Universal Romanian tractor Qs

[canucklehead]

My elderly neighbour recently passed and I am looking at buying his enclosed cab tractor from his estate. I know it is made in Romania and he bought it brand new locally. Will most likely have low hours as it was used on small hobby farm. Reasonably well-maintained and kept indoors. He told me they used a lot of other tractor manufacturer parts in assembly which is why I thought he called it an International tractor. I will try to find model number so people can better advise. A little bigger than typical CUT tractors I'm used to, probably 50-75HP size. Mainly I'm wanting enclosed cab and bigger/HD boom. My concerns are parts availability and establishing fair price. I am in Pacific NW but on the Canada side of border. JD, Kubota, Kioti, Mahindra would all be around $40K Cdn for something similar but the moment you step away from known brand name prices are blurred. I suppose it is the same when you buy this stuff brand new; some of the Chinese stuff like Jinma is half price or less but way worse on the re-sale as quality and part supply issues become publicized. Read some trash on these in general but some also seemed to have success; I'm sure it is model-dependent. I'm guessing it should be priced in the 20s but maybe that is too low if it is low hour. Any thoughts or feedback appreciated. thnx.

 

[rScotty]

Did you know him well enough to be able to speculate on why he bought it? It might have been price - like Jimna... or it might have been that he felt that it was ahead of the rest of the world mechanically. Some European tractors are that good....though not all.

My own opinion is that several of the European design tractors that are good are way ahead of what we are being offered in the States. And some of the large farmers are beginning to see that. You see more Fendt tractors, for example.

I wouldn't worry too much about spare parts. Tractors are made to last a long time and most do. We all bet on tractors being reliable, and they are. Most need nothing but fuel and lube for many, many years. I'd say that if it runs good, it could be a bet worth taking. For me the more interesting question - and one that could tells the story - is knowing why your neighbor bought it originally.

rScotty

 

[jeff9366]

My]He told me they used a lot of other tractor manufacturer parts in assembly which is why I thought he called it an International tractor.

Possibly a Universal (brand) tractor?

romanian tractors

TractorData.com - UTB/Universal farm tractors sorted by model

www.tractordata.com

 

[Torvy]

I am in Pacific NW but on the Canada side of the border...

Pretty sure that makes you in the Pacific SW.

 

[canucklehead]

I knew him very well. He came from Slovakia in '68 when many left the country during political turmoil. He worked in heavy equipment fabrication outfitting big stuff to work in the logging industry. He made this backhoe attachment for the Ford 1500 I now own. We modified it to fit my 1962 IH B414, as seen in pic. Too bad becuz I bought the Ford from him years after this set up was sold. On the one hand he was brilliant with this stuff but could also be a little frugal. Pretty sure he thought the Universal was well built/desgined but new price would have been big factor too.

 

[canucklehead]

too funny Torvy, i totally agree with you but when I cross the border everyone still thinks the Canada side is PNW. For us that would be more like Arctic Circle/North Pole vicinity!

 

[canucklehead]

thanks jeff9366, I looked at some of that too. I guess I need to pin down the model number and decide from there. It is red cab style but box-ier looking, not the curved edges of the newer looking designs. I'm thinking it would have been 90s when he got it. There was a local, good backyard tractor mechanic that refused to work on Jinma and couldn't say enuf bad about them. Also saw Jinma selling cheap with low hours soon after they broke onto the cheap tractor scene. I wanted to make sure I wasn't travelling down that road with this Romanian unit. Eastern Euro tends to make me nervous.

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[m1garand762]

90s, red and boxy has me thinking is may be a Belarus

 

[Wolfy]

I would certainly call it a gamble but if the price is right, go for it. Your odds of winning at scratch tickets are probably no better.

 

[canucklehead]

I will get model # and a bit more info, right now what I'm asking is like..."how long is a piece of string". I need to know hrs, HP, model then we can talk price and if I stay or run.