How many hours are too many on new tractor?

TripleJPlantation

New member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L4760
Aug 27, 2018
1
0
0
Jacksonville, FL
I received my new 2018 L4760 two weeks ago and noticed at time of delivery that it had a little over 15 hours on it. This is my first new tractor so I didn't think to question it. My dealer got it from another dealer because he didn't have this model in stock. After putting a little over 15 hours on it myself over the last two weekends it made me wonder how did this new tractor get 15 hours on it before it got to me. I have no issues with it and it looked showroom new when it was delivered. Is this many hours normal on a new tractor? Should I be concerned?
 

troverman

Well-known member

Equipment
MX6000 HSTC; 2020 Kubota Z421KW-54 zero turn mower
Jun 9, 2015
1,188
275
83
NH
15 hours is nothing, really...but 15 hours is a fair amount. Maybe it was "test driven" a bunch at the other dealer? Maybe it idled? But 15 hours is definitely the equivalent of flail mowing a 20 acre field, etc.

For comparison, my 2018 MX I bought this past summer had only 0.3 hours on it when I picked it up, and it had sat at the dealer for a few months before I bought it.
 

Fordtech86

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L3200
Aug 7, 2018
4,976
5,917
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Pineville,LA
I would think 15 hrs is a little high for buying it brand new,the other dealer possibly used it as a demo tractor
 

mickeyd

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2014 L3200 DT w/LA524 FEL, 2019 Kubota Z121S w/ 48" Pro Dec, TG1860G w/RCK54TG
Mar 21, 2014
1,192
18
38
Guin, AL
I received my new 2018 L4760 two weeks ago and noticed at time of delivery that it had a little over 15 hours on it. This is my first new tractor so I didn't think to question it. My dealer got it from another dealer because he didn't have this model in stock. After putting a little over 15 hours on it myself over the last two weekends it made me wonder how did this new tractor get 15 hours on it before it got to me. I have no issues with it and it looked showroom new when it was delivered. Is this many hours normal on a new tractor? Should I be concerned?
Welcome to the OTT forum.

I asked my dealer how my new tractor got 5 hours on it. It said that they always test every tractor at the factory before shipping and then his maintenance people will test them when they first get it to make sure that works as it should. Then they test it one last time when it is sold and serviced before delivery.

That sure wouldn't explain 15 hours by any stretch of the imagination.
 
Last edited:

greeno

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Equipment
B2710 w/LA402 FEL, BL4690 hoe, RB1560, GS1560, Haban 5' sickle bar, 5' JD RC
Jul 14, 2018
187
2
18
Big Lake MN
You should ask for 30% off the 50hr service.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

William1

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Lifetime Member

Equipment
BX25D
Jul 28, 2015
1,124
315
83
Richmond, Virginia
Yeah.... 15 is excessive.

It is not like getting a new car that a dealer had to do a swap with another dealer 50 miles away and you ending up with a new car with 75 miles. You got your new car with 1,000 miles. Though I once did a dealer swap from NJ to Arizona, drove cars out, brought a check for the difference in values and drove cars back (10 if I recall), so they all had 'excessive miles.' We disclosed the miles to the customers (we traded B2200 P/U's for RX7's). The customers were fine with it and we gave everyone a free oil change on top of a oil change when we got back to NJ.

15 hours is like the tractor did a 'demo day'. Not significant in the life of the machine but enough to deserve an upfront explanation along with a perk. The dealer should of done a oil change before you picked it up and given you a filter and a few five gallon jugs of Rotella.
 

K.P.

Member

Equipment
B7300, LA272 FEL, B2650, 8160 Ballast, G2460G Mower, Danuser 20/40, Woods RB60
Aug 11, 2010
84
3
8
Cary, IL
I don't know if there is a break-in procedure for todays Kubotas or a beast like an L Series, but there was a break-in procedure in the manual for my little 1997 B7300. The first dozen or two hours on many engines sets the stage for its future. My main concern isn't necessarily the number of hours but how those hours were run.
 

Redlands

New member
Sep 16, 2016
391
2
0
North Central Oklahoma
My 2 year old L3560 says in the manual to NOT run it at full speed until it has 50 hours on it.

15 hours is excessive for a “new” tractor I would think. As others have pointed out it’s well into its first oil or filter change. Talk to em about it. At least get a free set of filters and oil as needed. Or better yet a free 50 hour service.....
 

thebicman

Active member

Equipment
B2601 + BX2755HD + 50" box blade
Feb 2, 2017
333
97
28
Ottawa, ontario
I purchased my used as new B2601 with 8 hrs on it. Previous owner obviously didn't use it very much in the 12 months of ownership. 15 seems high for new.
 

lugbolt

Well-known member

Equipment
ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
5,246
1,923
113
Mid, South, USA
Everyone's spot on.

One thing I didn't see. Some dealers are part of a large corporation and they transfer equipment back & forth between their dealers. Sometimes one dealer has a tractor that's been sitting on their lot too long, and they'll transfer it to another dealer who might have someone interested, or the market locale is "better", or whatever. If it's been on another dealer's lot for a while, it could have been test run a bunch of times by customers, or it could have simply had the key left on at some point. Or it could be one that was run out to the front of their building and back every day for X amount of time, accumulating hours each time. Could be a million reasons. I personally don't like selling them if they have more than about 2 hours on them, or more specifically, I just feel bad about selling them with that many hours. Sometimes it's unavoidable but I personally disclose why the hours are there to the person buying it. Some aren't comfortable and that's understandable and respectable; I'll give the option to buy one out of a crate (which may put a delay in the sale process).

Sometimes there's buybacks too...maybe a customer bought a tractor, didn't like it, and Kubota bought it back & gave 'em another one. I've heard of this happening, and usually (from what I know), they are supposed to disclose the history, and give a pretty good discount.
 

NoJacketRequired

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Equipment
B7510 & LA302 FEL & B2782 blower, B7510 & B2781 blower, B2410 & B2550 blower
May 25, 2016
432
69
28
Ottawa, Ontario
Agree - new should be new. When I purchased my new Subaru last year the sales contract allowed them a maximum of 90KM on the clock. That, in comparative terms, would be the equivalent of about 2-3 hours on a tractor.

Oh, since I just purchased a B2410 with more than 2500 hours on it, I would suggest that the addition of 15 hours is not a big deal. Yes, it's a matter of principle, and I would certainly press the dealer for a discount on the first service.