How to convince parents that a subcompact is a good idea

[ROUSTABOUT]

My dad is 75 and hops on and off tractors all day everyday. Saw him slip by with a load of logs headed to the sawmill yesterday. He and I fried fish for the whole family last night. Known nothing but hard labor all his life.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

First off, you get my rarely used "at-a-boy" award!

Having past 60'ish more than 10 years ago, I can confidently tell you that your father probably does not consider himself "old" like you do. Especially with his can do attitude. The problem with us "old guys" is that our minds are still 30 years old, but our bodies are 100. Guys, (unlike some other genders) are pretty much logical. Every now and again you should remind your father of the age "difference" between his mind and his bodily abilities. And if he pulls his back out, he might be unable to do the simple things for months.

And if he's as active as you say, he's used his fair amount of tools in his life. Subtle reminders of "let the tool do the work" will get him going down the path you want. Part of his research might be to read this thread.

I can honestly say that 99.9% of the guys (and guyettes) on here, have never had a second thought about getting their tractor once they've had it for a while. I use mine 3-5 times a week for so many different tasks it's hard to list them.

You've got to include all 75 genders nowadays.

 

[Eagle1]

You've got to include all 75 genders nowadays.

Just remember that gender reassignment surgery only has 2 options.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Just remember that gender reassignment surgery only has 2 options.

Yeah, but when the morality police catch up with you, they'll make you recite all 75 genders backwards while standing on one leg. Just a warning.

 

[lman]

So far as I understand, all new tractors sold in Australia are imported; that alone must add a good chunk to the overall price.

Aren't most tractors or their assembly parts imported here?

 

[wotandbuy]

You mean 30% interest?

Sadly no, 30% deposit is the bare minimum for financing here, interest is normally 5-6~% and avg 2 years.

Trust me I'm highly jealous of the 80 months 0% financing I hear about, but sofar none of the lenders I've looked at can offer that. When we go looking in person later this year however, I'll be sure to check with the dealership

 

[wotandbuy]

wotandbuy - Welcome to the TBN forum

i have so much to say, but i will try to be brief (you can send me a private message anytime).

1) you are a remarkable young man, and remind me a lot of my Son In Law who is about 5 yrs older than you.
2) I'm feeling a bit older suddenly, being 58 yrs old... I have a brother in Australia.
3) I have had a physical disability since birth, and much of my life is compromised (balancing, walking, carrying items etc) ... I have Cerebral Palsy to a moderate / significant impact. (you can ask me, or google it to better understand that limitation). I am only sharing that because the tractor has been such a blessing to me. I do a fair amount of physical work and activity, it just takes me longer, and I need to be careful. The tractor aids in almost everything outside. Let me just say that I have a hobby farm and the tractor is my friend. There are times when one of my (tractor knowledgeable) friends stops by, and has no hesitation to assist me, especially if the tractor is out.
4) I considered all of those tractors, and am glad that my tractor - the [AFFILIATE='1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"']Kubota[/AFFILIATE] BX23S actually made it onto your shortlist - mine is easy to operate and certainly saves me a lot of work. I have completed things that I could not have imagined doing without it. It is my first tractor ever. I love it. Kioti was my second choice actually - part of my decision was dealer proximity and my overall connection with the dealership.
5) re: mom's love for gardening - the tractor can do a lot of things to assist with gardening, and a small tractor can operate in confined areas. She may also enjoy having a Green House as another way of doing gardening and showing off her skills.

My first thought is to take your parents to a local / area Tractor Dealership and have them learn about the tractors, try out different features, to see what they like. There may also be used tractors to consider.

Perhaps you know a person with a tractor, a friendly farmer etc. to get further insight from.

There may be a way to get a short term tractor rental for a week or so, to check it out on the property.

All the best in your efforts to make things easier for your parents. This could be a fun time. Thank You for posting.

Thankyou so much, yes hopefully when we have some free time I'm planning to take them to the dealership. And I myself having a friend who has cerebral palsy understand the struggle, again thankyou

 

[wotandbuy]

I read it as the deposit is 30% down and he was offering to pay half of that.

I don't speak Australian, but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

Haha yeah, I guess the Australian really shows late at night when I'm writing

 

[wotandbuy]

I'm assuming without looking it up that there is a substantial different in the value of a dollar in australia too. $35,000 for a BX? I hope it has a backhoe, a cab, and a personal assistant that come with it.

I do admire your willingness to help your parents. Nice to see someone thinking of others once in a while.

Well, ours is 1.43 to every USD so, about 1.5X the USD price, or about 24000usd. Granted I'd prefer if that price had a few zeros taken off haha

 

[wotandbuy]

So far as I understand, all new tractors sold in Australia are imported; that alone must add a good chunk to the overall price

Well,that would really explain alot if true. As far as I know our models are definitely different. For instance we still use the 10 series kiotis, even though america is well into the 20 series. Minor annoyance as the 2520's are seemingly perfect. I do know however alot of Chinese equipment is sold here,so that would definitely explain

 

[wotandbuy]

First off, you get my rarely used "at-a-boy" award!

Having past 60'ish more than 10 years ago, I can confidently tell you that your father probably does not consider himself "old" like you do. Especially with his can do attitude. The problem with us "old guys" is that our minds are still 30 years old, but our bodies are 100. Guys, (unlike some other genders) are pretty much logical. Every now and again you should remind your father of the age "difference" between his mind and his bodily abilities. And if he pulls his back out, he might be unable to do the simple things for months.

And if he's as active as you say, he's used his fair amount of tools in his life. Subtle reminders of "let the tool do the work" will get him going down the path you want. Part of his research might be to read this thread.

I can honestly say that 99.9% of the guys (and guyettes) on here, have never had a second thought about getting their tractor once they've had it for a while. I use mine 3-5 times a week for so many different tasks it's hard to list them.

Thankyou, yes I try to avoid reminding him haha. But certainly I am concerned at times, just the other day he parked our cub cadet xt2 in the garage (sideways), now when that happens I normally pick the front end up and just pivot it around. He decided to try that and nearly injured himself before I ran over to avoid that scenario, keep in mind he's extrodinarily active (10+km walks at work) and he was limping for a day+ afterwards. That's really what made me set on the tractor, was myself, someone who never considers excersize could do that. And my highly athletic father would be injured trying. I will definitely admit it did hit me then with the aging, but also made me realize what he gave for us too.

And between us, he still doesn't like powertools until he actually uses them haha. Just yesterday he borrowed my dremmel and was amazed, after preciously doubting it could cut plastic even.

But again thankyou so much

 

[wotandbuy]

I love reading this sort of stuff, you're a real good son to your P's. Yeh if they do their own yardwork and stuff, and are on some land, a small tractor with a loader is a serious force multiplier. Even for a younger dude like me, I'm fairly fit but doing my property with a garden tractor, hand tools and a dump cart got old, so I sprang for a Massey GC tractor. But they are costly, so only you guys would know if the investment is really worth it for you.

Well, I have access to our finances (helping with the family business in terms of computer stuff) so I know for certain we can afford it. Granted I'll have to go from smoked salmon to canned tuna for Abit (in jest) but atleast they'll hopefully not injure themselves. I plan to ask sometime near July, where hopefully I'll have enough saved to do a deposit and discuss the idea. I have definitely leaned towards Massey, especially with how many tea20s still run around here. The only thing that bothers me alot is the lack of position control and plastic fenders. (I also wanted to see if you could swap the seats around, but I'll leave that to the dealership haha)

 

[finn1]

Concentrate on your education by going to college, or at least getting some type of career and skill training for now.

After you are established in your professional career, there’s plenty of time to help your parents out financially.

Sixty is still pretty young in the scope of things, although probably not through the eyes of a teenager, and four or six years from now, when your education is finished and you’re beginning to earn some real money, they’ll still be in their mid sixties.

Frankly, it sounds like you, rather than your parents, want a tractor.

 

[kthompson]

I am 69 and in fair shape. I have used riding lawn mower for my adult life. The idea of a push or even self-propelled for 2.5 to 4 acres never impressed me. Same with tractor. Began my home garden with a Troy Built rear tine tiller. It worked great but when went to tractor that was really great. The amount of work for the time, the level of work you can accomplish with the proper power equipment is amazing. All that being said, my ex-brother-in-law has nicer garden with his cheapo garden tiller, and I have sold my garden equipment. Seems daughter's desire to build on my garden space was more important to raise grands than beans and corn. BTW, it is.

I like the suggestion to rent a tractor. If you go to ask on each length of rental for the price. Here three days equals a week and last I asked three weeks equal a month. One suggestion I have if you get it with front end loader be certain it has the quick connect and not the pin type for the attachments. I have a friend with a [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] BX subcompact. I have used it with a garden tiller. Did decent job. But and this can be major, the lift height is to me a lot less than the B series [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] (have one). The deck you sit on is higher so maybe more of issue to get on to, but you often are limited to implements made for the subcompact.

As to financing there no idea but here but the last two tractors I bought the manufacture offered by far the best rates over any other lender. Even on used.

My best advice is to think carefully and slowly but most all in deep honesty on what the tractor will do work wise, how it will help, what other task it may allow to be done. Some have been pointed out very well already.

My situation is different than your dad's. Think carefully and in depth on what your dad, your Mama and you could and then would use it for. Spend some time on youtube seeing how others use theirs. Do know this, here selling a lightly used tractor is not easy (USA). Oh, they are wanted but financing outside of the dealership is costly. Most of the buyers are wanting financing.

Did not see anything mentioned on this but is there anyone near your parents who owns and could be hired to do the HARD work as needed?

 

[bdhsfz6]

Hi all, second post here, so please let me know if this is the wrong place.

With my parents aging rapidly (both entering their 60s) and my father working a hard labor job all his life, I've been warming up to the idea of a subcompact for general houswork.

My concerns are

My father's age and career causing issues with pains ect. This is further pushed along by his "can do" attitude, it deeply worries me that oneday he'll overstress himself and 000 will ring to say he's in hospital. And sadly it's becoming more of a plausible thought

The others are,
My mother deeply loves gardening, but due to our soil type being clay it's borderline impossible to work in. And the planter boxes are a PITA (ground shifts therefore they just break, unless built out of tungsten). Therefore I need a way to ensure that she can atleast continue gardening without risking more injuries.

The need of heavy lifting, this one rings moreso for my father. However he routinely pushes himself, and I believe a FEL will atleast avoid that and keep it to a bare minimum.

The power steering would help, as our ground has many ruts and divets, and I can personally attest to nearly having my wrist broken driving into one on our lawnmower

The necessity to hold value somewhat, as they will be able to sell it to retire with some extra money (re I buy it off them and sneak in a few 1'000$ extra).

The sheer cost of contractors (yes a tractor is 35000$) but atleast it's not a sudden payment, whereas multiple times we have needed contractors that cost far too much

Whislt I understand this is a unusual request, as a 17yo I reasonably should be finding out how to turbo my mother's car, however I'd rather find a way to atleast improve their QOL,then turbo later. I guess what I really want to ask is, as people who most likely have children yourselves, aswell as having experience buying and owning these machines, what would be some good selling points?


I've already agreed to pay 50/50 deposit on the machine at 30%, aswell as paying any Christmas and birthday money (or more realistically job income, as they somehow find the best darn T-shirts) towards it until the machine is paid off, however I need a further way to sweeten the deal as they say. Since understandably asking for a tractor and an Xbox are two very different things.

The brands I've considered are

Massey gc1725M
Kioti cs2610 (not the20 series, not available in aus)
[AFFILIATE='1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"']Kubota[/AFFILIATE] BX23s (least preferred)
And any other brands around that price point

When my neighbor retired, he and his wife were in exactly the same situation as you describe. He also retired from a manual labor job and insisted on doing everything himself.

I suggested many times that he get a CUT but to no avail. I eventually changed his mind by lending him one of mine so he could move some soil around. The job would have taken him a week with a shovel & wheelbarrow. He did it in 2 hours with the CUT.

He wound up buying a new [AFFILIATE=1, nofollow=true, newwindow=true, title="Kubota"]Kubota[/AFFILIATE] the following week!