Looking at a YM2500 Yanmar - QUESTIONS??

[Drifter]

I am looking at a YM 2500 Yanmar tractor for my first tractor. The tractor was bought in Liberty, MS from Liberty tractor. The man selling it says they completely rebuilt the tractor. It does appear that way, there are no oil leaks, the steering seems to be tight and everything appears to be in good shape. It comes with a KingKutter finish mower and he wants $5,000 for it. Its serial number is 06079 and the diesel engine 3-cylinder is a 3T80. Does anyone have one of these? Any problems I need to watch out for? Problems with parts availability? How about a manual on this model where can I get one if I buy this tractor? Can any one tell me how old this tractor is by the serial number? or any other information?

 

[Lane]

Check out this link. If the information is correct it appears YM2500s were built in 1977.

Yanmar Model Chart

 

[DavesTractor]

The 2500 is an older model. We all know it would take in excess of $10K to completely rebuild a tractor, so the term "rebuilt" needs to be defined. Perhaps it was refurbished with $1/day labor in Vietnam or elsewhere. Then you need to ask why a 25 year old tractor needs to be rebuilt, it was either a high hour machine or not taken care of.

With those disclaimers, I will say that I really like the 2500, it is very close to a JD850 and many parts interchange.

Liberty should be able to supply manuals and get you parts I would think.

Posting this down in the Yanmar section would get a lot more responses.

 

[SteveM]

Spend some real time reading here about grey market tractors - it is time well spent. I always get worried when a first time buyer starts looking at greys...unless you have a dealer that will give service and repair after the sale, you are really on your own with a grey. For some folks, that is just fine. But PLEASE do not expect the experience of owning a 25 yr old tractor to be like owning your car. You will not just hop on this thing, use it and put it away (over and over) it will take ongoing maintenance, some repair, some parts searching over time - things you probably dont do with your car.

Just make sure you know what you are getting into before spending your money.