Buying Advice The money sense of tractor buying

[whirly]

I have to laugh

If I 1) wake up and 2) can get vertical, my day started out perfectly. No matter where you are physically, as long as your day starts ... it's better than the alternative in my book.

Now lets all stop complaining about stuff we can't do anything about. It's sooooo depressing.

[whirly]

Not complaining, just musing.

And then this thread turns into a pity party.

I was trying to tweek your nose to stop this from doing just that. I know ...
not my job
Got it

[Gary Fowler]

As an update. Finally went back to the Mahindra dealer. Cannot do the deal I wanted for the 4010 (12K and my JD 750 w/1400 hrs) Most tractor I can buy is the 3016 shuttle with loaded R1's for that money ($16995 cash price). Wife did not give me the grief I expected. Might have something to do with my back being out these last couple of days and having to literally dismount from my JD as if it is a set of parallel bars. That suspension seat was real nice on the 4010 so I am a bit disappointed. These things (tractors) seem to have escalated in price these days.

Maybe you should price an LS tractor as they tend to be cheaper and have more options than Mahindra or the other brands and a better warranty than some with a 2 year bumper to bumper and 5 year power train.

[meburdick]

The alternative, from a pure cost perspective, is to understand the following:

- How much could you sell the existing machine for?
- After said sale, how much cash would you have in hand after paying off any outstanding liens?
- With no machine, how much would it cost you to pay someone to remove snow? Mow grass? Gather / deliver firewood?
- If you add together your cash from the sale along with extra you would invest into a larger machine, how may times could you have wood delivered, snow removed, and the grass mowed before you would be spending additional money?

Early on, owning your own machine makes great financial sense because you save year-over-year and it puts / keeps money in your pocket. When you reach a point where you either need to spend a lot of money on a new machine or you simply can't be abusing your body to run that machine, paying someone else from the pool of money you saved over the years starts to make sense.

I bought a $25k machine to save about $3k per year in heating costs. The machine should have been closer to about $18k, but I opted to also mow and remove snow with it (mowing deck, snowblower). After running it for five years, I will have saved about $15k in heating costs. The machine will still be worth $15k, and I would end up having spent $10k to save $15k - a net of $5k to me. After ten years, the math changes ($30k saved, $10k residual, $15k spent overall) more in my favor.

At some point, I will sell the big machine and buy something a lot smaller to mow and remove snow only. I'll have have saved well over $20k by then, and will have to spend it to have others do some of that work for me. In the end, I'll come a lot closer to break-even than the people that don't do the work themselves, and that helps "my bottom line".

[sixdogs]

Good ponts, meburdick. I will add that much of my machinery was "free" over the years by virtue of using it for our used or new home use and projects that I would have had to pay others for. In a rural environment and several homes/farms over the years, it can really add up.
In the broadest of senses you could argue otherwise on assumed investment return from other places and potential liability but I would still had to shell out for work to be done. As well, I am certain some of our projects enhanced the value of things later sold for more than we could have otherwise.

Tractors don't cost, they pay

[arrow]

The alternative, from a pure cost perspective, is to understand the following:

- How much could you sell the existing machine for?
- After said sale, how much cash would you have in hand after paying off any outstanding liens?
- With no machine, how much would it cost you to pay someone to remove snow? Mow grass? Gather / deliver firewood?
- If you add together your cash from the sale along with extra you would invest into a larger machine, how may times could you have wood delivered, snow removed, and the grass mowed before you would be spending additional money?

Early on, owning your own machine makes great financial sense because you save year-over-year and it puts / keeps money in your pocket. When you reach a point where you either need to spend a lot of money on a new machine or you simply can't be abusing your body to run that machine, paying someone else from the pool of money you saved over the years starts to make sense.

I bought a $25k machine to save about $3k per year in heating costs. The machine should have been closer to about $18k, but I opted to also mow and remove snow with it (mowing deck, snowblower). After running it for five years, I will have saved about $15k in heating costs. The machine will still be worth $15k, and I would end up having spent $10k to save $15k - a net of $5k to me. After ten years, the math changes ($30k saved, $10k residual, $15k spent overall) more in my favor.

At some point, I will sell the big machine and buy something a lot smaller to mow and remove snow only. I'll have have saved well over $20k by then, and will have to spend it to have others do some of that work for me. In the end, I'll come a lot closer to break-even than the people that don't do the work themselves, and that helps "my bottom line".

Very sensible and sound post. I am the stubborn ,independent type and for that, I can't put a price tag on because my wife says I'm priceless. (I'm not sure she means in a good way)