Recomendations for a used tractor

tractorsrule · Oct 15, 2013

Hello everyone. I will be in the market next summer for a used tractor to run my 5 ft rotary cutter, which weighs a little over 500 lbs. My current tractor is a John Deere 2305 and it is definitely too small. I am looking at something with decent ground clearance, 30-40 HP, gas or diesel, independent or live PTO, and bar tread ''ag'' tires, 2wd. I want something that you can still get parts for. Brands in no particular order: Ford, MF, JD, IH. Will be brush hogging about 3 acres flat land 3x per year. looking for model numbers of various tractors and looking to spend up to $6000. Thanks!

GManBart · Oct 15, 2013

You can definitely find something from any of the brands you mentioned. I went through a similar list not long ago, and wound up with my MF241, which is essentially the same as a 231S (two different factories, same basic machine), but that's a touch more than you're looking for in size/power. I think you could find a sweet MF135 for well under $6K. Other models to consider would be the 231 or 235...those seem to run in the $5-6K range. A 231S or 241 would be more like $7K (what I paid for mine). Any of those would do exactly what you're looking for. I bought mine from a guy in Beach City, OH, and he must have some sort of hookup with an MF dealer down south a bit....he has them on Ebay regularly. I visited his place, and ran the tractor while he wasn't even there, which was nice.

Here's some inspiration:

tractorsrule · Oct 15, 2013

I have been eyeing a Massey 230 that looks new in the pics. They want $5500. Can you get parts for the Perkins? I really like the MF tractors. I hope that it is still available when I am ready to buy next summer.Your tractor looks great!