Realistic $ for a reliable tractor?

[Tractor_Jack]

Background:
Recently purchased a house on 10 acres of wooded land in the mountains of Washington state. ~1 mile of trails, small cleared yard (no mowing required), 150ft sloped gravel driveway. Moving from the city I’ve never owned or operated a tractor. I’m about an hour from any dealer, but there’s pretty much all the major brands represented.

Realizing I need some machinery to speed up all the tasks around the property (moving snow, skidding logs, regrading driveway, laying mulch, trail maintenance, etc). Importantly I don’t have grass to mow, though am considering a brush hog for the trails.

Tractor Requirements: FEL, cat 1 3pt hitch, 4wd.

Given all this, what’s a realistic budget for something *reliable*? I’m looking for equipment because I already have more projects than time, and don’t need another one.

The cheapest around me seem to be about $5k for an older 1970-1980 compact tractor (yanmar 1610d or kubota b6800 equivalent).

The next step up seems to be around $10-15k for a more modern, used compact or subcompact.

Finally I could buy new, but I’m wary to drop $20k+ when I’m not entirely confident on what size tractor I need or how much I will actually use it.

Ideally I’d love to stay under $10k but I would rather spend a bit more and get something I will want to actually use vs an expensive lawn ornament. Apologies for the novel, but I wanted to include as much context as possible. Please let me know your thoughts and advice!

 

[Shawn T. W.]

For $15-18k you should be able to buy a 4x4 small compact (not a Sub-Compact) with a loader, land plane and brush hog ... Check out TractorHouse.com | New & Used Farm Equipment For Sale and put in your zip code ...

Another idea is see what is available locally to RENT for a weekend, maybe a little Kubota BX or B would work for you, or a L sized tractor, rent one for a weekend, then rent a different sized one the next weekend ... ?

ETA - if they have John Deere's to rent the BX is similar to a 1 series, B is similar to a 2 series (although JD makes 2 sizes of the 2 series!) and a L is similar to a 3 series ...

 

[ultrarunner]

I really like my BX and it has been totally reliable with backhoe.

The down side is the small size tires can be problematic in the woodlands… also, I had to add a skid plate to protect the underbelly… especially the hydro fan.

My brother wanted the same but I showed him the L size and he is glad he went that way…

Lots of options… my WA neighbors have all kinds…

My local WA Home Depot rents Kubota BX TLB (Tractor, Loader, Backhoe)

 

[shooterdon]

Good advice to rent to get a feel for your needs.

It is amazing what even a smaller tractor can do but some can get tippy and you are in the mountains and inexperienced. Hills are not tractor friendly. Easy to have a bad accident.

Some of the Chinese mini skid steers have made me consider adding one for the jobs that do not need a tractor my size. I am thinking about renting one to evaluate it. A decent new one is under $10k.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I doubt the rentals would have wheel spacers, but once the size is figured out, they can be added, same with fluid or steel wheel weights, which will increase side to side stability ...

If I could go back in time to 2022 when I bought my SCUT (which I love!) I would have been much better off with a larger framed 25 HP tractor like the Massey Ferguson 1825, or Kubota L2501, John Deere 3025 sized tractor, if they had been available, as they have much larger tires, and more loader lift capabilities, but still under the emissions system requirements ...

Once you get into the older ones, there are no emissions system on them, if that is important to you ...

 

[dodge man]

I think the 10 to 15k is a realistic budget. The size of your property doesn’t have a lot to do with what you need but what you plan to do on it does.

 

[paulsharvey]

Unless you are really willing to do some deep dive searches for parts, stay in the 1990s and forward. 1970s and 1980s, smaller machines, parts often just dont exist anymore, and im including Kubota, Deere, Massey, Case/IH, Ford/NH, ect. With that, 4wd, loader, 1980s, your still spending $6500-9000, and you are a clutch away from a scrap yard.

Now, that kinda leaves 3 directions; older, larger, with good parts; Massey 135, Ford 2000; heck you can probably find a Massey 135 engine at Walmart.... They won't be 4wd, they mostly won't have a loader, but they are $2.5-5k.

You have new. Kioti CK3510 is like $26k, TYM, Bobcat, ect, and in the grand scheme, for $350/month, you have something you know works.

Then you have 10-15 year old, "modern" machines, from major brands, that are $12.5k-15k. Parts are available, and they should have plenty of life, but you are paying nearly new, fiancing is hard, and there is a real chance that it could need a major repair

 

[jwmorris]

The cheapest reliable tractors we have are late 40’s early 50’s Ford 8N’s. The last one we bought was $1200 but needed tires at the time.

Perfect tractors for trails. Not so much for working large open fields where I prefer more tractor.

Better parts availability than some new tractors, if you ever need any, too.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

$15k. Look at it this way, a used tractor will barely depreciate, so that $15k is not lost. Its net worth.

 

[denchen]

I think I would go for an older tractor that is cheap but been well looked after. A Massey 135 for example. Whilst driving it around you will learn best what sort you next tractor will have to be. And, when you finally do dig deep into your pocket for your next tractor, make sure you have a little room for your original. You'll not want to part with it because 1, For what you will get in trading it in will not be much. 2, It will come in handy for light jobs. 3, It always starts and does not suffer with electrical problems.

 

[shooterdon]

I started with an a JD855 that had not been well cared for. Cost was $3500 and spent another $2500 getting it fixed up at a dealer. It took over a week to find a part for it. Used it for a few years and realized its shortcomings. No SSQA and low lift capacity. Still did a lot of work and it was better than nothing; but bought a much larger machine. Got $7000 on trade in so it was a good buy.

You will not lose money on most used tractors unless you get a lemon. Not a bad way to start if funds are limited.

If you are working in the woods, a grapple makes life a lot easier, so you need a SSQA machine. If you get a bigger machine down the road it will transfer fine. Same applies to pallet forks. The problem with starting with a smaller machine is if you add a back blade or York rake. Those are sized based on tractor width. But they are easy to sell and do not depreciate a lot so the hit will not be terrible.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, I actually disagree that you won't loose money on an old old machine. If nothing happens, yes, your good; however, lets face it, you need a new clutch, in most of those, you sell the tractor for $0.08/lbs at the scrape yard.

That makes people upset to hear, but its not worth spending $1500 to replace a clutch, in a $2500 machine, and with that new clutch, fluids, labor, ect; its still worth $2500

 

[TractorTYMe]

There is a bunch of "Covid used tractors" for sale out there 20-23 models much more reasonable as used, I bought my 2019 TYM T474 Cab HST new in 2020 for $27800. It has 48.3Hp and is a hydrostat (very newbie friendly) It has no electronics, has a mechanical injected engine as I now have 645hours on it without issue. If you want a large frame and no emissions a T2515 is a 25Hp large frame tractor that still lifts 2200# on FEL. And would do most things just fine. Can be found for $20k new or less if you look.

 

[anomad]

One good way to get a feel for prices is to watch dealer inventory of used tractors.

This dealer isn't in your area, but they sell a lot of tractors and have a good YouTube channel.

Used Tractors

Tractors

messicks.com

 

[airbiscuit]

We can better help if we know your location