OP
thunderheart
Member
Well it sure is nice to have an active owner community to get advice from and I really appreciate the responses. I certainly feel better armed to make a decision. Let me summarize what I understand so far and show the three currently on my list. Additional comments appreciated then I'll leave y'all alone!
1) These are used tractors so don't expect perfection.
2) The reconditioning process is/was done in Vietnam, Alabama or locally by smaller dealers.
3) The VM recons are not so good and more likely to have problems.
4) The V2A loader on tractor #3 and 46 hours on the clock are a good indication of a VM recon
5) Yanmars are well built and fairly simple to repair. Just be prepared for that.
So with that in mind:
Tractor #1 (3110) was sold by a local dealer to his friend 4 years ago. Friend had 2 other tractors (JDs) at the time. The old guy got sick and is selling off his equipment as he needs the dough and is too old to garden. The original dealer is helping the old guy sell the equipment and he is who I am dealing with. He said he used to get a truck load of Yanmars periodically for local resale and moved "hundreds" of them. He told me he still has the original invoice where he sold the tractor to his friend for $5800 dollars. The friend supposedly used the tractor to till his garden. Not many hours added by the old guy apparently but I don't know what the clock shows.

Asking $5300
Tractor #2 (3000) was bought from a dealer, tractorsonthecreek.com in western NC. Used a couple of years for mowing. Owner seemed very forthright. Mentioned the tractor's 3 point was "sensitive" and less than responsive when cold. 160 hours.

Asking $4200
Tractor #3 (2610D) was bought from the same western NC dealer as tractor #2. The guy's story of needing to sell to fix his truck does at least sound feasible as he also posted it in the "barter" section of CL and was willing to trade for an F250 diesel. But people will often talk out of non-standard orifices to sell something and I realize that:

Asking $8000
Thanks again for the help fellas,
Dallas
1) These are used tractors so don't expect perfection.
2) The reconditioning process is/was done in Vietnam, Alabama or locally by smaller dealers.
3) The VM recons are not so good and more likely to have problems.
4) The V2A loader on tractor #3 and 46 hours on the clock are a good indication of a VM recon
5) Yanmars are well built and fairly simple to repair. Just be prepared for that.
So with that in mind:
Tractor #1 (3110) was sold by a local dealer to his friend 4 years ago. Friend had 2 other tractors (JDs) at the time. The old guy got sick and is selling off his equipment as he needs the dough and is too old to garden. The original dealer is helping the old guy sell the equipment and he is who I am dealing with. He said he used to get a truck load of Yanmars periodically for local resale and moved "hundreds" of them. He told me he still has the original invoice where he sold the tractor to his friend for $5800 dollars. The friend supposedly used the tractor to till his garden. Not many hours added by the old guy apparently but I don't know what the clock shows.

Asking $5300
Tractor #2 (3000) was bought from a dealer, tractorsonthecreek.com in western NC. Used a couple of years for mowing. Owner seemed very forthright. Mentioned the tractor's 3 point was "sensitive" and less than responsive when cold. 160 hours.

Asking $4200
Tractor #3 (2610D) was bought from the same western NC dealer as tractor #2. The guy's story of needing to sell to fix his truck does at least sound feasible as he also posted it in the "barter" section of CL and was willing to trade for an F250 diesel. But people will often talk out of non-standard orifices to sell something and I realize that:

Asking $8000
Thanks again for the help fellas,
Dallas