Buying Advice What should I look for?

[joschae]

Price Range: 4-6K max
Property Size: 4 acres - Flat
Primary Uses: Brushhog / Tilling / Snow Removal
Secondary Uses: Finish Mowing / Grading / Wagon Rides

I've been looking at JD 950 & Ford Powermaster Series. Any others I should be considering?

Thanks in advance.

 

[joschae]

I should mention that there is also a really low hour New Holland 1715 nearby in that price range.

 

[bspeedy]

Welcome to TBN.

Your budget will restrict you from most of the machines that are typically recommended by the folks around here. If I were looking in your price range, I'd try to find something like this Massey:

Massey ferguson 1 4x4 diesel tractor - farm & garden - by owner - sale

Or, try to beat this guy up a little on the price:

Ford 1715 Tractor - farm & garden - by owner - sale

Of the two, I'd rather have the Ford, but that is personal preference. Ford with the cutter is worth probably 6500 max if it is in great shape.

4wd is a must have unless your property is completely flat. I'd have 4wd no matter what especially when doing grading or snow removal. I would not even consider the older Ford 2wd tractors like the powermaster.

Items I would consider when buying:

1. Brand name - something like JD, Ford, NH, Kubota, Kioti, Massey - something you can buy parts for 20 years from now
2. Diesel engine
3. 4wd
4. overall condition - hours don't tell the whole story.
5. Price. There are certainly 4wd tractors without loaders in your price range.

I'd be looking for a 25-30 hp tractor.

If your budget includes equipment, you will be hard pressed to get a good machine with implements for that money. Focus on the tractor first and then size the implements to the machine. 5' brush hogs can be had for 300-500 dollars. Tillers for 700-800. Rear snow blades 200. A Troy Bilt Horse tiller does a great job for 4-500 bucks (used) if you are just doing your garden once a year.

 

[joschae]

I know.. I'm kinda looking for that diamond in the rough. Something I can get some work done on and not kill myself at the same time. There are some 950's near me that have low hours and appear garaged. They hit the price point, but I'm guessing from what i have read that finding parts might be on the downswing. The 950 seems like a beast to me. The 1996 Ford 1715 (780hrs) that is near me is in excellent shape, but it is a 2WD. Asking 6k, but might be able to deal down to 5.5. Would be for the Tractor only.

 

[joschae]

Welcome to TBN.

Your budget will restrict you from most of the machines that are typically recommended by the folks around here. If I were looking in your price range, I'd try to find something like this Massey:

Massey ferguson 13 4x4 diesel tractor - farm & garden - by owner - sale

Or, try to beat this guy up a little on the price:

Ford 1715 Tractor - farm & garden - by owner - sale

Of the two, I'd rather have the Ford, but that is personal preference. Ford with the cutter is worth probably 6500 max if it is in great shape.

4wd is a must have unless your property is completely flat. I'd have 4wd no matter what especially when doing grading or snow removal. I would not even consider the older Ford 2wd tractors like the powermaster.

Items I would consider when buying:

1. Brand name - something like JD, Ford, NH, Kubota, Kioti, Massey - something you can buy parts for 20 years from now
2. Diesel engine
3. 4wd
4. overall condition - hours don't tell the whole story.
5. Price. There are certainly 4wd tractors without loaders in your price range.

I'd be looking for a 25-30 hp tractor.

If your budget includes equipment, you will be hard pressed to get a good machine with implements for that money. Focus on the tractor first and then size the implements to the machine. 5' brush hogs can be had for 300-500 dollars. Tillers for 700-800. Rear snow blades 200. A Troy Bilt Horse tiller does a great job for 4-500 bucks (used) if you are just doing your garden once a year.

Budget is for tractor alone. 1st implement will be a used brush hog. So 500-1000 on top of budget.

