Comparison Which to buy>>>Old Kubota L3750HDT Vs newer L3200HST

[newbury]

Oh yes the older on is 4WD..manual with HST I think....engine in great condition.

I'm confused - Gear or HST, can't be both. Could be gear with shuttle shift.

thanks all....it has been interesting. So the service manager told me....he was not sure this was the tractor for me....when I asked why he said that it would require more upkeep then a newer one due to its age. 1989. I replied I could commit to regular maintenance and he gave me a look like....keep looking. So...I talked to sales and said I was having second thoughts....but wondered if with my budget of 16,000 would I find the perfect 40-45 HP tractor in this price range that can do medium to intense harvesting work...and compact enough for fencing.....building...brush hogging etc...FEL work.
I only need another 15 -20 years of good work out out it...so am I dreaming....

Did you tell him you only expect to work it for 150 hours/year? Did he seem like he was trying to protect you? He might have seen something while they were repairing that he was not a liberty to tell you that will cost thousands in the near future.
You should have stated the $16K budget earlier.

So...are you thinking I should expect a 1989 which is now 17 years old will be good for another 15-20. I will probably put 150 hours a year

Yup

The info on the L3750 HDT I set of remotes, FEL, 70% tire, serviced recently complete chases service including seals and bearing where needed and replaced clutch. The dealer willing to install a shade top attached to to ROPS. 1900 hours.
L3400DT- FEL, no remotes, 430 hours

Just before (in 2013) I bought my M4700 for $11.5K (before taxes) I looked at a pair of 3750's a guy was selling for $8K. But they both needed new tires all around and lot's of hoses to replace.

Around my areas (Northeast Mississippi and Northeast Virginia) that size tractor is the mainstay of Public Works, with Kubota, John Deere, Ford being the most found. A lot of them see what I would call moderate use, several hundred hours/year, and are "retired" before being really broke down and sold at auction. Also they seem to be maintained very well. My '95 M4700 was primarily used for mowing the side of roads but only had 1400 hrs on it after 18 years of use..

The 3750 you are looking at reads like it is in this category.

It doesn't read like a great bargain, and with the advice of the repair manager it might need some significant work.

However in your area there might also be "harvest" tractors seasonably available.

Look a little longer, the deals will start coming up as the days get shorter.

 

[Fallon]

The L3200 & L3400 are pretty much the same machine. Same frame & about the same HP given the L3400 is a hair older.

I have a L3200 HST here in Parker, CO (basically Denver). Power is fine. I occasionally wish for some more HP, but not often. The HST eats up 15% of your HP but is so worth it.

Weight defines what a tractor can do. HP just defines how fast it will do it.

Personally I don't hay, but have heard 3,000 series tractors aren't big enough to do hay. Mine will barely lift a big bale & you need weight & HP to wrangle a baler.

 

[motownbrowne]

So...are you thinking I should expect a 1989 which is now 17 years old will be good for another 15-20. I will probably put 150 hours a year

Might want to recheck that math...

1989 wasn't 17 years ago, it was 27 years ago.

Age wouldn't bother me personally, if it was well maintained. Like has been mentioned, there's lots of tractors from the 60s and 70s still in active service around the country.

 

[varmint]

Tough call... and lots of solid comments, about age, hours, weight benefits, power benefits, and so forth. The 3750 still sounds more interesting, and I have a cherry 3400. But, I haven't seen either one. Maybe the mechanic can be more specific with some coaxing? Or maybe he has a friend he wants to save it for? I do like the extra power and weight... and a remote can be very useful.

On the other hand, it is 27 years old, the L3400 HST is a nice, versatile machine, and 430 hours is nothing if it was maintained. More likely to go the 15-20 years, I suppose. If you are like a lot of us, you'll love having the HST tranny, if that's what the L3400 has. Check the 3 point hitch with a load on it for jerky operation... if it seems okay, or it doesn't bother you, then it probably is fine. Sometimes the PTO engagement cable needs adjustment, no big deal. The 3750's loader is reportedly rated to lift 1980 lbs., no idea about the bucket's width, but my 3400's 60" bucket seems tiny compared to the 72" bucket on our old L3130 when I am gathering a load of firewood.

 

[DHwalker]

Hey all...I have been so...busy haying I have not made up my mind yet.
So any more ideas out there. Old or new/ Med size or small.Clutch or not.
Has anyone cut 60 acres of grass mix...with a drum mower 6 foot....will the smaller L3400 or L3200 handle it.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I don't hay, so I can't help you there. But an L3200 or L3400 sounds awfully small for 60 acres of hay. I do know enough about hay to know that once it's cut, when it's time to bale you have a limited window to get it done while it's at the right moisture content. I'd want a big enough tractor to get it done in a reasonable time period.

But on the L3750, it sounds like the service manager knows something(s) about that tractor that he can't just come out and say. I think he's trying to tell you that they fixed everything that HAD to be fixed, but there may be more work to do in the future. I may be wrong, but that's what it sounds like to me.

Properly maintained during its lifetime, those old Kubotas will run forever. But anything can be abused or neglected to the point that little niggling problems pop up all the time - most of them at exactly the wrong time.

I'd keep looking.

 

[kthompson]

If possible talk with the person who owned any used tractor. Great advice, never have used it and so far with buying three used machines have been able to fully depend on the dealership and that is three different brands and three different dealerships. If you are dealing with a dealership who will be servicing most likely will tell it like it is. They value their reputation.