Ok, first I learned a nice $5000 used tractor is more likely a $10000 one

[Wagtail]

You have come to the right place for sure.Sounds like you have "started" your home work.Good used tractors demand a premium;that being said;many choose to purchase new from a company that builds all their own and has a good dealer net-work;hint they are "orange".

And Green.

 

[Industrial Toys]

My Dad backed out new JD6200 into a small maple tree when new, crumpling the plastic fender. It pretty much bounced right back and you can't tell. A metal fender would have been ugly!

Other plastic parts near the instrument panel, just broke off. Probably from hitting them with a clunky boot, when cold.

I have seen it too many times. The absolute worst thing you can usually do when buying a used tractor is to buy the cheapest you can find. You end up with something that rarely works and costs you a fortune.

 

[LD48750]

I have seen it too many times. The absolute worst thing you can usually do when buying a used tractor is to buy the cheapest you can find. You end up with something that rarely works and costs you a fortune.

I've seen it too many times, people figure if they out spend me it has to be better.
They still think so everytime they get it back from the dealer while mine has been out in the field working.

 

[Lelandwelds]

If you post your location (central Texas is pretty big) you will probably get some good input on dealers and maybe even a decent used machine for sale. When I started my hunt last year (wanted a utility tractor with MFWD) all I found were over priced over worked machines. Some had suspected flood damage from the hurricane, others cost within 10K of a new one and had major problems. Ended up going new on the tractor and used on most of my implements and it has worked out well. Other than one small hydraulic leak (they put in the wrong o-ring when they added a hydraulic remote) the tractor has been flawless so it gives me time to fix all of the other stuff that breaks (implements, fences, house, etc...).

Good luck on your hunt.

I have witnessed some Facebook etc drama that was difficult to believe. I keep a low internet profile.

I hadnt thought of flood damage! Thanks. A bunch.

My Dad backed out new JD6200 into a small maple tree when new, crumpling the plastic fender. It pretty much bounced right back and you can't tell. A metal fender would have been ugly!

Other plastic parts near the instrument panel, just broke off. Probably from hitting them with a clunky boot, when cold.

I have seen it too many times. The absolute worst thing you can usually do when buying a used tractor is to buy the cheapest you can find. You end up with something that rarely works and costs you a fortune.

"Plastic" is a pretty big tent. It is like saying real estate without a location or meat without naming a source. Some are space age. Some are chinese garbage.

I've seen it too many times, people figure if they out spend me it has to be better.
They still think so everytime they get it back from the dealer while mine has been out in the field working.

I am far from impulsive. It can take me years to soul search, analyse methods, and compare what the market offers. Then I pounce. If obscure and grubby is better than shiny and new, i can live with that. I am past the stage where I try to impress with labels or badges.

I do not want another project instead of equipment to help finish the projects i already have. Black holes to dump money do not need to follow me home.

 

[Industrial Toys]

A friend bought a White, 1970s 4wd Diesel tractor with FEL about eight years ago. I believe he has not been able to complete one single task with that tractor without yet another defect showing up. But hey, he got a great deal!

He will NEVER get his time, energy or money back on that cursed tractor. It's worth what he paid for it. Maybe less, almost a decade older.

 

[Lelandwelds]

The family farm had a late 1960s propane powered Case 740 or 741. It wasn't used in the fields. It was the tractor that did all the oddball chores that needed to be done on a dairy. It wore out more buckets than I can count. The entire FEL was repaired so many times essentially none of the original remained. It was always beefed up when repaired. It lived outside. We ran it for 30 years and on any given day it could be operated by a dozen guys. It was a doormat that got very little TLC. Boringly reliable. It was the one we tested repaired implements with and then it shuttled stuff to be ready to work tomorrow. It ran the genny, mixed concrete, erected sheds, and worked like an instant jack.

I want one like it. (Edit. I want one like it was in the 1970s and 80s. After the 1990s, it was worn out.)

 

[RayfromTX]

I was buying a tractor recently. I told a friend that I was buying an LS with all the emissions system in place. He told me he could sell me his old Kubota that was pre-emissions requirements. I asked him if that was the same tractor that his wife made him replace because she got tired of him working on the tractor instead of the farm. He cast his eyes downward as I laughed. I asked him what problems his new tractor had given him and his eyes came back up. He's proud of it.

I enjoy starting my tractor in the shed and not smelling the raw diesel. Diesel and jetfuel are not my favorites. The emission stuff is scary to me but mostly because of the computer. I don't like that all our stuff these days is reliant on computers that are costly when they go belly up but they come with benefits. My '74 Fiat-Allis motor grader is still running but it is beyond worn out. It won't outlive me but my LS will. It has all the charm of being mechanical without a comp chip in sight and belches smoke at startup and as it runs. I endure it's demands. I'm glad that when I needed a tractor I was able to buy the LS. It makes me smile every time I get on it.

It will surely torture me later. I wish we would have worked on clean burning diesel 20 years ago but perhaps we needed the computer to make it work I don't know. It is a lot harder to get diesel to burn clean and we had to get the ultra low sulphur diesel to make it possible. To me it seems like we are moving forward and that is always hard. The next generation will be glad that we got it figured out. They may say "I'm glad I never owned a 2018 with all it's problems" but they won't be wishing to go back to the '70s any more than I wish to pull out my vacuum gauges and replace rotors and distributors as I tune up my engine every few months like we used to when I was a young man. Cars are so reliable now because we went through the pain of growing into new technologies. Most of it was forced on us.

I drove an early '70s vette not too long ago. Push the throttle half way to the floor to set the automatic choke. When it catches, nurse the pedal to keep it alive while it warms up. Once it smoothes out, open up the four barrel carb and let it fly. There was really nothing about it that would make me want to live with it everyday but it was a hoot to remember what that old junk was like back when I was a kid.

Just another point of view I guess.

 

[Industrial Toys]

When you had it with the "automatic" chokes, you would go buy a kit, a cable and a knob to establish some control over the choke. If overcoming todays technology could only be so simple!

 

[MinnesotaEric]

No code readers stinks. I'm all for right to repair legislation.

 

[Lelandwelds]

No code readers stinks. I'm all for right to repair legislation.

The dealer network has an enormous advantage with the factory tie ins. I am surprised they feel the need to force a captive closed system on the public. This is the food supply they are messing with and a large chunk of the world economy.

If the tech people become interested, jailbreaking factory computers and drop in chips will become common. Detroit didnt try this crap. Why is big green?

I am guilt of viewing the past through the old rose shades myself. I dont exactly miss carbs and I definitely dont miss point ignitions. I remember HEI was magic the first time i worked with one. If i dump a bunch of moneyin something the wife sees no need for and continue to bleed red, well, you guys know what I will hear for years.