Buying Advice Old Or New?

[deadshort]

I currently have a 2009 Boomer 8N and want to upgrade to a tractor with a cab. I was very close to ordering a Kubota L6060 but I started reading about the DPF and the associated controls/computers incorporated with it and I am thinking of changing my mind. The last thing I want to deal with is complicated issues with emission devices on a piece of equipment they don't belong on anyway. Have any of you experienced many problems with your DPF equipped tractors?

I have looked for some older Kubota's before the emission equipment was required and have found a few L5740 tractors with low hours. What are your thoughts on buying a low (under 200) hour tractor that is lightly used over a complicated new tractor?

 

[Snowback]

What are your thoughts on buying a low (under 200) hour tractor that is lightly used over a complicated new tractor?

Last year I sold my 2012 Max 26 with 160 hours on it. It was maintained per schedule and was essentially new. In my estimation, the buyer picked up a basically brand new tractor for a couple grand savings, and it still had over a year of factory warranty on it. Also - it has no DPF or extra jewelry, so that guy is set.

If you can find a seller who takes care of their stuff, then buying a tractor with 100-200 hours or even more is really not that different than buying a new machine in my opinion. Some of us are just hobby guys who put 30-50 hours on a year. Or perhaps a couple hundred hours initially, and then light use thereafter. Life sometimes catches up with folks who buy tractors with good intentions of doing it themselves, but then they realize that work, kids, and other things sometimes get in the way. Those are the guys that you can probably get a great deal from on a great machine...

You might check out the mCRD engines that Mahindra has developed if you want to stay away from DPF. (One of the big drivers for my sticking with the Brand on a larger machine last year.) Jury is still out on long term reliability of any of those new Tier IV solutions though, and there were some early EGR and programming bugs on the mCRDs that Mahindra seems to have cleared up.

But back to your question - I would have no issue with picking up a lightly used Kubota or any major brand if the deal was right. I have seen three really nice Kubotas in consignment lots around here lately, and I have to keep myself from stopping by to look just in case I get any ideas...

Good luck!

 

[ovrszd]

I think often what tips the scales for a buyer toward new is financing.

If you are in a position to not need manufacturer financing look for used. Let the first owner suffer that depreciation.

 

[dickfoster]

I think often what tips the scales for a buyer toward new is financing.

If you are in a position to not need manufacturer financing look for used. Let the first owner suffer that depreciation.

What depreciation. I normally buy trucks and cars a year used but I couldn't find a decent price on any used tractors. Heck they cost so close to new that I went new just for the warranty. There is no sense in taking the chance of getting a machine full of someone else's problems or one that wasn't properly cared for if you're not gonna save any real money.
BTW The tier IV stuff hasn't given me one moment of problem but mine is a no DPF machine.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I currently have a 2009 Boomer 8N and want to upgrade to a tractor with a cab. I was very close to ordering a Kubota L6060 but I started reading about the DPF and the associated controls/computers incorporated with it and I am thinking of changing my mind. The last thing I want to deal with is complicated issues with emission devices on a piece of equipment they don't belong on anyway. Have any of you experienced many problems with your DPF equipped tractors?

I have looked for some older Kubota's before the emission equipment was required and have found a few L5740 tractors with low hours. What are your thoughts on buying a low (under 200) hour tractor that is lightly used over a complicated new tractor?

OK, at the risk of upsetting all of the sky is falling crowd, DPF is no big deal. Light starts flashing, just bring up the rpms and keep working. That's it. It is almost negligible.

 

[Buppies]

OK, at the risk of upsetting all of the sky is falling crowd, DPF is no big deal. Light starts flashing, just bring up the rpms and keep working. That's it. It is almost negligible.

Agree have several pieces of equipment using DPF no problems. Also a 2012 Dodge Ram with 235000 miles no def problems

 

[deadshort]

OK, at the risk of upsetting all of the sky is falling crowd, DPF is no big deal. Light starts flashing, just bring up the rpms and keep working. That's it. It is almost negligible.

