Massey 1010 purchase

Anonymous Poster · Aug 19, 2000

Hello,

Finally, the forum I've been looking for, I hope you folks can give me a little advice.

My wife and I recently purchased a 5 acre lot to build a home and need a new tractor. I currently mow my yard (1/2 acre in town) with a 1968' Sears garden tractor. My father bought it new and I restored it 2yrs ago. Great little tractor for town but with a 36" cut not up to a 5 acre yard.

Now for my question. I have a chance to buy a Massey Ferguson 1010 4wd tractor with a Woods 60" rear finish mower and a rear mount blade. It was my uncle's tractor who took excellent care of it (so clean it looks brand new). It has 1400 hrs on it and all the maintenance records he kept, it was his baby. This tractor has some sentimental value too as he passed away this summer after a 10+ yr battle with cancer. My aunt wants $6000 for everything which sounds fair to me. Especially after pricing a new JD 445 with a 60" mower and front blade for 10K.

There are obvious advantages over a garden type tractor such as the 3pt hitch and pto, but are their any problems with these tractors I should be aware of. I know it was made in Japan, are the parts hard to get? I'm thinking I'd have to spend a lot more to get something new and equivalent to this tractor.

Sorry so long winded, any advice would be appreciated.

Dave

Bird · Aug 19, 2000

Dave, I don't have any personal experience with the Massey Ferguson, but from what I've heard, I don't think you'd have any problem with getting parts, if needed. I believe they made several versions of the 1010 (not sure). Personally I like hydrostatic transmissions and power steering, and don't know whether the one you're considering has those or not. At any rate, it sounds like a very fair deal to me.

Bird

Roy · Aug 19, 2000

I concur with Bird. I also don't know much about the MF's, but a neighbor of mine has a 1950's Harry Furgenson, and finds the parts he needs. No question about it, the MF would serve you much better than a garden tractor. For price -vs- feature comparison, don't use the JD 445 (not in the same league). Look at the Kubota BX's/B's, JD 790's/4x00's and the NH's. Decide what features you need, and what you are willing to pay more for.

dav · Aug 20, 2000

Dave,
I own a Massey 1010 4wd std shift and it's been a great little tractor. I'm currently working on finishing my front yard with it and it's quite a project. I have had 14 small dump truck loads of rocks hauled out, a friend took about 4 ton for his house, and I have built a rock fence about 200' long and 3' high. This little tractor removed them all with a 6' landscape rake. I have also pulled out several small stumps with it. I have only had to replace 2 parts on it. The tach cable, and the fuel filter assembly, that one was my fault. I haven't had any trouble getting parts I ordered them both from my local Massey dealer and got them in a couple days. By the way, how's the 1010 handle a 60" finish mower? I'm thinking of getting one for mine when I get my lawn done.
Take care........Dav

PaulB · Aug 20, 2000

Dave - I bet the price and tractor are both more than fair, but do yourself a favor and compare to the new Kubota BX series. I can not get over the bang for the buck they are offering. Yes there is a big difference between 6000 for the MF and the 9000 - 10,000 or so you would need to spend on a new BX with mower and back blade, but for the extra 4K you would be getting all of the modern safety and convenience improvements, a 3 year powertrain warrantee, and the certainty that parts and service will never be a concern. Just my 2 cents worth, I don't sell them or own stock in Kubota, but I really think they made a bullseye with this new BX series when it comes to guys like you and me who are not farmers, don't do construction, but have 2-10 acres to attend to, and a sore back from trying to do it all with lesser equipment.

JimBinMI · Aug 20, 2000

Dav,

What horsepower is the 1010?

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

W5FL · Aug 20, 2000

dav

Sounds like you have more experience with that rock rake than the rest of us. Post a message in the attachments topic and give a good run down of how you went about removing the rocks. Many of us have the same problem.

dav · Aug 21, 2000

Jim, The 1010 is 16hp. But (IT) doesn't know that, all it knows is pull. Dave, call around your area and ask some dealers about parts for the 1010 I really haven't had to buy many, but what I have the dealer has gotten very fast and easy. I also asked him about the availability of other parts. He assured me he could get me anything I need. But don't take my word, call around your area.

Take care, Dav.....
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by dav on 8/21/00 00:26 AM.</FONT></P>

JimBinMI · Aug 21, 2000

Dav,

I know what you mean about the hp! My TC18 is 18.5 hp and I can't believe how much torque it has! /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Thanks for the reply!

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

Anonymous Poster · Aug 21, 2000

Just wanted to thank you all personally for the advice. Since we're not planning on breaking ground till spring and won't need the tractor till then I will most definitely check out more models. Nearest Kubota dealer is about 20 mi. away so I've only seen them online. To date I've only seen the JD models, Cub Cadet, and Massey Ferguson in person. I still would like to see a NH (Boomer I believe) and the Kubotas. One advantage to a new, besides being new, is that I could finance it vs. spending $6000 from our savings. I don't want to do that right before we start the house. Someone told me you can finance a tractor a long time if you don't mind paying the interest. Is this true?

Anyway thanks again for the advice with I'm sure more questions to come.

Dave