Title pretty much says it all. Since tractor dealers don’t really advertise, I don’t have a sense of the sales “rhythm”. What times of year are they most motivated to sell and negotiate?
Likely after harvest time in your area, but before tillage & planting.
I found a subscription to fastline extremely cost effective when I was in the tractor market.
http://www.fastline.com/v100/index.aspx?hotlist=0
Merry Christmas …
Right after the big harvest, you can often buy tractors that were leased for only the harvest at a good price. Also check the incentives from USEF.
Yes - John Deere offers a discount for USEF members. We got a couple of thousand off our new tractor two years ago.
The “slack market” on tractors pretty much matches the “slack market” for horses in the late fall and early winter. Depending on where you are that slack time can be pretty short or quite long.
When buying have a good idea what you need, what you want, what’s available in your price range, then balance the three.
Your local bank, credit union, or ag. lender will have a “blue book” on tractors and equipment. When you get an idea about what you think you want then check that book. You can also get an idea of prices from places like http://www.tractorhouse.com/ or http://www.ironplanet.com/
Remember that, as with horses, there can be a pretty big “delta” between asking price and selling price. Do some “homework” before you start making offers. Steel yourself that this will be a negotiation (more akin to buying a used car than a loaf of bread). That homework will allow you to separate the “sheep from the goats” when evaluating prices.
Good luck in your search.
G.
For the “new” market for compact and sub-compacts, it seems that the manufacturers have been offering 0% financing “forever”, so it comes down to negotiation on price with dealers who are willing to negotiate. Some dealers will do deals; some will not. When I was buying a number of years ago, I visited two of the three local Kubota dealers. I knew what I wanted so it was more of a matter of price. And I was paying cash with a trade. The dealer I originally purchased from wouldn’t budge on price and low-balled the trade. The dealer I went with offered a grand more on the trade and offered another grand off the price of the new tractor…which encouraged me to buy a few “accessories”. They also allowed me to take delivery in their state and ship to my state across the river for some additional cost savings. I likely spend the same amount of money I would have with the first dealer, but I ended up with more stuff and a more pleasant purchasing experience.
As to time of year, this may be a good time to look as sales volume is likely down for the winter aside from purchasing for tax benefits by those who have businesses and qualify for certain tax benefits.
I was just at the Christmas luncheon at my tractor dealer and, while I wasn’t talking to the guy that is in charge of selling the tractors, one of the people there did say that things are usually low around Christmas. Seems logical as most people aren’t planning on making a gift of a tractor to the whole family but are buying separate gifts. Might not be a bad time to go see what you can do. 
Around here it doesn’t seem like there is a “sale” season. My husband will buy a new tractor any time. Keep an eye on Tractorhouse .com for possible deals.
Thanks, all. Great tip on USEF-- hubby wants a deere. I’m more willing to look into off-brand tractors like LS, but we’ll see. We’re on a “within the next year” horizon, but honestly I can’t.freaking.wait.
Especially since I have a 16ton load of stone sitting in my barnyard that I will be moving by the wheelbarrow for the next few months. :lol:
HH, where are you in Iowa? I have a ROCKIN Deere guy. He works for Sema. Let me know if you’d like his contact info.
You can likely rent something to move that stone if you’re not ready to buy right now… 
Yes, Rent-A-Center has a tractor or skid steer that can help with that stone while you are deciding on a purchase.
Home Depot has skid steers as well to rent.
The big money in tractors is in the hydraulics. Just about everything you can buy currently in the U.S. has a decent engine and transmission. But a strong hydraulic system costs money. The Deere offerings generally have excellent hydraulic systems and good ergonomics for North Americans. Some of the “off brands” have great ergonomics but only if you’re a small framed Asian.
With any of the major brands you will also have decent resale value. The Deere 4310 we bought more than 10 years ago is worth more than we paid for it. The 2001 Deere 6210 has been stable in value since I bought it five years ago. Again, the “off brands” don’t always have this track record.
Put another way, taking “the road less traveled” in tractors is a good way to meet the troll living under the bridge.
G.
Go with a Deere. I come from a Case IH family and I still recommend Deere. You really don’t want to get a smaller brand. Parts and labor opportunities are important.
[QUOTE=HungarianHippo;7924993]
Title pretty much says it all. Since tractor dealers don’t really advertise, I don’t have a sense of the sales “rhythm”. What times of year are they most motivated to sell and negotiate?[/QUOTE]
Personally, I starting looking when my credit cards aren’t “maxed out.” It’s been a couple of decades since I’ve thought about buying another tractor.
[QUOTE=HungarianHippo;7925691]
Thanks, all. Great tip on USEF-- hubby wants a deere. I’m more willing to look into off-brand tractors like LS, but we’ll see. We’re on a “within the next year” horizon, but honestly I can’t.freaking.wait.
Especially since I have a 16ton load of stone sitting in my barnyard that I will be moving by the wheelbarrow for the next few months. :lol:[/QUOTE]
I wanted to want a Deere, but then I went and drove one. Most uncomfortable 10 minutes driving a tractor ever. Even with the seat adjusted forward, I could still barely reach the pedals. I quickly realized that with the number of hours I spend on my tractor, it needs to fit me. I’ll be driving Kubota and New Hollands also before I buy a new tractor.
Didn’t help that the local JD dealership come across as rude and that you are wasting their time…and I’ve bought equipment there before.
Good points, all.
Simkie, we’re in east central IA. Do PM me your contact-- we will likely shop outside our immediate area (which has lots of upscale hobby farms, so I’m guessing pricing will be higher here compared to the straight ag areas).
I know we can rent, and we may end up doing that. A walk-behind loader would do the job and we could get one for a weekend for about $400. But I’ve moved entire loads of stone by hand before, so I know it’s do-able. It’s like when I’m running a marathon-- I remind myself that don’t have to run 26.2 miles, I just have to run this next step. So I don’t have to move 16 tons, I just have to move one more shovel-full. Contrary to the popular saying, in most cases the body is willing but it’s the spirit that is weak, coming up with all sorts of reasons we should not keep up a grueling task. So I kinda love endurance events from that aspect: training your brain to stop telling your body to stop.
All that said, ascetic appreciation of grueling labor has its limits. :lol: We are definitely getting a tractor.
Interesting point about hydraulics. I experienced this very issue this afternoon. I operated a Branson tractor moving a manure pile. Nice cab but the hydraulics were terrible compared to my open station Deere. Slow and strangely numb feeling in the controls. Even with the engine revved up the bucket dumped slowly. The numb feeling must be the fault of the linkage between the control handle and the hydraulic valves.
We have the JD 4310 and it has been great, except when it wasn’t! LOL
Seriously, the tractor is about 9-10 years old, used VERY lightly and has just had the 2nd engine replaced. The first time it was covered by the warranty. This time we took it in for service and it died the day after we brought it home. After 5 months in the shop with them trying to figure out how to repair the **** thing, they replaced the engine again to a tune of $8900! Granted, the service department is terrible and JD will soon be getting a letter from me about the inability of the techs to handle a repair or call us about such an expensive repair, but we will not be buying JD again. My husband is a contractor and has a lot of equipment. He says that the smaller tractors have engines made in Japan and the techs here don’t know how to service them. Every farmer we know around here complains about JD and most have moved on to Kubota and Mahindra. That’s our plan too! So over John Deere. It’s not what it used to be, sadly.
