New versus Used is primarily a confidence decision.
Confidence & Risk Acceptance
Are you confident in the ability to cope with what may come? Have you considered the risks, and implemented mitigations or compensating controls? When something breaks, the result is downtime. How much downtime in this aspect of your life can you sustain? If a failure doesn't directly impact your livelihood, how damaging is that downtime? If you determine that downtime is acceptable, and/or if you're confident of your ability to resolve issues, you are likely open to accept higher risks in trade for upfront savings (e.g. buying a used or less-reputable product).
Features
A secondary factor in the new versus used selection process is driven by features, where many new features are exaggerated in value to convince those who have tractors, and those looking for tractors, now is the time to buy the newest, shiny tractor. Forget about those old tractors, and don't wait for tomorrow's tractors, you need a new tractor that has this or that feature, right now, today! When reading about a tractor and its list of features, ask yourself, does this feature get the job done any faster or safer? Does this feature do something differently that I'm already capable of doing? Is this feature hyped as if its important, but its not actually going to make your life any better, at your specific property and conditions? If you're not going to use a given feature, don't let the marketing trolls convince you the feature has value.
Budget
A third factor is simple dollars and sense. If you can't afford new, you're in the market for used. There's no negative to this fact. We call this reality. Don't let a salesman, advertiser, or other spawn of the devil trick you into taking on a larger debt than you can manage. Nobody should live tractor-poor unless the tractor is directly related to their livelihood. If your tractor is your primary income source and your tractor-poor, then get to back to work and stop reading forums on the Internet. Many of us drove a used car long before we could afford a new car. There's no shame in buying used, especially for tractors. Many people recommend buying a used car for new drivers, and some people only buy used cars, as there are good odds for tangible savings as a direct result of the high depreciation associated with cars. Tractors may not depreciate as quickly as cars, but there is always more room to negotiate hard when buying used.
Note - as a result of COVID chaos, if manufacturing and supply chain issues aren't returned to normal soon, the asking price for used tractors is likely to climb in some markets, as scarcity sets in with fewer new tractors available. Dealers may start asking above MSRP for new tractors in some areas if competition continues to be thwarted by COVID madness.
Saving money by spending money
Price perspective - if you're the type of person that buys a used car to replace your old car, or you buy new cars from brands with lower market share in pursuit of a lower sticker price, do not go buy a new tractor from a popular brand like JD or K. People who are goal-oriented first and foremost around a lower purchase price that are looking for a tractor should definitely consider buying used and/or a lower market share brand. One of the most popular trends on TBN is the common meme that there is no "bad" tractor brand.
Buying new versus used, one buyer's opinion:
As a first-time tractor owner, having no workshop with tools nor a welder at the property (yet), I recently pursued new equipment primarily as a risk mitigation measure, compared to what I may encounter buying used. Fortunately, my budget at this time allowed for new. Given a reduced budget, I would've sought out a lightly-used, smaller tractor, or continued to wait on buying, while renting equipment when needed, and hiring others as needed. My use for the tractor isn't (yet) directly related to livelihood, so this is a discretionary purchase, and must be deferred if it didn't fit in the budget.
New comes with a warranty that guarantees if something fails in the near-term, it will be replaced at minimal to no cost. This isn't much different than buying an automobile. Would you buy a new car, or used car, if you don't have access to a garage, nor experience with engine and transmission repair?
A contributing factor in buying new was related to mortality. We're all getting older. How much longer am I willing to live without the tractor lifestyle? Am I looking for a tractor to work on it, or to spend most of my time using the tractor on the land? I'm at a crossroads where I could spend time at the ranch with a tractor, buy a sports car, or pursue an affair with a younger woman. In any event, the wife is happy that I've opted to buy a tractor and spend time working the land.
For those with facilities to perform repair work, confidence in their mechanical skills, and time available to find a good deal, buying used agriculture equipment may provide a much better value over new. This is especially true for implements, which are primarily steel with a very long lifecycle. A bit of rust should not dissuade you, so long as the force-bearing structure of the implement remains strong. Tractors and implements are tools. The value of a tool should be measured first by its ability to effectively perform work. All other details are secondary to performing real work. Is a shovel with a bit of surface rust no longer good at digging?
After I致e established a workshop at the property with tools, and build up experience maintaining the tractor, I値l have the confidence to buy used in the future. If I buy a second tractor, I値l look at used equipment first. For the implements I haven稚 yet bought, I知 already spending time looking for deals on used equipment (especially for disc harrows which tend be expensive new, not always available to rent, and something I値l likely use rarely).
Note - if the budget allows, and for those who enjoy repair projects, owning two or more used tractors can provide high availability so long as one of the tractors remains operational. I suspect some of the owners on TBN that list multiple tractors are in this category, where they've built up a collection of tractors and enjoy fixing things when something breaks. We should all aspire to level-up in that direction over time!
