Where to find Tractor in Northern California

[Petman]

Preface - Homeowner and newbie to tractors

Ok, so I have read alot of the threads on Help Me Choose a Compact Tractor. Most are very helpful to those that have actually narrowed their choices to a type or brand. I however, have not. I would prefer to find a great tractor at a great price rather than locking into a brand, color or nationality.

That said... I have about an acre. You then say why are you buying a tractor? Well I added 1,800sf to the house, we have no landscaping and I have to pay a gentleman to come till it once a year just for weed abatement. So I figured if I bought one, that would allow me to till for weeds, till for a garden, till for soil amendment and improvement, use the FEL for moving manure, dirt, etc. Right now I have an 8hp Troy Bilt Horse which isn't cutting it.

So, what do I want? I want a tractor with an FEL, and enough horsepower to drive a 3pt PTO that will drive a rototiller and the option to drive a posthole digger, chipper drag a box scraper/ripper, etc.

I see posts that say "My father bought a Ford 8N for $1,800 bucks a week ago in really good shape" or similar. I CANNOT find anything that is good that is that cheap! I don't mind spending up to say $4-5k but would prefer spending $2,500 on a cosmetically challenged workhorse. Also, an 8 or 9N won't till due to it not having a "low enough speed" and the Kubota B6000 has a reverse direction PTO which isn't good for upgrading more implements. So where are you looking? Please help me find one in the greater Northern California area. Chinese, Japanese, Kubota, Yanmar, Ford, Deere, MF whatever! I am looking for great quality at a great price.

 

[roxynoodle]

Read online classified ads like those on tractorhouse. Dealers almost always have used tractors too that people have traded in. You can try ebay but I would go look at any tractor you are interested in before you bid on it. If you don't mind a grey, Buck at EFC might be able to deliver you one reasonably and he has a good reputation. Pretty hard to find something with a loader though in your price range. You may have to up your budget a bit. I bought a grey Yamar with a FEL for $5k. It is cosmetically challenged but runs good. You could also try Ernie's Tractors for a grey. He also has a good rep. I am not sure who in California has them with a good reputation.

www.efcconstruction.com

www.ernies.net

 

[flusher]

Preface - Homeowner and newbie to tractors

Ok, so I have read alot of the threads on Help Me Choose a Compact Tractor. Most are very helpful to those that have actually narrowed their choices to a type or brand. I however, have not. I would prefer to find a great tractor at a great price rather than locking into a brand, color or nationality.

That said... I have about an acre. You then say why are you buying a tractor? Well I added 1,800sf to the house, we have no landscaping and I have to pay a gentleman to come till it once a year just for weed abatement. So I figured if I bought one, that would allow me to till for weeds, till for a garden, till for soil amendment and improvement, use the FEL for moving manure, dirt, etc. Right now I have an 8hp Troy Bilt Horse which isn't cutting it.

So, what do I want? I want a tractor with an FEL, and enough horsepower to drive a 3pt PTO that will drive a rototiller and the option to drive a posthole digger, chipper drag a box scraper/ripper, etc.

I see posts that say "My father bought a Ford 8N for $1,800 bucks a week ago in really good shape" or similar. I CANNOT find anything that is good that is that cheap! I don't mind spending up to say $4-5k but would prefer spending $2,500 on a cosmetically challenged workhorse. Also, an 8 or 9N won't till due to it not having a "low enough speed" and the Kubota B6000 has a reverse direction PTO which isn't good for upgrading more implements. So where are you looking? Please help me find one in the greater Northern California area. Chinese, Japanese, Kubota, Yanmar, Ford, Deere, MF whatever! I am looking for great quality at a great price.

I live about 120 miles north of Sacramento. You can find grey market tractors (Yanmar, Iseki, etc) at Lane Auto and Tractors in Los Molinos. They have a website showing what's currently available. Last summer I bought a used $300 Yanmar RS1200 rototiller there for my 21-hp Kubota B7510HST.

Dave at Dave's Tractors in Red Bluff has reasonably price used stuff. He has a website

http://www.davestractor.com/

There's a New Holland/Ford/Massey Ferguson dealer in Chico who has used tractors on his lot all the time.

Chico Farm and Orchard
(530) 893-9060
9 Three Sevens Ln # 1
Chico, CA 95973

I'm sure there's a bunch of tractor dealers in the Sacramento, Stockton and Fresno areas that handle used stuff.

