What tractor should I buy??

Ok guys, here's the deal, I farm a small 300 acres as of last year. 09 crops were great and I have some money to invest in better equipment to get the crops in faster. Tillage is too slow at this point. I'm a dirt moving contractor so crops are a second job tat needs to be done ASAP.

Question is..what do I buy? I think I want an all purpose machine with 3 point and PTO but I only want to spend about 25K, only 8-15 of which I want to throw into a tractor. I need some implements to go with it afterall. Should I buy a multi use machine or just heavy muscle for tillage like a Steiger or Versatile that is bareback?

Options at this point general purpose:
TW30 Ford
2590 Case
4840 JD
Big muscle beasts:
Steiger any model for 8-15k
Versitile 8?? to a 950 for 15K

Been looking at a couple of TW30's priced around 12k the nicest looking one has 9900 hrs on it though..should I fear it?
2590 Case's seem to be the cheapest, good lookin machine but I suspect there is a reason for the cheap prices??
4840 JD these things are everywhere literally. wide range of prices some in the right range for me but I know nothing about them.

I also see a Case ih 3594 for sale at 18k looks a bit cheap made to me though.

So what do ya think, I'm leaning towards the TW30's at the moment but I'd love to have a monster, of course for 300 acres is it justifiable? can ya help me out? Thanks!

Gotta watch them Powershift's on those 2590's. I've run 2390 across the street and like it. They use it for 13 shank chisel plow, 24ft. Tandem Disc, And going to be pulling a 19ft. Sunflower Field Finisher they just bought. Easy to use machine. As for John Deere and Ford TW-30 I don't know anything about them. Good luck finding the right one.
Case 2390 ive operated

Yeah that sucker was coverin some ground for sure. I'm guessing the 2590 powershift is problematic then and thus the cheap selling prices?
Thanks for the reply, keep them coming this is long from sorted out, lol.

You could have asked something less controversial such as religion, politics, health care, gasoline prices etc.

One major consideration is the quality of service in your area. Check with other farmers in the area and find out which dealer gives the best service; also the availability of parts for the model you are considering. With your limited time frame, you do not want to be chasing all over the country or waiting for parts to arrive, when you could be working in the field.

For cheap horsepower its hard to beat those big Case tractors. As the other posters have said, powershift fears are what keep people away from them. Its easy to drop 10 grand in the powershift BUT, its easy to drop 10 grand in any color tractors powershift. Thats the one I'd buy.

Hey yeah I got ya, lol. Other topics that I'm dumb enough to delve into at times, lol. Don't want to start a flame war and I don't care about partiality to one color or another of tractor.ALways been partial to Ford anything but my current lineup is mixed so whatever fits the budget and gets the job done is fine for me.

There are dealers nearby that handle parts for any of those tractors as far as I know but I haven't checked for the 2590 specifically, assumed that the local CaseIH dealer would have parts access for them...maybe not.

Whats really important at the present is to have some experienced point of views for me to use. I buy quite a bit of machinery though it's usually heavy equipment, so I do ok at picking and choosing for shape and quality. Then again thats stuff I know with dozers and scrapers..not so much with tractors and practicality of running row crop. Been farming since I was 9 on one scale or another but 300 acres is more than I ever handled until now so small tractors did fine (50-80 hp). These bigger ones with duals in the 170+ range are different animals to me. Maybe I'm just putting too much thought into it.

A guy I worked for had a Case 2670 for quite a while. Not a bad tractor, but kind of on the expensive side for him to keep running. He traded for a Versatile 800. It was cheaper to maintain and I thought it was nicer to operate. The steering on the Versatile was a whole lot easier, but no shifting once you got moving.

I have an excellent 2590 I want to sell, dont use it much anymore, I now have two 8 wheel 4wd's. My local CIH dealer went completely through the P/S transmission, (can be verified) asking $11,900

Case powershifts are not as bad as others claim. Yes some do fail (like IH torques) and can be expensive to repair, alot of the problems are due to lack of maintenance like changing the oil and filters and operator error, I have a 1570 and get along with it fine, its definately got alot of power, I like the 504 engine, it's a torque monster. Nothing will make 200hp on less fuel than a 1570/2590. I ran a fwd tw30 once plowing. It had good power including bottom end torque and was not bad on fuel. The 46/4840 is a good workhorse but it will cost you more and you will need a bigger fuel tank or just have the fuel man come more often. You should be able to find a 94 series Case for 25k, they have all of the rear end updates (though 90 series should) The 24spd. ps is smoother shifting. We've always farmed with Case and I'm not afraid of them.

