Why do CUT owners/buyers have low expectations?

[crazyal]

Until I read this thread my expectations were 40-50 years. I actually thought this would be my final CUT purchase. Talk about a downer

My plan is my tractor will outlast me or at least outlast the amount of time I'll be able to live out here in the country. Part of the decision making process on which brand involved looking into how well 20 year old tractors from each brand were holding up.

 

[beppington]

Mine better at least last 5 years ... thru the end of my 60 payments :laughing:

 

[kday64]

Mine better at least last 5 years ... thru the end of my 60 payments :laughing:

Dang tooting!!!

 

[TripleR]

Mine better at least last 5 years ... thru the end of my 60 payments :laughing:

I bought a 7 year old L5030 this year and it has been a great tractor which I expect will last me quite a few more years, unless I fall victim to the trading bug then someone else will wind up with a really good dependable tractor.

 

[Hog86r]

i am new to the forum and new to "tractorin", and i havent read all the prior posts, but it seems to me that the new stuff has far more systems to go haywire. however, these same systems are the ones that make the machines so productive and such a pleasure to operate. when i was in high school i worked on a hay/cattle farm and my job in the summer was to pull the hay rake with an old IH model M. it had a tricycle front end, no power steering, manual transmission and no three point hitch. in short, it was an engine on wheels. quite reliable, but essentially a one trick pony. on the other hand, my Kubota has a live pto, three poiint hitch, front end loader, hydro trans, power steering,four wheel drive etc, not to mention the epa and osha components that add to the cost. i could have bought a rebuilt 8N for about what the loader cost me, but what would i have? i would have one of the "old reliables" but not nearly the utility value of my new Kubota. luv my 'bota!

 

[Gittyup]

I just read all the posts for the first time. I'm really having a hard time buying the original argument. Is there real evidence that a significant number of newer CUTS have more problems that older tractors did in their day? No one presented evidence to really support this.

Can they really be compared, based on their different uses? No. Impossible really. Maybe you could compare drive trains for shear pulliing power. Here, I might buy into the argument.... maybe.

As far as retaining their value. One must remember that, in the past, there were many periods of much higher inflation. So, if you bought a tractor in 1974 and then went and looked at what it cost for similar in say 1977 (those were years of double digit inflation) what would one expect? Of course your 1974 tractor is worth more in 1977. Inflation rate and economic conditions have a whole lot to do with what a used tractor is "worth". All-in-all CUTS too are holding their values pretty good over the long term given the inflation rate. I contend that, with a few exceptions, everything is better today: more capable, more affordable, more enjoyable, and more reliable.

I hear things aren't as good as they used to be. I completely disagree. Yeah, maybe your TV only lasts 10 years now, but it costs a whole less relative to income. Same is true of just about everything. I'm OK with throw away for a lot of things as long as it's cheap enough to begin with; and that cyclic nature is what drives innovation, product improvement, and economic stimulus. What if never bought more than one of anything over our entire lives? What kind of economy would we have? Where would technology be?

And I still haven't seen an argument that says most CUTS won't be in service 20 years from now. I fully expect mine will be. Shoot my 1994 Garden tractor is just 3 years shy of that mark, and has a good 20 more in it and I've spent a grand total of $75 on repairs.

I contend that, with a few exceptions, just about everything is better today: more capable, more affordable, more joyable, and more reliable, even if not more repairable.

 

[some zilch]

half the people buying these new tractors have never operated one in their life, and are therefore brutal on the machine's systems. how many "i put gas in my diesel" threads, or "when do i use my block heater" threads, or "my wife did XXXXXX with my SCUT and now this doesnt work" threads are on here?

also, look at all the electronics on some of these machines: electrically controlled hydrostats/dash boards/presence switches/etc. all this goes bad, and most buyers have absolutely no idea how to fix anything. the tractor buyers of today are NOT the tractor buyers of yesterday

 

[JDGreenGrass]

I haven't read the entire thread here but, it is a great topic.

I bought a used JD770, 1992 in excellent condition. Using the pto for the first time this winter has convinced me that it's a good 'ole tractor.:thumbsup:

Yet, I yearn for a newer one. Ya, another JD. So I look at the line-up and my monies tell me it would be a 3005...same tractor as the 770, or, the 3032 which is a very basic tractor. I am guessing either purchase would run me 15+ thousand dollars.

I really don't think either of those tractors "replaces" my '92 770 with 2650 hours on it.

I couldn't afford to keep the old 770 if I purchased something new. I just couldn't let the 770 go. BUT, I want a new tractor.!!

Go figure.

Great thread by the way.

 

[sweettractors]

I haven't read the entire thread here but, it is a great topic.

I bought a used JD770, 1992 in excellent condition. Using the pto for the first time this winter has convinced me that it's a good 'ole tractor.:thumbsup:

Yet, I yearn for a newer one. Ya, another JD. So I look at the line-up and my monies tell me it would be a 3005...same tractor as the 770, or, the 3032 which is a very basic tractor. I am guessing either purchase would run me 15+ thousand dollars.

I really don't think either of those tractors "replaces" my '92 770 with 2650 hours on it.

I couldn't afford to keep the old 770 if I purchased something new. I just couldn't let the 770 go. BUT, I want a new tractor.!!

Go figure.

Great thread by the way.

With 2650 hrs, The 770 is just getting broke in good by my calculations. Ken Sweet

 

[Jingo]

Just curious, how much of the "old iron is better" mentality is nostalgia and denial. I can't think of a ranch or farm around me that doesn't have half a dozen American made tractors cannibalized and rotting into the ground. Of course, if you offer to buy one you'll hear "no I'm gonna get that running someday" nostalgia and denial wins out again. Also, with all the cut tractors in America these days breaking down every other day, why doesn't napa carry all the parts? Surely they must realize that supplying parts for tractors that break down a lot is far more profitable than those that never break down?

I once revved the engine on a 59 ford pickup to high and got a shave on the left side of my face as the pressure plate came up through the floorboard and went out the driver side window. Was it inferior American casting or inferior intelligence? In all fairness I was a teenager at the time. I only bring this up because nostalgia has me looking to buy another 59.