MF 1433 need help! Comments on this deal...

[Tonester]

Hi guys, first post here, but lurking for weeks learning! I have to get a new tractor in the next week or so, our ex-manager left the farm with his JD, and us with no tractor! His was overkill, big, cab etc., not sure of model though. Often too big to get around orchard, too heavy for large lawns with sprinklers installed and probably more than we need pricewise. We have several acres of lawn/pasture, 173 acres total, run a horse rescue, need FEL, tiller, bale spear, rear snow blower (love those NH winters) york rake, assorted blade & box. Could use a backhoe but more on that as we go...

Went shopping with two in mind: JD 4310, 430 FEL, ehydro & attachments or Orange Grand L3130/3430 same basic attachments. Just so happens we are in Fair season here, so all the dealers for the majors are at one place, I figure this is a no-brainer....get a good price on one or the other, try 'em out comfortwise and pull out the checkbook (after inquiring locally about their service record, of course!). Well here's what happened...

The Green & Orange guys would not even talk to me!! Here I am, a retired rock & roll dude, now farm dude, granted I am not dressed like Joe Yuppie, but I ain't no scumbag, nice jeans, t-shirt... I asked pointed questions, got retail prices and little else but a very bad taste in my mouth... So, screw 'em, I say (and by the way, the CFO was STEAMED!!) and off I go. On the way out I see a Massey Ferguson Dealer off to the side, Hmmmm, nice lookin' tractors... Wally the Farmer lookin' salesguy comes running out to greet me. "Have a look around" he says after asking what I need, and proceeded to do an excellent job of selling me a tractor. Now, here is the deal:

MF 1433 not the "V", Hardy? FEL (looks much more beefy than the MF loader, huge hydraulics, nice 72" bucket, never heard of 'em) MF Tiller (not sure of model yet, I think it's a 53"?) R4's for the lawn, Bale Spear, 670 rake, 1005 Rotary Cutter, syncro 16/16 trans around $22000 and change

Free delivery, double manufacturers warranty (4 years) free pick up/drop off for any service calls (even when i bury it!), fast service, and when i mentioned a backhoe, he offered half price rentals on their excavator for life, free dropoff/pick-up on that too!
He figured 7 grand for what we need was too much and we could rent from him to do the few jobs we need done here.

Oh yeah, a third party (sorry, no name yet...) rear blower for $1200 more if I want.

Sounded good to me, but I wanted to run it past you guys. Sorry for the long winded story...... I have as long as I want to decide, but we need the darn tractor yesterday!!!

Thanks!!

 

[Docsknotinn]

I priced just the tractor here last fall at 16k. Add the loader, tiller tax etc and that seems right to me based on what I saw here. a nice unit, I hear AGCO now has the 36 month 0% deal as well. hope it works out it is a nice piece of equipment. Dave

 

[Tonester]

Thanks, Dave!
I was impressed by the Green & Orange, but frankly the MF feels nice and solid, comfy and literally thousands less $$$! The dealer made me feel very comfortable and to mention a previous post I read somewhere, he gave me TWO hats and I haven't even bought it yet!!!!

Any of you fellas have any comment on this Heavy Duty "Hardy" FEL??

Tonester

 

[pekabu]

I know what your going through. Do a search here and you will find a few discusions on tractor dealers in New Hampshire. My NH TC24 from Corriher should be here soon. A friend was fairly impressed with knoxland, but didn't like the Massey as well. I saw an Agco ST30 in Merrimack they other day. Liked it a lot. They have a Dealer in Pembroke, and Northwood.

Ted over at Chappel in Brentwood was very nice.

 

[Tonester]

Thanks again folks...
The dealer in Northwood was the guy I was speaking of. I feel very confidant that he will take care of me. I also tried the NH tractor that fits my requirements, and the only negative was the deck being so small and kinda like a "straddle" feeling...nice tractor tho', hope you love it!!! I have seen posts here where folks like the Red but find them pricier than Green, Orange & Blue. Maybe MF have changed their tune, 'cos of all 4, the Red seems a better deal...
Comments? I still haven't decided.....sorta....
Tonester

PS: Is this too brand specific for this forum??

