Buying Advice First Tractor - Which way to go?

[blucoondawg]

I'll throw in my 2 cents, if I were in your situation with money being somewhat of an issue I would look hard at the used market for now, there's plenty of used tractor around, just might take a while to find one in your area. A well kept tractor will hold its value quite well especially if you can find a deal on one of the major brands, then someday if you want trade on a new model.
In respect to which tractor you should get I would make weight a more important criteria than HP. Everyone focuses on the HP but these days more HP comes in increasingly smaller packages and if you don't have enough weight you won't get enough traction to use that HP you will just spin your tires. With 100 acres and potential farming operations I would forget about mowing lawn, any tractor that's that small to me starts to become useless in the bigger tasks. I would look for something absolute minimum of a 30 HP in the newer 4x4 type tractor but that is absolute minimum I would prefer something in the 40-50 horse range simply because it will give you a much heavier and more capable tractor. I have a dk50se kioti and it gets around woods very well and has a very good lift ability and also is a good heavy tractor.
If you go with an older tractor often times they are much heavier at a lower hp. For example my old allis Chalmers c is only around 20hp but weighs 2500lbs and it is a good workhorse as far as pulling logs and they were also able to pull a 2 bottom plow, nowadays if you buy a 20hp tractor it will be scarcely larger than a riding lawn mower and its ability is going to be greatly diminished due to lack of weight.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Very good post Blucoondawg. A lot of truth in it that many today just don't understand.

 

[TJP89]

I really can't add too much to what's been said, but here's my $.02.

A newer used 4WD, loader tractor, (at least shuttle shift), in the 3000 to 4000 pound range is great, but you may have a project you don't know about. I have a 1950s H that I use to mow and as a backup tractor, most of the time it works great, but it took 6 months and another 2 or 3K to get working correctly after I bought it. It was also just down for a week while we did spring tuneup on it and the mower deck (unforeseen complications). The Kioti was down for half a day when we did the 100hr service. Point is even a well maintained older tractor can be a bear, but often a good one can be found. As someone said, a 30HP tractor from the 1970s that weighs 4000# is going to have a lot more pulling power than one would think 30HP is possible.

Don't rule out new. LS makes some nice basic tractors for a low price, but they are light weight wise, not desirable. Kioti makes the DS series, which is the basic tractor in a basic brand. Heavy, very straightforward, decent specs, low price. Might push your 15K budget a little with implements and such, but well worth it. I'd definitely take a look if I were you. If you get a new tractor, make sure it weighs enough, some are featherweights and won't have any traction.

Don't get a 2WD tractor, the traction sucks. I was grading yesterday, just pushing some dirt around with a rear blade in MED 2WD, and the tractor just started spinning the wheels. Put it in 4WD and all problems stopped. Its even more apparent in the winter on snow. I slid (in 2WD) the neighbor's 4000# JD in a ditch one winter, put it in 4WD and drove right out. Decided right there that I would never buy a car or tractor without AWD or 4WD.

One last thought. If you get a smaller tractor with a loader now, don't worry about it not being big enough to handle farming chores. If you want to hay or something down the road you can get a bigger high HP older tractor to pull a mower or baler at some point down the road. If you want to run a bigger farm operation you will probably need more than one machine anyway.

 

[bumperm]

If you have money to pay cash for a new tractor, then that's an appealing option, I would never finance a new one - but that's just me, I don't like debt, most especially for things that aren't primary necessities like real property. Even with a "Zero Interest", there is no such thing as a cost free loan, if that's in the offing, then paying cash would get you a bigger discount off the asking price. A new Kubota can be had for at least 15% off retail. Arguably, you can get much more value for your dollar buying used. I recently bought a new B3350, but I wanted that specific tractor, even though it was Tier 4. In retrospect, I should have purchased the B2650 without the DPF. The Tier 4 equipment on the new tractors over 26 hp, an added reason to go used. I also purchased a 3 year old TLB with 70 hours for half the cost of a new one (admittedly that was a smoking deal and had been on Craigslist for less than an hour - she had 7 callers between when I called and when I picked up the tractor - including one who offered $500 over her asking price! Deals are out there but you may have to be "on it". Warning: If a deal looks too good, there's a strong likelihood it's a scam - small tractors sales offers are rife with fraud.