If you can contact the former owner. Case are great tractors for the price, but it's nice to know if the PS has been worked on. Any tractor is expensive to work on. With only 300 acres, a 4 wheel drive wouldn't be practical in my mind. I farm over 1000 and don't even have a MFD, although I've considered a 4wd. Just can't decide which color. Versatiles are about the easiest to work on and are good runners. Stick with the 6 cylinder engines though.

I also have farmed a lot of acres with Case over the years. We never fixed a transmission on any of them, but a lot of people have. The 2590 that I drove for two days was a very typical Case. In other words
1) good on fuel
2) good cold weather starter...probably not inportant to you
3) cheap horsepower
4) cab was good, seat could have been better
5) good low end torque, hell, exceptional low end torque
6) in our conditions it had more power than it could get to the ground
7) a bit rough to ride, even with big duals and front weights

If you could find a 2390 or 2590 with front wheel assist you would have a real tractor, but it would cost twice as much. I wouldn't be afraid of the 94 series. We had a 2096 for light work and I wish we still had it. The guy I sold it to thanks me every time he sees me.

Those 4640's and 4840's are very good also (I am told). Not as cheap, harder on fuel but awaaay smoother ride.

If you can contact the former owner. Case are great tractors for the price, but it's nice to know if the PS has been worked on. Any tractor is expensive to work on. With only 300 acres, a 4 wheel drive wouldn't be practical in my mind. I farm over 1000 and don't even have a MFD, although I've considered a 4wd. Just can't decide which color. Versatiles are about the easiest to work on and are good runners. Stick with the 6 cylinder engines though.

Thanks guys...good feedback. Teah I am really torn between the 2590-94 and the TW30's. I don't know how many hours the case I'm looking at has on it and the Ford has high hours. The Case seems to be weaker in the tranny and the ford is the engine (weak spots for me). Personally I'd rather do engine work than tranny work (I bleepin hate workin on tranny's). Never been a big fan of JD, I have a JD backhoe and paddlewheel scraper and they are ok, probably second only to Cat but some of the stuff is rough to work on (ie. hydraulic pumps in funny configurations).
Does one have a better or worse rep for the AC parts and systems? I need a cab tractor badly and don't want a cab without decent air for sure.

Can you pick up a tractor big enough to pull a scraper with. Then you could use it for your earth moving too, not just on the farm. Just a thought.

I am a bit of a John Deere fan, I've never run a Case but some guys around here still run the old white cases (2xxx series) and have 10,000+ on them and still love them, there has to be a reason.

My dad owns a TW10. I would never recomend to anyone to buy a Ford. They do start good and you can get some parts for them at Napa etc. But they are louder in the cab than anything I have driven, the 3pt sucks on them (plus the fact it tries to rip itself off on the right side) Front axle has the pins welded to the axle so if the pins wear you are screwed. For a TW30 too much power out of too small of an engine. The dual power in the TW here has gone out twice due to using it on the road. Diff lock is in a bad location and you have to stand on it. Chances are the temp, oil and voltmeter/amp meter do not work (haven't seen one yet that they do).

For AC parts, check out www.apairinc.com all the ac stuff you would ever need for anything, cheaper than the dealer.

No way I can only lift maybe 250 pounds...JK.
Yeah that thought crossed my mind. Though then that would mean having to buy another multithousand dollar piece of equipment. I also think it's pretty hard on tractors to pull scrapers. I know tons of ppl that do it but tractors usually don't have the guts to handle work like that IMO. The bearings are light and gears need to be a bit heavier. Thats why a few companies started building scraper specials in their tractor lines. Still with a big versatileor steiger its an option. I just wish they came with a 3 point and a PTO...bummer.
I'm afraid of the 8630's and 8640's because of the engine trouble and expense of labor, other than that they would be an option I'd consider I think.