Buying Advice Looking at the MF GC1720

[Catman8]

I guess I don't have the lingo down yet. The Massey dealer is bringing out a GC1720LTB for me to demo, I thought a GC was garden tractor but I guess it stands for Garden compact, so there must be another machine that is smaller called a garden tractor, ok. The sales man said I get to try the tractor but that does not mean running it for hours because they need to keep the machine new with low hours. Most of my property is flat so this is what I'm expecting from the demo. I want to remove the loader and the Back hoe to see what's involved, I want to put some ripper teeth into the soil to see if the tractor can rip the ground up without the tires spinning, pick up a load of dirt from a pile and use the back hoe to dig a small trench. Or should I skip the loader and backhoe removal and stick to digging with it. The John Deere dealership showed me how quick the loader on their tractor releases is the MF as quick or a little more complicated to remove. Thanks for everyone's help so far, reading all the past threads is really helping, just all the abbreviations is what is killing me.

This is MF statement in their brochure.
We’ve been making tractors for a long time, and we believe in what we make. That’s why we offer a 5-year powertrain warranty. (Some restrictions may apply. Please see dealer for full details.)

When I go to the MF website I find no warranty information regarding what is covered and what is not, you know what I'm talking about, all the legal lawyer mumbo-jumbo. How many times have we went in for warranty work only to be told that part is not covered. Anyone know exactly what's covered in the five years besides just saying powertrain.

 

[AxleHub]

1st off . . Its a 2 year warranty on the whole tractor (maybe less on bulbs etc..). Then the 5 year power train is engine, transmission etc..

GC is a designation. A garden tractor is a lawn mower that can have a snowblower or plow or ???. A GC1720 is a sub compact tractor while a 1723 or others in that series are compact tractors. When you call a sub compact tractor a garden tractor or an over grown garden tractor you will get pushback because it is not a complement.

Personally for a demo . . I'd rather know how stable it is with a bucket of dirt on a slope . . Than I would how the fel comes off. I'd want to dig and transport full buckets to another location a little distance away to see how it reverses with weight or how much power it shows or how quickly does the fel lift and dump and back down again. How about how slowly you can creep up or turn tight. How about seating situation and comfort to controls? Fast on and off of an implement is usually more of a mmm issue or marketing thing.

Etc. Etc.

 

[Catman8]

AxleHub, thanks for the info, much appreciated.

 

[Snobdds]

I have a gc1710, and its no slouch. I dug all these pylons with the backhoe which go down about 36 inches. Also built up a pad behind the old cabin to be able to slide it back. I even have a cat excavator and did this with the massy. It's easier to haul it up to my cabin than the heavy cat. It's a good tractor, here's my dad helping out.

 

[2ndhalf]

I have a gc1710, and its no slouch. I dug all these pylons with the backhoe which go down about 36 inches. Also built up a pad behind the old cabin to be able to slide it back. I even have a cat excavator and did this with the massy. It's easier to haul it up to my cabin than the heavy cat. It's a good tractor, here's my dad helping out.
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I once thought I would not use a backhoe much.. only because I had never had one maybe. Seeing these pics makes me think I could actualy find a lot of uses for it if I had it. Nice !

 

[Catman8]

Snobdds, those pictures really put it into prospective why I want a small tractor, I have no interest in shoveling dirt by hand anymore, and seeing how you can get a small tractor into tight places is exactly why I'm looking for that size, my MF30B is great for the four acres behind my house but is worthless around my house in tight areas and that means I'm back to hand shoveling, no thanks I've already mastered that skill long ago.

2ndhalf, I'm really looking forward to owning a backhoe for digging up tree stumps and planting new trees. I have a question for you backhoe owners, if you want to trench for a water line can you get a bucket narrower than 10" or is that the minimum width for this unit, a three point trencher would be nice but I don't have the money for that unit to be lying around only for trenching, I rather take the extra time and use the backhoe but don't really want a 12" wide trench for a 2" water line.

 

[Catman8]

When I first went to the dealership the salesman wrote a price for the GC1720 on the back of his business card $19,500. Without tax and he said that's for 0% for 60 months but if you pay cash I can do much better than that. I contacted him today by phone and put off the demo until next week and told him I would be paying cash and would he email me his best offer, I received his email offer and it was 19,580. Without tax. Lol.

So I emailed him back two questions, one about tax rate and the other about his price being $80 more and I mentioned his comment about how he could do better on the price if I was paying cash,and his return email only addressed my interest rate question and he did not respond to the increase in price question. Lol. Don't you just love salesman, 95% of them are such BS artist and it is so irritating.

So on tractorhouse .com other dealers prices are $17,200 - $18,000. What would you guys say is a fair price for the MF GC1720 ? Or what price did you pay for yours.

