Yup, another "help me pick out a SCUT" Thread
Background: Moving to a new house soon with ~1.8 Acres of land. Back yard is mostly flat with grass to mow, flanked with tree debris that will need cleaning, and front also has grass planted, but has the better part of a dozen trees to mow around. The tractors primary mission would be to mow, but also would want to do landscaping, put in a new fence, plant shrubs and small trees, move mulch and firewood, etc. Basic weekend warrior type stuff
Winters it'll also be on call for Snow moving duties, but frankly, given I drive a 4x4 Tacoma and my wife drives a Subaru Forester, our general snow removal strategy is to simply drive over it, until the mild south jersey winters handle the removal duties for us.
That being said, there's a few options spread out in front of me, and any and all opinions and sanity checks are welcome!
Option 1: Seller of the home has been using a Kubota BX1500 with FEL and MMM to maintain the property. When house hunting, I told my wife that to be happy in the next house, I wanted "at least enough land that ownership a riding mower was a requirement." (I can mow the current lawn in 30 min with a push mower, to give you an idea where I'm coming from). When I saw the BX in the shed, I knew that box was checked! He's willing to let it go for $6.5k with 1k hours on the clock, and inclusive of the FEL(!) and MMM. He's moving to a much larger plot, and was going to upgrade to a larger size and keep this one for mowing duties, but is willing to let it go as well. I've not test driven it yet, but to my eye it looks well used, but also well maintained.
+Pros: Will come "turn key" (literally!) with the house, and it's proven to work well for the property, and in this capacity it's small size is an advantage in mowing around trees. It's also hard to find a BX1500 with a FEL, most on the market are setup as just Mowers, so I consider this a very fair price, especially considering delivery is a non-issue.
-Cons: $6.5k is tough to swallow at the moment, given we're signing on the house. From an ergo stand point I'll need to test drive to confirm, but that treadle pedal looks odd to use. Also, the 1500 model appears to only have been built between 2003 and 2005, and seems more obscure than the latter BX17XX series. To that end, I'm concerned about implement compatibility and general community support for this model. Reviews are hard to come by, and it seems YouTube only has "for sale" videos as reference. Also, while I know SCUTs generally die-hard, it's still a decade old model with 1k hours on it (and I'd be the third owner). On top of all that, it's two cylinder diesel seems like it'd be outclassed by the 3 cylinders everyone is going with these days.
Option 2: Buy new. While more expensive in total, the minister of war and finances seems more onboard with the idea of plunking down $2-3k on a down payment and then taking bite-sized monthly chunks (especially at 0% financing!). This also opens up my choices, and right now Orange, Green, and Red all have dealers within range (taking suggestions on dealers in the South Jersey area!). My research shows that I'm looking at about $15k drive-away cost for a SCUT with Turf Tires, FEL, and MMM. Likely closer to $20k with a rear bucket.
+Pros: Buying new tractors is fun! And it seems that 0% financing is all the rage with new models. Since I plan to buy this thing once, and use it for the next 30 years or more, I like the idea of being it's first owner and knowing it's history. Having access to the latest implements is also a plus. Warranties are also nice. On top of all that, my normally very fiscally responsible wife is oddly onboard with me buying a $15k toy, but I'm nervous about loading up on that much dept, given we still have a couple years of car payments left too.
-Cons: Holy demand-side-economics batman! SCUTS are expensive! I'd be looking for one with a MMM, FEL, and possibly back-hoe (or at least option for one). It's like taking on a car payment. Also, most of them seem to have a larger wheelbase (by ~3-6")than the BX1500, which I presume impacts maneuverability when mowing.
Option 3: Go out on the market, and buy used. Similar to buying new, but maybe save a buck?
+Pros: Saves a bit, but the lack of depreciation in this segment would be cutting against me.
-Cons: Betting dealers will be less willing to give good financing deals, and there's just not a lot of inventory out there.
