buying used

[Farmwithjunk]

What would be a good rule of thumb will looking at used tractors? How many hrs. on the meter would be a safe number?

The only rule of thumb is there's no real rule of thumb.

I've got a 35 year old tractor with 3000(+) hours that's in better shape than most tractors with 100 hours. It's been pampered since new. I'm helping my son work on a 15 year old tractor with 1800 hours that is trashed. Too many variables to define a set "rule" on how used up a tractor will be in a certain number of hours.

Look at over-all condition. Is it beat up? How's the sheet metal look? Beat up sheet metal isn't the end of the world, but it gives a good indication of how abusive the original owner was. With diesels, I've found that a quick starting engine USUALLY means it's in good condition. Service records look good, but there's no real proof that what is written down was actually performed. Look closely at things like bolts and fasteners. Are they all original? How about rounded off bolt heads? That would indicate lots of work done, maybe in a haphazard manner. If you can, pull the hose/pipe/whatever that runs FROM the air filter to the intake manifold. Is it clean? If not, chances are filters haven't been changed when needed. A GOOD diesel engine will run 5000 hours or more with no trouble. Some go even farther. Abuse one and kill it in a few minutes. Another thing to concern yourself with that goes undetected is the condition of the coolant. You have no way of knowing what went on years ago, but if the coolant was not changed or serviced regularly, it tends to become acidic. Wet sleeve diesels will get pin holes in the cylinder sleeves. That's due to acidic coolant, dirt particles in the cooling system, and cavitation. Look for oil leaks. If possible, inspect the clutch. (Most tractors have an inspection/adjustment access to the clutch)

One thing I always look at on used tractors is the clutch and brake pedals. If they're worn quite a bit, that would indicate a LOT of use. Maybe more hours than what shows on the clock.

Anything mechanical can be repaired. But a tractor that's been hammered on will need all sorts of nickel and dime parts replaced way before it's NORMAL time.

 

[mark4Jesus]

When looking for a used tractor the operative word is PATIENCE! Be patient and you can find a very good used tractor. As one post said, a low hour tractor could be wore out if not taken care of. Both tractors that I have owned were used, and it took a couple of months of steady looking to find them. Both had low hours and were in good shape. The MF I have now was less that 2 yrs old with 140 hrs. when I found it. Less than 3000 hrs. seems to be "low mileage".

 

[Cacinok]

here's a post made in another thread regarding this same subject. specifically about a tractor, i plan to look at, but good advice in general.

Cacinok,

That 2120 is a real nice machine and the loader will do well over a ton. With 394 hours on it, it's a good price at 11K.

Hours are subjective. That 2120 is 13 years old and has done only 30 hours a year. We assume that it had good maintenance, but it could have the factory oil in it. That would make it a bad deal! A tractor with 4000 hours may have had maintenance done on schedule by the book and be in great shape. Check the usual maintenance things, grease on the zerks, clean oil, no water in the diff or trans, evidence that the trans and diff plugs have been pulled (can't change oil otherwise), brakes adjusted, tappets quiet, compression good (gas engine is easy, you can specify it on a diesel at a dealers lot if you negotiate it), no leakes, use the FEL to pick the front and check bearings. You know, the normal stuff.

good luck!
jb

 

[redlevel]

I counted up recently, and I have bought more than 30 used tractors over the last 40 years. I have never been burned but once, and I knew better than to get that one. I let my brother talk me into a DOT Ford 4000 that was just absolutely used up.

I have bought used tractors with 100 hours, and used tractors with 5000 hours. I am not a mechanic, but I know what to look for, and I guess I have just been lucky. I once bought an Allis Chalmers 190XT for $2500. It ran good, but had a bad transmission, a common malady for that particular model. I backed it up to a PTO irrigation pump and put about 500 more hours on it (it showed over 5000 hours) one summer. I sold it the next spring for a little more than I gave for it. I bought a MF 1105 for $3200, put $800 worth of tires on it, and kept it for 3 years. I sold that tractor for over $5000. I wish I still had that one.

Most of the "new" tractors I buy have a few hours on them. I bought a New Holland 6640 SLE from the dealer in Griffin, GA. That tractor had spent a summer at the Atlanta National Speedway cutting grass on the infield in what they called a "visibility program." It had 120 hours, full warranty, and was several thousand dollars cheaper than a comparable "brand new out of the box" New Holland. I sold it a few months ago for $2000 less than I gave. I put over 2000 hours on it in five years pulling a big New Holland baler.

I don't guess you can do it with compacts, but most dealers usually have some kind of special deal on ag tractors with between 80 and 150 hours. For years around here you could buy NH 3930's that had spent a summer pulling peach wagons out of the orchards or peanut wagons out of the fields. There was usually a 1K to 2K savings over brand new, and you got the remainder of the factory warranty.

If you know just a little about them, you can save thousands of dollars by buying just a slightly used ag tractor.

 

[cbt1124]

Okay, I have to ask, why is 6K in 3 years "worse" than 6K in 15 years, assuming everything else is equal?
Bob

PS I would have guessed just the opposite.

To be quite honest, tractors built in the last 10 years, let me go better than that, built in the last 30 years are not built to last a lifetime as in the case of tractors built prior to the late 70's. We have a few of both tractors and the old ones have outlived and outperformed newer tractors doing the same work in the same fields. Newer tractor engines have closer tolerances and wind many more RPM's to produce the same HP(also many more safety devices to go bad, not allowing the operator to even start the engine) as an older model tractor.

 

[newbury]

Ah, zombie thread.
Doc_Bob hasn't been here since December.