Cadillac of tractors?

[Builder]

The best tractor is the one that suits you best . When it comes to farm tractors i've found the fendt's and valtra's and such to be very overrated and overpriced . They all have their faults and have all made good and bad models , We had 9 JD's in the 70's and have worked our way through fords,MF's, IH's and many others and ended up with a yard with 5 different colours of the models we like best . I've always thought MF were the nicest from a drivers point of view but maybe lack resale value like ford but to me buying used makes them even more attractive . As for deeres resale value i think IH probably beat them now for most models but depends heavily on area i guess .
For combines it would seem obvious that IH rotary is #1 and JCB for backhoes .

Most definately related to the area you live in. IH has great resale value because when they were made, they were some of the best Ag iron ever built. IMO, they may have been the only tractors ever built that are better than Deere. Today, IH resells for a lot because many are still on the farm and parts as well as collectors are in great demand. I would LOVE to own a 5288 4x4, IMO maybe one of the coolest tractors ever built. Imagine and on board computer in the early 80's.....:thumbsup:

In my area, you can't give away a JCB backhoe. They bring the lowest resale of all major brands. Ford farm tractors are middle of the pack with Deere far & away the highest resale value.

 

[Duffster]

Most definately related to the area you live in. IH has great resale value because when they were made, they were some of the best Ag iron ever built. IMO, they may have been the only tractors ever built that are better than Deere. Today, IH resells for a lot because many are still on the farm and parts as well as collectors are in great demand. I would LOVE to own a 5288 4x4, IMO maybe one of the coolest tractors ever built. Imagine and on board computer in the early 80's.....:thumbsup:

In my area, you can't give away a JCB backhoe. They bring the lowest resale of all major brands. Ford farm tractors are middle of the pack with Deere far & away the highest resale value.

IMO IH built better tractors than Deere until Deere built the 4010, after that Deere was far and away better tractors than IH.

 

[Builder]

My alltime favorite medium size IH ag tractor:

1985 INTERNATIONAL 5088 100 HP to 174 HP For Sale At TractorHouse.com

 

[Duffster]

My alltime favorite medium size IH ag tractor:

1985 INTERNATIONAL 5088 100 HP to 174 HP For Sale At TractorHouse.com

The demise of IH.

 

[Builder]

The demise of IH.

What do you mean.

 

[Duffster]

What do you mean.

The 88 series was the last IH tractors built. But really IH's fate was decided before the 88's came out.

 

[Builder]

The 88 series was the last IH tractors built. But really IH's fate was decided before the 88's came out.

To me the demise of IH ag really was the first "big" American company to go belly-up that made me take notice. A really sad story. If you ever read "Red Power", there's a great story a guy that used to work at IH wrote about their demise.

I was really surprised at the sales numbers IH had and how modern & computerized the plants were.

I wish IH would step back into agriculture. The 88's were some of the most beautiful tractors ever built. Way ahead of their time. I'd love to own an '88 series 4x4 with the western interior.

 

[Duffster]

To me the demise of IH ag really was the first "big" American company to go belly-up that made me take notice. A really sad story. If you ever read "Red Power", there's a great story a guy that used to work at IH wrote about their demise.

I was really surprised at the sales numbers IH had and how modern & computerized the plants were.

I wish IH would step back into agriculture. The 88's were some of the most beautiful tractors ever built. Way ahead of their time. I'd love to own an '88 series 4x4 with the western interior.

You have a warped idea of beauty. :laughing:

What part of them do you think was ahead of there time? When compared to the Deeres of their time I think they had already fallen so far behind that there was no coming back.

 

[Builder]

You have a warped idea of beauty. :laughing:

What part of them do you think was ahead of there time? When compared to the Deeres of their time I think they had already fallen so far behind that there was no coming back.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I seen what you like too, so don't give me that BS. :laughing:

I think they were ahead of their time because of the on board computer (an IH first), their bigger hydro transmissions and torque amplifiers. Cabs were more advanced inside than other tractors of their day. The inside of the cab of the that 88 I posted with the "western" interior is as nice as other brand tractor cabs even 10 years later in the mid 90's.

I think the "gills" (slits) on the sides of the hood and the front grill look very modern for 30 years ago.

You don't think this tractor looks great? http://www.tractorhouse.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=5812825

I'm a huge Deere fan, any old American iron is cool in my book, but the old red power machines are great. We just did a couple hundred acres of hay behind me and used an old IH to rake & ted and the thing just runs and runs. The newer Deere 6410 doing the baling broke down a couple times.

The IH "snoopy" tractors were ugly. LOL

Show me what you think looks good in a 70's-90's tractor.

 

[Duffster]

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I seen what you like too, so don't give me that BS. :laughing:

I think they were ahead of their time because of the on board computer (an IH first), their bigger hydro transmissions and torque amplifiers. Cabs were more advanced inside than other tractors of their day. The inside of the cab of the that 88 I posted with the "western" interior is as nice as other brand tractor cabs even 10 years later in the mid 90's.

I think the "gills" (slits) on the sides of the hood and the front grill look very modern for 30 years ago.

You don't think this tractor looks great? 1985 INTERNATIONAL 5088 100 HP to 174 HP For Sale At TractorHouse.com

I'm a huge Deere fan, any old American iron is cool in my book, but the old red power machines are great. We just did a couple hundred acres of hay behind me and used an old IH to rake & ted and the thing just runs and runs. The newer Deere 6410 doing the baling broke down a couple times.

The IH "snoopy" tractors were ugly. LOL

Show me what you think looks good in a 70's-90's tractor.

Pretty tough to beat this. :thumbsup: