a suitable replacement, and I could have ordered one online from one of the many yanmar dealers.. but my tractor was literally broke down on the roadside with a full load of dirt in the rear scoop, and i wanted a fix i could drive into town for.

I found that the adjustable link on a NH TC18 was the exact fit ( and a nice mechanisim too! ) as the yanmar one. I went to the counter to purchase it, and the salesperson asked what type of tractor i had, , I told him, and he said he couldn't sell it to me because it wasn't for that tractor, yada, yada, yada... I argued with this guy for 10 minutes.. in the end, he still wouldn't sell me the part.... I drove down to the MF dealership 2 minutes down the road, they sold me one that was very close in size but with the wrong end on one side. I bought the correct swivel end, and ran across the street to the hydraulic shop that my friend owns, and he cut and welded the arm up for me.. total of liek 39 bucks for everything, modification and all.... the NH arm was close to 79 bucks... Made me mad, and wasted another hour of my time...

Soundguy

"My favorite dealer around here is a Massey dealer. He had more 8N parts than the Ford dealer so I've traded with him a lot. I looked at the 243 and 263 MFWD Masseys and went to New Holland. Massey has a rep for a dead reliable under 100 HP tractor but you're right, they are strictly 1965 technology. The 243 has less horsepower and less features than the TN65, ergomatics are poop and the price I got was higher than the TN. "