A friend of mine bought one new, and as far as I know, they still have it. If it had been a problem child, it would have been long gone. I have heard them to be known as the silver equivalent to a John Deere 4020.
I do believe they were built in Charles City Iowa. Parts should still be available through an AGCO dealer.
That one looks to be well taken care of. A lot depends on the hours... I'd guess 5-6,000 hrs run time, before a major overhaul is needed. That Perkins is a good ole' engine...
Weren't they made by GM? Before agco bought them? Seems like I've read that some where? That is a good looking tractor tho! What's the asking price and how many hours are on it?
I know several row crop farmers that have them around here, mostly they run an auger or a batwing now, some folks still use them as field tractors but most farmers have gone bigger in horsepower and this is the small tractor of the farm. On cattle farms they are still in use quite a bit with a baler and/or conditioner mower They seem to be built pretty solid, no major problems if taken care of and pretty dependable. For $8500 it sounds on the low side but it may just be your area too.