BruceNorthEast
Bronze Member
Hello TBN’ers,
I want to start out by saying how much I appreciate the time and thought all of you take in answering questions. You not only help those posting the questions, but all of us who follow as well! Thank you.
I’m very close to making a purchase of my first tractor. I’ve owned a small 20 acre farm for a few years now. The big stuff, haying and corn, are being done by an area dairy farm. To date the rest has been done manually, with the occasional assistance of my pickup or little ATV with its’ small trailer. I’ve about given up trying to keep all the perimeter brush at bay with a man-potable weed wacker!
We’ve got a couple of pleasure horses (actually one usable and one broken down old barn buddy), and a pile of projects that would be a lot nicer with a tractor.
To top it off, my old plow trucks’ ready for the salvage heap – so now it’s either buy a replacement truck – which’ll take a bite out of the savings that could be used for a down payment on a tractor - or stop delaying and buy a machine that’ll also be usable for keeping the 600 plus foot gravel driveway passable.
In addition to all the cores & projects, I’m currently buying back some of the hay they take off of my property for about $1200 a year (all I get for land-lease is 48 square bales, but that's not unusual as most around here are happy simply having their fields maintained for free). I’d like the ability to learn a little something about haying.
I’ve spent much of the past few months visiting various dealerships and reviewing used machines (everything from a JD 5310 with 55 PTO HP!, to a Kubota L3400). I’ve talked and read and listened and read some more, and I’m feeling close to ready.
Over the next few days I’ll be taking my first test-drives of several machines. But after looking at many, reading lots of specs and listening to & reading the thoughts of people like yourselves, I’ve narrowed it down to two basic groups: New - Kubota L3830, L4400 or NH TC40/TC45, or a used but reliable machine like a Ford/NH 1920.
The front runner is the TC45; it is the costliest, teasing me into financing more than I wanted to, but I’ve found a deal that I feel is very good, and I really like everything about the machine so far.
The L4400 is the first one I seriously considered when I started looking new, attempting to maximize the bang for the buck. The Grand-L series sure makes me consider dropping a few HP for a "nicer" machine…
But I started out looking at used machines, searching for value while sticking to the belief that something in the 30’s at the PTO, and 4WD, would probably be the most useful for me. Finding machines that size, that’s in good shape with moderate hours, and priced reasonable is very easy – just not all at the same time.
Good deals turned out to be tired ex-rentals. All of the better condition machines are commanding big dollars, in fact I’m amazed to see many selling for near their original sticker price (a few actually above!).
Take the 1920 for example, it’s in great condition but the seller wont drop a dollar – just a bit more and we're near the cost of a brand new 2005 Kubota L3400 complete with warranty! Now I know the 1920 is supposed to be a better machine, but it’s nine years old!
Half again as much and were talking prices in the neighborhood for the L3830, L4400 and almost the TC40/TC45!
So I start thinking, might as well go new. Yeah, I’m stuck with payments, but they’re manageable and a known figure that I can plan on. Beats to heck and back buying something that’ll start off reasonable and then siphon money endlessly… A friend of mine who likes to do tractor pulls bought a used machine off an old timer many hours away, having never met the man but read his ad in Uncle Henrys… So he paid asking, and when he got it home he found the rear casing was cracked all around, as though it had been dropped off a truck. Add to that the engine rebuild… And this to a guy who has forgotten more about tractors than I’ll ever know.
But when I sit and look at the actual figures of what I’m about to spend – double the cost of my wifes’ new Hyundai, YIKES! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Maybe I can push that old wheel barrow around for another year. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
I apologize for the rant, this shopping for a tractor stuff’s work! Any of you still reading, I'd love to read your thoughts.
Bruce.
I want to start out by saying how much I appreciate the time and thought all of you take in answering questions. You not only help those posting the questions, but all of us who follow as well! Thank you.
I’m very close to making a purchase of my first tractor. I’ve owned a small 20 acre farm for a few years now. The big stuff, haying and corn, are being done by an area dairy farm. To date the rest has been done manually, with the occasional assistance of my pickup or little ATV with its’ small trailer. I’ve about given up trying to keep all the perimeter brush at bay with a man-potable weed wacker!
We’ve got a couple of pleasure horses (actually one usable and one broken down old barn buddy), and a pile of projects that would be a lot nicer with a tractor.
To top it off, my old plow trucks’ ready for the salvage heap – so now it’s either buy a replacement truck – which’ll take a bite out of the savings that could be used for a down payment on a tractor - or stop delaying and buy a machine that’ll also be usable for keeping the 600 plus foot gravel driveway passable.
In addition to all the cores & projects, I’m currently buying back some of the hay they take off of my property for about $1200 a year (all I get for land-lease is 48 square bales, but that's not unusual as most around here are happy simply having their fields maintained for free). I’d like the ability to learn a little something about haying.
I’ve spent much of the past few months visiting various dealerships and reviewing used machines (everything from a JD 5310 with 55 PTO HP!, to a Kubota L3400). I’ve talked and read and listened and read some more, and I’m feeling close to ready.
Over the next few days I’ll be taking my first test-drives of several machines. But after looking at many, reading lots of specs and listening to & reading the thoughts of people like yourselves, I’ve narrowed it down to two basic groups: New - Kubota L3830, L4400 or NH TC40/TC45, or a used but reliable machine like a Ford/NH 1920.
The front runner is the TC45; it is the costliest, teasing me into financing more than I wanted to, but I’ve found a deal that I feel is very good, and I really like everything about the machine so far.
The L4400 is the first one I seriously considered when I started looking new, attempting to maximize the bang for the buck. The Grand-L series sure makes me consider dropping a few HP for a "nicer" machine…
But I started out looking at used machines, searching for value while sticking to the belief that something in the 30’s at the PTO, and 4WD, would probably be the most useful for me. Finding machines that size, that’s in good shape with moderate hours, and priced reasonable is very easy – just not all at the same time.
Good deals turned out to be tired ex-rentals. All of the better condition machines are commanding big dollars, in fact I’m amazed to see many selling for near their original sticker price (a few actually above!).
Take the 1920 for example, it’s in great condition but the seller wont drop a dollar – just a bit more and we're near the cost of a brand new 2005 Kubota L3400 complete with warranty! Now I know the 1920 is supposed to be a better machine, but it’s nine years old!
Half again as much and were talking prices in the neighborhood for the L3830, L4400 and almost the TC40/TC45!
So I start thinking, might as well go new. Yeah, I’m stuck with payments, but they’re manageable and a known figure that I can plan on. Beats to heck and back buying something that’ll start off reasonable and then siphon money endlessly… A friend of mine who likes to do tractor pulls bought a used machine off an old timer many hours away, having never met the man but read his ad in Uncle Henrys… So he paid asking, and when he got it home he found the rear casing was cracked all around, as though it had been dropped off a truck. Add to that the engine rebuild… And this to a guy who has forgotten more about tractors than I’ll ever know.
But when I sit and look at the actual figures of what I’m about to spend – double the cost of my wifes’ new Hyundai, YIKES! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Maybe I can push that old wheel barrow around for another year. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
I apologize for the rant, this shopping for a tractor stuff’s work! Any of you still reading, I'd love to read your thoughts.
Bruce.
