Newbie advice

[curlycarroll]

Hi All,

I am brand new to this forum, I'm looking to buy my first Kubota, ideally a 4WD B7100HST with mid-mounted 48" mower. I've seen a couple over here in the UK for around the £2300/USD3700 price range but they have upwards of 4000hrs on the clock, also I have no way of knowing how old they are. I have compared them to others I've seen online but all I can go on is the style of the decals and wheel nuts... Is there a definitive way to ascertain a tractor's age? (notice I didn't say "date" them... as that has a different meaning on the US side of the pond.)

I'm kidding myself (and my wife) that I'll use it to cut the grass in my 2.5 acre garden but I suspect my current ride-on mower may do that better. I have wanted a tractor since I was a very small kid but I don't have the storage facility for a full-size Massey Ferguson 35 so I thought I'd get the next best thing and go Orange.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Curly

 

[300zx]

Curly, this may help you if you are looking for ones from the 8o's:

http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/005/1/4/5147-kubota-b7100hst.html

Notice half way down the page they have serial numbers and dates.

Good luck and welcome to the forum,

John

 

[curlycarroll]

Curly, this may help you if you are looking for ones from the 8o's:



Notice half way down the page they have serial numbers and dates.

Good luck and welcome to the forum,

John

Hi John,

many thanks for the kind welcome and the info. I have asked the seller for the serial number of the tractor. I would actually prefer a later B7100HST from the 90's if possible (with a few thousand hours less) all the tractors in the UK seem to be well used unlike those in the US. Is 4000 hours too much for a second hand tractor?

All the best,

Curly

 

[curlycarroll]

Using the info. John supplied I now know that the tractor I was hoping to buy was manufactured in late 1984. With over 4000 hrs on the meter perhaps I should wait for a later example?

Thank you.

Curly

 

[300zx]

Curly, 4000 hours is a lot, in my opinion. On the other hand, condition and maintenance is the key. Also, what are your plans for the tractor? I have a z-turn Kubota mower that I do all of my mowing on an acre lot. I only put 25 hours a year on it. It will take 20 years to put 500 hours on it. Since my usage is so low, I have to admit I would consider high hour tractors if the condition and maintenance has been good. My 1979 B7100D has 1300 hours on it. I bought it last fall from the original owner and it was in great shape for a 30 year old tractor. When I did some work on it, I noticed the hour meter had be apart. I expect it quit at some point and someone fixed it. My only point is that low hour tractors can also be deceiving. It still comes down to condition based on maintenance and how they were stored, high or low mileage. Good luck.

John

Here is my B7100:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110263893958737890068/KubotaB7100#

 

[curlycarroll]

Hi John,

once again, thank you very much for the advice and excellent photos. In truth the tractor I have been offered is probably in better condition than the one you started with, I'm guessing the 4000+ hours are genuine. The tractor is at the other end of the country so I haven't seen it myself and have to go on the seller's word that it all works as it should although he has been fine with giving me information about it - like it smokes a bit on start-up... He already knew how old it was but failed to impart that info. but he readily gave me the serial number to check.

Here is a link to the photos of the tractor in question:

http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj142/curlycarroll/Kubota B7100HST offer/

My main concern is the price, which I think is way too high for a 1984 tractor with over 4k hours.

A local dealer is getting three Kubotas in this week that he claims are low hour tractors that have had an easy life on a large private estate in the UK, amongst them is a B6100 which I WILL take a look at, I think I'm better off waiting to see what will turn up. In the meantime I shall buy a few manuals and read all the pertinent articles on this web site thoroughly so I know what to look out for.

I realise this question is asked a lot but where can I buy a full set of Kubota decals for the B7100 HST?

Thanks again,

Curly

 

[300zx]

Curly, It is a nice looking tractor for 4000 hours. I am surprised the hour meter continued to work that long. Typically they fail somewhere along the way. The fact that the date is written on the oil filter would make me think he has had it serviced at a dealer.

Since you may be looking at a B6100, here is a 1977 that I fixed up for my son. It had several problems that we fixed, but the price was right and it had a mid mount mower:

https://picasaweb.google.com/110263893958737890068/RussB6100?authkey=Gv1sRgCLeenfzFhtS0dQ

Here is a website where you can down load a pdf with the tractors owners manual and parts (including decal part numbers), just go to the tractor section once you are in:

http://kubotabooks.com/AutoIndex/index.php?dir=Tractor%20Parts%20Manuals/

There are many places on the web (including Vic) where you can get Kubota parts. I typically go to this site and input the part number to check availability and pricing:

http://www.goldeneagledirect.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=1

John

 

[curlycarroll]

Hi John,

thank you so much for the incredibly useful links, I've downloaded all the material I need to and will study it.

Your facilities for restoring these tractors puts many professional workshops over here to shame.

The tractor I was offered seems to be in very good condition and I may live to regret not buying it but I still think it was a bit too expensive, if the seller were to drop the price I may still be interested.

Best regards,

Curly