Interested to hear what thoughts folks have!
Background: Moving to a new house soon with ~1.8 Acres of land. Back yard is mostly flat with grass to mow, flanked with tree debris that will need cleaning, and front also has grass planted, but has the better part of a dozen trees to mow around. The tractors primary mission would be to mow, but also would want to do landscaping, put in a new fence, plant shrubs and small trees, move mulch and firewood, etc. Basic weekend warrior type stuff
Winters it'll also be on call for Snow moving duties, but frankly, given I drive a 4x4 Tacoma and my wife drives a Subaru Forester, our general snow removal strategy is to simply drive over it, until the mild south jersey winters handle the removal duties for us.
That being said, there's a few options spread out in front of me, and any and all opinions and sanity checks are welcome!
Option 1: Seller of the home has been using a Kubota BX1500 with FEL and MMM to maintain the property. When house hunting, I told my wife that to be happy in the next house, I wanted "at least enough land that ownership a riding mower was a requirement." (I can mow the current lawn in 30 min with a push mower, to give you an idea where I'm coming from). When I saw the BX in the shed, I knew that box was checked! He's willing to let it go for $6.5k with 1k hours on the clock, and inclusive of the FEL(!) and MMM. He's moving to a much larger plot, and was going to upgrade to a larger size and keep this one for mowing duties, but is willing to let it go as well. I've not test driven it yet, but to my eye it looks well used, but also well maintained.
+Pros: Will come "turn key" (literally!) with the house, and it's proven to work well for the property, and in this capacity it's small size is an advantage in mowing around trees. It's also hard to find a BX1500 with a FEL, most on the market are setup as just Mowers, so I consider this a very fair price, especially considering delivery is a non-issue.
-Cons: $6.5k is tough to swallow at the moment, given we're signing on the house. From an ergo stand point I'll need to test drive to confirm, but that treadle pedal looks odd to use. Also, the 1500 model appears to only have been built between 2003 and 2005, and seems more obscure than the latter BX17XX series. To that end, I'm concerned about implement compatibility and general community support for this model. Reviews are hard to come by, and it seems YouTube only has "for sale" videos as reference. Also, while I know SCUTs generally die-hard, it's still a decade old model with 1k hours on it (and I'd be the third owner). On top of all that, it's two cylinder diesel seems like it'd be outclassed by the 3 cylinders everyone is going with these days.
Option 2: Buy new. While more expensive in total, the minister of war and finances seems more onboard with the idea of plunking down $2-3k on a down payment and then taking bite-sized monthly chunks (especially at 0% financing!). This also opens up my choices, and right now Orange, Green, and Red all have dealers within range (taking suggestions on dealers in the South Jersey area!). My research shows that I'm looking at about $15k drive-away cost for a SCUT with Turf Tires, FEL, and MMM. Likely closer to $20k with a rear bucket.
+Pros: Buying new tractors is fun! And it seems that 0% financing is all the rage with new models. Since I plan to buy this thing once, and use it for the next 30 years or more, I like the idea of being it's first owner and knowing it's history. Having access to the latest implements is also a plus. Warranties are also nice. On top of all that, my normally very fiscally responsible wife is oddly onboard with me buying a $15k toy, but I'm nervous about loading up on that much dept, given we still have a couple years of car payments left too.
-Cons: Holy demand-side-economics batman! SCUTS are expensive! I'd be looking for one with a MMM, FEL, and possibly back-hoe (or at least option for one). It's like taking on a car payment. Also, most of them seem to have a larger wheelbase (by ~3-6")than the BX1500, which I presume impacts maneuverability when mowing.
Option 3: Go out on the market, and buy used. Similar to buying new, but maybe save a buck?
+Pros: Saves a bit, but the lack of depreciation in this segment would be cutting against me.
-Cons: Betting dealers will be less willing to give good financing deals, and there's just not a lot of inventory out there.
Interested to hear what thoughts folks have!