Buying Used

[Big Barn]

.
But it is necessary to ask the seller in the right way. That helps both buyer and seller arrive at a decent price.

rScotty

AGREED

 

[DieselBound]

Maybe have something inspected before you buy?

I bought my NX5510 new and don't regret doing so (it's the ONLY new "vehicle" I've ever bought- to say that it required a lot of push is an understatement [I had to much work to do and I did NOT want to be rebuilding/fixing something used as I have many such pieces of equipment already]). My Kubota B7800 I got with 758 hrs on it, HARD hours, and it's been flawless in the face of total abuse by myself (1,050 hrs I've now added on to it; plus another hour or 2 just the other day). I had novice confidence in the Kubota because it was purchased from a dealer: it was a decent dealer, though I didn't really know it at the time- they seemed fine.

 

[rScotty]

Reading through TBN for ten or more years now, I'm seeing that new tractors are definititely more reliable than old beat-up ones. Nobody doubts that.

But when comparing the problems that new ones have in and our of warranty with problems on low hour well-cared for used tractors it seems about even - or maybe even tilted slightly in favor of the used tractor.

I'm also seeing the amount of warranty repairs on new tractors versus the work to put a good used tractor back onto a decent maintenance schedule seem to be about the same. Major failures are rare in either group, although unfortunately dealership hassles either seem to be growing slightly or maybe just reported more.

It makes me think that buying new has more to do with popularity & finances, and not so much to do with the mechanical wear or reliability.

On any tractor - new or used - there will be days we expect to work with it and instead we first have to get out the tools and do some maintenance.
rScotty

 

[Cougsfan]

Should one buy new or used is such a loaded question. As you factor in price, quality, your needs, the frequency of your use, your mechanical abilities, your degree of perfectionism, and on and on... either choice could be better at times. There most certainly isn't an answer that is always best. Often either answer will often work admirably.

 

[kenmbz]

For my Jeep, bought used, Computer and etc. had already been replaced, so I knew it was now ready to be used
Wifes car - used, last 2 previous cars used. Had all of them for over 10 years.
Tractor - new , needed something to get me going on projects, and used was not much cheaper as the new line was filling up the dealers lot.
Tools - new and used - matters what it is as some tools last, and some are not all that repairable.
One chain saw used-cheap-still used as backup, main chainsaw- new
Snow blower, big blower, lawn tractor - used. i can do the maintenance and replace carbs etc. myself (and have) so less than half price for them

 

[Doug62]

I went the new route since the prices of the used stuff is not that far off new for a low hour model. This way it has a nice warranty and 0% financing. For my implements, I do both new and used depending on the level of maintenance it takes. Just bought a 20 year old Woods finish mower that works great but am looking only a new bushhogs since I have no idea how much abuse one of those has taken and most have likely been used and abused. lol

I don't know that I'll need much other than the FEL, grapple, bushhog and finish mower. My buddy who has property adjacent to mine has a similar tractor and just about every implement you can get for a CUT. He even bought the backhoe, which seems like a lot of money for the size of the bucket and arm reach.

 

[Coboco]

I didn't read through all 5 pages, but I'll bet what I'm about to say is a repeat of many others!

Reliability, and warranty if something does happen were two main points in us buying a new tractor. I want to keep this tractor for the rest of my life and figured starting new will give me good odds of having that happen - I'll know every little thing that it has experienced and what prime performance feels like, while not having to deal with any previous shade tree fixes confusing me down the road.

 

[rScotty]

I didn't read through all 5 pages, but I'll bet what I'm about to say is a repeat of many others!

Reliability, and warranty if something does happen were two main points in us buying a new tractor. I want to keep this tractor for the rest of my life and figured starting new will give me good odds of having that happen - I'll know every little thing that it has experienced and what prime performance feels like, while not having to deal with any previous shade tree fixes confusing me down the road.

That is a popular reason for buying new, but there's more to it than that. It is the "more to it" that we've been batting around in this thread.

We start out with questioning what is a warranty really worth? We know we pay for it, but what is it we are getting?
Well, when you get right down to the nuts and bolts, a warranty is only good if you don't have reliability in the first place. Otherwise a warranty doesn't do anything for you that reliability doesn't do better.
Along with that, we discover that the only way to prove reliability is to use something.
In fact, something used or "proven" has a kind of reliability that just doesn't exist in something new.

Proven reliability is valuable in all kinds of complex machinery from manufacturing tools to airplanes. When a machine absolutely has to work right the first time, nobody pulls a a new untested example off the manufacturing line. You go with one that has been tested and proven.

So it turns out that we buy into a little bit of manufacturer's salesmanship when we just accept thethe idea that "new and warranteed" is as valuable as " proven reliable".
It would be nice if true, but it's not the whole story.
There's definitely good value in something new, but simply buying the entire concept of "new always being better" doesn't stand up so well when we look at it more closely.

And that's not even getting into the fact that some designs that are simply better than others. It takes time to prove a design.

rScotty

 

[fried1765]

That is a popular reason for buying new, but there's more to it than that. It is the "more to it" that we've been batting around in this thread.

We start out with questioning what is a warranty really worth? We know we pay for it, but what is it we are getting?
Well, when you get right down to the nuts and bolts, a warranty is only good if you don't have reliability in the first place. Otherwise a warranty doesn't do anything for you that reliability doesn't do better.
Along with that, we discover that the only way to prove reliability is to use something.
In fact, something used or "proven" has a kind of reliability that just doesn't exist in something new.

Proven reliability is valuable in all kinds of complex machinery from manufacturing tools to airplanes. When a machine absolutely has to work right the first time, nobody pulls a a new untested example off the manufacturing line. You go with one that has been tested and proven.

So it turns out that we buy into a little bit of manufacturer's salesmanship when we just accept thethe idea that "new and warranteed" is as valuable as " proven reliable".
It would be nice if true, but it's not the whole story.
There's definitely good value in something new, but simply buying the entire concept of "new always being better" doesn't stand up so well when we look at it more closely.

And that's not even getting into the fact that some designs that are simply better than others. It takes time to prove a design.

rScotty

VERY WELL SAID !

 

[Big Barn]

VERY WELL SAID !

Agreed