373 hours, a lot or not?

[Benzark]

I am a rank newbie, but I have been looking for a tractor to help me out around my place. Just 10.4 acres, mostly hilly and wooded, some level and cleared.

I have looked at a Century at a local dealer (model 2535) for about $15,500 with FEL.

A neighbor recently told me he wanted to sell his 2003 Case DX 25 with FEL and hydrostatic transmission, for whatever he still owed on it... ( about $11,000)

It has 373 hours on it, which he says is not much, because most of the time it is just sitting and idling, and not working.

It appears to be in "fairly" good shape physically, some fading from sitting out in the sun.

But this seems like a lot of hours to me.

Thanks!

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( this seems like a lot of hours to me )</font>

Many homeowners only put about 100 hours a year on a tractor, but for any farmer, 373 hours would hardly be considered broken in yet. Until it gets 10 times that many hours on it, I wouldn't start thinking it's got a lot of hours on it. That one's still almost new.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

I have a Cub Cadet that is closing in on 7 years old and i have only 251 hours on it. Hours are relative. On a diesel engine, this is nothing if it has been taken care of. If it has been left outside for 7 years and never been greased or had the oil changed, then you may be looking at some maintenance costs...

 

[KennyV]

Hi …
That like Bird said that is not bad for hours… The price, I don’t know, you will have to check what a used DX is going for. If the price is close to right, you may have a great chance to buy a tractor knowing its history. Your neighbor, unless he is moving, will likely be honest about it. He most likely will let you try it out at your place to see if it is up to your expectations.

I’m getting closer to triple those hours on my Kubota… and I still think of it as new. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif KennyV.

 

[Jimbrown]

I have 280 hours on mine it is about 14 months old. I would consider 373 hours as nothing. Try this compared to a car
avg speed 45mph X 373hours= 16,785 miles

 

[Benzark]

Thanks for the replies. That is a good point about whether the tractor is up to the work, since he has been using it on very similar terrain to what I have.

He is not a farmer, just another homeowner. I know he used it a lot with a log splitter, as he heats a large home primarily with wood. He has already sold off all the attachments at a moving auction. He is leaving the area, but I have known him for many years. His family is not really known for how well they take care of their equipment. This is his second compact tractor, as the first one apparently was not up to the job, and hard for find parts for.

I don't know where to find out the value of a used tractor, and I was a little worried that he might owe more on it than it was worth. I know that happens with used cars a lot.

Thanks again!
Benzark

 

[Golfgar4]

Try MachineryLink to see if you can get a value on this tractor.

You might also want to take a look at the maintenance records of it. And if possible, talk to the dealer that serviced it (if it was serviced at a dealer).

Good luck. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DUMBDOG]

The machinery link does not show a 2003, just a 2001 2 or 4 whl drive.

The lowest value listed which is fair condition is 12,915 and this value does not include a loader for the 4 whl drive. This value does seem kind of high considering the price of the new ones, you should be able to pick up a brand new one for not a lot more money than this, however the models have changed.

 

[PineRidge]

I wouldn't lose 5 minutes sleep over 373 hours. I'm not a farmer, (some have called me worse) but I do have 350+ hours on a one year old TC-40D SS but then we use it around here almost on a daily basis. As long as the tractor that you are looking at has been maintained and the price suits you then I say, go for it.

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> It has 373 hours on it, which he says is not much, because most of the time it is just sitting and idling, and not working. </font>

Like everyone said, 373 hours is nothing really.

I have 530 hours on my larger tractor in just over two years.

One thing that I wonder is if that tractor has an hour meter that is tach driven, or one that counts real time hours. If it a tach driven hour meter, than it could have taken two or three real time hours at idle to put one hour on the clock.

Still, those those 373 hours are nothing really...that is LOW hours, not a lot of hours...