Buying Advice 1510D Advice

tums20 · Nov 30, 2015

I originally put this in the General Forum, it was suggested I move it here.

Just got roughly 2 acres to landscape and garden
Looking at a Yanmar 1510D with tiller, scraper box, and loader. They are asking $6,500

Tractor started right up and sounded good.....
It was on the small side but tiller looked like it was a good size for my needs and having a small front loader would be nice

This price seem acceptable on the left coast?

He said he rebuilt the steering column and it is the John Deere green, not red like most pictures I have found

Anything to look for? Common issues?
Hour meter shows 700 but I know that could easily be 2700 since only 3 places

Thanks

winston1 · Nov 30, 2015

Better snatch it if in decent condition. That is a buyers price for sure.

Was it cranked when cold or already warmed up when you got there. Low compression or worn engines can be hard to crank when cold. They might crank right up when already warmed. Any excess smoke? Any blowby out the crankcase vent? All gears work? 4 wheel drive work?

tums20 · Nov 30, 2015

I saw it at night so did not get to test drive it yet. He says the 4x4 works. It was a cold night and fired right up, no clue though if he had started it before I got there. No more smoke out of the exhaust than I would have guessed from a diesel. Looked pretty good, will probably go inspect it more this weekend in the daytime.

Any ideas why it's green and not red? They make them like that from the factory?

winston1 · Nov 30, 2015

No green in the 1510's that I am aware of. There was a company that I believe refurbished and painted some green several years ago. Might ask the owner if he knows how it became green.

California · Nov 30, 2015

I'm a few miles west of you and bought one similar (YM186D, the US version) except I already had the tiller. That replaced a YM186D that lacked a loader ... So I'm familiar with two of them. I had to replace the steering box on the first one, and found I wasn't the first person to have the box apart. Rain can go down the steering column and rust the steering bearings, so this damage isn't unusual for these.

That's full price, but not unreasonable if the condition justifies it. If it looks solid and original you will get many years service from these. These are Yanmar's smallest model with Powershift and I found that feature makes it near an equal to my larger YM240 (YM2000).

These don't appear in the market very often in condition that justifies that price. If this one is excellent, jump on it.

California · Nov 30, 2015

As far as I know that US (Canada?) company that reconditioned imported Yanmars and painted them green was doing quality work, in contrast to the more recent VN reconditioning that for example buried Tractor Masters of Sacramento due to their failures during the warranty period.

If this one has run several years since it arrived, that's an excellent sign that it should run many more years.

tums20 · Nov 30, 2015

Thank you for the information. Is there any way to tell when it was potentially reconditioned? Unit looked like it had been green and yellow for some time.

California · Dec 1, 2015

That's a good sign, about the only thing to watch out for on older Yanmars is a 'reconditioning' that consists of a museum quality paint job over a tractor assembled from unrelated junkyard parts, after a first lifetime in Japan then a second lifetime in the paddies of VN. If you don't see any evidence of that, then these things are near indestructible and will run for years with normal maintenance.

It sounds like this one has been in ordinary use for some years, that's a good sign that it won't surprise you. I think that the guy who painted his imports green had real pride in importing used-but-not-abused rigs from Japan, as I recall that his website declared. 10~20 years ago there were lots of good used tractors in Japan suitable to import and put in service here after just ordinary maintenance.

You still need to look it over carefully, ask questions, etc to verify it is what it appears to be. Take along someone with similar farm-tractor experience if possible. And test all the gears, lighting and charge systems, hydraulics, etc. None of the components that can wear out over decades - alternator etc, are hard to find or particularly expensive, for example a starter for my YM240 was $99, so you should discount the price for deficiencies but they shouldn't be deal-breakers if the tractor is fundamentally sound.

But that seller is asking a price that belongs with a top-condition tractor. My YM186D, US version of same tractor, was $4500 then reduced to $3500 when the seller was desperate to sell it for money to fix his work truck and get back to earning a living. It looks shabby, most of its life was operation by careless casual laborers of a landscape contractor. Aside from weathered paint and somewhat thrashed appearance, it is all original and seems like it should run a few more decades given decent maintenance. You should expect proportionally better condition than this for the price your seller is asking.

Photo - $4500/$3500 YM186D w loader, and behind it the one I sold without loader, for $2500 - for an idea of the condition you find at lesser price levels.

winston1 · Dec 1, 2015

Finding any kind of 4 wheel drive tractor with a loader in East Texas for less than $6000 is rare. I never see tillers for less than $600, most for considerable more. Box blades on the other hand are numerous and sometimes sell as low as 2 to $300. No doubt, condition is important.