Re: JD 970 - good price or lemon?

Subject: Re: Re: JD 970 - good price or lemon?

Comments:
: : We have just moved to our farm of 22 acres, and have : : decided that a tractor is a necessity. Unfortunately, : : we are city folks, and dont know if we're being : : taken or not. : : Local JD dealer has a 970 with 533 hours, 3 point hitch, : : for sale. He'll sell with a new bush hog for 10,100. : : We haven't dickered price at all (just asked for some : : guarantee - gave us 30 days on drivetrain). : : 1) Are we being taken with the "creampuff" talk : : 2) Is it a decent price? : : My gut says, why wasn't it used more. He says golf : : course owned it, but it didnt have turf tires on it. : : Please, would like some opinions. : : Joanna : Hard to tell from this far away ;-), but USUALLY, 500 hours is nothing to a diesel engine. The JD 970 is a heck of a tractor, and if it's been maintained properly, $10K with a bush hog sounds like a good price. If the dealer is serious about selling it, he should be willing to let you have it checked out by an independent mechanic of your choosing. Look it over for signs of abuse (dings, dents, torn up paint, bent sheet metal) and eyeball the filters (air/oil/fuel) to try and determine if they've been changed recently. Start it and run it, put a load on it and see if it smokes under light to medium load (it shouldn't) On the big truck diesels, they analyse the engine oil to check for contaminants...I'm not sure this applies to light duty engines like the 970, you might want to ask around. If it's in good shape, I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

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