I am not concerned with the regeneration process at all. I am concerned about the devices, components and circuitry that initiate and carry out the process. These items are bound to give quirky problems and fail at some point. I can hear it already. In ten years we will be told by dealerships that they are not supporting that first generation of DPF controls because in its infancy the engineering was not the best and the product is outdated. Maybe look into a junk yard tractor for the parts you need.

I am one who doesn't put a lot of hours on my tractor. My Boomer only has 100 hours on it. I may start and warm up the tractor and then just unload a pallet or something and that might be it for the month. I would hate to plan on just a few minutes of work then have to "keep working" in other words wait while the regeneration process carries out.

This all seems like crap anyway. I assume its designed to be more green. I was working by some railroad tracks a while back. There was a train engine or locomotive sitting out there idling barfing black smoke into the air all day while I was there. I asked the business owner what was going on and he said that they will sit out there for days at a time doing that. So it's a good thing we all have to have four stroke weed wackers and DPF on our tractors to be green while the larger contributors go unregulated.

 

[nybirdman]

If you can find a low hour L5740;buy it.I have a L4240 HSTC with 1,000 hours that I purchased new.
Very nice tractor;I would not buy one with DEF myself.Plan on keeping this one;already had a purchase offer and it's not for sale.

 

[Leejohn]

I also have the L4240 and don't think I would sell it. You well like the L5740 with the HST Plus.

 

[rScotty]

Hello Deadshort & welcome to the forum. I sure do like those Boomers. Fascinating concept. It must have taken real guts for a manufacturer to make that sort of copy of a classic...and it looks like they did it well. I darn near bought one just for the styling. Very nice machines, and congrats to you for getting one.

I don't know anything about the DPF tractors; they are probably fine. If they weren't we would have heard about it by now.
But I feel much the same as you do about proven technology and am glad that mine are the older style. I will confess that I hate the stink of the smoky diesel exhaust on my interim Tier IV machine.

As for buying an older machine with low hours I not only wouldn't have any objections, but depending on the owner there might even be an advantage in reliability and break-in. Any dollar savings would just be a bonus. When looking at used, I usually look for one with all the accessories already installed. Certainly this forum would give you an unbiased view into how owners regard any model. And maybe it's just my perception....but it seems that Kubota owners are generally rather good to their machines. So I would have no preference between a a low hour used machine and a new one. In fact, I bought my last Kubota as a dealer's demo machine - it had been used for nearly a year on their lot and under their supervision. Better than new, and with all the little things attended to. It's a 2008 with 800 hours and I doubt that I would trade it today for a new one.
luck,
rScotty - did I say how much I like the Boomer styling? And I've never even driven one.....

 

[kubotacres]

I shopped for several months at semi-used tractors and even demo tractors. I found that anything less than 2 years old or less than a 100 hours was cheaper to buy new. Anything beyond that was simply in too rough shape to offset the couple grand I could save. However I initially was worried about the DPF, but those worries faded after lots of research and test driving. I'm glad I bought new, especially with some of the new features on the L60.

 

[dickfoster]

I shopped for several months at semi-used tractors and even demo tractors. I found that anything less than 2 years old or less than a 100 hours was cheaper to buy new. Anything beyond that was simply in too rough shape to offset the couple grand I could save. However I initially was worried about the DPF, but those worries faded after lots of research and test driving. I'm glad I bought new, especially with some of the new features on the L60.

That's the same thing I found in my area so I bought new. I don't know how they get away with it but I guess they do somehow. I just didn't seem to be the thing to do with my money. Plus I got exactly what I wanted and needed by buying new plus the new warranty. What's left to think about?

 

[rScotty]

That's the same thing I found in my area so I bought new. I don't know how they get away with it but I guess they do somehow. I just didn't seem to be the thing to do with my money. Plus I got exactly what I wanted and needed by buying new plus the new warranty. What's left to think about?