Even though good used tractors tend to hold their value well, just like cars, when you drive one off the lot there's a big initial depreciation hit. The best value will be had by shopping judiciously, being informed, patient, and buying used. Note that some of the manufactures do final assembly of their tractors in the US, that may mean putting the wheels on here :c) . . . with few exceptions, most of the machine is made and assembled in either India, China, S. Korea, or Japan. There's good tractors from all, but there's also a few losers with poor engineering in specific areas (search on line with make, model and words like "problems" or "issues" for any used tractor you are considering). Unlike autos, the tractor mfg's don't always stand behind what they sell well or for long, some are better than others though, and a good dealer can help.

 

[blucoondawg]

I almost forgot about the craigslist scammers, really watch out for that sort of thing and really pay attention to the phone conversation, if they are trying to get too much info from you or giving you a line of bs that you can't look at the tractor because it is currently in Montana at their brother in law's ranch but they will ship it to you for free and give you a smoking hot deal of $5000 for a 3 year old 4wd 30hp tractor loader with a box blade and brush hog, if you see that it's definitely a scam. You would think one would have to be a moron to bite on that but those ads are out there. I've also seen the same ad for the same tractor with the same photos posted in cities all over the country with a ridiculous low price, John Deere compact tractor $4200. Scammers love craigslist.

 

[mason156]

Thanks to all for the advice. While there are a few exceptions, most people's recommendations appear more similar than different. The advice has moved me towards a bigger tractor, which has been a consistent message with everyone I have talked to. The only thing about shopping the used market that scares me is my lack of experience. I have patience, though, and I am not afraid to ask alot of questions. We'll see.

If I make any headway I will likely be back to review my options. My wife is all for it, which always helps.

I really do appreciate all the good advice. Thank You!

Steve

 

[mason156]

Thanks to all for the advice. While there are a few exceptions, most people's recommendations appear more similar than different. The advice has moved me towards a bigger tractor, which has been a consistent message with everyone I have talked to. The only thing about shopping the used market that scares me is my lack of experience. I have patience, though, and I am not afraid to ask alot of questions. We'll see.

If I make any headway I will likely be back to review my options. My wife is all for it, which always helps.

I really do appreciate all the good advice. Thank You!

Steve

 

[blucoondawg]

In shopping around utilize the website tractordata.com, put in the make and model and it will come up with all the specs so you know exactly what your looking at, it's hard to judge from looking at them and some owners simply don't know about the weight and HP or engine HP vs PTO HP. Decide which implements you will possibly be using then look to see what the PTO HP requirement is for them then look for a tractor with both good weight and PTO HP to run your equipment. When you find something for sale ask around on here about that model and folks with experience can likely give you their opinion or what to look out for.

 

[TSO]

In shopping around utilize the website tractordata.com, put in the make and model and it will come up with all the specs so you know exactly what your looking at, it's hard to judge from looking at them and some owners simply don't know about the weight and HP or engine HP vs PTO HP. Decide which implements you will possibly be using then look to see what the PTO HP requirement is for them then look for a tractor with both good weight and PTO HP to run your equipment. When you find something for sale ask around on here about that model and folks with experience can likely give you their opinion or what to look out for.

Just be careful with TractorData ... Their numbers aren't always accurate

 

[GManBart]

Don't rule out new. LS makes some nice basic tractors for a low price, but they are light weight wise, not desirable. Kioti makes the DS series, which is the basic tractor in a basic brand. Heavy, very straightforward, decent specs, low price. Might push your 15K budget a little with implements and such, but well worth it. I'd definitely take a look if I were you. If you get a new tractor, make sure it weighs enough, some are featherweights and won't have any traction.

I don't know where you got the idea that LS makes tractors that are light weight....that is simply untrue. For comparison look at 40-45hp models from LS and Kiot. Take an LS XR4040H and the Kioti DS 4510 you mentioned (they don't make a 40hp version) and then throw in a Kioti NX 4510 which has all the extra bells and whistles that should add weight.

The LS weighs 3,870lbs. The DS4510 weighs 3,527lbs. The NX4510 weighs 4,057lbs.

If you were to look at some similar sized machines from other brands they would be even lighter (Kubota, for certain).