 

[Tractorable]

For four acres flat ground and a $4-6K budget I would have no problem recommending a Ford 3000, 3600, 4000 series. Yea, they're 2wd but you're talkin 4000lb+ machines bare tractor, 45hp+, cheap and easy to fix. With loaded rears and a locking diff you won't have issues with traction. You can get these for $3-5K all day long and have money left over for implements. Our forefathers got the job done with them, you can too.

 

[joschae]

For four acres flat ground and a $4-6K budget I would have no problem recommending a Ford 3000, 3600, 4000 series. Yea, they're 2wd but you're talkin 4000lb+ machines bare tractor, 45hp+, cheap and easy to fix. With loaded rears and a locking diff you won't have issues with traction. You can get these for $3-5K all day long and have money left over for implements. Our forefathers got the job done with them, you can too.

Should I be looking for the diesel version of these Fords?

 

[Tractorable]

Most folks prefer the diesels for their torque but the gassers are good too and can be bought for less money. The gassers are arguably cheaper and easier to fix as well.

 

[clevalley]

Most folks prefer the diesels for their torque but the gassers are good too and can be bought for less money. The gassers are arguably cheaper and easier to fix as well.

My old neighbor has an old Ford 8n on flat 4 acres - and he can do a LOT with that tractor. It does not have a loader but his snow removal is done with a rear blade.

 

[bspeedy]

Used tractors are like used cars. You get a lot better machine for every increment in price increase up to about 12 grand. Fewer leaks, working instrumentation, more refinement.

I stand by my recommendation to get a 25-30 hp tractor with 4wd. Yes, farmers in the 50's and 60's got a lot of work done with heavy 2wd tractors. Many farmers today are using 4wd machines and there is a reason for that.

Good luck in choosing.

 

[joschae]

Used tractors are like used cars. You get a lot better machine for every increment in price increase up to about 12 grand. Fewer leaks, working instrumentation, more refinement.

I stand by my recommendation to get a 25-30 hp tractor with 4wd. Yes, farmers in the 50's and 60's got a lot of work done with heavy 2wd tractors. Many farmers today are using 4wd machines and there is a reason for that.

Good luck in choosing.

From what I can gather if you get a 2wd you want it heavy and the Ford 3000/4000 meet that criteria. This one is within driving distance. Not sure if the hours should be worry some. Still has some life in it I'm assuming.

1986- 95 John Deere - farm & garden - by owner - sale

 

[rgr33]

I have a JD 950, and it has been ultra dependable in the 19 years I've owned it. That Yanmar engine is a great one, never had any issues, just regular service and a new battery every few years.

It's a bit more primitive than the newer tractors, but work wise, it holds up fine. I couldn't tell you about parts availability, but I suspect it wouldn't be a problem.

 

[bspeedy]

That's a whole lot of hours, but the machine looks decent. I'm impressed that the grille is not all bashed up. Perhaps it was only used for mowing or light snow blading or something? Front wheels are turned around so that could have worn on the front end components. If the machine starts without ether and runs without hazing blue smoke and does what it's supposed to do, it's probably worth 3500 or 4 grand. If the current owner put a lot of the hours on it, that would also be a good sign. The problem will be selling it when you are done. Machines with around 4000 hours are assumed to be 'used up' and will have to sell for cheap or get parted out. This machine might serve you well for 1500 hours or it might crap out on the first day out.

Obviously we like to spend your money around here. Do consider that money invested into a tractor and equipment isn't gone forever. You will sell it someday. You will upgrade to something bigger / newer / better for your use. A good tractor that is bought for the right price and maintained well should recover most of it's value when it sells. My first tractor was a (used) New Holland TC30 with loader and backhoe. I paid $13,250 for it. Over the 4 years and 500 hours I put on it, I spent another 500 dollars or so for maintenance and repairs. Maybe another few hundred for fuel. I sold it for $14,750. That's right. Got back every dollar I spent on fuel, oil, repairs and maintenance with a little extra. Not impossible, but it can be done with careful shopping, cautious operation and diligent maintenance.