I think one of the things we need to include in this "new versus used" discussion is who we are buying from. My assumption was that a new tractor would come from the dealer and a used tractor would be bought directly from the owner. In fact, meeting the owner and being able to buy directly from him without also paying dealer markup is the only way I would consider buying a low hour used tractor.
rScotty

 

[dickfoster]

I think one of the things we need to include in this "new versus used" discussion is who we are buying from. My assumption was that a new tractor would come from the dealer and a used tractor would be bought directly from the owner. In fact, meeting the owner and being able to buy directly from him without also paying dealer markup is the only way I would consider buying a low hour used tractor.
rScotty

That's well and good if you plan on doing all of your own service and repairs. I imagine someone who buys a machine from a dealer probably also gets in ahead of the others who didn't in the service line. It's called you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours, also what goes around comes around. That is if you shopped the dealer as carefully as you shopped for the tractor which I always recommend. If you go by price alone you typically get what you pay for. There simply are no free lunches in life.

 

[deadshort]

Well I went ahead and bought a used tractor. I found a super clean 2011 Kubota 5740 with a cab, heat, A/C, Radio, 170 hours. I bought it from a private party. There was no loader on it but I have one ordered from the local dealership. Its a nice clean tractor that was only used for deer plot stuff. I was a whisper away from buying a new L6060 but stumbled into this deal at the last minute. For me it wasn't necessarily just a financial decision. I was fine with the price of the L6060. I just didn't want to deal with emissions stuff. All in I was able to save around $16,000.00 dollars by doing this deal. I will find out whether it was worth it down the road I am sure.

Now I get to try to sell my boomer 8N on my own. Hopefully all goes well with that.

 

[rScotty]

Nice... Shucks, that's not even broken in. Hope it treats you well. Post some pics? Factory loader or aftermarket? How did the dealer feel about installing the loader? Our local dealer is pretty professional about that sort of thing. On a good day he doesn't even mind letting one customers know when another is selling something useful. Could be he is playing a long game......

If I have the time I actually enjoy doing my own service work; if not, I'll ask the dealer to do it....or one of the local independent shops. For true repair work I draw the line at 50/60 hp. On our smaller tractors it's nice to do it myself. Mechanics is fun to do and sure beats TV. But I'm getting old, so for larger machines I prefer to involve a mechanical shop. I doubt I'd find wrestling that big loader into place to be all that much fun.
rScotty

 

[ovrszd]

Well I went ahead and bought a used tractor. I found a super clean 2011 Kubota 5740 with a cab, heat, A/C, Radio, 170 hours. I bought it from a private party. There was no loader on it but I have one ordered from the local dealership. Its a nice clean tractor that was only used for deer plot stuff. I was a whisper away from buying a new L6060 but stumbled into this deal at the last minute. For me it wasn't necessarily just a financial decision. I was fine with the price of the L6060. I just didn't want to deal with emissions stuff. All in I was able to save around $16,000.00 dollars by doing this deal. I will find out whether it was worth it down the road I am sure.

Now I get to try to sell my boomer 8N on my own. Hopefully all goes well with that.

Very nice!!!! Good choice!!!!

Don't worry about the "dealer" discussion. I'll bet you a Beer you can take your newly purchased tractor to the nearest dealer for service and they will gladly help you. Well,,,,, wait,,,,,, you already know that because you've went to that dealer and bought an FEL. Didn't get any hesitation there did you???

Don't worry about selling the Boomer. Someone will gobble it up.

 

[Leejohn]

Is that the savings with the loader?

 

[deadshort]

I am not sure where that misconception ever came from where a dealer wont help you or work on your equipment if you didn't buy it from them. A dealership is a business, a business makes money by selling a product or a service. In a dealership situation they sell both. It would be asinine to turn someone away because your machine didn't come from there originally. I would think if a dealer only worked on stuff they sold they wouldn't survive long. I have personally never seen or heard of that happening. Maybe that is something that happens in other parts of the country but it doesn't seem to happen here.

It was no problem calling the dealer to order a factory Kubota loader. Matter of fact I called two of them before I ordered one just to see if there were any options that one may have missed. They were both willing to help but the one guy seemed to be more knowledgeable so I went with him.

The $16,000.00 savings was the total savings considering purchasing the loader for the tractor I just bought. I am sure there are some more electronic doodads on the new one but I am not into that nonsense anyway. Hopefully there are no issues with a 170 hour tractor. I don't think it should really matter how old it is it should last more than 170 hours.

 

[ovrszd]

You'll get many, many years of service from this tractor!!!