Hope this helps.

 

[flusher]

Read online classified ads like those on tractorhouse. Dealers almost always have used tractors too that people have traded in. You can try ebay but I would go look at any tractor you are interested in before you bid on it. If you don't mind a grey, Buck at EFC might be able to deliver you one reasonably and he has a good reputation. Pretty hard to find something with a loader though in your price range. You may have to up your budget a bit. I bought a grey Yamar with a FEL for $5k. It is cosmetically challenged but runs good. You could also try Ernie's Tractors for a grey. He also has a good rep. I am not sure who in California has them with a good reputation.

www.efcconstruction.com

www.ernies.net

I've been watching ebay for a few months now since I'm interested in a 1960s vintage 40-50hp tractor. I'm concentrating on Ford, MF, Case, IH and Deere.

I've found very few tractors in this class on eBay for sale West of the Rockies. Of the hundreds of tractors I've followed, only 3 or 4 were within 500 miles of my place in No. CA. By far most of the tractors were from the South, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia. A lot of these look real nice and sold for very attractive prices. But when you add $2K or more shipping cost, they look less attractive. And, of course, you may be buying a pig in a poke going the eBay route.

 

[Petman]

Tried Daves and he is a bit short right now but will check back with him. Have read the online classifieds, Pennysaver, Nickel, Sacramento Bee, you name it. But as the above post confirms, most are quite a bit east of California or in Oregon/Washington. Shipping costs with gas at over $3 are prohibitive now unless it is a SCREAMING deal. I have been searching for over a month with no luck. "Dealers" by the way are over an hour away so I guess I need to get a contact to keep an eye out for me. Everyone I know that lives in the "country" knows I am looking and is keeping an eye out for For Sale signs. I will try the above but please, KEEP THE IDEAS COMING! If there is a chance, please post a Link, send me an email from your neighbor, your neighbors cousins uncles brother...whoever. Thanks

 

[roxynoodle]

The number one industry in the county where I live is ag, so I had trouble finding a decent condition compact tractor. Anyone looking for a nice antique tractor, those abound here. There are 2 Allis Chalmers within 3 miles for sale. I ended up driving 120 miles to a grey importer to buy mine. He had 150 tractors though so I was fairly certain I would find one I liked. Even towing a 20 foot heavy equipment trailer there and back I only used about a tank of gas so it was worth it for me. If you know the dealer has a good rep it is probably safe to buy the tractor. You could plan on going with a trailer.

Keep the word out too though like you are doing. The more people you have looking, the better.

http://www.tractorhouse.com/default.asp?pdcl=1
Lots of classifieds on this one, but do some research because some of the dealers are either ignorant about what they are selling in terms of greys or they are flat out misleading folks. The Yanmars in here were made in the 70s or 80s and none of them were made in the US, though the 3 digit model numbers were made for US sale.

 

[_RaT_]

Petman, I had a super deal for you last year about this time. A very nice International 454D with a 80" super duty mower all for $6000. The tractor was in superb shape and very powerful. The reason I sold it was it did not have a loader nor was it 4WD which on my hills here in the Auburn area made some things more difficult. I really liked the tractor however. It stuck to the hills like glue. Finding good used tractors is tough, the demand is large.

 

[DavesTractor]

Tried Daves and he is a bit short right now but will check back with him.

We are down to just a handful, maybe 10 used tractors right now, and most of them are 2wd. It's just that time of the year. Lots of new stock, but that doesn't fit the intended budget. Check back occasionally.

 

[Petman]

So when is the BEST time to buy a tractor in regards to pricing? Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter or somewhere in between?

 

[DavesTractor]

So when is the BEST time to buy a tractor in regards to pricing? Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter or somewhere in between?

If you are looking for a super bargain deal, the best time is 5 minutes after a tractor hits the newspaper...and sometimes that is too late. As far as seasonal savings, our slow time of the year is the last two weeks of August and the first two weeks of January. Prices stay steady year round. There are always a few guys on our list to call if we get a bargain tractor, so generally a cheap cosmetically challenged diesel tractor with a loader won't be around for more than a couple of days. It is a supply and demand thing, and bargain tractors, that are mechanically solid, are in demand.