How do you feel about used?

If so I would suggest checking used Ingersols and Wheel Horses (C series or 300 or 400 series).

Used will get you more bang for the buck and sometimes may even be bundled with attachments.

Definitely ask dealers what trade ins they have.

First tractor--Used=TROUBLE. Bad enough trying to lean how to use a tractor. Add that to trying to figure out what's wrong from the previous owner. Personally--NEW-NEW-NEW

I flip on average three tractors a week on C.L. and they are completely serviced ard most are better machines than those produced today. There is nothing wrong with used, particularly when a warranty is offered.

first of all, stay out of stores, if it available in a store you don't want it. go to true dealerships and get a dealer line machine. tell them what you want to do, and ask about testing the unit at your home. Deere offers a no questions 30 day exchange, so if you choose wrong you can take it back for a refund or a new unit. i don't know about other brands, but in teh deere line stay away from teh L/LA/100 series made in teh last 6-7 years. these are no better than a craftsman.

don't get me wrong, craftsman has it's uses, but it ain't a 7+ year machien unless you are lucky or mowing a small lot.

What about the John Deere X300 ???

Well a snow blower alone is over 1000 dollars and a plow is 450 to 700 dollars also.

If you want to spend just 3000 on a tractor get the cub,deer or simplicity you can afford buy at your local dealer. They are all good units but see what each dealer will do to make you happy.

Now if 3000 is for all of it then buy the best sears one you can along with the plow and hope for the best.

Go to e-bay and plug this number into the search box

140348966701

I would have given you the tiny url but this site prohibits me from doing that.

This package would cost you over $15,000.00 to buy at a dealer today.

If you have any deciduous trees on or near your property, then you'll instantly fall in love with the hydraulically powered vacuum that sucks up everything the deck spits out and then tosses it into the three bags behind the tractor.

The tiller is also hydraulically powered and is instantly reversible so you can till clockwise or counterclockwise. Ingersoll tractors are one of the best built GT's ever made and use only premium materials in their construction. No plastic hoods or fenders on these tanks. You're looking at heavy guage steel everywhere.

^^^^What kompressor said. That's a LOT of good looking equipment for even $3K. You'd be set for anything with all those attachments. Don't let it go if at all possible, hopefully you could deal with picking it up or even getting it shipped.

"Everything Works" can mean 'most of it works,' or 'everything worked the last time I tried it,' or 'I was told that everything works.' Imagine that when they listed the tractor they did not even know what engine was in it. They actually went and looked when someone asked for the engine model number. Also, this guy is not sellinmg his personal tractor where you can ask for maintenance records or tractor history. He seems like a consignment dealer so he is also tacking on his comission. Most likely you will be onver-paying buying from him. My advice again---get it new, get it from the dealer of your choice, get a real warranty and forget about trying to save money with some guy on ebay telling you stories about how honest you should think he is. Used tractors are for people with a lot of experience with tractors that ask the right questions and have the know-how to fix the things they were told work but really don't.

I bought a 444 ingersoll about 6 months ago and I can say am really pleased with this big machine. My friends who have test drove it are surprised how easy it is to maneuver around for its very large size. (its a beast)

I had a 20 HP JD made Scotts (orange JD Sabre), good machine - ran great but it couldn't compare to 444 build quality. For example transmissions are like comparing a kenworth to a vw bug.

NOW MIND YOU - these ingersolls are darn expensive machines - but you can get a good deal on a used one.

I got the 44 inch deck, a 54 inch deck and the hydraulic bagger as well.

I spent a LOT of time researching my purchase and I spent less than $2k.

No major problems with the machine - but after im done with fall cleanup - I'm gonna replace a some forward/reverse lever components. and of course flush 7-8 quarts of oil out of its hydraulic drive system. Yeah.... well built...

I would also recommend that you consider a Case/Ingersoll 22x class machine instead of a 40x class machine - as they are:
- just as well built
- smaller than the bigger 400 series - mostly smaller wheels.
- and probably a fair amount cheaper.

With an Ingersol you have lots of add on choices... As an example - if you ever thought you would want to have a bagger system - then you really need to think about that a bit up front. As I think you need a 14 HP motor to drive the tractor, the blades, and the hydrovac.

Knowing what I know now - I would have bought the smaller 224-226 Ingersoll for mowing the lawn and leaf cleanups - IF I could have found one with a leaf bagger configuration. The bagger system (and ability to add plow blade, snow blower) did very much influence my purchase.

But I happened to find the combo I wanted in a 444 ...
I frequently day dream of having a family of these babies in my garage - so be careful...

