Used B2650 Cab

[Subs]

Hi Everyone,

I've been researching and lurking on here for a while and I'm going to pull the trigger on a tractor sometime this summer. It will be the first tractor I've personally owned but I have experience with them through my family and some of the places I've worked.

I recently came across a used B2650 Cab model with a loader and backhoe for a decent price. It's a 2015 with a little over 200 hours on it. I talked to the seller and some reddish flags came up. He is a re-seller and does not have any of the service history, ownership history or paperwork for the unit. I'm assuming it may be an auction unit of some sort. There is a dealer near by that's willing to do a pre-sale inspection on the unit and the seller has verbally agreed to this as well. The dealer also offered to run the serial number on the unit to check the history and gave me some pointers on what to look for when/if I do the initial inspection (like any filters that were originally from the factory will be chassis gray instead of the standard kubota white filters). Here are my questions:

1. What are your thoughts on my red flags with the right kind of inspections?
2. Are there major issues that could be completely hidden given the low hour count?
3. Any other tips like the dealer's suggestion of the gray filters?
4. For the guys and gals that own cab tractors - do you feel like it was worth it? I noticed on the Kubota website, the Cab is about an $8000 dollar premium over the ROPs model. I live in Ohio so hot in the summer, cold in the winter is why I'm leaning towards a cab.

Right now the plan is to make this a once in a lifetime purchase and normally I would gravitate to a new purchase but this one could save me about 15k out of pocket compared to financing new. I'm trying to make this a calculated risk by mitigating some of the red flags.

Thanks in advance for you opinions and suggestions!

 

[looch]

I asked a dealer to quote me one a year or so ago and it came to $41K CDN. $15K USD is about $20K CDN, so you are talking about half price there. Even if there was something someone could have done to that machine to damage it within such a short time-frame, you could spend $7.5K on repairs and you still will have saved 25%.

 

[Subs]

That's what I keep telling myself. Just not sure if that's the right way to look at it with no used tractor buying experience.

 

[looch]

My biggest concern with hours that low would be if it was broken-in according to procedure. When I ask myself what kind of person/entity would not, I come up with:

a) A commercial outfit where the operator is not the owner
b) A jackass

The signs of neglect/abuse left by either of these two types should be somewhat obvious: faded paint (outdoor storage**), excessive wear/damage on the loader (improper use of chain hooks, etc), dirty/worn operator station. Personally, when my own tractor had less than 200 hours on it, I would baby the thing - wash and wax, judicious greasing - you get the idea.

**outdoor storage, while not ideal, would not be a deal breaker. I just list here as an indication of the level of care it may have received.


I guess I should add a few of the basic things to verify on any tractor purchase:

- Walk around the unit. Look for obvious signs of neglect and oil (engine/hydraulic) leaks. Look at the fuel filter bowl.
- Sit on the unit. Go over, touch, move the controls.
- Start the unit. Listen through the revs.
- Work the hydraulic systems. Raise/lower/curl the loader, backhoe.
- Move the tractor - forward/reverse through all the ranges, 4WD.
- Check accessories - lights, heat, A/C.

All of that should be done by the dealer doing the pre-sale inspection, though.

 

[looch]

Let me add one more thing. There would have to be some blatantly obvious problem for me not to be all over that deal. So, next question would be how long has it been for sale?

 

[Subs]

Was out of town for the weekend without internet access (nice these days!). It's been for sale for 27 days according to Craigslist. My weekend thoughts have me second guessing the cab since some of the units use will be in the woods. Also, the 84 month financing that kubota has right now is appealing in terms of keeping my cash reserves.

 

[looch]

The financing is certainly attractive. However, I'm currently in a situation that is "new" to me - in order to qualify, I have to insure the vehicle. It doesn't seem out of whack for a lien holder to want to insure their asset - just like when you finance a car, but I didn't have to do this for my last tractor loan. I suppose that has something to do with the type of loan: personal vs. asset-based. The personal loan requires that one have enough collateral to cover the loan amount - you have freedom to use the cash any way you want, but interest is much higher. Asset based is how most auto-loans are set-up - the collateral is the item for which you are borrowing the money.

In my situation, the cost of insuring the tractor represents the equivalent of a 6.5% interest personal loan (assuming of course that I don't insure the tractor).