Gray Market Tractor

[TMGUY]

Hi I am looking ot buy my first tractor and have found one that seems to be a good deal however, I researched and found that it is a "Gray Market" tractor, a refurbished 1988 Shibaura S325D made for the European market. The hobbs meter reads 102. It looks to be in excellent condition and starts on the first turn. The hydraulic lines and attachments are all in working order. My query is: Does anyone know if finding parts for this would be a problem. Secondly is 6k a good price with a 5' BH, Auger, BB,and bucket?

Thanks
TMGuy

 

[sweettractors]

Hi I am looking ot buy my first tractor and have found one that seems to be a good deal however, I researched and found that it is a "Gray Market" tractor, a refurbished 1988 Shibaura S325D made for the European market. The hobbs meter reads 102. It looks to be in excellent condition and starts on the first turn. The hydraulic lines and attachments are all in working order. My query is: Does anyone know if finding parts for this would be a problem. Secondly is 6k a good price with a 5' BH, Auger, BB,and bucket?

Thanks
TMGuy

Not far off, considering you are getting the implements and front end loader. Ken Sweet

 

[jlsmith]

Ok price but i think you may have a problem getting parts.

 

[TMGUY]

Thanks do you think parts are a problem? I researched the Shibaura and they were making Ford-New Hollands back then and as I understand it the parts are the same. Are the european tractors that far off from the US?

 

[TMGUY]

Do you think theat the parts are not the same as a US brand i.e. FORD- New Holland?

 

[sweettractors]

Do you think theat the parts are not the same as a US brand i.e. FORD- New Holland?

Not so you could depend on it. To test this out, call a Ford/New Holland dealer and tell him you need a alternator or something similar for a Shiburu tractor. Let us know what they say? Ken Sweet

 

[BobRip]

I had a Kubota gray market tractor for about 2 years. It worked fine and only had a few minor repairs. However, when I went to sell it the dealer who sold it to me bad mouthed gray market tractors. I sold it to a friend and lost a couple of thousand on it. The friend quoted a law suite where the court determined that the buyer should get all of his money back since the tractor had not real value. I bought it for 6K and sold it for 4K. Never just sell to a friend, at least advertise it some to put the pressure on. I learned a lot about this friend from others and they said he would work very hard to get your price down, and he did. Not the best of friends. Live and learn. Anyway I got a Power Trac 422 and it is worth 20 times what the Kubota was worth IMHP.

 

[rtimgray]

The prime consideration would be parts availability. There are a lot of folks that deal with Yanmars (greys), but not as many for Shibauras. I think that Len Sheaffer (who's on the boards here sometimes) can get SOME parts for SOME models, but it would be best to check with him or other dealers first before moving forward.

I looked a Shibaura 18xx model years and years ago that came with a front end loader and checked into parts availability, and they were pretty good at that time. When I checked on it again, it was already sold (but it was pretty cheap - like $2500 or $2700).

Good luck and take care.

 

[955er]

There is a whole forum area on gray market tractors. You should be able to find more information there with a proper search.

 

[955er]

Grey Market Tractors - TractorByNet.com