etpm
Veteran Member
Not Craigslist but neighbor. Sick of my Ford 9N hydraulics I decided to buy a newer tractor. Something from about 1980. Shooting the breeze with my neighbor I told him my plans. About a week later he says he found a tractor for me. Told me where it was so I could drive by and eyeball it. It was Yanmar YM2310. It had Bulldog 285 loader on it. Knowing nothing about Yanmars I thought it was a Bulldog 285 tractor. Looking online I saw that Bulldog 285s sold for around 2500 bucks. So I told my neighbor I was interested, figuring I would dicker on the price. Well some time goes by and I hear nothing. I drive by again and actually stop to look and realize the tractor isn't a Bulldog, it's a Yanmar. Still not knowing anything about these tractors I go home and research them a little. Turns out they make good machines so I bug my neighbor to contact the the guy because I was interested. The guy tells my neighbor he still wanted to sell so my neighbor says he will set up a meeting. Then my neighbor takes off for a week or so. I decide to approach the owner myself. I knock on his door, introduce my self and how I know of him through my neighbor and ask if he may want to sell the tractor. He says no, I apologize for bothering him, my mistake and all that. I drive off feeling kind of like a heel for just knocking on his door like that. Later that day I see my neighbor is home so I tell him what I did and when he speaks again to the guy please apologize again for me for just showing up on his doorstep. So while my neighbor and I are drinking a beer he emails the guy and he has changed his mind, wants to sell the tractor. He wants a fair price, $2500.00. By now, after looking at these tractors online I knew 2500 bucks was a steal for a good running 2310 complete with a like new loader. After all that back and forth I now have a Yanmar YM2310 with a loader, box blade with rippers that looks almost new, and clamp on forks that runs great.