What to look for when buying used

[Farmhog29]

Hi, I'm a newbie here. We've recently bought our first farm ~ 26 acres, half in pasture half in forest with rolling hills. We are looking at tractors, not sure whether to go new or used. New is expensive but aside from being a moderately experienced tractor driver I have zero experience with tractor maintenance or issues and used makes us nervous. We found 2 Kubota M4900's not too far from us but we don't know what to look for when evaluating a used tractor and are a little concerned to shell out over $15K on a used tractor only to discover it's about to fall apart. If there's a thread that gives guidance on this I'd love to read it, below are details of the tractors we found. Can you all provide any advice on questions to be asking, issues to look for or maintenance that should have been performed / might need to be performed in the not too distant future or if hours/price is out of line? Oh and the work we need to do with the future tractor is move round bales +1000lbs, bushog pastures, maintain .25 mile gravel drive & clear the 1 or 2 snowfalls a year. Probably also clean up debris in the front 2-4 acres where an old hog farming operation was, repair/maintain no climb fencing & posts & possibly fertilize/seed/ maintain pastures.

Tractor 1
M4900 ~1000 hours, stored in doors, advertised as regular oil changes, canopy, FEL, 2 rear hydraulic switches, asking $17K
Tractor 2
M4900 ~2500 hours, stored outside, dealer sale, when asked the dealer said "it was a local owner and I think she kept up with it" regarding maintenance & fluid changes, no obvious leaking from what I could tell where hydraulic lines connected, not sure how/where all to look and what exactly to look for. FEL, canopy, rear tires are showing signs of dry rot, $17.9K

Thanks in advance!

 

[WVH1977]

I have 2 friends who have older Kubotas. They are the roughest tractor owners I know. They beat them things into the dirt and not too sure what kind of maintenance if any they do on them. They both have a gozillian hours on them and start and run every time. From the two you have posted I would go with the 1000 hour one.

I am not sure where you are in VA, but in Orange there are 3 tractor dealers right next to each other. There are also 3 dealers in Ashland, VA within two miles of each other. I also believe there is a Kioti dealer in Louisa VA. I would visit all these dealers if they are somewhat in your area. All of these places are big dealerships with lots of inventory. Just take your time looking and check out as many different tractors as you can. If you have any other questions just ask.

By the way, congrats on the 26 acres.

 

[Goose69]

For that kind of money I would look to buy new.
Yes, I know buying new may be more money up front, but if you shop around, there are lots of good deals on new tractors. And lots of great financing deals as well. Also if you have dealers close by, check out any brands that you can, as pricing and features can vary greatly.
I grew up farming, and we recently bought land to start farming again. I have a lot of old equipment... But bought my tractor new. Dealing with tractor troubles can be extremely frustrating, when you are trying to get hay in before the rain..
Just a thought

 

[motownbrowne]

The hours wouldn't scare me away from either one of them. I'd suggest that if buying and operating equipment is new to you, you hire a competent mechanic to come with you for an afternoon and look at both machines. They'll be able to tell you which is in better condition and has been properly maintained.

One thing I'd really want to look at is the condition of the loader and pins. There's a right way and a wrong way to use a tractor with a loader. A loader with beat up pins and a bent up bucket may very well have been used the wrong way, and damage may have been done to other parts of the tractor, primarily the front axle. Other than that, see how easily they start up cold, make sure they run out nicely and don't stumble under load or anything like that. Check for leaks and look closely at tires. Having to replace 4 tires on that size machine is not cheap.

 

[Farmhog29]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't realize there was a kioti dealer in Louisa, it's not too far from us, we'll have to stop in there. And the 26 acres is great��

We've looked at new, I just balk at putting $30+k down on a tractor when I know there are perfectly good used ones out there, I just couldn't distinguish them from the had ones��. If we go new we'd wait a year before buying which is fine but we're itching to buy now since projects a tractor could help with seem to be endless, if not required at the moment.

