Which Kubota is right for me?

[gerard]

Happy hunting. I was in the same boat as you but, as others have already chimed in, decent tractors hold their value too well to justify buying used. I was looking at 5 year old tractors with 1500 hours to save $2000, didn't make sense. Kind of like pick up trucks - one of the things it makes sense to buy new, especially if you plan on keeping it awhile. Keep checking Carvers site, they have a lot of used equipment so you can get a good feel for pricing but I think you'll find your price limit is a little low for the specs you're looking for. (Good luck) /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[rbargeron]

At the risk of repeating myself, I'm going to repeat myself.

The tractor that covers all of John's specs is the L4150HDT. It has a 50 hp 5-cylinder engine, hydraulic shuttle, the BF900 loader lifts 1950 lb, and some L4150's are old enough that the 13k price may not be out of the question. One thing John didn't mention is whether it should be 4wd - if not the 13k price is maybe quite possible. The trick will be finding one - but they appear on the used market occasionally. They were outstanding tractors (IMHO better than some present ones.)As an example - here's a quote from the Equipment Trader:

" 1998 KUBOTA , L4150, $11,990, 4x4, w/loader, Summit Sales & Rentals, Sandusky, MI, 810-648-1920. "

I'm sure the year is a misprint - 1988 is more likely, but would be worth a call maybe, depending on where you are.

 

[rbargeron]

Just for laughs I called on the ad above, it is a 1988, has around 2400 hours, has hydraulic shuttle and is 4wd. The guy says it came from a farm - owner had sold the farm and traded tractor in on a smaller one. Needs some cosmetics and could use front rubber, but is mechanically fine.

I don't know about this particular one, but from how they were built I'm convinced these older L3's are great machines.