Price Check Wayward Tractor Newbie seeks advice on a used Kubota

[SemiAncientMariner]

I agree. I've been looking at used Kubota L3800's for a couple of years, and have found the price for a unit several years old is about 75% the cost of a new tractor. I've decided to buy a new L4600 4X4, probably tomorrow.

Thhe L4600 looks great.

The 40+ HP and Hydrostatic transmission are enough drool over.

Put an FEL on that sucker and you'll definitely give me a case of tractor envy.

Good Luck on that Gec343.

I hope you get a great deal on it.

 

[newbury]

You were going good till you mentioned college money for the kids. Unless the kids are goats buy them an extra pick and shovel. It's very educational.
Then hang around here and find out all the little things you need to check out when buying used. Study Craigs list and other sources like a hawk. Make sure you have the cash in hand. Figure out "got to have" implements versus "might use".

Looking at tractorhouse that might be a decent going price for the rig but other bargains are to be found.

And remember to check Barlow's.

Also I read here that you can often get a 10% to 15% discount off list price.

 

[gec343]

Thanks, SemiAncientMariner. My deal on a new L4600HST, 4X4, loader w/ heavy duty bucket, loaded ag tires is $22500 w/o tax, which includes a $2,000 cash discount. This will be a huge step up from my Massey M245, which I just sold. I do feel that I received an excellent deal. Also, the salesman informed me that Kubota has a 17% increase in prices next year. Also, he offered the L3800 with the same extras for $18,000 except no heavy duty bucket.

 

[SemiAncientMariner]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/257874-never-fails.html

Way to much money, look at this current thread here for a like new Kubota alot larger than your find with 30 hours for $12.000.
I would strongly recommend you get a nice used one with the hydro tranny and power steering. Besides Tractorhouse also look at
Used Farm & Agricultural Equipment - John Deere MachineFinder for more choices, most sell below the asking prices too.

Thanks!

Good thread and great resource.

A hydro is definitely on my want list.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Don't let all the included implements, as nice as they may be, confuse the sale. If I had to guess, I would price the implements at:

Bush hog - $250-$400 depending on condition and size (4 or 5 foot)
Disc - $300-$600 depending on condition and size. Could be worth a lot more if it was in great condition, but probably isn't.
Box blade - $300-450 depending on condition and size.
Scraper blade - $300-$450. Could be worth more if it was large, heavy-duty, or had hydraulics, but it probably doesn't.
Middle Buster - $100-$150.
Broken post-hole auger - $0 - depends on how it's broken, but if I was buying it as a package, I wouldn't give much for it.

So, by my math, you have between $1250 and $2050 in implements. On the one hand, you won't be driving all over kingdom come to pick them up off of Craigslist, but on the other hand, since you're buying from a dealer, you'll be paying sales tax, which you most likely wouldn't on Craigslist, so let's just call that a wash.

Now, looking on TractorHouse.com, around $10-$11k seems to be the asking price, so you may be in the ball park here if you count the implements. With a $1-2k credit for the implements, that brings the dealer's actual asking price down to around $10-$11k. So is it a great deal? No. Is it a rip-off? Probably not too bad. But those are just asking prices, right? So you should be able to talk the guy down maybe another 8-12% I would think. Depends on how bad you want it and how bad he wants to sell it.

Not sure how you other guys are getting "just a few thousand more" for a comparable new tractor. I just went and built an L2800 on Kubota's site. With the standard FEL, it came out to $18k and change. Compared to $10k, that's a lot more than just a "few thousand".

EDIT TO ADD: Any of those implements might go for two to three times as much if they were in brand new condition. But they probably aren't. And even if they are, then I would just say to the dealer, "Fine. I don't want it. Take $X amount off the price of the tractor," and I would make sure that $X was darn close to retail for the item. My perspective is that there's not a lot of sense in buying brand new tractor implements unless you just really like being the first to knock the paint off something. Maybe with a mower, where it may have been abused or damaged in the past. But a box blade? Please. If it's square and it isn't rusted out, it's probably fine. So don't let a dealer try to put one over on you by "packaging" new implements in with the tractor that you wouldn't have bought anyway. The one exception there, IMO, is if you need to put the implements on the same financing as the tractor. If you just don't have the cash, and are willing to paymore in order to get them today, then go for it.

Frankly, package deals of tractors with implements really confuse the issue, I think, and work in the dealer's favor. It's one thing if you're buying retail, and can look at the price list. But if the implements and the tractor are used, you can end up paying more for the tractor than you ought to. Far better, IMO, to haggle with the dealer on the tractor's price ALONE and then, once a fair price is arrived at, move on to buying the implements if desired.

