Do you buy new or used machinery?

Usually 'lower' price items are bought new as the difference in price between a decent used item and new is not worth the difference (e.g. agitators, sowers, etc).

The new stuff would normally only be bought via the grant. Trailers would be a mixture of new and used. Majority of stuff is used, but fresh. Buying used with intention of refurbishing is normally a fools battle unless you enjoy the work or have a YouTube channel!

There have been times where we went to buy used and the deal on the new was enough to change our mind.

Started buying new abit more here lately, new tractor was largely a no brainer on zero% interest, post Brexit and Corona shortages it's worth the same now 2yrs later, got a new tedder this summer, same thing, nothing 2nd hand appealed. I did get a 2kgls tanker 2nd hand a month ago, very clean and only 6500, and I'll be able to retrofit a trailing shoe moving forwards.

Bit like everything tho, you sum up the pros and cons both ways, the one thing though reliability and backup service you absolutely need to put a value on also, I've learnt the hard way that taking a punt on a cheap yoke generally costs you much more in the long run between wasted time and spending a 2nd time on something proper.

New tractors need ad blue which is a pain too, I priced a new hilux earlier in the year and between repairs and depreciation wasn't much more expensive as an older one

Tractor would be 2nd hand mainly due to the price of new. idk if it is a good move, if you get proper finance and a good price you are better off with new and hold it for 20+ years

I never touch 2nd hand machinery, I found that if someone is selling it's usually down to problems. Having said that I had a lely mower from new and it was the greatest ball of **** known to man, and i too ended up trading it for a different brand

Some types of machinery are usually ok 2nd hand as there can be a genuine reason for selling. So stuff like smaller Slurry tankers tend to be great buys compared to new as lads find the sub 1500 gallon tankers too small. Land rollers and stuff with no moving parts at the right price

Hay equipment can be under used too but you might find you don't use it much either. I picked up a square baler for 1600, spent another couple of hundred over the winter and have only made 500 bales with it after.

Wouldn't touch the following 2nd hand

• Slurry Agitator
• Mowers especially drum mowers
• builders trailers
• Fertilizer spreaders
• Very old tractors for silly money ie MF390s
• Old diggers

Were such small scale the option to buy new isn’t there.

but with decades of maintenance experience there’s very little on repair front we don’t tackle.

ive been accused of being addicted to rust in the past, but I’m happy to work away keeping older machinery going.

only piece of new equipment we’ve bought in last 20 years was a quad sprayer, funny since we don’t have a quad.

8 years ago we bought an agitator and slurry tank for €1500, have spread every year since for ourselves without bother, tank needed a small repair to the spout this year we did ourselves for free, but it will be perfect for years now. We could get a contractor but we’d loose the option to spread 4-5 loads any time we want.

large busy farms need better equipment and in many cases new makes perfect financial sense

Anyone worry about buying newish tractor with pressure on fossil fuels that might be worthless in 15 years or is diesel going to be around much longer than that timeframe? Dont have much machinery but never regretted anything bought new ( cattle trailer, mower)

parents here would have typically bought everything new

we’re still pretty much that way but would always look at second hand aswell to see could we find a fresh well minded machine

or if we knew we were looking for a machine we’d keep an eye out for one second hand

bought a second hand well minded diet feeder last jan and a straw blower from England in 2018 that we’ve sold since

on the look out for a clean 2500 g slurry tank atm but theyre hard come across at reasonable money

Used to say on here ''if you can't buy it new, you can't afford to have it'' in other words hire it in if you can't buy it new.

Got heavily criticised so didn't say it again, but I've had some real heaps of Shite in my time so I know what I'm talking about.

Didn't have money for anything else at the time

I'm not mechanically minded so I buy new now and try to mind it

..

Smaller ones (3-cylinder?) don't as far as I am aware. You can get some up to 100HP. I could be wrong on all of the above though

Wouldn't it be grand to even afford the pen.

😉

Yeah but if you can't afford the pen he needs to be so good he only needs to sell and they have someone else to collect the money.

The only two machines I would insist on buying new is a baler and hedge cutter, unless it has a good warranty or low bale count or hours. Everything else I'd try pick up second hand. Most machines I bought second hand worked out very well for me apart from my first claas tractor. That was a total dud and it nearly broke me keeping it going

I use a contractor for either of those jobs as well as slurry.

All you need is a handy tractor with a loader, a fertlizer spreader( something I would buy new), a roller, something to feed with( bale spike, tine grab) a sprayer, bale lifter and maybe a chain harrow.

You wood run an awful lot of farms with that amount of machinery

Are they going in many groups? A haulier would prob make more sense?

@kk.man - how much do you think your trailer is worth to trade in against new cattle trailer for the tractor? Would you make much additional use out of the trailer? Would you have use if the cattle body was demountable?

That's a 76k round trip for you in a tractor. A long enough stint behind the wheel.

You're being charged €1,200 per year in haulage to the factory. When you take out diesel, wear, your time and put it through your books I wonder would you be any better off going yourself? The haulier is basically charging you €1/mile/head. It's not out of the ballpark.

Yea I was thinking same.

I recon I'd get 4k for mine... possibility pay 10k for the new one (have to price it yet)... I'm just thinking out loud at the minute.

Just a cattle trailer no other use except sheep transport maybe twice a year to mart 7 miles from me.

I've land about half a mile from home place too but it's only a small piece.

I was thinking the same or a bracken

I left a while before I wnswered, it's apparent that a lot have learnt that new is best and you'll learn too, Okay I'll grant you that a rubbish trailer'll do and some people love messing with old machines but the majority don't

I have a box for the jeep and use the contractor for bigger loads.

I don't have a jeep as work is 150k round trip..if it was closer I'd consider a jeep.