Garden Tractors for the Small Country Place

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The ultimate small tractor, the compact, with a diesel engine and 4-wheeldrive, will perform even heavier labor and keep at it all day long. The larger models have a 20 to 35 mph road speed and can gear down to a powerful crawl. But prices begin at about $12,000, so they are best suited to commercial applications that let them pay for themselves.

Buying New and Used

A new tractor costs less than a 10-yearold used car or truck. Financing for new machines is available at new car rates and loan periods. Manufacturer warranties cover the tractors while tire and engine makers and some transmission and differential manufacturers supply their own warranties that range from one to five years-the time during which most materials or manufacturing problems will crop up.

If you've saved up the cash purchase price or can borrow on your signature or plastic, you can save money by buying a good used tractor (a locally-serviced brand). If you are nonmechanical, please buy new or used from a servicing dealer.

If you know a little about small engines and are handy with auto mechanics, by all means scour front yards around the county or look in the newspaper Classifieds and local Want Ad publications. A private sale can save you at least 10 percent-probably more-over a dealer's price.

If you're determined to do your own tractor repairs, unless you are an experienced small-engine mechanic, I advise buying the least sophisticated tractor that meets your needs. Look for out-in-the-open bolt-together pulley-and-belt drives (there made by the mower-makers rather than the tractor-manufacturers) rather than clutch-and-gear systems sealed away in metal housings. Any handyman can change belts and replace worn pulleys, mandrels, and idlers (A pulley on a pivoting bracket that pushes against a belt, tightening it so that engine power is transferred to drive wheels or accessory.). But, working on a clutch or Hydro Transmission takes special tools, parts, manuals, and factory-training or years of hands-on experience.

Prices are lower in fall than spring and discounts from new prices are comparable to used car pricing. You can find going prices for new machines by looking at newspaper ads and visiting a few showrooms. Deduct 25 percent the moment the machine leaves the show room and 10 percent each of the next three years. After five years, price depends largely on condition. As with a car or truck, a well-maintained, lightly used '67 model can be worth as much or more than an ill-used'87.

Offer half of what the machine is worth to you and dicker. (My son Sam once got an old but industrial-strength riding mower for nothing. The fellow was asking several hundred dollars for it, but he'd bought a larger tractor—one suspects, without the approval of his wife, who had ordered the unused rider out of the yard "or else"...as he finally admitted when Sam maintained his price resistance.)

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