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New vs. Used Tractors


RodStayner

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My boss is intent on spending a lot of money on a new JD LX277 with a 42" mower deck (I think it is around $3500 or so). I have tried to steer him towards Simplicity, but he seems to really like the JD. I have spent quite a bit of time trying to convince him to check out a used Simplicity, even something only a couple years old. I found a nice, low hour 2001 Landlord w/ a 50" deck on ebay last week that had a buy it now price of $1750...and I even offered to go pick it up for him. But he said it was "too old and looked funny." I know that buying a new tractor for several thousand dollars can be a good investment if you are going to keep it for a long time. Before I bought my old 7016 and my Grandpa's Farmall Cub, I looked at a Prestige and Conquest a few times last fall, but just couldn't justify the money. I really think that you can find some good buys on used Simplicity tractors that will still provide good service for a long time. For example, here are the Simplicity tractors I have owned in the last 10 years: 4211 w/ 36" deck and blade price: free I mowed with this tractor for 3 years and sold it for $200 when we built a new house and I needed to mow 3 acres! Simplcity Sunstar w/ 48" deck price: $650 I used this tractor for 4 years and sold it for $700. 4040 Powermax price: $950 Again, I used this tractor for 3 years and sold it for $1350. Of course, I made the mistake of buying a crappy Craftsman garden tractor for $2200 and selling it for $1775 somewhere in there! I learned my lesson on that one! I didn't list the $$$ I spent working on each of them (mainly maintenance items but did rebuild the Sunstar deck), but still I have mowed and plowed snow pretty cheap in the last 10 years. Of course the tractors would have been nicer if they were newer, but they still did the job. I am sure everyone has their own opinions on this one....
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I know I will get a lot of flack about this,but this is what I mow with.I DO love the old ones but after owning several old tractors I do think the new ones can mow faster and better.If I had done my home work I would have looked at a Simplcity before getting green.I had a 1968 140 JD with a 50 in deck it took 2.1/2 hrs to mow and another hr of triming.With this mower .45 min and I am done with everything.That gives me more time to play with that little girl on the mower.
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Did you buy the ZT from a dealer or a big box store? Just curious as I have also stood in front of those for long amounts of time at Lowes. It's hard to move snow with that though!:D
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THE OLD TRACTORS IN SOME WAYS HAVE THEIR ADVANTAGES. THEIR FRAMES ARE A LITTLE BETTER THAN THE ONES YOU GET FROM A "BIG BOX" STORE. THE NEWER ENGINES ARE MORE EFFICIENT BUT IN SOME CASES DO NOT LAST AS LONG. IN A WAY IT IS A SHAME SIMPLICITY/AC QUIT MAKING THE OLD ONES.
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I do think that the newer Zero-turn mowers have their advantages. I have used my uncle's Skag Turf Tiger with a 61" deck and can mow the farm pretty fast. However, it seems that both he and my brother-in-law (who owns a Woods ZT) complain about the price they paid and are always trying to sell me their ZT mower....which seems odd since they both spent so much money.
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I'm partial to the Kubota F series myself but for my little lawn and the church's 3 acres I'll stick to my 616 and 620
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The couple ZT's I used rode like a buckboard. Beat my poor old back too bad. I'll stick to my tractors, and mow slow enough to smell the flowers.
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Simplicty's new zero turn mowers have spring suspention on the front end as well as a full floating deck on the larger decked units. Bottom line is if your boss wants a green machine to mow with then let him get it. Seems like he's made up his mind already. Then when he breaks it or has to buy a few of the 75.00 belts and starts to whine you can offer a little salt for his wounds.}:):p
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Actually I guess I have got him to consider a Simplicity. He's going to look at the new Regent and Broadmoor. The Deere model he was looking at was the 304 with 4-wheel steering (I think it was around $3200), not the one I listed. I still think that you could save a lot of money and buy something older and be much better off. He, like some other people I know, are more into "looks" and "what the neighbors think" instead.
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Other than echoing Dave's comments, let him spend money on the JD, that leaves more old Simplicities for the rest of us. :D Here's a personal experience. A few years back, (after moving from Jersey to NC), my trusty old 3410's back axle went. I'd fallen on hard times and was living with my folks while getting back on my feet. Rather than fix the Simplicity, my Pop bought a JD. Not a replacment for my machine in any way other than horsepower, 13 vs. 10. I parked the 3410 in his shed and used the 38 inch JD to mow his 2 acres. Yep, Pop took the cheap way out and didn't even get a JD you could slap a bigger deck under. Got back on my feet, got married, bought a house and...you guessed it, went back to my Pop's shed and rolled the 3410 up into the bed of my pickup. Cost about $400 to get her back in shape, :( but having no shop at the time and being up to my butt in grass, I bit the bullet. Moral of the story? To each his own. Actually, if I find an older Bolens, Gravely, Wheelhorse Cub Cadet or (heaven forbid) even a JD I'll grab it. I like salvaging a machine somebody else's given up on and frankly, the older machines were better built in my opinion. I also lend a hand when other guy's tractor's crap out, no matter what the brand is, that's just being neighborly. That in itself has paid little dividends here and there when the odd tool or cast off machine comes my way...they think of me first! ^
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