Need First Tractor. . . I want to learn! ! !

[4570Man]

What worked well for us with 15 acres was a $7K John Deere 310B back hole and a $5K Ford 3600 tractor. I grew up with old iron so buying used was not that hard for me. Best of success which ever route you go in retirement.

I have a good bit more than that in my backhoe but it’s a little newer. I paid about the same for my backhoe as a new compact tractor, but I have a way bigger machine. A backhoe would be way more useful in building a house than a little tractor. It’s not very useful after that. Buying a bigger piece of equipment and selling it at the end to get a smaller piece makes good sense to me. And I see fairly new 10k 30hp tractors with loaders fairly often if you decide to go that approach.

 

[Aquamoose]

Congrats on your retirement! I come from a LEO family with hundreds of friends in the LEO community. I’m semi-retired as I’m enjoying the balance.

Onward with the topic, to add to the advice of others, take a drive around town n’ visit neighbors who have tractors , dealers, and you should be able to get sound advice from the lots on the ground because they would advise you best with regards to dealer support (for parts & service), types of implements that works best for the area, whether you want open or closed cab due to the weather, etc.

Who knows, you may find another neighbor whom you can share implements with. I have a buddy who’s a middle school principal and we share stuff all the time. Some items are a constant necessity (like backblades for snow plowing) which shouldn’t be shared anyway.

 

[kenmac]

Enjoy the diesel fumes!

waaaay better than nasty emissions !. I get my cookies smelling diesel

I weld, so I also smell those nasty welding fumes !

I change nasty oil and get oil and grease on my hands, face, etc,.

I burn brush piles, smell that nasty smoke.

I ain't no snowflake !

 

[majorwager]

Don't generally disagree w/ rScotty, however the cash purchase is overated in some cases. Case in point: Few years ago, my kubota financing required NO money down, O percent- 60 months, even the sales tax was using kubota' s money. At that time cash vs finance price of machine was the same. Manufacturers have since become a little smarter, baking in a finance fee.

However I was, still am in a position to pash cash for a new tractor. But in the scenario Described, where is the incentive? I suffered no penalty for employing kubota's money. I did pay the channel mortgage fee out of pocket, UCC lien fee to file and had the inconvenience of writing a monthly check. Again, do the circumstances dictate the terms?

Edit:kenmac, perhaps kubota had different programs for different machines? My quotes, 3x dealers, no difference between cash and finance. As for insurance, you are partially correct. I had numerous pieces of equipment at the time, stiil have more than necessary, but I had an in force inland marine policy coving my equipment, Kubota accepted that policy as proof of casualty loss coverage and they did require a copy of policy annual renewal while the loan was active. Insurance coverage is required, KTAC coverage is NOT.

Owning equipment w/o insurance coverage is a roulette game of no interest to me. Financed or owned outright, makes no difference.

 

[kenmac]

Don't generally disagree w/ rScotty, however the cash purchase is overated in some cases. Case in point: Few years ago, my kubota financing required NO money down, O percent- 60 months, even the sales tax was using kubota' s money. At that time cash vs finance price of machine was the same. Manufacturers have since become a little smarter, baking in a finance fee.

However I was, still am in a position to pash cash for a new tractor. But in the scenario Described, where is the incentive? I suffered no penalty for employing kubota's money. I did pay the channel mortgage fee out of pocket, lien fee to file and had the inconvenience of writing a monthly check. Again, do the circumstances dictate the terms?

when I bought my Kubota Diesel Z turn. Kubota had 0% interest . When I inquired about it they said it would be $300 less if I paid cash.
They also stated that if I finance, I had to take out insurance which was another cost.
So in reality, 0% wasn't 0%

 

[kenmac]

perhaps they had a different program for tractors than Z turn mowers.
They did advertise 0%, but when you got down to the nuts and bolts. It was $300.00 do do the paper work.

Another thing is, If you do finance and get true 0%. you may end up spending more money than you budgeted for.

To each his /her own. I had a figure I wanted to spend on a tractor, and I didn't go over that figure.

 

[4570Man]

Is spending more than you originally planned really a bad thing? I spent more on my backhoe than originally intended but I found a really good deal on a much nicer machine than I originally planned on buying. Would paying market value on older more hour machine have been smarter?

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Is spending more than you originally planned really a bad thing? I spent more on my backhoe than originally intended but I found a really good deal on a much nicer machine than I originally planned on buying. Would paying market value on older more hour machine have been smarter?

For sure, there are times when it is smart to pay a little more, to get a lot more.

 

[kenmac]

For sure, there are times when it is smart to pay a little more, to get a lot more.

But it's stupid if you can't afford more.
Like buying things with a cc.
When buying with a cc, some / most people tend to spend more than they would have if they used cash.
That's how some get into trouble

 

[kenmac]

Is spending more than you originally planned really a bad thing?

LOL not if you can afford it.
People that finance tend to spend more for products than those that pay cash, because they can '' make the payment''

That's what car dealers learned a long time ago. They can get the customer to spend more, if they can get their payment right