Which Older Tractor - A Few Options I've Found

[Budweiser John]

Of the ones listed, the Massey stands out.

The $6500 John Deere is WAY overpriced, especially since it's gas. If it was a diesel and $1000 or $1500 cheaper, maybe.

The 2010 is not much tractor for the money and the 10 series wasn't John Deere's best effort.

The Allis is a lot of tractor but I'm assuming it's gas and it may have the goofy snap-coupler hitch system that isn't compatible with much.

The Massy is a good tractor.
Equipped with a loader, take a close look at the front wheel spindles. If the tires toe in at the top the front axel has been overloaded and the spindles bent. In extreme cases the inside wall of front tires will rub on the steering assembly.
B John

 

[LD1]

Forgot to mention....

The massey and 301a are listed as power steering

The other two power steering was optional. With a loader, if it aint got power steering, walk away

 

[GManBart]

Welcome to TBN!

Of those, the Massey is probably the best bet. One thing to know about the Massey is that the front axle on that series is pretty light for any sort of FEL work. That means you have to use some care, and hope that the previous owners did as well, which would concern me with the looks of that loader. Just going off the pictures you're going to have to buy new front tires, and keep in mind that something as simple as one hose on the loader can easily be $100 to fix, so there are a lot of potential expenses when you get into an older machine.

I'm not one to usually suggest going with a smaller tractor, but with new property that's going to take up a lot of time (I'm sort of in that situation) stopping work for a day or two to fix a broken tractor may get old quickly, and that's almost certainly going to happen with older machines. It sounds like you could easily do your tasks with a smaller, much newer machine that isn't likely to require anything other than basic oil/filter changes for quite some time.

Something like this LS might be worth considering...new, 5yr warranty, and a size that always seems to sell quickly if you decide to go larger in the future.

XJ2025 LS Tractor & Loader 25-hp Hydro-New

 

[jenkinsph]

Several posters have commented on repairs of the older tractors. I would pick the best tractor I could find and expect to spend a week at least fixing it up. This way you get to know more about the tractor you have and address the weak points. I have bought them for $3500 and put $1500 in them plus my labor then had a good tractor that I used for years afterwards. Looking a he MF 175 you will have to spend money for fix ups and I would budget $1500 as a very rough guess. That should get you a pretty good tractor though.

I usually like to use them for a season after mechanical repairs then if it proves to be a good tractor I will consider painting it and installing new seats and tires as needed. Afterwards you should be able to use it for a few years and get most of your money back when you sell it to trade up.

 

[kevin37b]

Stay as far away from a 2010 JD as you can . One of JD worst tractors .

 

[DJ54]

It would be great if the Massey had a straight transmission, without multi-power. They can be a very handy option, but very expensive to fix on the Massey's. On the other hand, if it does need a rebuild, the kits for the Perkins are way less expensive than the others.

 

[4570Man]

Welcome to TBN! Of those, the Massey is probably the best bet. One thing to know about the Massey is that the front axle on that series is pretty light for any sort of FEL work. That means you have to use some care, and hope that the previous owners did as well, which would concern me with the looks of that loader. Just going off the pictures you're going to have to buy new front tires, and keep in mind that something as simple as one hose on the loader can easily be $100 to fix, so there are a lot of potential expenses when you get into an older machine. I'm not one to usually suggest going with a smaller tractor, but with new property that's going to take up a lot of time (I'm sort of in that situation) stopping work for a day or two to fix a broken tractor may get old quickly, and that's almost certainly going to happen with older machines. It sounds like you could easily do your tasks with a smaller, much newer machine that isn't likely to require anything other than basic oil/filter changes for quite some time. Something like this LS might be worth considering...new, 5yr warranty, and a size that always seems to sell quickly if you decide to go larger in the future. XJ2025 LS Tractor & Loader 25-hp Hydro-New

That tractor is more than double his budget.

 

[bspeedy]

If it were me, I would vote 'None of the Above'. Sorry, but I would choose a 25-30 hp CUT with 4x4 over any of these big old beasts. Scrounge up two grand more for a $7K budget and you'll be surprised what you can find. Within the last three years, three friends of mine found machines under 7 grand that required minimal attention (less than 500 bucks) and were great tractors. All were 4wd, all had loaders, all had under 2K hours. One JD, one NH, one Ford/NH. Lowest paid was 4900, highest was 6900.

Maintenance on the big old tractors will break you. Running and operating them anywhere but an open field is like trying to drive a school bus in the Indy 500.

Good luck.

 

[whizdbiz2]

I won't comment on your potential choices as I have no experience with them, other than when growing up with a D17 that a neighbor had as his primary tractor, this when it was nearly new however (fine tractor, very smooth running and strong).

My experience was similar to yours, had some acreage, needed a tractor to do some mowing and dirt and snow moving. I got a 9N from the guy that built my house and it served me well for many years, this was about 25 yrs ago. I bought an 8N at a sale about 13 yrs. ago because when the 9N was down I was done and I had pastures to mow and manure to spread at a new place. At least I'd have a backup while the other one was worked on. For small acreage I never felt I didn't have enough power to do what I had to do, it just happened slower than with bigger tractors. My thinking was exactly where yours is (at least when you wrote the post) but after looking around was uneasy about potentially buying someone's problems. So last year I bought my first new tractor, I was joining the ranks of senior citizens and wanted a FEL and something that was very reliable to help with things around the place (and the car was finally paid off!). I stayed small (22 hp) in order to move in and out of the barn and yet do mowing and lifting. So I got what I needed and no more. My experience and my planned usage said the Mahindra eMax 22 was plenty of tractor and in the budget , even the wife agreed due to the price and financing, 5 yr. warranty and all the things I promised we could now do. But that's me...

We tend on this forum to gleefully spend other peoples money for the bigger and fancier tractors. If this thread grows we'll insist that you need a 40 - 50 hp tractor, maybe with a cab, grapple on the FEL, full complement of front and rear hydraulic outlets, oh, yea, A/C for that cab, maybe a snow thrower/blower, front mount of course. Nothing but a Kubota/New Holland/Kioti/LS/Case IH/Mahindra/Massey/you name it will do. In the end only you know what you can spend and how you can handle maintenance and repairs... some good advice already given on that aspect. If you can see clear to afford something a bit newer and more compatible for FEL use I'd give that some serious thought, although maybe you would be excited about replacing broken or bent spindles or an axle pivot pin. If you really aren't sure, start out with a very reasonable price Ford N, Ford 100 series or Massey 35, a used "bush hog" mower and a back blade, maybe a 3pt scoop and have at it. You'll soon learn what you want and need and can make the best decision for you when you get ready to move up, if you want to at all. Good luck.

 

[4570Man]

That 40 hp cab tractor is pretty small. He better shell out 70k for a new M69. Don't forget to add a hydraulic thumb on the hoe, and a grapple, and a front mount snow blower. Then you will need hydraulics to run the snow blower and grapple. Now, you are going to need a F-350 diesel, and a 20k axel gooseneck to haul it with.