Buying Advice Orphan tractors - savvy bargain or sucker's bet?

[Rowdy Redneck]

Fried, I have been looking for about six months now. I goofed around and missed a few decent opportunities, but now I am in a bit of a time crunch. Over the last several weeks I have spent a ton of time doing tasks that hand that could be done in minutes with a tractor and forks. That is not an exaggeration and I am tired of it! Honestly if I had pain myself minimum wage for all the time I've spent online looking at tractors, I would have enough money to buy any machine I wanted by now...lol.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I was in the same position as you. I had $10K for a tractor, and green or orange tractors had 1,000+ hours at that price. Bought a Montana with 175 hours. Been a great tractor. Made by LS which is still in business, and has a Mitsubishi diesel engine. I changed all of the fluids as soon as I got it home. Had the tractor for 5 years, and so far I've replaced 2 hoses. So for me, it has worked out really well.

 

[fried1765]

I was in the same position as you. I had $10K for a tractor, and green or orange tractors had 1,000+ hours at that price. Bought a Montana with 175 hours. Been a great tractor. Made by LS which is still in business, and has a Mitsubishi diesel engine. I changed all of the fluids as soon as I got it home. Had the tractor for 5 years, and so far I've replaced 2 hoses. So for me, it has worked out really well.

Your point is well taken, but........
Most times there is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with most tractors that have "1000+hours" (as long as not 4000 hours+).

 

[Industrial Toys]

It doesn't really matter that the job is yours. You can realistically figure the money earned or saved from not having to hire someone.

I guess deals come along. You have to look, have patience, have the money virtually in hand and your go-bag ready at the door. My neighbor was looking for years and every time I would suggest a good tractor deal, he and his SO were BUSY. Well, that doesn't work! I just stopped trying.

 

[Rowdy Redneck]

Boylerman - thanks for the feedback. Montanas do seem like great tractors.

Fried - I feel comfortable up to about 2k hours, assuming it was well maintained.

IT - I disagree. If I have to rent a machine for a month at a cost of $2000 for a paying job, I simply charge it to the customer as you mentioned previously. If I rent a machine for $2000 to work on my place, it comes straight out of the tractor fund. I think you are exactly right about needing to have the bag packed to chase after deals. I missed on a couple because I wan't ready. Now I am ready to go as soon as the right one comes along.

 

[newbury]

Thanks for the continued replies!

Newbury - budget is about $15k, absolute max. Would really prefer to be closer to 12. I'm not really going to be able to do much repair work myself.
<snip>

That was me 4 years ago.

Boylerman - thanks for the feedback. Montanas do seem like great tractors.

Fried - I feel comfortable up to about 2k hours, assuming it was well maintained.

IT - I disagree. If I have to rent a machine for a month at a cost of $2000 for a paying job, I simply charge it to the customer as you mentioned previously. If I rent a machine for $2000 to work on my place, it comes straight out of the tractor fund. I think you are exactly right about needing to have the bag packed to chase after deals. I missed on a couple because I wan't ready. Now I am ready to go as soon as the right one comes along.

Yes, there's a big difference if you pay for it out of your own funds.

In my case SWMBO and I decided I could spend $15K.
My other priorities were 4WD, able to lift a ton on the 3pt and 1000lb on the FEL. The lift was the driver for an additional tractor. My B7610 couldn't lift a 1 ton log onto my sawmill.
I spent about 9 months looking for it and ALMOST bought a 30+ HP Kubota from Barlow for about $16K.
But then my M4700 came up at a Public Surplus Auction in Dec 2012. thread, costing me $12K, leaving $3K to quickly squander on attachments.
Since then I've spent maybe $1K or so on "repairs" - replacing hoses, new front tires, a FEL cylinder repair ($40), all documented on TBN.

Now somehow I missed your requirement for a TLB for $15K, but I've seen several tractors similar to mine on the Public Service Auctions that looked good and went for < $15K.

 

[Industrial Toys]

The problem with many Ads pertaining to good deals is that "insiders" have seen the Ad before you.

There are many people who have the inclination and ability and buy a machine when building a house or developing a property. They saved the money of hiring someone even though they had to spend the money to buy a machine, or rent a machine and save the labor.

So it's not like outside (earned) money, but it does make financial sense when you were going to spend the money anyway, one way or another.

 

[Creamer]

In response to your original question on Montana and Bobcat I would not hesitate on either of them - Montana (by LS) and Bobcat (by Kioti) both still have all major parts support from the manufacturers - it just may be a different paint color so even if you have problems you will not be left out in the cold. Both are generally good tractors.

 

[CMV]

Little confused, maybe by other posts or just not having finished first cup of coffee this morning. Tractor & FEL or TLB is what you want?

TLB on that budget is gonna be real tough. Kubota BX23 size or else most likely a 4000+ hrs project machine - and would still need a pretty good deal with either to stay in budget.

Since we're same region I'd assume used sales are somewhat similar. So I'd suggest this - find a $13k ish 4x4, HST, tractor w/ FEL and possibly a bush hog, box blade, pallet forks, etc included. Any brand supported in your area. If there isn't an LS dealer within 200 miles from you, don't buy that. Same for Kioti, Mahindra, Branson, etc. Reason I say that is if you do need something now, maybe go ahead and score a good deal on a lightly used smaller machine. If it is a brand that is somewhat common around you - even if not as popular as JD or Kubota - it won't be hard to turn around and resell it if you decide you hate it. Lots of people looking for these smallish machines in good shape. A "package" of tractor + bush hog + anything else at a fair price gets snatched up quick around here from clist. Won't pick up "anything you own other than the house" but I'm continually impressed by what my little 25HP machine CAN do. Other than pure brute force, I can do same things that a bigger machine can, just slower and in smaller bites.

I found a good deal on mine, but honestly think I could put it on clist today for $500-$1000 more than i paid and have it gone this weekend. Still under 100 hrs, under factory warranty, still looks nearly new, everything works, and slightly larger than the smallest sub compacts. I got the (~35 hrs) tractor w/FEL, new 5' bush hog, new SSQA pallet forks for less than what just the tractor would cost brand new. And no sales tax buying form a private seller. So it was like getting the tractor at over $1000 discount plus getting the bush hog & forks for free. Was looking at a few other similar deals at same time too. None of them lasted long and sold quick. I happened to catch mine within an hour of the owner putting it on clist and was first to contact him. By the time I got there to look at it, he already had a line of other people interested in seeing it. Point of that is stay diligent in your search and pounce on a good deal as soon as you see it with cash in hand.

 

[Rowdy Redneck]

Hey CMV, just looking for a tractor and loader. Don't need a backhoe. I have pretty much all of the dealers within ten miles or so, except Kioti and Mahindra which are 30-40. Branson and LS are lawn mower guys with about four machines each. I have definitely considered going the smaller, cheaper route. I will readily admit that there is an excellent chance that a stout 30-35hp (New Holland TC35 comes to mind) machine could meet my needs. Unfortunately I haven't seen many great deals on them either.