Old equipment vs new????

Hey,
Posted about a walk behind sickle mower a couple weeks ago. Also a walk behinddrum mower available but real pricey.
Anyway, looking at buying something in the next few days. Options in my price range are either a new off brand with 2 year guarantee and parts/service available if slow . Not china made but made in either poland or yugoslavia or a known german brand that is 10-15 years old (still parts/service available).

Which way would you folks go if faced with the same situation on a tiller etc....??

Dave, I was looking for a tiller, bought a rental unit, had some years, but no issues, is American made, not MTD, and the heaviest I could find. Am not disappointed with my choice. I would look around, and find something out of a rental fleet, again.

I Never bought/buy anything new.
Chances are the new is already in worse shape coming from the factory than your worn out old piece will ever be after 50 yrs of service.

Made in China versus made in Germany is not really a nobrainer, is it?

(quoted from post at 11:29:06 06/24/11) I Never bought/buy anything new.
Chances are the new is already in worse shape coming from the factory than your worn out old piece will ever be after 50 yrs of service.

Made in China versus made in Germany is not really a nobrainer, is it?

Click to expand...

How long have you been gone from over here??? The old ones I am talking about are Agria.. New ones are not china made but eastern europe and named IAW the tool name from the big box store that sells them.....
Was thinking the new ones and just go over them top to bottom before the first use would be OK but the agrias are sold/serviced by the local shop and parts are pretty much interchangeable regardless of age...

Sold and serviced by local shop if a good shop would be the way I would want to go. If you can't get the service then what good is it, Throw away and buy anouther. Sounds expencive but that is the way it is pretty much now in Your home state of Ohio. If it just needs a new spark plug replace machine instead of service.

(quoted from post at 12:37:05 06/24/11) Sold and serviced by local shop if a good shop would be the way I would want to go. If you can't get the service then what good is it, Throw away and buy anouther. Sounds expencive but that is the way it is pretty much now in Your home state of Ohio. If it just needs a new spark plug replace machine instead of service.

Click to expand...

If I had the patients and a little more skill, I wouldn't worry so much....

Dave2,

One of the things I look at is, how reliable
and good a job does the said piece of machinery do in half life?

Will it still finish the season?

The reliablitly factor is a big one in my opinion. Meaning (Do I need this on the job every day or once a year} And is once a year the big money harvest of the year????

If the ol' Troy-Bilt ever carps out, we're getting a new BCS with cutter bar & tiller. Can't find a good used one of any vintage around here. Even the beat-up rental units can bring a grand! The last one I saw at an auction was a 734 (IIRC) & the handles were ready to fall off. All attachments were auctioned off seperatly, as per the owner's request. The wretched thing brought $1150! That had a slight effect on the prices of the other pieces, too. The only thing that brought more than $200 was the spader attachment. That was like new because the owner used it twice & swore he would never use it again. It really did try to rattle the dentures out of his head! Poor guy.

So... unless the walking tractor looks like it just came off the crate, it's probably just someone else lookin' to pawn off their problem. Not to say I wouldn't turn down a second Troy-Bilt of the same vintage, it'd had just better be worth it physically & not just asthetically. Can't have the safety grips either. Those safety appliances & battery start was the beginnig of the end for ol' TB.

Mike

P.S. You can even get a hay rake & round baler for the larger BCS's. I always thought that would be a cool setup. Rather expensive, though. But you could cut, rake & bale every nook & cranny on your property (your lawn too! ;v).

I like to keep my equipment for many years and do all of my own maintenance and repairs. As a result, long term parts availability is a prime consideration.

Dean

Old/reliable beats new and junk every time. The fact that you can get parts for the Agra machine I would buy it hands down. Have you asked the local servicing dealer if he knows of any used ones for sale??? Does he have any used machine that he has gone through and will stand behind??

Hey Mike,

You pry saw a 735.

I'm in Lancaster (SW corner of Wisconsin) I got a few BCS machines and a few new Grillo's here if you're interested. I also have a friend in Boscobel (40 minutes north of me) who has an 853 and the round baler among many other attachments, if you ever want to see one run... He's right on HWY 60, which also happens to run through West Bend, right?

I have an old belt driven drum mower which was made in the then Czechoslovakia, it is a CF. 65 centimetre cut,don't use the sickle mower now.very reliable if maintained.

(quoted from post at 11:02:47 06/24/11) Hey,
Posted about a walk behind sickle mower a couple weeks ago. Also a walk behinddrum mower available but real pricey.
Anyway, looking at buying something in the next few days. Options in my price range are either a new off brand with 2 year guarantee and parts/service available if slow . Not china made but made in either poland or yugoslavia or a known german brand that is 10-15 years old (still parts/service available).

Which way would you folks go if faced with the same situation on a tiller etc....??

Click to expand...

If you can do the wrenching yourself used may be OK. If you can't because of lack of knowledge you can learn......if it's lack of time because of other things like a job and family you may be better off with the new one and trading it every couple of years when the guarantee is about up.

Rick

Howdy farmerboy,
you are close, 60 runs about 15 min. south of us through Jackson. Hwy 33 runs through West Bend. I sure would like to check into a BCS or Grillo. They're the only tillers I would deem worthy for the replacement of our Troy-Bilt. I'd like to see the little round baler operate, too. I saw one on a website a few years back & won't soon forget it. Neat is an understatement! Always happy to meet another forum member, too!

Now, with all of the projects on my to do list I don't know when I'll make it to that side of the state. Earliest would be around the time of the Edgerton show. If I get some R&R time before that, I can keep you posted.

Take care,
Mike

(quoted from post at 04:37:20 06/25/11) I have an old belt driven drum mower which was made in the then Czechoslovakia, it is a CF. 65 centimetre cut,don't use the sickle mower now.very reliable if maintained.

Click to expand...

That's my 1st choice but just don't want to get off the 1500 bucks to buy it.......