Used tractos in the 70 - 85 pto hp range

[F3506]

I've been looking around at some tractors with a cab on them since I'm tired of baling from an open tractor. I've looked at a few in the early to mid 2000 year model range with less than 2,000 hours on them. Basically the more aerodynamic, sloped looking design that is popular now.

So far, it seems like these tractors all have hydraulic leaks. Several also appear to have other problems like broken fiberglass or new paint on parts of the motor. If I look at the mid 90's box style models, they don't seem to have the leaks and for some reason look more solid when looking at the draw bar and 3 point set up.

Have I just had bad luck or do the newer tractors not seem to be built as stout as some of the not so older models? Aside from the view, what other advantages do these newer tractors have? What am I missing?

I realize I'm looking at used, and folks rarely trade in the perfect machine for another one like it, but I didn't think it would be this hard to find something. In these year ranges, is there any things to watch out for or avoid? Any problems with a particular brand that I should be aware of?

 

[bdog]

How much are you looking to spend? I prefer older tractors as they are simpler to work on and I think they are built stouter. There are a lot of tractors from the 80's that still are used daily by farmers and have 10,000+ hours. I don't think a lot of the stuff made today will last that long but I maybe wrong.

I went from a 2005 tractor I bought brand new to a 2006 tractor I bought used in 2008 to a 1980 tractor I bought used recently. Honestly I like the 1980 the best and think it is the best made of the three.

Older tractors value is based purely on their utility value. My 1980 is not going to depreciate any more. It might even go up in value. Tractors you buy that are newer have a lot of their value in the fact that they are new and are going to drop significantly in value as time goes on.

 

[atgreene]

Hard to beat older tractors. The late 70's early 80's bigger stuff is going for more at auction than they sold new if clean and cared for. No emmisions, no computers, easy to work on.

 

[F3506]

I'm not really looking to spend over 30k or so. It just seems like the newer styles I've seen in the mid to upper 20k range seem to look cheaper and have more leaks than the mid to late 90's model tractors. If I stepped back to 80's models, those are easily more solid, and usually a good bit heavier too. Only down side is they tend to use a bit more fuel than some of the newer ones. I'm just trying to find a good balance.

Unless I can find something that really impresses me, it's starting to look like I'm going to save some money and get a little older tractor than I had planned on. How much older depends on what kind of deals I can find I guess.