Not John Deere – But Worth A Look

As you start trying to find a vintage or virtually any pre-owned tractor for use on your place, there are one or two items you need to bear in mind. First, do not get carried away by nostalgia. Buying and rebuilding an old tractor can be a marvelous fulfilling hobby. But it may turn out to be a really expensive one.

I ran across an interesting site the other day. It is not devoted to John Deere but has loads of pictures and technical info various farm tractors and equipment, including John Deere, that are used in Europe.

The site, AgrariNet, is really interesting and certainly worth a look.  It is in Dutch but thanks to Google's translation ability it is easy to read and navigate.

Take a look and I think you'll agree it is worth spending a few minutes on.

Before starting to look for your tractor, be sure that you know what you genuinely want. This may well seem overly basic, nevertheless it is easy to get side tracked and purchase something which you did not start out to purchase. Only if you are able to create an itemized list of the requirements should you begin the hunt. Don't forget to include your technical and performance requirements in your list. If you do not know exactly what you are hunting for, how are you going to decide where and how to look?

If you are seriously looking for a vintage tractor, be careful and not permit enthusiasm run away with you. If you do, you could well be in trouble before you start the project. Restoring an antique tractor or other old farm implement is satisfying. But it's not an overnight project moreover it is able to become costly very rapidly. Parts for many older tractors are available however some are hard to locate and can be on the spendy side. Original tires might be difficult to buy and replica tires can cost more than the tractor. You may find that instead of buying a project tractor, it would be just as fulfilling to buy one which somebody else has previously put all of the effort, expense and time into. Chances are favorable that you could purchase it for a lesser amount of money than the owner put into it, to say nothing of all of his labor.

Test the tractor before you decide to get it. Is it easy to get started and appear, sound and feel right? Are the tires in good shape? Is there any hydraulic leakage evident? Can you observe any missing parts or equipment? Be certain and give equally close an evaluation to any attachments. Lastly, be sure that a vintage tractor actually fits the needs of the job you want it for. It's hard to go wrong with an antique tractor such as a John Deere if you shop cautiously.