Does Anyone Buy Used Tractors?

[stuckmotor]

After reading some horror stories about new tractors waiting to be repaired in the dealer's shop for months as the warranty ticked away, I'm afraid to buy a new one.

 

[5030]

After reading some horror stories about new tractors waiting to be repaired in the dealer's shop for months as the warranty ticked away, I'm afraid to buy a new one.

IMO, that all hinges on the quality of the dealer and I have an excellent one that is 25 miles from here. I also have 2 other dealers (Kubota), within 35 miles of here that I've never set foot in and have no intention of..

The issue today is parts availability and that isn't a dealer's fault at all. They can only get what the warehouse ships them.

So far I've not had and common parts issues with my Kubota's (filters and such) but I will say the parts cost has increased quite a bit, but then everything from eggs to gasoline has.

 

[Jimbo16720]

What gets me is how many mention new tractors and dealers. Most older ones were fixed at home by the owner unless you were unable to know what a wrench was. Now days with the addition of computers in everything unless you have the tools you have to take them to a dealer to get fixed. All a tractor needs is a temp gauge, oil gauge, and a volt gauge to monitor if it's ok. Now they have so many sensors to go bad and tell the computer to run different you need the tools to find the bad sensor. If you try to figure it out without those tools and just use process of elimination it could cost a lot of money.

 

[scootr]

Internet has changed the way people think. Yesterday you learned skills to take you through life. Mechanics were something you learned if machinery was part of your livelihood - Today people rely on the internet to instantly teach ( more like show) how to deal with any mechanical challenge and they feel confident they can fix the car, the computer, the water heater, and the mower just by watching you tube shorts (they don't have the attention span for in-depth videos).
It's good for sales at all levels but hell on tech support, warranty, and repair.

 

[jyoutz]

What gets me is how many mention new tractors and dealers. Most older ones were fixed at home by the owner unless you were unable to know what a wrench was. Now days with the addition of computers in everything unless you have the tools you have to take them to a dealer to get fixed. All a tractor needs is a temp gauge, oil gauge, and a volt gauge to monitor if it's ok. Now they have so many sensors to go bad and tell the computer to run different you need the tools to find the bad sensor. If you try to figure it out without those tools and just use process of elimination it could cost a lot of money.

True. But the flip side is that most of the newer equipment doesn’t need as much work. I remember being able to work on the 1970s vehicles at home; but I was always working on them for tuneups every 20k miles: points, condensers, rotor caps, plugs, wires, timing, etc…. When is the last time a modern vehicle needed a tuneup? New plugs every 100k miles and regular fluid/filter changes is about all that’s needed every 100k. The comparison of vehicles to tractors isn’t exactly the same, but the point is that the new systems typically don’t need a lot of scheduled maintenance or repairs. People post here when they have problems, but the majority are happy with their machines and not experiencing problems.

 

[Cougsfan]

I tend to think you are comparing the used tractor market to the used car market and they are not that similar at all. I don't have any statistics to prove this, but I think people own cars for a lot less longer, maybe 2 to 4 years on average before they sell them. Tractors, I would guess fall into more like the 10 to 15 years ownership range. Many never get sold and are passed on to the next generation. So there are fewer used tractors available for sale. Simple as that. If you do have a used tractor for sale, it is generally pretty easy to sell for a fairly decent price.

 

[scootr]

When I was searching for my newest tractor (1st tractor purchase in 15 years) I spoke with a dealer in OK who had a lovely looking tractor I was wanting to buy. I asked how the tractor was used previously. He simply said IDK... Okay well, thanks for your time, flipper.
I bought local from a guy I met and talked with for an hour before money exchanged hands. Buying used anything isn't for everybody. It takes skills many of us have not developed. The same is true for selling the used equipment or auto

 

[Jimbo16720]

True. But the flip side is that most of the newer equipment doesn’t need as much work. I remember being able to work on the 1970s vehicles at home; but I was always working on them for tuneups every 20k miles: points, condensers, rotor caps, plugs, wires, timing, etc…. When is the last time a modern vehicle needed a tuneup? New plugs every 100k miles and regular fluid/filter changes is about all that’s needed every 100k. The comparison of vehicles to tractors isn’t exactly the same, but the point is that the new systems typically don’t need a lot of scheduled maintenance or repairs. People post here when they have problems, but the majority are happy with their machines and not experiencing problems.

I'm not saying somethings they improved on but think of what you are saying with vehicles and tractors. Most of those things you replaced on a vehicle aren't even on a tractor. And with a vehicle electronic ignition was an improvement over points. But then some idiot decided a coil for each cylinder was better than one for all cylinders. Then they put a computer in to monitor the engine with a million sensors to talk to the computer. Now they did that to tractors over 25hp so they had to add all those sensors. So now when you have a problem you can't fix it without taking it to the dealer. So now you either need a trailer or the dealer will charge you to haul it there and back. And then you go without till they get the parts, fix it, and bring it back. That's why I'll buy used that I can fix myself.

 

[jyoutz]

I'm not saying somethings they improved on but think of what you are saying with vehicles and tractors. Most of those things you replaced on a vehicle aren't even on a tractor. And with a vehicle electronic ignition was an improvement over points. But then some idiot decided a coil for each cylinder was better than one for all cylinders. Then they put a computer in to monitor the engine with a million sensors to talk to the computer. Now they did that to tractors over 25hp so they had to add all those sensors. So now when you have a problem you can't fix it without taking it to the dealer. So now you either need a trailer or the dealer will charge you to haul it there and back. And then you go without till they get the parts, fix it, and bring it back. That's why I'll buy used that I can fix myself.

What you say is true. But I do all maintenance myself and have rarely needed dealer repairs for my past 2 machines. It’s not something that is needed often, and I’m OK with paying for those rare occasions that require dealer service.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I've never experienced that new tractor scent.