Price Check L305DT price check

[slofr8]

Hi everyone,
I’ve got an old hand start JD B that I mow about 15 acres with but now I need something else for around the house and maintaining roads and such around 55 acres. Rock retaining walls, crush rock drive way, firewood, possible snow blowing, maybe even a dirt bike coarse for the kids. The list goes on and on. I looked at several crawlers. Suspect motors and wore undercarriages have steered me towards a compact 4x4 tractor. We’re building a new home so something new is out of the question.
On my way to work yesterday I saw a 1984 Kubota L305DT with a loader for sale. 30 horse. Standard shift. Belongs to an old retired shop teacher and he buys, fixes up and uses tractors in the summer and some times sells before heading south for the winter. He told me on the phone that it also has a steel cab but I didn’t see that yet. Hour meter stopped at 371 so I don’t know how many it has but there are no welds or cracks and the tires are about 75%. All painted up and sharp looking. (except for the ford fenders. ?.) He’s asking $9,000 for it. Old tractors and crawlers I can price fairly well but I’m at a loss on this. I don’t expect a screaming deal here but as long as it is ballpark I figure I can upgrade later and not lose my shirt.
Should I be interested at this price or keep looking.
Thanks. Dan.

 

[rbargeron]

Hi Dan, Welcome to TBN - wow a flywheel start JD - the 305 would seem like a spaceship!!

I always perk up when I notice a post about a 305 or 345 - I had a 345 for several years. Couple questions - is the loader an original Kubota 1720 ? If so, does it have its own pump or run off the internal hydraulics? If it has a rectangular tank on the right side of the loader frame it has its own pump, either mounted on the front of the engine or on the back pto. The internal hydraulics on a 305 are pretty slow for a loader, external is better if it is a proper installation (not a pile of mismatched parts). If this rig needed different back fenders, it perhaps has had a hard life - 2 or 3 thousand actual hours? The meter cable breaks on all of them about every 400 hours - it has a sharp bend coming off the engine and is weak there. If it wasn't replaced, it's a sign that other maintenance might have been "deferred" too. Take apart the air cleaner housing - if both elements are in there (inner and outer) and they are whole, that's a good sign (dirty outer is ok, inner one should be visually clean). I'm concerned that you may have projects in mind for which this tractor may be on the small side. I say this because I had the 345 (4 cylinder version of the same tractor) and it was just a hair small for 6 ft mowers - but it was a very reliable unit. These models don't have enough weight to do much serious remodeling of the earth - if the soil is loose, ok, but if not, they just scratch it. Unless it is prinstine, which it sounds like it is not, except for a zoot paint job, it is maybe worth closer to $6500-$7000. The steel cab is probably not an original cab from Japan (never saw one here) but may be a Simms or other generic - likely just a windshield and side glass with curtain doors - handy in winter, but not ultra-valuable. My 2 cents. Take care, Dick B

 

[machmeter62]

Hi everyone,
I’ve an old hand start JD B that I mow about 15 acres with but now I need something else for around the house and maintaining roads and such around 55 acres. Rock retaining walls, crush rock drive way, firewood, possible snow blowing, maybe even a dirt bike coarse for the kids. The list goes on and on. I looked at several crawlers. Suspect motors and wore undercarriages have steered me towards a compact 4x4 tractor. We’re building a new home so something new is out of the question.
On my way to work yesterday I saw a 1984 Kubota L305DT with a loader for sale. 30 horse. Standard shift. Belongs to an old retired shop teacher and he buys, fixes up and uses tractors in the summer and some times sells before heading south for the winter. He told me on the phone that it also has a steel cab but I didn’t see that yet. Hour meter stopped at 371 so I don’t know how many it has but there are no welds or cracks and the tires are about 75%. All painted up and sharp looking. (except for the ford fenders. ?.) He’s asking $9,000 for it. Old tractors and crawlers I can price fairly well but I’m at a loss on this. I don’t expect a screaming deal here but as long as it is ballpark I figure I can upgrade later and not lose my shirt.
Should I be interested at this price or keep looking.
Thanks. Dan.

DAN: I have the prior model L295DT, which was built in 78' to 83', with the three cylinder 79.3 cu. in. engine, rated at 29.5 hp @2800 RPM. I bought it new in 78', for $7800 with draft control, and added a Kubota loader for $1500, that was self contained, with the reservoir located on the right side of the bucket frame, and the pump was mounted on the forward PTO. I still have it with about 4000 hrs, and never had any issues. Power steering was hard to get in 78', and with ARMSTRONG POWER STEERING, at the end of the day using the loader, you felt like you had been in a gym lifting weights all day! I've done alot of loader work with it, and the steering is still as tight as the day I purchased it. I question the Ford Fenders also? The originals look similar to the Ford, without the Ford stamp? On the top of the front page of TBN is the REVIEW section, with a L295DT, which is basically very similar to the 305DT, and he gives you a good review, and also with the hrs/price. The loader will lift between 1000/1100# to full height. Good luck!------LEE