 

[AxleHub]

Catman8

1. You need to recognize that sales is like dating or attempting to date a girl . . it is a game of skill and technique . . You should havevfun with the effort and also recognize there is a big variation in skill level from one sales person to the next lol.

2. There is 0% . . . and then there are likely 4 or so other finance choices . . From about 2% to 4%. Remrmber, AGCO is a finance company too.

3. Pricing is variable dending on sevetal things including region. But Tractorhouse pricing can have a lot of variables showing in it too. Call or rmail a few mf dealers in your region (say 125 mile radius) and tell them EXACTLY what items hounwas included (filled rears, bumper guard etc. Etc.).

 

[WilliamBos]

Id suporr the local guy. Go have a talk, ask best price.

 

[Catman8]

MF GC1720, is there any difference between a 2015 & 2016 model?

 

[Fiziksgeek]

MF GC1720, is there any difference between a 2015 & 2016 model?

Not that I am aware of...

 

[woodlandfarms]

One note on Over State Taxes, We are close to the border of Oregon, which has no sales tax. If you buy a tractor (which does not require vehicle registration) and you have it delivered to your house by the the Dealer, you will have to pay taxes. If you buy the tractor and haul it yourself, you can bypass the tax situation. I also live in CA as well but have not had the pleasure of purchasing from out of state heavy equipment. I imagine it is the same issue.

 

[AxleHub]

But if someone other than the dealer delivers it to you . . Its also not taxable.

 

[Catman8]

I hate when people start a thread and then do not finish it with an ending, so here is my last post on this thread. My local Massey salesman was a pain to deal with and after taking the time to think about it I decided that a SCUT was going to be to small for five acres, if I needed to get into very tight places or was limited to a small lot then a SCUT would of been my choice. I also could not stomach the thought that these California dealers think they get to charge thousands of dollars more than any other state. So I went on tractor house.com and found a 2016 John Deere 2032R with 34 hours from MN. and saved thousands.
The tractor is the perfect size, small with lots of power and I am really enjoying it. I wanted to thank everyone who responded to my thread, your feedback was very helpful.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...g/371081-any-words-caution-buying-2016-a.html

 

[irvingj]

Too bad about the dealer, but if you weren't happy with them, best you did go elsewhere. Thanks for the update.

Your tractor certainly does look new! (But green.... Must be nice to have some flat land!

 

[plowhog]

I love a happy ending!

Getting to enjoy a tractor, luckily the exact perfect size no less. Compared to the drudgery of shopping for the wrong size tractor with greedy California PITA sales people. A happy ending for sure!!

 

[AxleHub]

Just curious Catman - did you check for Massey series 1700 series (not GC 1700 series) on tractorhouse also ?

 

[Catman8]

Just curious Catman - did you check for Massey series 1700 series (not GC 1700 series) on tractorhouse also ?

No, because my LA135 was really lonely and wanted to be reunited with its dad.


Kidding aside, I did look at the E models and I just did not like the bucket controls out front, having the controls close to my right arm is where you want the controls to be when your operating, also that rocker pedal would dive me nuts, and the MF dealer is an hour drive from my house while the JD dealer is ten minutes so that was another issue, and to be quite honest with you all tractors are made off shores so I really see no loyalty to any of them in particular. So to answer your question after I test drove the JD at my local dealer and liked the layout and the feel of it I stopped looking at the MF. I own a MF 30B, I just need to get off my butt and fix it because the lifting capacity of a small tractor ain't crap.

 

[Langanobob]

I recently came across a website tractor house.com and there is a dealer Bruno's tractors out of Cabot, Arkansas, he's advertising a MF GC1720LTB FOR 17,200. Free shipping and no tax. Does anyone have experience with This dealer or have opinions on this price.

That's my question too. His price is even lower now. I did a search and the dealer also sells all sorts of powersports equipment, ATV's and motorcycles. I ran across complaints but they all seemed to be about motorcycles and ATV's. I like the tractor prices but I'd be nervous about paying for a tractor to be delivered sight unseen from an unknown dealer several states away. Probably a question of is the relatively large savings worth the risk. They evidently have their own truck and make their own out of state deliveries.

 

[araw0727]

That's my question too. His price is even lower now. I did a search and the dealer also sells all sorts of powersports equipment, ATV's and motorcycles. I ran across complaints but they all seemed to be about motorcycles and ATV's. I like the tractor prices but I'd be nervous about paying for a tractor to be delivered sight unseen from an unknown dealer several states away. Probably a question of is the relatively large savings worth the risk. They evidently have their own truck and make their own out of state deliveries.

I bought from him. No problems, at all. "New" tractor came with 18 hours or something on it. There was not a scratch on it though, looks like they let it idle a long time. Have had ZERO problems with it, and I haven't been kind. I'm at 65ish hours now...still no problems.