[WarrenF]

You know what, people are asking this question all the time. Tell you what you should do. Buy the largest horsepower tractor, that fits your land area, your budget will afford. You will always cuss yourself for not having enough horsepower, but NEVER cuss yourself for having plenty of horsepower.

If that is a good used tractor, then buy the good used tractor. Let someone else take the depreciation, if any, on your purchase. With plenty of horsepower you can get bigger equipment. Buy a six foot mower...if you have enough horsepower and budget works....buy an eight foot mower.

The old saying is this, "the quickest way to ruin a tractor is put a front end loader on it." That is what oldtimers will tell you. As far as four wheel drive, unless you are really working the thing in wet slick soil or need the traction to pull an implement....I think it is just something more to go wrong. I plow snow with my good old used UGLY tractor and it does not have four wheel drive.

I personally don't want to have to fork up the money to have someone repair a Hydrostatic drive transmission. That is why I like the old manual transmission. As far as shifting on the go.......I do!! It just depends on what you are pulling and how familiar you are with shifting transmissions. But I started driving anything and everything when I was 9 years old.....and my Daddy would chew me out for grinding gears.

I think too many people get too caught up in all the bells and whistles on these new tractors....get one that you will not be afraid to get alllllllll dirty....and you won't be upset if you scrape some paint off of it because you are working it.