Tractor w/backhoe for $17k or less - which one??

[ovrszd]

These discussions always bring out such a wide range of opinions. Which is a good thing. The alarming thing to me is that here is an individual that is willing to go in debt $15,000 to lay some drainage pipe, build a retaining wall, dig up some small stumps and spread some gravel. He has access to a skid steer loader. And the majority of us offer him solutions that require spending more money than he is originally anticipating. I think sometimes in our joy of encouraging people to spend their money we lack in logical discussion. For those of you who are old time CUT or SCUT owners, did you start out by financing 90% of your first purchase?? If so, did you start with that much money spent??

Dragula, maybe you should consider buying a lawn mower with your $2000. Use your Skid Steer to do 90% of the projects you listed. Hire a backhoe for the remainder. Then every month stick away the amount of money you are willing to spend on your expected $15K debt, because you have already commited yourself to doing that. In a few years you will have enough cash in front of you to upgrade.

If you finance $15K (90%) on a new TLB, that is going to be an extremely expensive TLB five years from now when you have paid it off. You will easily have paid enough in payments to upgrade a couple sizes in tractor and equipment if purchasing with cash. Actually at the end of the first year you will probalby owe more against this TLB than you could sell it for from depreciation. Just something to consider.

 

[LC Brewing]

And so ovrszd has just summed up (very eloquently) the reason(s) why I have postponed a tractor purchase for probably the next year to two years. Thank you for helping me come to terms with my decision.

 

[LBrown59]

JD 4210 at Home Depot for sale
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Just an FYI for anyone in middle TN looking for a tractor. I just saw a JD 4210 with Front loader, back hoe attachment, e-hydro, armour kit, R-4's and sunshade with 317 hours at Home Depot in Nashville. That is the one in Bellevue off of hwy 70. They had it at $15,400. I don't know much about JD's but that looked like a decent price to me. If I was looking I would have to check that out.
__________________
"Have faith in God, but lock your car"

Hey all,
Newbie here doing a little tractor shopping.
There are SO many choices out there that I'm lost, so I figured you guys could point me in the right direction.

I'm looking for a small tractor to use around the house. I've got some retaining walls to build, drainage pipes to bury, some small stumps to dig up, some gravel to spread, etc. so I'm looking for a tractor with a backhoe attachment (and of course a front bucket).

I'd like to stay under or around $17k total including the attachments. I'm figuring on $2k down so that I'm only financing $15k.

I don't want a used one. The used ones (brand named) that I've looked at online go for almost as much as a new one. I plan on keeping it for years so I'd like to buy a new one that way I can be assured it's had the proper maintenance.

I went and looked at a John Deere 2320 yesterday. I liked it but I haven't looked at anything else yet. The JD dealer is close to me, the others are a pretty good drive for me so I'd like to get some opinions first before I drive all over the state.

I'm not necessarily opposed to an import but how much cheaper is an import really??? I'd like to buy something that I know that I can get parts for ten years from now but if they're much cheaper it might be worth the risk.

So basically, if you had $17k to spend on a new tractor w/a backhoe, what would you buy?



Thanks for any and all help!

 

[windo54]

I had been going round and round about a TLB for about 5 years.
The 1st year I didn't buy one because it was only $2000.00 worth
of work I needed done. The next year I spent $2700.00, I got to skip a year then spent $3000.00. This year I wanted to extend my driveway and a few other things, they wanted another $2000.00. I took the $2000.00 sold my JD mower for another $2000.00 and added a few more to my DP. I have a cheap
payment (at about 3%) and have my new MF2310. It cost me $18,145.00 with a belly mower. I worked the thing hard (200 hours in 2 months) moved a lot of dirt, big rocks and dug out a few tree stumps. The tractor kicked butt.

If I bought the tractor day one it would be more than half paid for and I would
have had it to do other things as well.

The specs on the MF beat the Kobota hands down. The Kobota was about $1500.00 cheaper but I bought the MF and its one heck of a little tractor.

 

[IslandTractor]

Windo54, welcome to TBN.

 

[schmism]

not a single mention of the TZ18-25 new holland tractors.
in the past they were TC18-20(something)

used tractor with MMM and FEL with a new BH you could easly come in under your price point

 

[Dmace]

not a single mention of the TZ18-25 new holland tractors.
in the past they were TC18-20(something)

used tractor with MMM and FEL with a new BH you could easly come in under your price point

I don't want a used one. The used ones (brand named) that I've looked at online go for almost as much as a new one. I plan on keeping it for years so I'd like to buy a new one that way I can be assured it's had the proper maintenance.

There is just no way of knowing what a used tractor has been through. I agree that buying new is your best bet.

 

[MossRoad]

These discussions always bring out such a wide range of opinions. Which is a good thing. The alarming thing to me is that here is an individual that is willing to go in debt $15,000 to lay some drainage pipe, build a retaining wall, dig up some small stumps and spread some gravel. He has access to a skid steer loader. And the majority of us offer him solutions that require spending more money than he is originally anticipating. I think sometimes in our joy of encouraging people to spend their money we lack in logical discussion. For those of you who are old time CUT or SCUT owners, did you start out by financing 90% of your first purchase?? If so, did you start with that much money spent??

Dragula, maybe you should consider buying a lawn mower with your $2000. Use your Skid Steer to do 90% of the projects you listed. Hire a backhoe for the remainder. Then every month stick away the amount of money you are willing to spend on your expected $15K debt, because you have already commited yourself to doing that. In a few years you will have enough cash in front of you to upgrade.

If you finance $15K (90%) on a new TLB, that is going to be an extremely expensive TLB five years from now when you have paid it off. You will easily have paid enough in payments to upgrade a couple sizes in tractor and equipment if purchasing with cash. Actually at the end of the first year you will probalby owe more against this TLB than you could sell it for from depreciation. Just something to consider.

Hey, you're not supposed to give fiscally responsible answers on a tractor board!

 

[shvl73]

These discussions always bring out such a wide range of opinions. Which is a good thing. The alarming thing to me is that here is an individual that is willing to go in debt $15,000 to lay some drainage pipe, build a retaining wall, dig up some small stumps and spread some gravel. He has access to a skid steer loader. And the majority of us offer him solutions that require spending more money than he is originally anticipating. I think sometimes in our joy of encouraging people to spend their money we lack in logical discussion. For those of you who are old time CUT or SCUT owners, did you start out by financing 90% of your first purchase?? If so, did you start with that much money spent??

Dragula, maybe you should consider buying a lawn mower with your $2000. Use your Skid Steer to do 90% of the projects you listed. Hire a backhoe for the remainder. Then every month stick away the amount of money you are willing to spend on your expected $15K debt, because you have already commited yourself to doing that. In a few years you will have enough cash in front of you to upgrade.

If you finance $15K (90%) on a new TLB, that is going to be an extremely expensive TLB five years from now when you have paid it off. You will easily have paid enough in payments to upgrade a couple sizes in tractor and equipment if purchasing with cash. Actually at the end of the first year you will probalby owe more against this TLB than you could sell it for from depreciation. Just something to consider.

If any manufacturers have 0% it not a bad way to go.
mahindra offered 0% for three years when I bought mine. The payments looked a little large for me at the time so I opted for a 5 year note. Things ended up better than I thought and it was paid off 2-1/2 years later. The interest paid wasn't much. The work accomplished was great. I do think there is validity to your arguement and each individual needs to think long and hard about there current and future financial situation and uses for the tractor long term.

 

[IslandTractor]

Hey, you're not supposed to give fiscally responsible answers on a tractor board!

Attaboy MossRoad. Nice to see moderators maintaining community standards that I agree with.