Engine Hours - What Are They Worth?

[savaytse66]

I'm in the beginning stages of shopping for a new tractor (my first "real" tractor), and I'm not sure how much weight I should put on engine hours when looking at used machines. I started out thinking a new BX1860 was the machine for me, but I really would like (in other words I don't NEED) a backhoe. So I started looking at used BX23s and BX24s.

On Barlows' web site, they advertise a used 23 and 24 for the same price, but the former has only 100 hours, while the later has 300 hours. If all things were equal, I'm sure I'd opt for the newer model, but what do the additional hours mean? How many hours are too many, and at what point should hours become a determining factor?

For another example, there is a $1,900 difference between two BX24s. Well, slightly less when you consider the less expensive one has a 54" deck and the more expensive one has a 60. The cheaper one is the one with 300 hours, and the more expensive one has 90 hours. So which is the better option assuming everything else is pretty much equal.

I have just over 110 hours on my garden tractor, and if I were buying it from myself, I'd feel like I just bought a new tractor. But I'm also just pushing snow and cutting grass; I'm not doing anything remotely heavy duty.

Any insight is appreciated. I want to be as informed as possible when I make a decision on what to buy.

Thanks!

 

[Reg]

I could argue it either way.
An engine that stands IDLE for long periods could be worse than one that has been used.
Used MODERATELY and these are in the homeowner & small farm category, so I doubt that they have been used/abused for major excavation and construction work (-:

BTW, back hoes on that size tractor don't get used very much and even when they do get used they don't represent much of a load on the tractor.
If you read through the posts on this forum you will see that most of us run hoes just above idle, maybe up to 1500 or 1600 RPM.
It is just a load on the hydraulics, a lot of digging is fairly light picking around roots and stumps or the relatively light scooping of soil from a trench and dumping it.

 

[flusher]

I'm in the beginning stages of shopping for a new tractor (my first "real" tractor), and I'm not sure how much weight I should put on engine hours when looking at used machines. I started out thinking a new BX1860 was the machine for me, but I really would like (in other words I don't NEED) a backhoe. So I started looking at used BX23s and BX24s.

On Barlows' web site, they advertise a used 23 and 24 for the same price, but the former has only 100 hours, while the later has 300 hours. If all things were equal, I'm sure I'd opt for the newer model, but what do the additional hours mean? How many hours are too many, and at what point should hours become a determining factor?

For another example, there is a $1,900 difference between two BX24s. Well, slightly less when you consider the less expensive one has a 54" deck and the more expensive one has a 60. The cheaper one is the one with 300 hours, and the more expensive one has 90 hours. So which is the better option assuming everything else is pretty much equal.

I have just over 110 hours on my garden tractor, and if I were buying it from myself, I'd feel like I just bought a new tractor. But I'm also just pushing snow and cutting grass; I'm not doing anything remotely heavy duty.

Any insight is appreciated. I want to be as informed as possible when I make a decision on what to buy.

Thanks!

Those Kubota engines should run for at least several thousand hours before major service is required---provided the owner performed the scheduled maintenance faithfully. An engine with 300 hours on it is barely broken in.

Get the maintenance records for the used tractor you're interested in. If none are available, then you are on your own.

 

[dodge man]

I put about 125 hours a year on my BX, so you could look at it from that point of view. Maybe 200 hours is a year or two more wear. In your case, I'd buy the BX you like better, which they sound similar expect for the deck size.

 

[Soundguy]

On Barlows' web site, they advertise a used 23 and 24 for the same price, but the former has only 100 hours, while the later has 300 hours. If all things were equal, I'm sure I'd opt for the newer model, but what do the additional hours mean? How many hours are too many, and at what point should hours become a determining factor?


Thanks!

I don't even consider a tractor broke in good till it has 1000 hours on it.. or at least 400-500 over a multi year period if it is only an occasionally used machine.

the larger the tractor, the more hours it has in lifespan usually. IE>.. not uncommon to get 8-10-12K out of a large diesel engine.. vs 4000-6000 out of a mid sized one.

key is care and maintenance the machine saw.

A rookie can ruin a 40K$ machine in a few hours, where a good concerned owner can have a 4000hr machine that is 25 ys old that is otherwise in good to new condition.

soundguy

 

[Diamondpilot]

I agree with what the others said. I put about 125 hours a year on my 28HP Jinma and feel its about average for my type of ownership.

I would take the newer machine if all else is equal as long as its considered a better machine. Check the web for common problems with both first.

Chris

 

[newbury]

Remember on at least SOME of the smaller Kubotas time is relative.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...150221-b7610-hour-meter-tach-revolutions.html

Tis better to have a careful owner and high hours than low hours with no maintenance.

 

[Cruisin]

300 hours is only a few weeks work for a machine working in a commercial application. While not recommended, the reality is, it likely wouldn't hurt anything to run any of these machines 300 hours with no service at all (except greasing the loader and bh). 300 hours is certainly no significant amount of time. The one with 300 hours may have a little more paint scuffing, but other than that, little difference.

 

[roamerr]

100 or 300 hrs -- I consider both the same. Either is really no hours on a kubota diesel.

 

[D7E]

Personally when i look at machines hours and appearance are not as important as mechanical health. With farm tractors there are 3000hr machines that have rareley seen a grease gun or oil change and there are very well maintained 8000hr machines.
Ideally i don't like to buy much over 7000hrs as we chop and change machines quite often and any more than that become hard to sell again as we can soon put 6-800 a year on them and a 10'000 tractor is hard to sell. And you can't always believe the hours tractors get clocked just like cars ..?