I'm brand new to this forum, and only got my first tractor , a 4 X 4 JD 770, 2 days ago. I bought it on the Central Coast of California, half way between LA and SF. Tractors are expensive here, and good used compact utility tractors are are to find. I bought a 1998 (last year for the 770, replaced by the 790) with 229 hours. The owner bought it in June 99 as a lease return from a dealer. The vinyards used them to pull wagons around during harvest, etc. It had 50 hours in June 1999. He kept it garaged since then, so it was really clean. It has the 70 FEL which was new in 1999, a 2 stage clutch, (does not have a mid-PTO), a 1999 land pride box scraper, two row disk (an old but servicable one), an old spring shank cultivator and a home made (he's a welder by trade) set of rippers.
I paid $11,250.00, which is about #,000 - $4,000.00 less than a 50hr lease return 2002 790 (basically same tractor with 5 more hp). I had looked for 18 months for a good used tractor, and this was better than any I've found.
To cut to the chase, I don't have a dealer to stand behind it, but I didn't have to pay a dealer markup plus some $815.00 + in state sales tax.
I think your dealer is high on that one, but ehy, right now, I don't relly know spit from shinola about these things.
