rent or buy?

[ohbehave]

As I ponder the purchase of a "B" Kubota, I have thoughts about the advantages of renting.

Once a person buys their first tractor, they are in essence, committing themselves to being a "tractor having person". So, you need a place to protect the tractor, you need the attachment, etc.... and you have spent quite a bit of money.

So, if I were to use a tractor for a year.....and I can imagine putting maybe 200 hours on the thing within a year maximum (clearing my woods of underbrush)..... and then decide that I don't really need a tractor after that, how much would I lose on the used market selling the tractor?

So, I spend 20,000 for the setup..... in a year, with 200 hours on it, what's my loss? ... and how does that loss compare to renting something for a minimum of two weeks? (and two weeks would be rushing it)

 

[nybirdman]

It is hard to sell a one or two year old tractor,even with low hours.You are competeing with 0% financeing on new.Rent if you think you will have no uses in the future.I see them all the time for sale,people purchase to do a project and try to sell for what they paid new.

 

[JJZ 109]

It is hard to sell a one or two year old tractor,even with low hours.You are competeing with 0% financeing on new.

You got that right. Having a heck of a time trying to sell my 2009 B3030 HSDCC. I even have someone at a Kubota dealer in a neighboring state investigating a deal where I could trade it in for a skid steer snow blower and new dump trailer.
It's on ebay & CL, but there's a lot of tire kickers and low ballers out there. Lucky for me that I don't owe anything on it so I guess it hangs around until someone makes a serious offer on it.

 

[Martian]

If all you have is two weeks worth of work, I'd just hire that to be done. Don't even wast your time at the rental yard. What sorts of projects do you have? I know that my projects are never ending and there is no way I could rent...

 

[smstonypoint]

To get a flavor of the potential resale value of a "B," you could consult the "for sale" ads for low-hour used "Bs" at KUBOTA Farm Equipment, Used KUBOTA Farm Equipment, KUBOTA Farm Equipment For Sale At TractorHouse.com. These are "asking" prices and likely overstate actual prices paid.

Estimating Farm Machinery Costs A3-29 November 2009 reports (e)stimates of the remaining value of tractors .... as a percent of new list price. .....The factors were developed from published reports of used equipment auction values, and are estimates of the average 'as-is' value of a class of machines in average mechanical condition at the farm. Actual market value will vary from these values depending on the condition of the machine, the current market for new machines, and local preferences or dislikes for certain models." The smallest tractor class in the report is 30-79 HP and thus includes utility tractors and some larger CUTS. According to that report, such a tractor with 200 hours would have a remaining value equal to 65% of its list price after one year.

According to http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/255803-tier-4-comming-now-time.html, prices will soon be increasing for compacts above 25 HP due to Tier 4 emissions regulations. This will increase the demand for used CUTS. The questions are when and by how much.

Steve

 

[RDrancher]

Even if you're looking at a months worth of work you'd be way ahead renting, especially if you'll have no use for the tractor once your cleanup is done. Rental yards give pretty heavy discounts for weekly and monthly rentals. Then you could rent a piece (or pieces) of equipment that are best for each particular job. If you'll have work for a tractor just a little, year after year, there are lots of older (and less expensive) units out there that would work just fine.

 

[MHarryE]

I had the same question when I was thinking of a mini-excavator. I ended up buying a used one from a dealer rental fleet thinking I could sell it when I no longer had a need. I got mine for 40% of new price and over 3 years later the book shows a higher value than what I paid but I never find a reason to sell it. I have mor hours this year than in any of the previous years.

My neighbor did the same thing but on a larger scale. He bought a used dozer off the web, used it for a year to clear land, and sold it on the web for more than he paid for it.

 

[tractchores]

Used value of a 'B' is pretty good, but it could take some time to sell. The bigger risk is that you find that you really like the tractor and start finding other uses for it and keep it.

 

[case245]

i had the same problem months ago ended up buying a new kubota 7040su there no way id sell it id lose a ton of money

 

[jimrs]

I borrowed a small (gray market) Kubota from a good friend and used it for a year. I took it back and next year I needed it again. So I bought a new B2320 Kubota and I don't use it a lot but it's in its shed when I do. I don't ever plan on selling the thing. I have less than 25 hours on it in just over a year. I'm getting to old to wheelbarrow dirt all over the yard so the tractor is a great tool for me. I need to do some work with it before winter sets in around the seawall. I have just one acre on the lake so I use it when I need it or use it to help neighbors out when they need some work. It's fun to do thing on it I do enjoy the seat time for a couple hours at a time.