What's a fair price for a Kubota L47 TLB that sat on the dealer lot for 3 years?

[Hay Dude]

I just don't see the problem with a tractor sitting outside. All of ours have always sat outside and I can't see that it has done them any harm. Some damage to rubber parts, but that's easily dealt with. The sun hardens the paint, but you can always wash and polish it up if that's your thing. More importantly is to wash the mud off each day.... if your land has mud, ours doesn't. About the worst thing here is parking under a tree and getting tree sap.

To the OP. Tractors tend to be built in one long a factory run and then warehoused to be sold over the life of the model - which is often 5, 7 to 10 years depending on popularity there might be anothe run...and might not. The tractor "year" is the year it is sold, not the year it was made. Unlike cars. Serial number tells you the year it was made and the and model run for any changes.

Mechanically, I don't see why here should be much difference between a L47 that has sat on a dealers lot for 3 years and one that has sat at the manufacturer's shipping depot for that same time.
rScotty

Dont tell my Outdoor stored equipment that.
All my outdoor stuff looks like junk after 5 years. Indoor stored after 5 years looks far better.
Heck, I have a 5 year old trailer that sits outside maybe 4 months of the year and it’s paint is already failing.
I have 2 large Kubotas that are stored inside probably 7/12 months and the orange has faded real bad.

 

[fried1765]

I just don't see the problem with a tractor sitting outside. All of ours have always sat outside and I can't see that it has done them any harm. Some damage to rubber parts, but that's easily dealt with. The sun hardens the paint, but you can always wash and polish it up if that's your thing. More importantly is to wash the mud off each day.... if your land has mud, ours doesn't. About the worst thing here is parking under a tree and getting tree sap.

To the OP. Tractors tend to be built in one long a factory run and then warehoused to be sold over the life of the model - which is often 5, 7 to 10 years depending on popularity there might be anothe run...and might not. The tractor "year" is the year it is sold, not the year it was made. Unlike cars. Serial number tells you the year it was made and the and model run for any changes.

Mechanically, I don't see why here should be much difference between a L47 that has sat on a dealers lot for 3 years and one that has sat at the manufacturer's shipping depot for that same time.
rScotty

Sorry....but this "logic" does not cut the mustard with me!

 

[nards444]

Sorry....but this "logic" does not cut the mustard with me!

Yeah not sure either. Two things that diminish any piece of equipment is time and use. Each thing that is made has a defined life span, alot of that is pre-determined off how something is engineered and what material is used. The other part of that equation is how much and how hard something is used and how old it is. Sun and weather beat on things periods.

But he does have a point. My buddy has a 40-50 year old ford that sits outside and starts right up every time. Also I bought my tractor new tractor last year a 2019 but beleive ti was made in 2018 and think I saw a part with what looked like a date stamp of 2017 on it. So hard to say. But with that said a machine sitting on the lot for three years I would be asking for a discount.

 

[Hay Dude]

Yeah not sure either. Two things that diminish any piece of equipment is time and use. Each thing that is made has a defined life span, alot of that is pre-determined off how something is engineered and what material is used. The other part of that equation is how much and how hard something is used and how old it is. Sun and weather beat on things periods.

But he does have a point. My buddy has a 40-50 year old ford that sits outside and starts right up every time. Also I bought my tractor new tractor last year a 2019 but beleive ti was made in 2018 and think I saw a part with what looked like a date stamp of 2017 on it. So hard to say. But with that said a machine sitting on the lot for three years I would be asking for a discount.

I dont think sitting outside affects a tractors ability to start or run.
I think sitting outside creates rust, paint deterioration, rubber tire and hose breakdown and interior plastic deterioration.
Some folks don’t give a rip about appearance. I had a trailer salesman question “ why I cared about the way a trailer was painted “. I kind of laughed and asked him if he ever considered what customers would think if I delivered products to them on a trailer with sheets of their junk paint and rust falling off on their property. What does appearance say about the pride of ownership? When the surface rust turns into rust holes, what happens to the structural stability? Will the steel degrade long before the mechanical components wear out? “ Its just a tractor “ or “ Its just a trailer “ doesn’t cut it for me. Far as Im concerned, it should have close to if not equal to an automotive quality paint job.
Don’t even get me started about what the cops think of rusted equipment going down the highway. They love pulling over anything that looks deteriorated!