 

[jenkinsph]

Nothing wrong with tractor and implement packages imo, just need to be sure the prices are fair and that you are getting what you want. Hard to put a value on thee implements not knowing what they are or their condition, I am not going to guess on that.

SAM,
Are you sure you like this tractor? I know it is an 8f 2r tractor with a decent weight of 2900 lbs manual steering so could be difficult to use with a fel. Better than a pick and shovel though.

 

[SemiAncientMariner]

You were going good till you mentioned college money for the kids. Unless the kids are goats buy them an extra pick and shovel. It's very educational.

Great suggestion Newbury. Unfortunately, my kids swing a pick like little girls. I've tried to ridicule them into a more manly performance by telling them so, but they always have some snarky comeback to throw at me - "But Dad, we ARE little girls" - as if that were some excuse.

Then hang around here and find out all the little things you need to check out when buying used. Study Craigs list and other sources like a hawk. Make sure you have the cash in hand. Figure out "got to have" implements versus "might use".

I've been lurking in the background here for a while and have found the information very helpful. A large amount, of the little I know, about tractors has been gleaned here. This is where I learned that I would realy like to have a hydrostatic transmission, a loader with a toothbar, and something near 30 HP. I definitely have jobs to justify everything on my implement wish list.

I've got a reasonable amount of cash in hand, but I have been beat to the prize a couple of times by folks who were more fleet of foot than I, so I'm going to have to improve my reaction time

Looking at tractorhouse that might be a decent going price for the rig but other bargains are to be found.

And remember to check Barlow's.

Barlow's??? Please tell me more.

Also I read here that you can often get a 10% to 15% discount off list price.

I didn't know that. Looks like I have some checking to do.
Thanks!

 

[SemiAncientMariner]

Don't let all the included implements, as nice as they may be, confuse the sale. If I had to guess, I would price the implements at:........

You nailed everything pretty well Joshua. Everthing the seller is offering is about the middle range of what you listed, except the auger. He wants $250 for it - with two bad universal joints. Doesn't sound like a deal I want.

Combined, the implements come in at $1750. The tractor with loader is $9750, and he has offered to deliver it halfway across the state for $300.

Essentially though, I have come to the realization that this tractor is just not exactly what I want.

I was almost set to get it anyway as a "good enough" in order to get started on all the work I need to do to prepare for this winter. Instead, I believe I'll keep looking & try to be lighter on my feet in responding to an actual good deal.

I believe that your advice to "...haggle with the dealer on the tractor's price ALONE and then, once a fair price is arrived at, move on to buying the implements if desired." is golden. I knew that, but I had begun to lose sight of it. Thanks for helping to snap me back.

 

[SemiAncientMariner]

SAM, Are you sure you like this tractor? .

That, good sir, is an arrow into the heart of the entire matter.

I realize now that - No, I don't like this tractor.

I know it is an 8f 2r tractor with a decent weight of 2900 lbs manual steering so could be difficult to use with a fel. Better than a pick and shovel though.

Sounds like a decent tractor, but just not the one for me.

I am anxious to get to work, but it looks like more patience is needed.

To date, my pick and shovel - along with a Sears garden tractor & flimsy box blade - have gotten me by, but only just barely.
The drought this summer has made them almost completely ineffectual on my hard dry driveway though. Even so, I think I had better keep looking until I find a tractor that I do like.

To settle for less would be wasted time and money at best. These days I don't have a lot of either to squander.

I thank all who have responded and I greatly appreciate the fact that you have spent your time to advise this Newbie.

Regards,

S.A.M.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Nothing wrong with tractor and implement packages imo, just need to be sure the prices are fair and that you are getting what you want. Hard to put a value on thee implements not knowing what they are or their condition, I am not going to guess on that.

Absolutely agree. It's the "price is far," that gets complicated. When buying a single implement, I might dicker over $50 or $75 depending on minutiae of its condition, or just on principle. When buying them as a group, and especially if it's lumped in with a large purchase like a tractor, it's a lot easier not to push for that extra little bit. You're already paying $12,000 for a tractor! Who cares about $300-$450 extra for a few implements! Well, the dealer sure cares. And you should too. The other thing is, when buying the implements in a big bunch, you're probably not going to pay as much attention to their condition as you would if you were buying them individually and had the time to really look them over. So you're more likely to end up over-paying without realizing it... until you get home. And when the implements are packaged with a tractor, it can be easy for the dealer to mark down the tractor relative to list, making it look like you're getting a heck of a deal, and then mark up the implements, which don't really have much of a "list" since who knows how old they are or when they were made and you probably can't even find a comparable unit to price shop against.

Anyway, all I'm saying is, if you're going to buy a package deal, make sure you're getting your money's worth. The price this dealer is offering seems mostly fair, but on a purchase like this, "fair" can range over a few thousand dollars, so there's still a lot of wiggle room.