How 'bout a John Deere 750?

[lauriet1]

Found a used one with 711 hours for $7000. It has a 5 ft Mower deck, mid and rear PTO, Diesel, 3 point hitch. (do I sound like a tractor geek now?). It's never pulled anything and was only used to mow. Bad news, it's only 2 WD. You think this one would work for me?....However I did see the Deere 2210 today too. Fell in love with it..$9000 without any attachments...bummer.

[Black02Silverado]

 

I'm no expert but for a diesel it is still in great shape for those hours on it. That is if it was taken care of. JD's are pretty good. Is there anyway you can check on it's maintenance background? That can tell a lot. Did you check EBay? Just curious there can be some good finds on there as well. If you don't have to rush into a tractor keep looking. A deal might come your way.

[Greg]

You can never have too much truck or too much tractor. The oil burners work best if used year-round and the fuel is kept fresh. If you can keep it busy, go for it. Buying a used JD that has been babied by a homeowner is much more cost effective than buying new. A few years ago, I needed a tractor for mowing and snow plowing and picked up a 1985 318 (2 cyl gas Onan and dual hydraulics), with 440 hours, a 50" deck, snow blower, tiller, and weights for less than a current (and less capable) 300 series with no attachments. It's more tractor than I need, but isn't that the point of it all? I wish I had held out for a diesel, though.

[Jpshostr]

These were Yanmar built machines, JD made this deal with them so they could break into this market without committing their own finances towards development. For the most part they were decent tractors, about all they were suited for is mowing though.

 

The 750, as well as the rest of the 50s, were gear drive tractors. Worked well enough, but for something that is only going to be used for mowing and extremely light work, such as you, I'd much rather have a 655, 755, or other 55 series tractor. These were the hydro models that were controlled by foot pedal, one pedal for forward, one for reverse, more you push down the faster you go. Allows for much easier direction changes and would be more comfortable to operate.

 

2WD would not be a problem for you at all. The AgE farm here has a 755 hydro, 2wd, with a loader and 4wd is never needed.

 

Price sounds high to me, most I've seen are 5-6K.

 

Other tractors I'd consider would be a Ford compact ( the 20 series, about 8-12K, mid 90s) or a CIH compact (mid-late 80s 235 or 245 for about 5K, or if willing to jump in years and money to about 14K, a DX series), or a New Holland Boomer (TC series, 2000-present, can be had for 14-15K). They are all better tractors (seriously, no bias here) that you can buy for the same money to slightly more, gain a lot of years (the 750 is an early 80s model, compared to 90s and present on these), and a lot more user friendliness.

 

Final recommendation, I'd pass on this thing, more bang for the buck can be found elsewhere.

[lauriet1]

I just knew you'd eventually jump in on the Tractor Conversation JP (they're one of your favorite subjects right?) Thanks for the tips. I don't know if the place that has the 750 was the same one that serviced it or not, will check on that. I'm looking on ebay daily as well as some of the other tractor sale sights and the local want ad digest we have here. There are lots of them in the Digest, but being new, to the tractor world, I don't really know what to look for or at, so until I learn a bit more, I'll pass on driving around to look at private sale used models. There's a Wheelhorse 250 on tractorbynet in CT with loader, mower and snowblower for $7000, but a quick search on that model seems to turn up little more than people looking for parts. I don't want something you can't get parts for. I also have a concern about my ability to drive some of the older models. I only drove a clutch tractor once from mid pasture to the barn. Managed to stall it 3 times before I got where it was supposed to be parked. My skills with clutch driven vehicles leave alot to be desired. I'll keep shopping!