Price Check Fair price on a 1986 L3750?

[hexe]

Hullo, all...same old story here--new to tractor buying, never owned one before, trying to do my homework before I commit my $$. I'm a single female who works full time, have little to no mechanical expertise (I'm a veterinary technician--I fix animals, not machinery) and bought a nice little 32 acre farm in NE Michigan. Need a tractor that will easily handle cleaning a small cattle barn, moving round bales of hay, and pulling both a square and a round hay baler as well as a haybine. Flat ground that's fairly dry most of the time. Not in a position to buy a brand new machine, and don't want to go beyond $15K for what I need. There's three local dealers in the area--Kubota/NH, NH, and Allis. The NH dealer's mechanics aren't very good, so I'm leery of getting something used off their lot... The Kubota dealer seems to be well thought of by most folks, with a good rep for service and repairs. That dealer has offered me a 1986 L3750, with 400 hours on it (which seems impossibly low for the age), with a loader, for $15500. Since I'm new to this, I don't have a clue as to how tractors hold their value--is that a bit much to ask for a 20 year old tractor, even if it is 4WD and has the loader?It doesn't have the shuttle shift or hydrostatic transmission, BTW (which I don't think will be too much of an issue for me...I'm used to driving stick-shift cars & trucks). On the plus side, it's a one-owner machine that's been serviced by this dealer since it was new, and therefore they do have the entire history on it, and if you didn't know it was an '86, it would be hard to guess from it's appearance, it's just that clean. Given all of this, is it reasonable for me to try and work that price down, or am I already at the lowest possible point for the machine? FWIW, the tractor has been listed on the dealer's website for about a month and a half now, was initially priced at $16800, has been reduced to $15800, but the dealer said he'd take it down to $15500 to try and get it within my reach. All advice gratefully accepted.

 

[Humbleto]

This may be the blind leading the blind, (I don't own a tractor yet) /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif. Seems pretty high to me. You should be able to get a new L2800 HST with a loader for almost the same price and get reasonable financing too. I know that prices vary by regions but in SE Texas that is too much! Good luck.

 

[Airmale]

A 20 year old tractor $15500 or a BRAND SPANKING NEW KUBOTA 3430HST 723 loader with Quik-tach feature and heavy duty bucket $19600. At his used tractor prices you might as well be a new tractor owner.

 

[777777]

Hi,

Probably a touch high for the age regardless of the condition.

Could try looking here :http://www.aldermans.com where you could probably take 10-15% off

Or here : http://www.fiser.com/tractor/specials/

And you will see " new " prices that may be more attractive with a full warranty.

Good luck with whatever you get.

Tom

 

[gmsssi]

Too, too much............Probably 1400, 2400 etc on the hours!

My BB indicates a value between 8000-11000!

 

[rbargeron]

Hi - I notice you've gotten some responses that say the price is too high, but no one has commented on the L3750 itself. The L3750 is one of Kubotas's L3 chasis series which, in my humble opinion, is one of the best products they have ever offered. During the years that Kubota was trying to gain market share in the US, they were competing with Massey and Deere and other "massive" tractors. The '70s L series Kubotas had been lighter weight machines developed for Japanese agriculture - smaller, more compact, lighter weight than American machines. To make more inroads into the mid-size market, the L3 chassis was introduced - a much heavier and stronger tractor. The original L3 models were L3350, L3750 and L4150 (attached picture is a 4150) . These numbers represented the PTO horsepower - their gross hp was about 20% more. Taking everything into account, the L3750 would be more comparable in size, weight and strength to today's MX5000 or M4900. It is stronger and heavier than any of today's L-series except possibly the L39. Weight is important handling round bales and square balers. I think it would have power enough for a 6ft haybine or 7' mower conditioner with sicklebar, assuming flat land.

If this tractor is clean, and if it has not been painted, and has been in one owner's hands the whole time, it may indeed be a rare find and worth $15k. That said, the dealer has to wait until someone happens by who appreciates what the L3750 actually is, so it could take some time. If he took it in trade from the original buyer of it, he probably had to allow a high trade-in on it so may not come down a lot. For perspective, I sold my L4150 (with loader) for around $18k a couple years ago. I got top dollar but the buyer knew what it was and was very happy with the value he'd gotten.

On the used-vs-new front, the L3 is so well made it is likely you will not need much service - so the warrantee thing may not be much of an issue. My L4150 never had a failure of any kind during the years I owned it. These are the machines the Kubota legend was built on. If you find an unmolested one with low hours - do what a duck would do with a junebug - think about it for a nanosecond and grab it. It would probably be a fair deal at $15 and would be downright sweet at $12k. I'm admittedly a huge fan of these L3 machines. I love how strong and well-engineered they were. If shiny new with electronic display appeals to you, then maybe it's not your cup of tea. But if heavily built precision over-designed robust machinery makes you smile, you'll be happy you bought it. Sorry to be such a chearleader - but it is an L3 after all. It's what I do /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Take care, Dick B
P.S. If you buy it and need any help my consulting rates are low.