 

[joschae]

That's a whole lot of hours, but the machine looks decent. I'm impressed that the grille is not all bashed up. Perhaps it was only used for mowing or light snow blading or something? Front wheels are turned around so that could have worn on the front end components. If the machine starts without ether and runs without hazing blue smoke and does what it's supposed to do, it's probably worth 3500 or 4 grand. If the current owner put a lot of the hours on it, that would also be a good sign. The problem will be selling it when you are done. Machines with around 4000 hours are assumed to be 'used up' and will have to sell for cheap or get parted out. This machine might serve you well for 1500 hours or it might crap out on the first day out.

Obviously we like to spend your money around here. Do consider that money invested into a tractor and equipment isn't gone forever. You will sell it someday. You will upgrade to something bigger / newer / better for your use. A good tractor that is bought for the right price and maintained well should recover most of it's value when it sells. My first tractor was a (used) New Holland TC30 with loader and backhoe. I paid $13,250 for it. Over the 4 years and 500 hours I put on it, I spent another 500 dollars or so for maintenance and repairs. Maybe another few hundred for fuel. I sold it for $14,750. That's right. Got back every dollar I spent on fuel, oil, repairs and maintenance with a little extra. Not impossible, but it can be done with careful shopping, cautious operation and diligent maintenance.

Good insights. With everything I look at the price gap jumps from 5k to about 9k for the newer stuff. I'm jumping out of my shoes to hog my land. It's current condition does not meet my standards.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Heck I could mow that with my zero turn mower except maybe for the few bushes showing which might require some chainsaw work. I have two tractors (70hp and 26 HP) and I haven't used my bush hog in 3 or 4 years, at least on my property. I did help bush hog my ex-daughter -in-law's 10 acres last year but I mow my pasture with my zero turn. It is faster than using my 7 foot bush hog. We had to bush hog lots of stuff down when we first bought the place but after a few years of keeping down the weeds and tree sprouts, I can now do it with my mower and do a much better job. I keep up 11 acres of my own and also mow my brother in laws place next door now that he is disabled, all with my 52" zero turn mower.

Have you thought about just getting a commercial grade lawnmower to mow the pasture with? Of course that doesn't take care of snow removal and other tractor chores.

 

[joschae]

Heck I could mow that with my zero turn mower except maybe for the few bushes showing which might require some chainsaw work. I have two tractors (70hp and 26 HP) and I haven't used my bush hog in 3 or 4 years, at least on my property. I did help bush hog my ex-daughter -in-law's 10 acres last year but I mow my pasture with my zero turn. It is faster than using my 7 foot bush hog. We had to bush hog lots of stuff down when we first bought the place but after a few years of keeping down the weeds and tree sprouts, I can now do it with my mower and do a much better job. I keep up 11 acres of my own and also mow my brother in laws place next door now that he is disabled, all with my 52" zero turn mower.

Have you thought about just getting a commercial grade lawnmower to mow the pasture with? Of course that doesn't take care of snow removal and other tractor chores.

I should have clarified. The picture is a little deceiving. What you are seeing is the section I cut with my 46 inch Husq garden tractor taking 1/2 swipes. Took me about 4 hours for .3 acre, then I stopped. . This might be a better pic. It got so tall it laid over.

 

[joschae]

I should have clarified. The picture is a little deceiving. What you are seeing is the section I cut with my 46 inch Husq garden tractor taking 1/2 swipes. Took me about 4 hours for .3 acre, then I stopped. View attachment 518267. This might be a better pic. It got so tall it laid over.

Picked this guy up. My world just got a little bigger. Night and day difference in capabilities.

 

[bigtiller]

Now that the 6 grand budget has exploded, Congratulations. After the sticker shock wears off you'll wonder why you ever thought of less tractor. Did the trailer come with the package?

 

[joschae]

Now that the 6 grand budget has exploded, Congratulations. After the sticker shock wears off you'll wonder why you ever thought of less tractor. Did the trailer come with the package?

Trailer was borrowed from a friend. Love the tractor... Just wish I had a loader for it. Searching daily for one. No dice.