Buying Advice Still shopping around...new or used?

[johnk]

My feelings exactly. It's not like a carhere you trade it in in a couple of years. Your tractor will last a long time so get the one you want to be with!

 

[Gale Hawkins]

IF inflation wins out in the end a new tractor today could sell for the same price when 10 years old so depreciation would equal inflation rate.

 

[LD1]

IMO, they are BOTH excellent deals.

Especially with all the equipment you get with the L2800.

But there are a few KEY differences with the tractors and it may be the deal breaker for you that will cause you to spend the extra $$$ to go new.

First, you didn't say it either was a HST or not. That is a big $$$ item right there and is a MUST for some. If you are unsure what you want, DRIVE both and then decide.

Second, the PTO as mentioned on the L2800. It is a transmission driven PTO with overrunning clutch. That means when you push the clutch, the pto stops. Kinda a PITA for mowing or bushhogging. The L3700SU however has the live PTO with two stage clutch. That means the clutch pedal has two positions. About half way down and you can change gears and the PTO KEEPS running. Pushing ALL the way will stop both the tractor and PTO.

But ofcourse this is a NON issue with a HST because direction changes like when mowing DONT require you to clutch. But it they are gear drive tractors, it may be an issue.

The final major difference is the HP. And about the only time you will notice the difference is in the 5HP diff at the PTO. So if you plan on a lot of bushhogging or mowing using the pto, the extra HP may be needed.

I agree with others though that a few thousand difference isnt a lot over the life of the tractor. So buy what YOU want. And if the L2800 IS indeed what you want, I wouldn't think twice about it for that price. 150 hours is nothing. In 30 years there is not going to be much difference. It would be like looking at a 1977 tractor vs a 1979 tractor of the same model:confused2:

 

[bp fick]

Apparently. It's being sold by a small housebuilding company that had a bunch of equipment listed and it was actually his other partner who said they would throw in the blade.

I've worked in that industry and my concern might be that it was used in a similar fashion to a rental tractor. Eyes wide open!! Some of those are road hard and put away wet, by a wide variety of operators. I'd much rather buy grandpa's tractor that he babied.

 

[ispan1]

The l2800 is an HST, so it looks like it should have the same live pto as an l3400/l3700 from the Kubota spec sheet.

Good point about the usage possibly being rough. It's over an hour away, so I haven't had time to go see it first hand. The owner said there was a small dent in the hood, which is the only cosmetic issue (no big deal to me really, I would almost be happy for it to not be new, so I won't be afraid to make the first mark). They apparently also had all the scheduled maintenance done at the local Kubota dealer. I will ask to see. I'm just wondering how bad it could be beat up if it doesn't look bad and if it's been maintained?

The other question that is really key for me that no one has yet responded to is the price of a new set of tires(r4s) or tires and rims if I decided to keep the loaded ags as a spare set when I wanted extra traction. I never heard back from the dealer I called. Does anybody have a ballpark figure? Is there any chance I could find a used set?

 

[LD1]

The other question that is really key for me that no one has yet responded to is the price of a new set of tires(r4s) or tires and rims if I decided to keep the loaded ags as a spare set when I wanted extra traction. I never heard back from the dealer I called. Does anybody have a ballpark figure? Is there any chance I could find a used set?

From a dealer, probabally ~$2000, give or take a bit. This is just a guess though. But the R4's as listed on kubotas website are $700 MORE than the AG's as an option. So $700 + whatever the cost of the ags are:confused2:

 

[bigbull338]

well doggoned my R4s was $400 more in oct 2010.wonder why they went up $300.

 

[LD1]

well doggoned my R4s was $400 more in oct 2010.wonder why they went up $300.

They may only be $400 more in reality.

I was just qouting the difference in the "build my kubota" feature on their website.

But keep in mind, he is wanting to KEEP his ags as well. The $400 or $700 difference, is just that, the difference by swapping. So whatever a set of ags PLUS ag rims cost, add that $400 or $700 to that. Either way, it aint gonna be cheap

 

[ovrszd]

The killer for switching tires is you also have to switch rims. R1s and R4s don't come in the same sizes so rim switch is mandatory.

In today's economy used tractors are plentiful. There are a lot of people making payments on tractors they didn't need in the first place and wanting a way out.

The only way I'd buy new is if I needed financed. I don't even put much value on warranty. As I said above, there are a LOT of tractors sitting around that have not been worked anywhere near their potential so have a LOT of life left in them with no expected repairs.

When I bought my B2910 used with 300 hours for $9900 it had never used the 3pt or rear drawbar. All it's life it had just mowed the lawn. Not even any scratches.

That brings me to the next point, if I understand correctly you only have 3 acres to maintain?? I'm not sure you can justify an L series. Especially since you said one of your concerns was mowing your lawn with R1s? My used 2910 for $9900 would have taken care of any task you might have.

So since you are discussing this, you need to look closely at your actual needs versus your wants. We've all had that reality check with ourselves!!!

 

[ejkessler]

Hi folks, I've been looking hard at both a new l3700su for 17500 and anything that looks workable in the used market and have received some excellent advice from you all.

I was hoping to get some more feedback on my latest used find, a 2008 l2800 with 150hrs, 3pt sweeper, landscape rake, back blade (said he needed to look for it), and a quick hitch for 13,800.

The deal doesn't sound bad to me except that it has loaded ag tires and I really want r4s, so I can use a rfm on the lawn. I called a local dealer to price replacement tires but haven't heard back. Does anyone have an idea how much I would pay for a set? I'm not sure if I could use the same rims or even if I would want to. It might even be nice to have an extra set of turfs to mow with, but I can't imagine wanting to switch them out that often?

I am also wondering if I can expect an l2800 to do all that an l3700 would do. The most taxing work I will likely be doing is regrading/leveling a 3 acres of bumpy clay lawn (probably with a 6ft bb)and bush hogging (5ft). Any l2800 owners who can let me know?

Thanks for all your help.

I owned a L2800 with FEL and BH for three years and it's a great machine. I don't believe it is what you want for what you need it for though. Way more tractor than you need for cutting 3 acres and working it the way you are describing IMO. I had bought mine and purchased a rear finish mower, MMM is not an option, and hated it for mowing. Way to awkward making turns and mowing close to fences and such. Ended up selling the mower with less than 10 hrs on it and bought a zero turn. If you do plan on buying it trade the r1's for either r3's or r4's. I like r4's but in your application r3's could easily work. The hassle of switching out tires on a tractor that size is no where near worth the trouble and they will end up sitting and rotting away. You really won't need them. If it were me I would be looking at BX or B series tractor. It is okay to go bigger I will admit since each time I bought I upgraded. But I stopped mowing with a tractor after my BX since for me the L2800 just wasn't what I consider to be practical for finish lawn mowing.