Good luck - Dave

Can anyone tell me which is better?

Wheel horse 520-H vs. Ingersoll 3016, assuming similar age/hours? I don't see a lot of Ingersolls on the market...is it harder to find parts?

gmiller0,

If you're located near Harrisburg, there is a very low hour 2004 JD GT235 with 48C" deck for sale in the pennlive dot com classifieds. (If you have trouble locating it, email me.)

If you're not familiar with the GT235, this is an entry level GARDEN tractor - not a lawn tractor. Equivalent to the JD X500 series. 18HP (Kawi?) engine, full pressure lubrication, heavy duty frame, heavy duty tranny - probably a K71B. Hydrostatic drive. I don't know if the 2004 model has the differential lock feature or not. Attachments (mower deck, blade, snow blower, etc) are lifted via a spring-assisted lever or foot pedal.

They're asking $4,000, which I think is too high.

I have a 2000 GT235 that has served me quite well. I just mow and haul a cart from time to time. (I have a 2 stage walk-behind snow blower.)

gmiller,

The only advantages to buying a new lawn mower are 1) the warranty, and 2) the ability to buy something that suits your needs with absolutely no requirement to self-educate or search beyond your local dealership.

The disadvantage: you'll spend 2-3 times as much (which, based on your needs, will probably equate to $3,000-5,000. But in all likelihood you'll just downgrade, and settle for a $3,000 lawn mower when you could have bought a $7,000 lightly used garden tractor for less than half its retail value.

That Ingersoll is a nice tractor but it might be a bit more than you need, and it's in Massachusetts. I'm partial to Deere garden tractors, just because they're well built, and there are so many out there it's fairly easy to find replacement parts and attachments on eBay. I wrote a used GT buyer's guide and posted it on eBay. It is the research consolidation of my own quest to buy a garden tractor a few years back.

I don't know what part of PA you're in, but you'll probably want both a snowplow (aka: blade) and a blower. My dad's in the Poconos, and in the winter he has his Deere 265 mounted with his 48" blade, and a GT262 set up with a 42" blower and Femco cab enclosure. The blade gets a lot more use. The blower really shines on those rare 2-3' late winter storms, but the blade is the weapon of choice for sleet, or wet accumulations of 6" or less.

Personally, I found a GT225 with a 42C deck, 7 bushel collection system, and a 10 cu ft steel cart for $2,000, in just about pristine condition. I went with the garden tractor just because I didn't want to worry about overworking the transmission while hauling cartloads of firewood or topsoil around my yard. The tiller is a $1400 attachment, so I never planned to buy one from Deere, but I ended up finding one dirt cheap. Since the purchase of the tractor coincided with the purchase of my new home, it just so happened I had a lot of landscaping to do. The tiller was invaluable in that function. It was enjoyable, rather than back-breaking work as I carved out massive perennial beds around the house and oak trees. As the years rolled on I also bought a front blade (just for grading sand, and because it was cheap on eBay), a sleeve hitch with a Brinly plow, disc cultivator, and back blade, a Brinly broadcast spreader, a Brinly plug aerator (which I can drag around with 200 lbs of concrete without fear of killing the transmission as it digs deep in my lawn), a Deere 5B sprayer, and a front-mounted dethatcher. I picked up a new old stock snowblower on eBay (for when I move back north in 9 years) for $150. I also upgraded to a 44M Piranha mulching deck, new old stock on eBay from a dealer in Sacramento. The only things I bought at new retail were the dethatcher, spreader and aerator. Total expenditure for this equipment: $3,300. Retail value: well over $10,000.

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Oh, but owning this little green monster for the past 6 years has been nothing but TROUBLE! My wife is constantly getting on me about spending more time with the lawn and garden than with her!

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Correction: I've been in the house for a little over 6 years, but only had the tractor for 4 years (although I can't remember life before it, so it seems like much longer). 1st year I got by (not really) with an old Murray push mower. 2nd year was with an MTD, which I bought from my great aunt with only 60 hours. Hated it. As soon as I dumped that POS (as new, but still a POS) mower on eBay, I found the Deere and the rest is history.

Marineguy,

I really, really, really hate that you've been put through so much distasteful work, er, ah, play.

Since this is such a terrible thing to do to someone, especially since they need to spend more time with their spouse, you can bring that POS JD over to my place, and I'll put it in my shed and take your turn "working". ;)

LOL! It's funny for as much as my wife gets on me about spending too much time outside, she loves the way the yard looks and doesn't understand why the neighbors can't keep up!