Hi everyone,
My family and I bought our first property on 10 acres. We need to get our first tractor for to do a few various tasks: drilling holes for fence posts, creating a fire break, plowing, mowing the lawn, moving soil, etc. the tractor will stay at our property and will be used maybe 2-3 a week.
I’ve never shopped for a tractor before so I wanted to get some advice before going to the dealerships. We wanted to buy a brand new one so we can finance it. We are in Dixon California.
- What brands do you recommend?
- What size tractor would you recommend?
- Are you able to negotiate on pricing for tractors or ask for attachments? Do dealerships have tractors ready to be taken home or are they built to order?
- Are there any other tips you recommend on buying and owning a tractor?
I was in the same boat as you not long ago. I came here and read a lot of information. Sometimes, information overload.
@airbiscuit shared a thread I had posted to help anyone who may be looking into their first tractor.
I can't recommend enough to set a budget first. Set it. Work within that budget. Don't worry about brand at first. Cap yourself. I ended up going over my budget by $106.40. But, I got a cool hat.
Get to know your local dealers and their products. You won't be doing yourself any favors by purchasing a brand of tractor from a dealer 400 miles away simply because of who made it. Take a Saturday and go look. They're salesman; be prepared for them to want to talk up their product and get you into something. I found that if I took a small notebook with me; it was more clear I was in research phase haha. If you have anyone you know who has a tractor; ask them to let you tool around on it.
Someone suggested to me early on; you don't buy a tractor for what you need now, you buy it for what you're going to need it for later. Basically; you buy the biggest tractor you can afford to do the things you need now and cover the potential things you'll need to do later.
Price is basically price. I didn't need to haggle with anyone because I knew the offers Kioti had at the time and I knew the prices of the tractors from a bunch of different dealerships. Some have more overhead than others etc. The prices for my tractor around the country did vary. I chalk those up to many different things. When you know the machine you want; also know what they are being sold for. Know what the manufacturer is offering at the time. As far as implements and attachments; I think you can get lower prices on some when you buy the tractor. I priced mine out with the implements I wanted and then looked into what it would cost to buy them separately. It was cheaper for me to get them at the time. Keep in mind, not all dealers have the same brand of these things. Know those tools too.
Many tractors come in on skids to be assembled. The items that aren't always on the tractor when it arrives at the dealership are the optional equipment things: tires, loader, canopy etc. When the dealer called me and said one of the models I was interested in arrived; I drove up to look at it. It was in a steel framed box. It looked like a tractor without tires. I got to pick my tires, add a canopy, pick the implements etc. They put the tractor together, did the dealer pre delivery inspection and set up delivery day. When they arrived; they spent about 2 hours at my home going over the tractor again. The picture of how it arrived is attached.
The pressure relief I felt after signing for my tractor was great. But; this isn't something you should want to take lightly. Unless you are a gagillionaire. If you are, buy 6 or maybe 20 different ones.
Trust me when I tell you that you will teeter totter between makes and models until you can start narrowing down the specifics of each one. Good luck. It's a jungle out there.
I will add that prices are increasing and stocks are limited for many. Take that with a grain of salt but take it none the less because it is important.
