Prior to starting trying to find a vintage or virtually any pre-owned tractor for your farm, there are several factors you should take into account. First, try not to become carried away by nostalgia. Acquiring and restoring an antique tractor can be a delightful rewarding hobby. But it also can turn into a costly one.

If you have a tractor or a combine or any other large piece of farm machinery manufactured by John Deere, you're definitely going to need some equipment to go with it. The thing is, there's so much to choose from that you're excused if your first reaction is bewilderment. Don't panic, we're here to help!

One place to go is the John Deere official website. It actually has a special section where you can click to find equipment for your machine - they call it "Equipment Quickfind". Neat, huh? You can click your way through the categories, like cotton pickers, rotary cutters, industrial diesel engines, irrigation engines and potato shredders, until you find the piece of equipment you are looking for. Quite possible you won't have to go any further.

There's a slight drawback though - cost. Although John Deere may have all the additions you're looking for to add to your machine, the official dealers aren't exactly cheap. If you need to save money, here's what we suggest: Use the wonders of the web to locate a used, second hand or reconditioned part instead!

There are several websites out there suitable for finding equipment that still has lots of used left for a fraction of the original cost. Auction web sites like eBay is one choice you can make, but I recommend that you shop around a bit first. Don't settle for the first website you find. Try searching Google using phrases like "refurbished John Deere equipment" or "cheap John Deere parts" and see what you come up with. You'll be able to save thousands of dollars.

There is a bunch of sites out there that will list farm equipment for sale or four auction, and many of them also have decent search functions that help you locate the exact machinery and brand you are looking for. But do your own due diligence and search around, and you will find a site you like.

By: Gunnar B Bengtsson

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Before beginning to hunt for your tractor, make certain you understand what you actually want. This may appear too simple, nevertheless it is easy to get side tracked and buy something that you did not start out to buy. Only once you are able to prepare an itemized list of the requirements should you begin your search. Don't forget to add your technical and performance needs in the list. Unless you know just what you will be hunting for, how are you going to determine where and how to search?

If you are seriously looking for a vintage tractor, be careful and not allow enthusiasm run away with you. If you do, you might well be in difficulty before beginning the project. Restoring an antique tractor or other old farm implement is gratifying. Nevertheless it is not an overnight project furthermore it is able to become expensive very rapidly. Parts for lots of older tractors are obtainable but some are difficult to locate and can be on the spendy side. Original tires may be impossible to locate and reproduction tires may cost more than the tractor. You may well find that instead of buying a project tractor, it would be just as gratifying to buy one that somebody else has already put all of the time, effort and expense into. Chances are favorable that you could buy it for less money than the owner put into it, to say nothing of all of his labor.

Try any tractor before you buy it. Do you find it easy to start and look, sound and feel right? Are the tires in good shape? Is there any kind of hydraulic leakage evident? Do you notice any missing components or equipment? Be sure and give equally close an evaluation to any attachments. As a final point, make sure that a classic tractor really fulfills the requirements of the task you desire it for. It's hard to go wrong with an antique tractor such as a John Deere if you search carefully.