Guywire
Member
This last week I purchased a MF 3165. The hour meter shows 1786 hours and everything seems to work (except the brakes), though hoses need replacing (cracking) and front tires, too (major weather checking/cracking).
Some background:
I retired last fall. We have a little (relative to most folks here) five acre lot. When we built our house in '82, the lot was wall-to-wall eucalyptus trees. Since then we've cleared the trees from the front 2+ acres around the house (via hiring, not much personal labor). About a month after retirement I bought my first tractor, a new New Holland TC-30. Being profoundly ignorant of tractors, we felt a new tractor (with warranty, etc) or a lease return from one of the local wineries would be the best idea. Following the purchase I then made two important discoveries: 1) this site, and 2) a 30 hp tractor with a FEL is not the best tool to remove stumps (the stumps are probably 60+ yrs old with regrowth of multiple trunks due to various fires and cuttings since - most trunks are <18" and the trees are 100-120' high).
I rather thought I'd need a backhoe when I bought the tractor, but finances were "unsettled" at the time.
Based on various threads in this site, it appeared (at least to me) that retro-fitting my current tractor with a backhoe would probably not be the most efficient use of the tractor, so I started keeping my eyes open for an older machine with a hoe. I figured that with the current economic situation, landscapers (and others) would start to shed their older equipment at a price I could afford.
The 3165 came onto the market at a price I could afford and based on what I could find here (and on other sites), the older MF seemed like a good bet. The price was such that even with putting some repair money in the machine, so long as it lasted until the finish of the job I could then park it (I wouldn't) and still be money ahead over hiring the work done.
Long post for a quick question, but: can anyone give me a ballpark guess as to the year of manufacture of this tractor: SER/SDA 64700XXXX. The seller, who claimed to have bought the machine from the original owner, said he was told that it was a 1983. Searching the web, I can't tell if they even made the 3165 in 1983 (though it might be like my TC-30, manufactured in 2007, but sold new in 2008 - so I guess I could claim it is an '08 tractor).
Thanks to anyone who can assist.
Some background:
I retired last fall. We have a little (relative to most folks here) five acre lot. When we built our house in '82, the lot was wall-to-wall eucalyptus trees. Since then we've cleared the trees from the front 2+ acres around the house (via hiring, not much personal labor). About a month after retirement I bought my first tractor, a new New Holland TC-30. Being profoundly ignorant of tractors, we felt a new tractor (with warranty, etc) or a lease return from one of the local wineries would be the best idea. Following the purchase I then made two important discoveries: 1) this site, and 2) a 30 hp tractor with a FEL is not the best tool to remove stumps (the stumps are probably 60+ yrs old with regrowth of multiple trunks due to various fires and cuttings since - most trunks are <18" and the trees are 100-120' high).
I rather thought I'd need a backhoe when I bought the tractor, but finances were "unsettled" at the time.
Based on various threads in this site, it appeared (at least to me) that retro-fitting my current tractor with a backhoe would probably not be the most efficient use of the tractor, so I started keeping my eyes open for an older machine with a hoe. I figured that with the current economic situation, landscapers (and others) would start to shed their older equipment at a price I could afford.
The 3165 came onto the market at a price I could afford and based on what I could find here (and on other sites), the older MF seemed like a good bet. The price was such that even with putting some repair money in the machine, so long as it lasted until the finish of the job I could then park it (I wouldn't) and still be money ahead over hiring the work done.
Long post for a quick question, but: can anyone give me a ballpark guess as to the year of manufacture of this tractor: SER/SDA 64700XXXX. The seller, who claimed to have bought the machine from the original owner, said he was told that it was a 1983. Searching the web, I can't tell if they even made the 3165 in 1983 (though it might be like my TC-30, manufactured in 2007, but sold new in 2008 - so I guess I could claim it is an '08 tractor).
Thanks to anyone who can assist.
