Advice please

[4man]

Having never owned or operated a tractor before but now finding myself in need of or hiring someone seversl times a year, I have found a 2001 Mahindra C4005DI with FEL and 350 hours , just went and tested and it runs better than it looks and it looks good.There are no attachments and I know I will need shredder-box blade-grader of some type and maybe a disc/plow of some type to make food plots. Is this a good buy or should I wait to find a tractor deal with needed attachments, your help and advice will be gratefully accepted,thanks in advance.

[madmax12]

Having never owned or operated a tractor before but now finding myself in need of or hiring someone seversl times a year, I have found a 2001 Mahindra C4005DI with FEL and 350 hours , just went and tested and it runs better than it looks and it looks good.There are no attachments and I know I will need shredder-box blade-grader of some type and maybe a disc/plow of some type to make food plots. Is this a good buy or should I wait to find a tractor deal with needed attachments, your help and advice will be gratefully accepted,thanks in advance.

Some thoughts.

1. U didn't mention a price, so it would be difficult for someone knowledgeable to give an opinion as to whether it is a good buy.

2. I never had a tractor before, either. That is one of the reasons I chose to buy a new mahindra. The new comes with a 5 year warranty, giving me some peace of mind.

3. Not knowing much about tractors, it was hard for me to accurately assess the true condition of anything used. Unless you have a friend who really knows tractors, it would be difficult to know how good or bad a buy was.

4. I got a tractor because I have a ton of work to do. I did not buy used, because I don't want something else to fix. I have too much to fix already. The tractor is supposed to be part of my solution to conquering my projects. I don't want the tractor to be one of my projects. (Obviously, routine maintenance is mandatory...but I'm hoping not to have any devastating major repairs)

Well, it may be different for you, but those are the reasons I went new. Hope u find a great tractor. :-)

[case245]

how many arcres do own do you plan bailing with tractor how much brush hogging are you going to do if i know that stuff i can help you with getting the right size tractor i bought to small of a tractor i now need alot bigger model

[4man]

I only have 2 acres but plan on doing tractor work to try to earn some extra income since going on social security and working a part time job, plowing small gardens and food plots for deer leases, the man with the Mahindra C4005DI is asking $9700, thats with a FEL only I went and looked today it's a very nice tractor, since then one of my neighbors who has had several tractors advises to stay away from mahindra and look for a JD or Kubota maybe a Ford(New Holland)

[mattoct3003]

Your neighbor is crazy. Try one out for yourself. He has his green blinders on.

[HCJtractor]

Don't know much about that tractor, but know lots about food plots. I would advise something in a 35 to 60 horse in a 4 WD. You will need the power if you plan to disc or prepare the soil. Also need a rotary cutter, a drag harrow of some kind, and a cone spin type seeder/fertilizer spreader. I would say this is the bare minimum if you plan to do it all yourself. Also don't forget a trailer big enough to haul it all. And even with these, don't expect "agricultural grade" plots. Using these implements is still rather primitive and will be hard work, especially on plots that are not established and previously worked. A box blade really is not necessary unless you plan to move some dirt or scrape out new areas. Get the heaviest disc you can afford. You can also plow before you disc but that adds a step, and it takes horsepower to pull a plow (and any decent disc). Your biggest frustration will be the in effectiveness of disking unless the soil has been previously worked or is better than most I see around here. Frankly, I don't see how you could make much money when you factor in equipment costs, diesel, transportation, and breakage. If I were to bill someone the actual hours and real costs of the time I spend on plots, I doubt they would hire me!

Buying used would not bother me if it had low hours and met my specifications. There are many name brands that would work just fine. I have a Kubota and a Massey, but a Deere, Mahindra, Ford, or New Holland certainly would also be great. But I would want 4WD and horsepower, and reasonable hours and decent R-1 tires. Also match your implements as far as rating to your tractor HP, or you will break something more often.

[Blue_Sky]

I have a Mahindra 2615 and I did bushog and food plot work for 3 years. Made a little money but not much. I had insurance for it, business license, etc. I found out that most folks hired out that work to do because it was tough work - not all was like that but over 50% was. Seemed like people would let it go until it got real bad and then would try to hire it done and would haggle over the estimated charge. I would charge by the hour because this would keep folks from trying to pile on the work for free. I turned down some jobs because they were expecting more than resonably could be done. I did build up some good repeat jobs, but not enough to make it really pay off.