 

[JerryG]

Did it have standard shuttle or Power Shuttle?

 

[Neophyte]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I also tried the NH tractor that fits my requirements, and the only negative was the deck being so small and kinda like a "straddle" feeling )</font>

From this description, it sounds like you tried the TC30 or TC33. If you haven't already, you should definitely price and try the TC35. The deck is one of the roomiest I have tried and the layout is nice. For new, you should talk with Scammon Tractor in Scarborough, ME since you are right out of NH. I know they would give you a great price right around your current price. I know a TC35 with 16LA FEL on the Corriher Implement online store is around $17,700.

Actually, if you would consider used, there is a NH TC35 for sale in CT listed on this site with very few hours. I have seen pics of the machine and it's in great shape.

Used TC35

By the way, the MF tractor is a nice machine and I have heard good things about the dealer out of Northwood. I was not considering MF but I have not ruled them out either. My local dealer carries MF so I may still consider them since he really wants my business. However, he has a very limited inventory and they are only the gear machines. I may take a run over to Northwood again to look them over once more.

I have never heard of the Hardy loader but I found the following link. I'm not sure if this is the same unit but the company is based out of Canada. According to their website, the model 35 would be used on the MF 1433. Did he specify the ST (standard) or DL (deluxe) model? The DL model has a handy self leveling feature. When I was at Northwood last, I thought he used MF loaders on all his machines but I was not really paying attention back then. It seems to have some decent specs but the Kubota LA723 FEL and NH 16LA FEL will definitely be much more FEL. Even the 430 FEL seems to have slightly more lift capacity. He must be quoting these because they have a better price because the MF 1466 FEL has similar ratings to the Hardy 35 FEL. It also looks like they do not use a standard skid steer type quick attach system like Kubota and NH. Personally, I think I would rather have a matched FEL for several reasons including warranty and resale. For instance, does MF still warranty their tractor if you use a 3rd party FEL? This is something you should get in writing from the dealer.

Hardy FEL

Also, you priced out the other tractors using matched FELs. You will be able to get better pricing on the other machines using alternate FELs. For instance, you can get a Bush Hog FEL on a NH tractor from Corriher Implement for about $1000 less than the NH FEL.

 

[pekabu]

I am curious, did they have any Agco's over in Northwood? I checked out the Pembrooke site once, and they didn't have any Hydro's and only Massey's. I think they bought out Markwell equipment in Merrimack. All the machines in the yard had Northwood Power Equipment stickers on them.

Dave

 

[Neophyte]

I saw an Agco or two when I was there last.

 

[Tonester]

Neophyte, thanks for a great reply! I stand corrected, the TC you mentioned is nice, the smaller one was recommended to be a match for the other brands versions, but the bigger tractor has much more room. Again, my issue is distance and dealer service here, as I find the tractors all fairly similar, relatively speaking of course (I am sure that comment will create a storm!). I mean, really, they will all do a great job on our farm! The dealer I mentioned is very close by and quite large, with an excellent service department and policy (and all agreements will be in writing!!!).

As for that Hardy loader, the specs are better than the MF 1466. It looks like 1400lbs vs. 1200 on the MF, and you should take a look at this sucker! VERY heavy steel & hydraulic components, bucket with chain hooks, toothbar etc. Side by side it seems much more rugged. I don't think it is sold as a cheaper piece, but as an upgrade. It does have the leveling bucket. Also the mounting set-up distributes the bucket load along the frame at three points, kinda cool. I know matching parts are usually the way to go, but like i said, it's one beefy sucker!

Thanks so much, you guys all rule!

Incidently, I did compare the AGCO ST35 to the MF for all you interested types - identical. Hmmmmm, but it was prettier!