It also sounds like we need to visit all our local dealers to see what they can do for us new or used. I'd thought of bringing a few farmer friends with us to look but trying to find free time from them is impossible. I didn't think about finding a mechanic, or paying someone, which is a good idea. Thanks also for things to look for on the tractor, motownbrowne.

Based on what I've seen it looks like anything new ~45hp with 4x4, FEL, rotary cutter and box blade is going to be upwards of $30k, used we should be able to get for around $20 or less does that sound like a fair assessment or are we expecting too much used?

 

[Goose69]

Visiting all the dealers to look at new and used units is a great idea.!!
Also if you decide to buy used at a dealer, you can probably get them to give you some sort of warranty on it.
As far as pricing, it can vary widely by geographical area, but if you find a tractor package you like, just look it up online and see what other dealers are selling it for.
I took my phone in and showed the salesman a package price from a different dealer... He said he could beat their advertised "lowest in the nation" price by $400.

 

[Turbys_1700]

It is really a crap shoot to some extent when buying used. Even if the unit was kept up anything can break. Fortunately the tractors you are looking at are extremely reliable.

I would run the unit checking for blow by. Check the air filter and all hydraulic functions. Drive the unit and look to see if it smokes. What condition are the tires? How are the brakes?

We just sold my dad's old 8050 Allis Chalmers. Had a tick over 4600 hours on it. Tractor was in good mechanical shape. Our tractors have always been in the dry and maintained. It was a two owner tractor that was originally used to run a water pump for irrigation. When the new owners tried the tractor out the first time everything went well. The second time the air conditioner compressor locked up. Stuff happens.

In your case just do due diligence and get a used tractor if you want to save a little coin. I bought a two owner Ford 4610 SU couple years ago with 2900 hours on it. I had to take the guys word for it that it was in good shape but I did do a run down on the unit before purchase. Runs like a top. I did have to replace a fuel sending unit that I was aware of when purchasing.

 

[Small farn Hay]

Either would be great. I'd have the first service at a dealer. No leaks, pto doesn't turn slowly when off, fel doesn't sag when not running, even under moderate load. I wouldn't buy 2WD, unless bigger and heavier, and even then much fel work and their weakness becomes obvious. I've run a small Kubota for 14 years, never been to the shop except for maintenance, worked it above it's stated capacity at times, moved rocks it couldn't lift by pushing and tipping. Moved hundreds of yards of material, trees, and over 2 feet of snow this past winter. Other good tractors are out there but Kubota quality (and higher initial cost) pays for itself in lack of repairs, down time and frustration.

 

[PILOON]

If you buy used from a dealer generally, while perhaps more pricey, you should be safe as he has a reputation to protect plus generally a guarantee of some sort will be included.

From a private source I'd suggest getting a competent mechanic to check out your purchase, Cheap insurance!
Often U can even get the dealer* to provide a mechanic for that task at probably 1-2 hrs of their shop rate.

*Have done that in the past and saved me $1500 when I purchased a dozer.

As an aircraft licensed mechanic I frequently provided that service for potential buyers and trust me I often saved my clients serious dollars. (aviation has lots of SB,s and recalls many related to SN's)

 

[LRover]

Hello fellow Virginian. Congrats on your land purchase. Like you, I have about the same amount of land, half in pasture for horses and half in woods. I am maintaining it with a 35hp 4wd tractor with power to spare, doing about the same chores you listed. Even though I originally was going to replace my faithful but tired Kubota with a newer Kubota model, it seems like orange and green tractors are usually priced higher in my area of VA than other models. After shopping around this past winter, I found my used open station Massey Ferguson with FEL etc and with just 300 hours in the Shenandoah Valley at a used tractor dealer for under $16000. I'm very happy with my purchase and I have had excellent customer service from the Massey Ferguson dealer in Orange where I have gone to buy supplies and a backhoe attachment. Decide on the features you want with your tractor and shop around different brands of tractor. Think about how many hours you will put on the tractor a year and how long you plan on keeping it until you replace it. That will help with the hours decision. Good Luck on your search.