 

[hexe]

Many thanks to all for the input...I'm happy to see that despite being a greenhorn in the tractor-buying game, I'm not alone in thinking the price quoted is on the high side. Not out of this world high, but high enough that I've definitely got room to haggle over it. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

DickB, I'm not the kind of gal who's mesmerized by bells and whistles, so new and shiny isn't important to me--quality and longevity are what count, IMO, so it's good to hear your praise of this particular series, especially WRT those very aspects.

In doing my homework, I've come across a 1990 L4150 with a FEL and a backhoe, with 4400 hours on it but in good condition (according to the dealer), with an asking price of $13900. It's in OH, however, so I'd have to add another $1000 to have it brought up here... I don't really need a backhoe, though I'm sure it would get put to use from time to time (no doubt I'll have lots of new friends who need dead cows or horses buried if I end up with a backhoe!). I get the impression that I could probably get the machine, with delivery, for around $12K, but wonder if I'd be asking for trouble buying something with that many hours on it, and that was likely to have been used pretty hard (or at least harder than your average small-farm use tractor would be). Since you had an L4150, Dick B, what say you about this one? I haven't seen it, since it's in Bidwell, OH and I'm way up in NE MI, so I can't speak as to whether or not the dealer is being up front about the condition...

I'm so glad to have found this site...I spent a good bit of time reading the various discussions over the past months before I registered, learning from all of you folks and your experiences. I think I'm going to like it here! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
I don't think I'll be able to offer much as far as tractor discussions go, but feel free to pick my brain WRT any animal health questions you might have...

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Dick, I'm glad we finally got an LXX50 question to flush you out of the underbrush! Nice to see you again. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I was thinking about you as I was reading this thread, and then there you were, right on cue. Your "L3" radar is working flawlessly. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Hexe - between the 4150 with 4400 hours, and the 3750 with 400, I'd much rather have the 3750. As Dick said, that would be a rare find indeed. Those L3 tractors are amazing - I looked at one when I was tractor shopping a couple of years ago, and they give the impression that the one attachment they crave most is a 105mm Howitzer. The axles are amazingly strong, and they are just plain "built". Dick didn't brag about his L5450, but deserves to. Now THAT is a tank.

I wouldn't worry too much about the relatively small price difference between the '86 L3750 and a new tractor. The most important thing is that you "buy it right" so you can get your money right back out of it when or if you decide to go for something else. For instance, maybe you'll want a nice hydro machine. Bear in mind, you probably have a better chance of recouping your purchase price with a used machine than with a new one.

How about this for a strategy ... after fully checking the machine out and making sure it's what you want, decide what you honestly believe to be a fair price for the tractor (I'm thinking maybe $13,500), bring it down to the dealer IN CASH, hand it to him (all fanned out of course), and be prepared to walk out with it if he makes a counter-offer.

Good luck, John

 

[rbargeron]

Hexe - whether to buy a backhoe is up to you - this pic is my present rig - the fabled L5450 (Hi John) which has an 11ft Bradco hoe. I used the hoe for rock removal in my open land - but it only gets used once in a great while now - mostly it's off the tractor. This is a decent size digger, but large animal burial takes skill too, which takes time to develop. (Not good to practice in front of the family when Dobbin kicks off)

Regarding the L4150, the average homeowner/landowner only puts 50-100 hours on a tractor in a year - sometimes less, especially if they have more than one machine. 4400 hours is a lot on any machine, even a 4150 - the original parts are all well worn and the value of the machine depends more on how many parts have been replaced and how good a job has been done of keeping up with it. Most of these machines were sold to commercial users - landscaping contractors, rental outfits, etc. and many have had a hard life. This one would require a very close inspection - which would be tough from a distance. What appeals about the L3750 is that it (1) is a one-owner machine with known history by the dealer (2) that it impressed you as very clean and (3) it has very low hours. It might be good to be extra sure these are all true before offering cash. How about only putting $12k on the desk first, then another $500 if the dealer doesn't stop crying?
Good luck - and keep us posted.

 

[hexe]

Thanks to all for sharing your thoughts with me...I think I'm going to pass on the L4150, for the very reasons you mention, DickB--with that many hours, it's undoubtedly had a hard life, and I just don't want to risk it. Will head on out to the local dealer this weekend and see what I can do with the price on that L3750; I was able to dig up quite a few listings on something called "Iron Search" that help support my price position, so between those and your collective advice, I think I'm pretty well-armed for the haggle. Will let y'all know how I make out with it. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif