The Kubota brand enjoys a fine reputation for quality and longevity but in the final analysis, it is a machine that is made up from hundreds of parts. All machinery wears out. Some parts wear out sooner than others. We measure the amount of wear on this type of equipment by way of an “hourmeter” that records the amount of time the machine has been in use. If this was a car or truck, then the odometer reading would tell you how many miles the vehicle had gone.
The question here is: How many hours are on this tractor and what is the year of manufacture? Both of these things affect the fair market value of the machine, along with the general appearance. General appearance often indicates how a tractor was treated and cared for. Some owners are meticulous when it comes to changing oil and filters when they are supposed to. Other owners simply ignore those expenses and don’t repair anything properly.
If this tractor is missing parts, has the wrong parts on it, has broken or worn out parts, has makeshift repairs to it, then run in the opposite direction because all you are buying is a host of expensive problems. The only reason to buy such a tractor would be if you paid a very, very low price in comparison to current fair market value and you could use the difference to repair all the things the former owner failed to look after. A local Kubota dealer can tell you what fair market value is but to give a true assessment, he would need to see the tractor and know what the hourmeter reads.
You also need to make sure that the hourmeter is original and that it is working or you can be misled. Kubota’s are very reliable tractors. To me, this isn’t even an issue. The real issues are whether I am looking at an “honest” tractor or not. Is it really what the seller says it is? You need to find someone local who has extensive tractor experience to look this machine over on your behalf, even if you have to pay him. People like that know what to look for and they listen to their gut when things don’t add up.
This is going to be a major purchase for you. Make sure you get good advice from an independent party before parting with your cash. Kubota has no control over how people abuse their products after they have left the factory and neither does any other manufacturer. The term “caveat emptor” or “buyer beware” really holds true in cases like this. But it isn’t the brand that you need to be wary of.

Tags: Anyone, Diesel, Does, Have, Info, Kubota, Looking, Reliability, Tractor/loader, Used

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 4:49 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.