Buying Advice Question/Introduction

[RJT]

Hey y'all, my names Ryan.. Glad to be here!
I'm going to be moving soon into a new home in the country with a few acres (9 to be exact). I plan on doing some small time farming and whatnot and am starting to look at tractors. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this kind of stuff aside from riding mowers, which I have a couple of for my 1 1/2 acres now. I do plan on selling them before the move, though. I'll generally be using the tractor to plow, cultivate, and sow about 2-4 of the acres. The rest will just be mowed. It's possible I may also use it for minor towing tasks pulling the utility trailer around the property transporting mulch, lumber, and other various things. The utility trailer is an aluminum 4x8 foot trailer, so it is somewhat light. I won't be needing it for any small excavating ventures as I have a small loader for that. I don't necessarily need a tractor with a mower because I do have a pull behind already that I used to use with one of my quads. The area is pretty flat, not a whole lot of hills and no major grade. I hope I gave y'all enough information to be able to help me out.. Thanks in advance!

 

[RJT]

Addition to the question.. Do you think I might be better off buying a utility vehicle such as a JD Gator and getting the hitch?

 

[Baby Grand]

Welcome aboard, Ryan!

 

[paulharvey]

I guess ill take a stab at in. What general kind of budget do you have, $2000, $20,000, $50,000? I would say a minimum of 40 hp. You dont need a loader you said, and you may or may not want/need 4x4 and Hydrostatic, so I think you can do what you want with anything from a 1960s Ford-2000 for $2500, to a new cabbed 50 hp John Deere for $45,000, and a whole lot inbetween. Many used utility tractors are cheap because the current demands are all on small, 4x4, with loaders, and actual farm tractors can be had for pretty fair prices.

 

[RJT]

Thanks Paul! We're in the middle of selling our current property (looks like we have it sold). We're getting about 380k for it because of the location (just outside of a mid sized city) and we have a lot of land (for being near a city where we're at). The property we're purchasing we'll probably get for around 150-175k. After implements and what-have-you are purchased and other need-to-buys are bought, we're thinking we should have about 40-50k to spend. We're not afraid of buying used as I am a diesel and automotive mechanic, so engine work is for the most part a breeze for me. If I can find something reasonable in the 20k range though, that would be wonderful. It will also leave room for some more goodies.

Any more responses are appreciated and as before, thanks in advance!

 

[paulharvey]

I had a thought out post, but it didnt load...but. a quick look in tractorhouse.com finds a New 2013 Case Farmall-45A 2wd, no loader for $15,200. Mahindra also has some great deals on 40-50 hp 2wd, no loader, gear transmission tractors, so I think you can be sitting pretty for $20k if you dont need a loader, 4 WD, or Hydrostatic.

 

[murphy1244]

If your going to spend 20k on a used 2 wheel drive Tractor it better have a Cab and serve Beer.

 

[madRazor]

If your going to spend 20k on a used 2 wheel drive Tractor it better have a Cab and serve Beer.

Exactly. I spent exactly 20k minus $1 on mine, and it has loader, 4 wheel drive and hst among many other goodies. this was 3 months ago, and it was new. I guess kubota guys are used to overpaying?

 

[RJT]

Hey y'all. Just an update. We have our home sold. Final selling price is 375k- buyer pay closing costs. We are almost certain that we have won the bid on the house we were looking at.. And for less than we originally anticipated, 130k. This means our funds have increased a bit. All of this got me to start thinking. I've read around that the Mahindras are great entry level tractors. Why don't I just kill two birds with one stone and sell the loader I have and just get a bigger tractor with a loader attachment? So I took a ride to the dealer today to start talking numbers. $31,500 out the door if I'm paying cash, loader attachment included on a Mahindra 5010 HST Cab Series. The guy said they will even throw in a 6' rotary tiller for an extra $500. I think I found my tractor! I have someone interested in my loader for 8k and he is coming by to look at it tomorrow. Only have a few more implements left to pick up, then.. And I'm buying the wife a new riding mower, haha. She has been wanting a new JD for a while so I'm gonna pick her up a D170 with a 54" deck and a new wagon for it from Home Depot for around 3k + tax. She's gonna be one happy lady especially since I'm not telling her about it!

 

[RJT]

Sold my loader today for what I was hoping to get, 8k. Went out and bought the wife her new JD D170 and wagon from Home Depot. Came out just shy of $3200. I also ended up buying her a used tow vacuum for catching leaves and whatnot for $600 used. The other 4k will go towards a deposit on my new Mahindra 5010 HST Cab tomorrow. Can't wait to get it and use it. We're due to be out of the house by next Friday and set to start moving in our new home as early as Monday, so we have a full week to get everything out. I'll be able to pay the 28k left after deposit on the loader by Wednesday. I'll be using it in less than a week! Very excited!

 

[paulharvey]

Very nice.

 

[wmonroe]

Congrats on selling the house. What were your main uses for the loader you sold, was there anything heavy that might require bumping up a size in tractor? There are so many great compact tractors out there now that I would suggest shopping at all the dealers near you.

 

[Guesseral]

Yea I would look around also, that is a 49HP tractor right you should be able to do better than that is the Mahindra a cab model that would add cost Do you have a Kioti or an LS dealer near by give them a shot I think you can beat that price.

 

[joeyd]

Since you're in Penn. do you have to worry about snow plowing or blowing with the new property? Nine acres could have a long driveway

 

[RJT]

49HP is enough for what I'd use it for. I used the loader at our last property to dig a small (and I mean VERY small) pond and to push some dirt around to even out the property. Really, I can't imagine really having to use it a whole lot aside from maybe moving a few buckets of dirt around. We're only farming about 2-4 acres of the already completely cleared (aside from high grass) and flat property I have a plow truck already, too.. So I won't have to worry that much about plowing snow. Downside is that I have to have the truck rollbacked to the property because it won't pass inspection.. It's a farm truck, I'm lucky it even has a title, lol. I visited some other dealerships around the area and this one by far had the best service and most friendly people. I simply won't buy from someone who comes off like they're talking down to me.. I am after all, the one who is putting money in their pocket, haha.

 

[wmonroe]

What part of pa are you in? I'm about an hour east of Pittsburgh.

 

[RJT]

Right now we're just south of Scranton PA.. We're going to be moving more into the Lancaster area (are currently in the process of).
I made my down payment today and took my new toy for another test ride. I couldn't be happier and I can't wait!

 

[bigbull338]

sounds like youve odered a real nice tractor.

 

[RJT]

sounds like youve odered a real nice tractor.

I can't wait to get her! Haha. We're receiving payment for our house this upcoming Monday.. I'll be going directly to the dealership with my pickup and trailer to get it. As mentioned on another thread, I tested out a Gator 550 today just for general purpose use and I really liked it.. So It's very possible that I'll be making 2 purchases on Monday. We're about 50% moved into the new house so far. We spent 14 hours yesterday just hauling stuff. We have about 2 more truckloads to make tomorrow. The wife and her brother are at the new property now sorting through stuff and trying to at least set up the living room, dining room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. I'm going over tonight to move appliances in for the kitchen and set that up. I like to cook, so the kitchen is mine, haha. The place we bought was an old farm. The previous owners didn't use it as that, though. They let the field go for the most part, and It's in need of a mowing. As soon as the weather breaks, we're gonna test the wife's new JD mower that I bought her a few days ago. At least there is a nice size garage that was converted from an old barn. Looks like it could hold all of my new goodies plus all of our vehicles. Just gotta purchase a few implements now and we should be set as far as equipment goes. Just all labor and materials work then to get our berry farm under way.

 

[wmonroe]

Sounds like the beginning to a lot of fun.