Looking for first tractor

[Ron67]

I have been researching for a while and decided Yanmar is one of my top picks. I found a 1900D with a loader and box blade for $4600. It is said to have problems with the bearings in the steering column but otherwise be in good shape. Any advise would be appreciated! Why can't I find much info on the 1900 - anyone got one? Worth? I am looking for something just to play with - not farm and wondering if I should look for a 4wd??? Is it likely I can swap a few bearings and be running or will it need a column? ANY info/advice is appreciated for a first time buyer!

 

[1danny]

I have been researching for a while and decided Yanmar is one of my top picks. I found a 1900D with a loader and box blade for $4600. It is said to have problems with the bearings in the steering column but otherwise be in good shape. Any advise would be appreciated! Why can't I find much info on the 1900 - anyone got one? Worth? I am looking for something just to play with - not farm and wondering if I should look for a 4wd??? Is it likely I can swap a few bearings and be running or will it need a column? ANY info/advice is appreciated for a first time buyer!

This being your first tractor I would advise you to move up to a YM2000, BTW there is no YM1900D, the D means 4WD and there are no YM1900 4WD tractors. The YM1900 is sort of an oddball, a lot of parts will interchange with the YM1700 and YM2000, but it has a different hydraulic & electrical system along with a few other odd things.On the steering box there is a real good chance that you will have to rebuild or buy a rebuilt unit. Most of the time just replacing the bearings won't do. If you do buy it, I have a couple of YM1900 salvage tractors for parts.

Danny

 

[LMTC]

Almost certainly a vn recon. I know of no dealer importing directly from Japan & processing stateside who buys 1900s. There might be one, but I'm not aware of it. We have never sold 1900s because of parts issues and, as Danny mentioned, "oddballness." Similar reasons we have never bought 2700s and a few others. If this is a dealer, get references, and check them out. If an individual, ask to see the invoice from where he bought it and check them out.

 

[Ron67]

Thank you both for the quick input and I have gotten a little more info on the tractor. It is a private seller who has only put about 45 hours on it since reconditioning. It was redone by a company called LCI which appears to be out of Texas and I can only find two reviews on them (one good - one bad). The loader is a Bulldog and the box blade is a Howse from a local tractor supply. My deal is to trade a motorcycle for it and the bike is worth $5k-$5500 so I am probably losing a little money on the deal. Motorcycles really don't sell fast in winter anyway, so who knows what bike is REALLY worth. The hour meter is round and old looking from the pic, so I assume the tractor has some age, but seller does not know year. Any idea? He used it to clean up around his house and is now selling because he has no more need for it. The more I read on this site, the more wary I am. Any other input? Loader a good one? Should I keep looking - not in a rush.

 

[1danny]

Thank you both for the quick input and I have gotten a little more info on the tractor. It is a private seller who has only put about 45 hours on it since reconditioning. It was redone by a company called LCI which appears to be out of Texas and I can only find two reviews on them (one good - one bad). The loader is a Bulldog and the box blade is a Howse from a local tractor supply. My deal is to trade a motorcycle for it and the bike is worth $5k-$5500 so I am probably losing a little money on the deal. Motorcycles really don't sell fast in winter anyway, so who knows what bike is REALLY worth. The hour meter is round and old looking from the pic, so I assume the tractor has some age, but seller does not know year. Any idea? He used it to clean up around his house and is now selling because he has no more need for it. The more I read on this site, the more wary I am. Any other input? Loader a good one? Should I keep looking - not in a rush.

It is a VN recon, early 70's, Bulldog loader is Chinese.
Danny

 

[LMTC]

Run. No question that not every vn recon (and that's what LCI has) ends up dead. But the % versus those processed (to whatever degree) stateside by other importers is staggering. We get the calls. I've had perhaps a half dozen calls in 10 years about major failures on units bought from dealers who process here (none of them ours I might add). I have to have had over a hundred about recons. And that's just major/catastrophic failures; there's lots of other issues. It's always the vn recons that have a fuel bowl scavenged from another brand so the replacement fuel filter the customer ordered doesn't fit, or lots of other mismatched items/issues. Also be aware there are lots of "private sellers" who front vn recons, often claiming they bought the tractor for just a short project or something similar....but in reality they sell them routinely, while claiming it is their personal tractor. Check out the seller's story. Ask neighbors or folks in the area if he dabbles in tractors. The vn recon network and product are, IMO, the bane of this market.

And ask them where the US distributor for the Bulldog loader is located (there appears to be no consistent source of parts for them). We get lots of calls for parts for bullodg and v-tech loaders. Way too many. Finally, remember that the 1900 is a pig in a poke....very few dealers (primarily vn reconners) even handle it. There is no 1900D, so are you actually looking at a 4wd that is being misrepresented, or did you just list the model incorrectly?

 

[careyo63]

Ron I would pass also.I have just been to a local Yanmar dealer In Ga. who just happens to share his Warehouses and showroom with a Used Motor Cycle dealer with alot of nice bikes also. Great Honest Guy, might give him a call and see if he or they can help you out. 678.688.7040 ask to speak with Steve. Couldn't hurt.

Carey

 

[baddawg19]

MIKE 541-866-2849 I JUST POSTED MY YANMAR 155D FOR SALE

 

[manganos]

I bought a Yanmar from Furgeson Equipment in Emporia VA right over the NC line. They treated me right and the tractor was a decent deal!

 

[blackd]

I bought my first tractor, Yanmar FX24D, from Reggie Ferguson almost 10 years ago. He is honest and always busy. His tractors are in good shape and, when I bought mine he was offering decent warranties.

My Yannie ate a valve last year (a freak parts failure), and I have since replaced it with a new MF, but would not hesitate to buy from him again.