Hi Tabby-
Welcome to TBN. When I bought my used Ford 1520 about a year ago, it had 700 hours on it. Since it is a 1995 model, that works out to about 100 hours a year that the previous owner used it. I know he used a finish mower, but I don't know how much property he mowed or what else he used the tractor for.
I have put 150 hours on it in about a year's time. This was just cleaning horse pens, doing some gravel work on driveways, cutting and hauling firewood, re-doing some of the landscaping around the house, clearing snow from a 450 ft driveway and parking area, etc. We have 19 acres, and recently cleared about 5 acres (hired a big rig to do the clearing). Haven't yet started mowing the pasture.
For a "Weekend Warrior" to use the tractor an average of two hours every weekend, you would be looking at 104 hours per year. Those lucky enough to work close to home and have time to use the tractor in the evenings or in their work will put on more hours.
However, the real issue is how well the owner kept up the maintenance (changing oil, filters, hydraulic fluid, and fixing the little things right away before they get more serious). A desiel engine with 500 to 1000 hours on it ishould be just getting broken in if the maintenance has been performed on time.
As for hours vs. price, there are a lot of other variables, such as geographic location, brand loyalty, personal preference, appearance (was it parked outside or kept garaged when not in use?), etc. Probably not much help, but keep reading the stuff in this forum and buy Muhammad's book if you want to learn before you buy. It is packed with good information for new tractor buffs. Shopping and learning is part of the fun. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif (even if it can be mind-boggling at times /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif).