Buying Advice Kubota L35 2400 hours

[coobie]

Don"t walk RUN away from this deal..

 

[5030]

You decide...

This spring I bought a 2002 M9000 hydraulic shuttle with loader and SSQA bucket for 18K from a JD dealer I went over it carefully, I'm very familiar with M9's I own one and bought it new in 2004. Same tractor, same specs but the one I bought new is a cab model. It was used pretty hard (came from a diary operation) they traded it on a new Deere. 3500 on the meter. Usual scrapes and dings. I put some money in it already, new tie rod ends, new rubber floor mat, changed all the fluids and filters. It needs the overhead run, a new upper kingpin bushing in the left outboard planetary and a new front case seal but it runs and works fine. Will get all those items dealt with this winter at my dealer when he runs the overhead. I had my dealer (the owner) look at here when they delivered it and he said it's well worth 18. It's twice the tractor you are looking at, 90 flywheel, 82 pto. Came with 3 sets of remotes as well and loaded R1's which I immediately had my tire guy pump out and replace the tubes, I don't do loaded tires, never have.

Usually, when the bucket indicator is missing, it indicates someone rolled something out of the bucket back toward the operator station, the level indicator is the first victim of that kind of no no.

Personally, Kubota engine are bullet proof so long as you don't overheat them I don't look at mine with 3500 hours on it as shot, just broken in.

Sight unseen, I'd say they are about 5K too high. Expect to put some jack in it no matter what and if you get serious, demand a bill of sale and receipts for whatever 'work' was done. Besides, the receipts will tell you what, if any issues there might be.

Me, I don't have much use for a backhoe but if I have the need, , I can rent one for 150 bucks a day, delivered if I need one. A couple hundred to rent one that will most likely be a lot bigger and more powerful than any backhoe you will buy for the rear end of your tractor is a helluva lot cheaper than buying one, new or used. My 2 cents on that item. Black Swamp and Herc rentals rent them every day and deliver and pick up too.

I actually had a Kubota hoe at one time on a smaller machine (I've owned at least 10 Kubota's over the years). The hoe sat in the barn 95% of the time so I found a buyer who wanted one and I sold it and I don't miss it at all. 2 years ago I laid a 350 foot waterline and was gonna rent a hoe but a friend told me to rent a trencher instead. I did and laid the entire 350 foot line in ONE afternoon at an equipment cost of less than 150 bucks and I ran it in their diesel too.

Like I said, most would be 13. All it's worth in my view and maybe less but you have to decide that. I'd be looking hard at the fluids and the running gear.

Remember, it's a tractor so don't fall in love with it. It cannot return the emotion.

On CL, people get the 'pie in the sky' attitude about what they THINK something is worth when in reality it isn't

My 2 cents for what it's worth.

Here they are in the hay barn snuggled up together....

 

[Industrial Toys]

Too FUGLY for me. IF, they are the original owners, and wires are hanging around and things are bent up, they are NOT people I would want to buy a machine from. That would be 2400 HARD HOURS! More likey a lie, and just another reason to avoid this machine. People, probably more clued in than you, have probably already decided to pass on this gem!

 

[fruitcakesa]

I bought an L4630 GSTC sight unseen, long distance [I had a friend look at it but he is no tractor expert].
It had 2400+ hours on it and definitely had been worked over the years; the PO had a construction company.
The rear tires were heavily sun cracked but still held air and the rim guard I had put in
It came with a 6 foot bush hog and a box blade and the price was low $13k.
I put 800 more hours on it over 4 years and then sold it without the 'hog or blade what I paid for it.
Sometime you get lucky.

 

[Industrial Toys]

An honest harded rig work beats a pack of lies anyday. My friend got a really "good deal" on an 09 GMC 2500 a few years ago. Thing after thing after thing went wrong with that truck and nothing ever added up. Like, components were not original and the rear fenders were full of sand as if the vehicle had been submerged! There was a STORY behind that truck that he will never know. He just got rid of it.

 

[spiceman]

Thanks for all the advice. I took the advice and followed my intuition... Passed on the L35, but found a L39 w/ 1200 hrs and a new engine- evidently a victim of overheating.


I'm going to work on the tongue weight, add some lights, and some other minor items, and then turn it loose on my property:drink:

thanks again for all the good advice.

 

[4570Man]

The TLBs are back heavy. My M59 probably doesn’t have 500 pounds on the front axel. I borrowed this trailer in hopes of buying it but the sway was terrible. I had to pull it under 40 to keep it under control. If I had to make that trailer work I’d lift the loader in the air and move it farther forward. I guess you could try loading it backwards but I suspect it’ll be too front heavy then. Since I don’t own that trailer I’ll either keep using my 6500 truck or buy a longer trailer.

 

[rScotty]

The TLBs are back heavy. My M59 probably doesn’t have 500 pounds on the front axel. I borrowed this trailer in hopes of buying it but the sway was terrible. I had to pull it under 40 to keep it under control. If I had to make that trailer work I’d lift the loader in the air and move it farther forward. I guess you could try loading it backwards but I suspect it’ll be too front heavy then. Since I don’t own that trailer I’ll either keep using my 6500 truck or buy a longer trailer. View attachment 624502

I wonder what the front/rear weight distribution really is on these TLBs? 500 lbs is a guess on the light side, but has anyone weighed theirs? I haven't. Maybe the workshop manual has that spec?

Spiceman, from all the things written about the L39s here on TBN I'd guess they are destined to become a classic. Can't tell from the photo if yours has a thumb, but if not I'd add one. Athough the usefulness of a thumb could depend on what you plan to do with it.

A thumb wasn't even on our "maybe" list when we bought our M59, but ours was a demo & already had one on it so we took it. Now my wife thinks it's the best feature of the tractor. At least half the time we start the tractor it's purely to use the hoe and thumb combo to do some lifting and positioning of something heavy. Well, now that I've said that, I got to realizing that we live rurally with a patch of forest, wood heat, a creek, and we are always moving local rocks to sort of sculpt the landscaping. That's why the thumb works so well for us. So as always, "it depends on the use".
rScotty

 

[Jstpssng]

Thanks for all the advice. I took the advice and followed my intuition... Passed on the L35, but found a L39 w/ 1200 hrs and a new engine- evidently a victim of overheating.
View attachment 624498

I'm going to work on the tongue weight, add some lights, and some other minor items, and then turn it loose on my property:drink:

thanks again for all the good advice.

Enjoy! And don't forget to post pics in "Today's Seat Time" http://https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/118658-todays-seat-time-1037.html

 

[4570Man]

I wonder what the front/rear weight distribution really is on these TLBs? 500 lbs is a guess on the light side, but has anyone weighed theirs? I haven't. Maybe the workshop manual has that spec?

Spiceman, from all the things written about the L39s here on TBN I'd guess they are destined to become a classic. Can't tell from the photo if yours has a thumb, but if not I'd add one. Athough the usefulness of a thumb could depend on what you plan to do with it.

A thumb wasn't even on our "maybe" list when we bought our M59, but ours was a demo & already had one on it so we took it. Now my wife thinks it's the best feature of the tractor. At least half the time we start the tractor it's purely to use the hoe and thumb combo to do some lifting and positioning of something heavy. Well, now that I've said that, I got to realizing that we live rurally with a patch of forest, wood heat, a creek, and we are always moving local rocks to sort of sculpt the landscaping. That's why the thumb works so well for us. So as always, "it depends on the use".
rScotty

I guess it’s more than 500 pounds because the loader bucket weighs that much buy it’s not a lot. It’s light enough that you have to be careful loading it on the trailer because the front end is prone to sliding sideways. The hydraulic thumb is great. I wouldn’t have bought mine if it wasn’t for the thumb.