Buying Advice How many hours is acceptable

[slowzuki]

Got a 5030, had 500 hours or so when I bought it, has about 1300 now, 100 hours / year. Bought a big MF with 4000 hours on it, have only added 100 hours a year to that one, it must like its retirement, it was getting 1000 hours/year.

 

[Sportsman762]

Today I talked to a guy I know about this actually. He owns a dealership and a salvage yard. He said he gets a lot of compacts in around 3800 hours. Most of these machines were former government and therefore maintained even if driven by idiots. I was surprised by this I thought that it would be around 5000 hrs. This is just a number though and varies by machine.

 

[slowzuki]

I've looked at lots of Kubotas off golf courses with 5000+ hours, they are on the lot for sale with steep prices. I've also looked a government compacts that are beat to a pulp after 2000 hours.

I also drove a contractor owned Kubota L4610 that had 4500 hours and the hydro was every bit as tight as a brand new one.

Its all about the care.

 

[echoman]

Dont be fooled by hour meters.They can be unhooked,replaced or just plan inaccurate.I always look at high wears areas. I have seen tractors with the treads worn down on the clutch and brake pedals,elongated holes on the linkages for the pedals and on the tph .All signs of high hours on tractors with the meters in the hundreds.

 

[rlyddane]

Yeah if you are doing a lot of loader work the PS is definitely nice, I didn't mean to imply that it's not. And the bigger the loader capacity the more you'll miss it!

Thanks all of you again. PS it is !!!!!

 

[alchemysa]

I wouldn't be overly concerned about hours if you see something at a good price. Mine has about 4000 hrs and the motor is near perfect. The tranny is also OK but would have been better with a little maintenance from the previous owner. Steering and brakes are worn but heck its a tractor not a race car.

Wear and tear is perhaps more likely to be apparent in the loader and BH than the basic tractor. Hydraulic cylinders, seals and controllers wear out with use. But a leaky cylinder is more of a nuisance than a serious problem. And they can often be cheaply fixed if you can do a little spanner work yourself. have a good look over the loader and BH for metal cracks. Again, not fatal, but worth knowing about.