Buying Advice Looking to buy my first TLB, is this a good price?

[PerkFarmPa]

Greetings everyone. I am Amin the market for my first tractor. Looking at used. Own 30 acres and am just looking to use he tractor for chores. I came across a 2008 Kubota L39 with 405 hours. Asking price is $28,900.00 obo. Will be calling the seller tomorrow with questions like 努as this a rental; used for commercial work etc. I know low hours is nice but history of use and abuse is paramount. 405 hours on a 10 year old piece of equipment seems to good to be true considering others I have looked at (2008) range between 1300-2200 and go from 16k to 22k. Now the seller is about 150 miles from my land so I知 going to ask about throwing in delivery since I do not own a trailer to haul that weight. Just curious what everyone痴 first impressions are about this price vs. hours / year. Also would like any advice on questions to ask and things to look for. Thanks much!

 

[rScotty]

Greetings everyone. I am Amin the market for my first tractor. Looking at used. Own 30 acres and am just looking to use he tractor for chores. I came across a 2008 Kubota L39 with 405 hours. Asking price is $28,900.00 obo. Will be calling the seller tomorrow with questions like 努as this a rental; used for commercial work etc. I know low hours is nice but history of use and abuse is paramount. 405 hours on a 10 year old piece of equipment seems to good to be true considering others I have looked at (2008) range between 1300-2200 and go from 16k to 22k. Now the seller is about 150 miles from my land so I知 going to ask about throwing in delivery since I do not own a trailer to haul that weight. Just curious what everyone痴 first impressions are about this price vs. hours / year. Also would like any advice on questions to ask and things to look for. Thanks much!

The hours are believable for a home-owner machine. My M59 of about the same age only has 975 hours and that includes several years of hard work. But it is home-owner work....so it's easier on the machine.

I'm going to assume that it is a home-owner machine and that the guy has owned it since new. Otherwise the price is too high. For that premium price there are several things to look for. The most important one is that the backhoe should have a thumb. You really want it to have a thumb....the thumb doubles the usability of the TLB backhoe.

A thumb can always be added, but very expensive. Get a quote from a dealer on that. If added after the fact it would make that tractor too expensive IMHO. My other "must have" would be the 3pt kit. It's a thousand dollar option and there are lots of parts in that 3pt kit box.

Other things that are nice to have are quick-change backhoe buckets and at least two buckets, a wide and a narrow one.
The front loader should have SSQA and front remote hydraulics so you can change buckets and add a grapple.
I'd expect complete maintenance records from a home-owner machine as well as the owners manuals - there is one manual for the tractor and a separate one for the backhoe on most TLBs of that era.
Tires should be in real nice condition at such low hours. In fact, the whole tractor should be in really good shape. Condition is everything.

These Kubota TLBs are heavy built tractors. With under 500 hours a home-owner tractor is barely broken in and should still be looking nice & with extras.
Luck,
rScotty

 

[Yamforlife]

L39 is a great machine just sold mine this week. 2007 just under 2000 hours runs like new got 23K for it. Bought a 2016 M59 with 358 Hours. I put over 900 hours on it over 5 years and just had very minor repairs.

 

[FatTire]

Not unusual for homeowner machines to have low hours. 500 in 10 years sounds good, 50 per year. Ditto on the thumb, you won't believe how often a hydraulic thumb will make your work faster and easier.

 

[PerkFarmPa]

Not unusual for homeowner machines to have low hours. 500 in 10 years sounds good, 50 per year. Ditto on the thumb, you won't believe how often a hydraulic thumb will make your work faster and easier.

Thanks for the info. So are you saying that this is not a good price if there is no hydraulic thumb? I know there isn稚 one and am not even sure if it has the front hookup for the hydraulics. I have to drive 2.5 hours just to look at it.

 

[rScotty]

Thanks for the info. So are you saying that this is not a good price if there is no hydraulic thumb? I know there isn稚 one and am not even sure if it has the front hookup for the hydraulics. I have to drive 2.5 hours just to look at it.

I don't know if that is high...I think it is, but then I don't know the market. Frankly, I like to buy used AND I don't ever mind paying right at the top of the market because I am only interested if it is in great condition and with extras. People selling tractors like that are generally at the top of the market spread and that's what I'm looking for.

If the price is just because they want to get more money or because they want to start high and dicker I loose interest fast.

That's why I listed some of the extras you might expect to find on a one-owner tractor that was bought new ten years ago. That's because back when the Kubota TLBs were new products, Kubota was generous with dealers about including extra features for a good price.

How much does a thumb and front remote hydraulics cost dealer installed? Or just a thumb? Your local dealer ought to be able to tell you that. And if an OEM hydraulic thumb was included in the price it could turn into a good deal. Add front remotes and nice condition and now it is too good!
rScotty

 

[edgarrian]

I think the seller is at the very top of the market with his price. You should contact a dealer close to you to see how much a thumb and front remote hydraulics would cost. You can also go visit the and start of negotiations at 22k and see if he is willing to work. He should be if it OBO. You didn't mention trying to negotiate I hope that you do and just don't go pay the asking price.

I negotiate price when ever I can. I recently purchased a pto driven leaf vac for my machine. They go for 3,495. I got it for for 2,800. It helps that I purchased from the place that manufactures them. Luckily enough for me they were only 15 minutes away. I had know idea that Trac Vac was made in Thorntown IN. Now if this was a dealer selling the trac vac I wouldn't have been able to get much of the price down. If it was at a dealer then the margins are much slimmer for them.

 

[beckmurph]

There are 6 L39’s on Machinery Trader.
All are well over 1,000 hrs and show the wear.
All, except 2, are right at the asking price of the one you are interested in.

 

[4570Man]

Assuming it really has 500 hours or at least has the wear of 500 hours that’s a pretty good buy. There’s no way the seller will take the 22k as suggested above. Remember the L39 and it’s sister machines aren’t just a regular tractor with a backhoe and loader slapped on. They’re built a lot heavier duty.

 

[PerkFarmPa]

Assuming it really has 500 hours or at least has the wear of 500 hours that’s a pretty good buy. There’s no way the seller will take the 22k as suggested above. Remember the L39 and it’s sister machines aren’t just a regular tractor with a backhoe and loader slapped on. They’re built a lot heavier duty.

4570Man- That's what I was thinking. I'm going to offer him $25,500.00 Cash and ask him to deliver. He does mention OBO.