Tractor help

[ICEMAN]

payments suck

Agree.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

get a used tractor off CL

The problem with a used tractor is guys don't want to let them go for a used price.

I got mine new for maybe $1000 down and 0% interest...

  Ain't that the truth.

[philepe]

ya payments suck I agree, but after buying a house with 5 acres recently I don't have the cash to buy used.  At the moment id rather just pay the 275ish a month instead of saving 5K-8K for a used one.

[Knocker of rocks]

Id stay away from the grey market tractors , you may "save " some money but in the long run you will pay more . Parts can be hard to come by also.

Even though the OP isn't looking at grey market machines, Bucklucky's advice is really good, and could probably be extrapolated to variously named and generic machines imported from China like Montana, YTM, Tytan etc etc etc.  With those machines you have a very real possibility of local dealers walking away from their supplier and support just drying up.  There is also this problem, albeit much less severe, when you buy secondary brands Mahindra, Kioti, Bobcat and the like.   Manufacturers like Kioti and Mahindra aren't going away, but they sure could drastically change their dealership structure.   People who bought Bobcats sure lost their once highly touted name and support.

New Yanmars aren't grey market, but YM is the poster child for grey market.  YM has entered and left the North American market  several times.  Many refurbished YM machines formerly used in Japanese collectives and in Vietnam have been brought to America.  Because of safety concerns YM has gone out of their way to distance themselves from these imported machines, and taken legal action against their dealers who import and support  these machines.

Another common grey market machine is the hobby sized Komatsu D20 and 21 dozer.

[Kioti]

I got a 1993 Kioti 1914 with a front end loader, 20hp.  Works great! 
Bought it from the dealer with only 410 hrs on it.  It now has only 831 hrs.
It runs my tiller and brush hog perfectly!
No complaints on my Kioti.

[Special T]

Everyone agree's that payments suck... BUT there is one way to justify it. Do you think you will put 12 hours on it a month? The payment you described is a bout 1.5 days worth of rental depending on where you rent. If you have a bunch a work to do around your place in your "spare time" then its a no brainer. In the past My father and I have purchases equiptment for specific jobs, and then sold them for the same amount or a little more.

[bucklucky]

Another thing you can do like I did, do some internet searches on problems , or issues with certain brand tractors. I did alot of this and its what really turned me away from the "cheaper" tractors". Not that cheaper tractors wouldnt eokrk fine but the support just isnt there. I have a few freinds that wish they never went the route they did .

[Mark Brenckle]

I went through this same dilemma a while back.  Found this one for pretty cheap, works like a champ.

[actionshooter]

I went Orange also, got a 35 horse and sometimes wish it was bigger.
  I wouldn't get a HST, you loose too much HP and in the little machines there isn't enough to spare.

 Nothing wrong with yanmar  engines, they are the largest diesel engine producers in the world.

[steen]

Get a tractor with calcium in the tires, makes a huge difference if you are used to a farm tractor.  We have a 24 horse, would have liked a bigger one but not practical for tight squeezes.  I had a bit of adjusting to do after growing up on a farm and driving the "real thing" then going to a "garden" tractor.  We use ours a lot and it is enough for the most part.

[Knocker of rocks]

I went through this same dilemma a while back.  Found this one for pretty cheap, works like a champ.

A Dorf?  or a Case?

[KFhunter]

looks like a ford N

[Mark Brenckle]

looks like a ford N

Yep, '48 8N. Guy I bought it from rebuilt it, runs great, starts every time.  The only thing I don't like is the PTO doesn't disengage, but I have an external clutch.  I wouldn't sell it for twice what I bought it for.

[KFhunter]

everyone oughta have a Ford N series around if they got other tractors 

[bucklucky]

I got my 52 8n sitting in the yard for the kids to play on  It was a good tractor, one of these days I may rebuild it. Ended up cracking the block. Still ran but had water in the oil. It was painted orange when it was a county tractor for lewis county.