 

[pmsmechanic]

Compact and sub compact tractors might be built in batches of the same kind. I really can't say because I don't know. What I do know is when I had a tour or the John Deere tractor factory in Waterloo many years ago the tractors were being built to order. The same models were coming down the line yes but they could range from 80 -150 horsepower at the time. Generally there was not the same HP tractor beside each other on the line.

As an aside the one line was assembling motor home chassis for Ford. Tractor sales were slower that year so they had bid on the motor home chassis assembly to keep the factory busy.

 

[fried1765]

I dont think sitting outside affects a tractors ability to start or run.
I think sitting outside creates rust, paint deterioration, rubber tire and hose breakdown and interior plastic deterioration.
Some folks don’t give a rip about appearance. I had a trailer salesman question “ why I cared about the way a trailer was painted “. I kind of laughed and asked him if he ever considered what customers would think if I delivered products to them on a trailer with sheets of their junk paint and rust falling off on their property. What does appearance say about the pride of ownership? When the surface rust turns into rust holes, what happens to the structural stability? Will the steel degrade long before the mechanical components wear out? “ Its just a tractor “ or “ Its just a trailer “ doesn’t cut it for me. Far as Im concerned, it should have close to if not equal to an automotive quality paint job.
Don’t even get me started about what the cops think of rusted equipment going down the highway. They love pulling over anything that looks deteriorated!

^^^^^ EXACTLY CORRECT, IN MY VIEW !!!!!!!!

 

[rScotty]

Sorry....but this "logic" does not cut the mustard with me!

It's interesting that so many of the replies from people who think that leaving equipment outside is a problem live in the Eastern US and many within a few hundred miles of the sea. I wonder how much effect humidity, salt, and soil acidity has?
Here in the arid Western USA with our dry air and sandy soil, the only difference between inside and outside is the sun. And it's easy to put a tractor in the shade. There's no need to put it inside. Cars and trucks last a long time too. 20 to 30 years is common. Older is not unusual.
rScotty

 

[Hay Dude]

It's interesting that so many of the replies from people who think that leaving equipment outside is a problem live in the Eastern US and many within a few hundred miles of the sea. I wonder how much effect humidity, salt, and soil acidity has?
Here in the arid Western USA with our dry air and sandy soil, the only difference between inside and outside is the sun. And it's easy to put a tractor in the shade. There's no need to put it inside. Cars and trucks last a long time too. 20 to 30 years is common. Older is not unusual.
rScotty

Without question! I vacation in the west and we are astounded at the number of older non rusted vehicles we see in Utah, Nevada, S. California and Arizona.. Beautiful older farm equipment still out there in the fields, too.
However, sun is sun, and I maintain it breaks down paint, rubber and plastic.
Add rust to the above we get in damper climates and itll make a vehicle worth half its new value if left outside for a few years.

 

[fried1765]

It's interesting that so many of the replies from people who think that leaving equipment outside is a problem live in the Eastern US and many within a few hundred miles of the sea. I wonder how much effect humidity, salt, and soil acidity has?
Here in the arid Western USA with our dry air and sandy soil, the only difference between inside and outside is the sun. And it's easy to put a tractor in the shade. There's no need to put it inside. Cars and trucks last a long time too. 20 to 30 years is common. Older is not unusual.
rScotty

Yup......my property is less than 500 yards from salt water.
I store EVERYTHING inside,(trailers, tractors, attachments, cars, boats, tools, shovels, even a 110+ year old doctors buggy)
When anything made of steel/metal is left outside for even a day, rust/corrosion will begin somewhere.