Buying Advice Older 4X4 25-50 HP?

[dook]

I'm in the market for an older tractor. I used to have an 8N Ford and loved it, but I have a lot of steep terrain here and I need something with 4x4 and power steering and a loader bucket. I want a diesel about 25 to 50 HP.
It seems 4x4 has only been popular in the last two or three decades. I just don't see many 4x4 tractors for sale that are more than 5 years old. I want one at least 15 to 20 years old.

Who made them and what models are best?

I'm not real picky about brand name but prefer common ones that have dealers in my area like Kubota, New Holland or Deere.

 

[Diamondpilot]

You will find 20 year old Kubota's and such in 4x4 but you will find that they hold value really well. I was looking for something older just like you and ended up buying new due to the 75% or so resale on good clean units.

Chris

 

[dook]

You will find 20 year old Kubota's and such in 4x4 but you will find that they hold value really well. I was looking for something older just like you and ended up buying new due to the 75% or so resale on good clean units.

Chris

Thanks for the reply. What few older Kubotas I've seen for sale were in fact expensive.
Before I was an old man, I used to be a mechanic. I hope I could find a tractor needing repairs at a substantial discount.
Do you know which models of older Kubotas are the best? I prefer low speed naturally aspirated diesels, I understand many of the newer Kubotas are high RPM.

 

[Grandad4]

Dook, if you go to the Kubota website, there is a "prior products" listing of all the previous models, with their year of introduction, gear type, pto hp, etc. You would probably want the "L" or "M" series, where have been dozens of different models in the 25-50 hp range since the 1980's. The other major manufacturers have similar listings of their previous models. There is also a tractor blue book, the name of which escapes me, with similar information and values. I've seen it at Tractor Supply.

You can then look at some of the online listing services such as Fastline.com, Ironplanet.com, Equipmenttraderonline.com, etc., to see lots of used tractors on the market. I don't know what will line up with your location and budget, but you will probably get a sense of what kind of equipment is available, and that should help you, even if you are only looking in your specific neck of the woods.

When you are looking at 15-20 year old equipment, the condition of the specific machine probably means more than what brand it is. Kubota, Deere, Massey and New Holland/Ford, maybe a few others, were the primary brands of utility/compact tractors in the '80's and 90's in the hp range you mentioned.

Best of luck. If you let everyone know what you come up with, no doubt you'll get more opinions than you can handle from the TBN bunch.

 

[Soundguy]

perhaps something like a 5610II ford..

soundguy

 

[Egon]

When you are looking at 15-20 year old equipment, the condition of the specific machine probably means more than what brand it is.

That is for sure. One has to go "SHOPPING" and have patience and ensure there is a parts supply line available.

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. don't buy anything orphaned..

soundguy

 

[dook]

Thanks for the replies, guys. There is a wealth of information on this forum.

I've heard about "grey market" tractors. Which manufacturers are safe? If I stay with John Deere, New Holland, Ford and Kubota can I rest assured that parts will be available on the US market?

 

[rtimgray]

If you are going to go grey market on JD/NH, units of the size you are looking for (that I'm aware of) are usually imported from Britain/Europe. There was an article in Progressive Farmer magazine years ago warning people about the perils of buying one of these grey market tractors. The only real peril is exactly what you're wondering about - parts sales. JD and NH dealers will be unlikely to sell parts for a grey market tractor if they know it is one of the grey market tractors (which generally have different model numbers). The key would be knowing which domestic model is the "cross" for a grey market one. Overall, in my observation, most grey market tractors are 25 horsepower and under (and generally the Japanese units), and the JD/NH units are relatively rare.

Kubota takes a pretty aggressive stance on grey market tractors as well, and I believe that dealers will not sell parts for grey market unit. However, when I had my Kubota L1500, it is a close-cousin to the L175/185, so I could get most any parts I needed (I believe the transmission was the main difference, the the way the hand throttle worked).

Anyway, I am actually a big fan of grey market tractors (Yanmars are my favorite), but I don't know that you will find one big enough for what you are looking for. Just keep at it and one will come up.

Good luck and take care.

 

[dook]

Rtimgray,
I was actually interested in how to consciously avoid grey market tractors, not because anything is wrong with them, but because I'm concerned with the long term availability of parts. How does one identify a tractor as grey market? This seems like something that sellers might not disclose.