Tractors for Sale

Tractors for Sale

By Sherry Cochran

Consider the following questions when shopping for a tractor.

What size of tractor do you need?

What are you going to be using your tractor for?

How often will the tractor be used?

Is the tractor going to be used to produce income? Of course, money is often a consideration when shopping for a tractor. Consider talking to people that own tractors and get their opinions.

Tractor Size

This is obviously the most commonly asked question regarding a tractor purchase. The average compact tractor consumer owns a 1-5 acre piece of property and uses the small compact diesel mostly for mowing The other tractor consumers usually have between 10-30 acres and needs about a 30 horsepower to complete the necessary tasks.

Different Makes and Models of Tractors

Some parts dealers don't like to sell parts for a gray market tractor. In fact, a higher authority is telling dealers of some brands of tractors that they cannot willingly sell parts for gray market tractors.

Diesel Engines

Make sure you get a tractor with a diesel engine. Diesel engines have better performance and usually last longer than gas engines. Implements also work better on diesel engine tractors.

Horsepower

In a tractor the energy is produced from torque and engine speed. A 100 hp tractor is one with a maximum of 100 horsepower available at the power-takeoff (PTO) outlet.

PTO

Nearly all-Japanese tractor manufacturers include the power take off (PTO) horsepower (hp) in their model numbers; however, they do not include the engine (fly) hp. The PTO hp is important because it is telling you the equipment working power of the tractor. It tells you what horsepower that equipment requiring a PTO will get from the tractor.

Cylinders

Consider getting a three or four cylinder tractor. Three and four cylinder tractors are generally newer tractors and run quieter and smoother than the two cylinder models. Transmissions. There are several different types of transmissions for tractors.
Manual transmissions on tractors were made to be shifted while the tractor is not in motion. Synchronic Shift transmissions are basically collar shift transmissions (a type of manual transmission, see above). A Power Shift transmission is an option well worth considering.

Implement Adaptability

You will want a tractor with a Category 1, 3-point hitch and standard rotation PTO shafts. Most imported compact tractors are equipped with these items; however, there are a few that are not.

Implement Availability

Before you purchase a tractor, make sure that good quality implements are available for it. You can often save money if you purchase the implements at the same time you purchase the tractor and some implements can be very expensive to add on at a later time.

Parts Manuals

Sometime parts manuals can be very hard to acquire. Make sure there is one available for the tractor you choose. Ask how much the manual is, sometimes the cost can be over $100.00 dollars.

Warranty

Find out what kind of a warranty comes with the tractor. Just check things off and take notes as you check over the prospective tractor. Yes, it's a very long checklist, but well worth your time if you want to get a good quality tractor at a fair price.

Your goal is to ensure that the tractor you purchase is all that the seller says it is and doesn't have any hidden problems.