[huskerharvester]

We've been leasing machines for the last few years and are looking at getting back into owning a combine. I've been running JD STS machines since 2003 and would not want to do anything different.

My question is basically what to expect in terms of repairs on an annual basis for higher hour (more reasonably priced) machines.

There seem to be a lot of machines in the 1000-1500 sep hour range that appear available for good prices. We only harvest about 1800 acres corn and beans. Would we be alright going with a higher hour machine or will repairs eat up any savings on the pricetag up front?

Thanks for any help.

 

[huskerharvester]

Thanks for the response. That's the main thing that I'm afraid of. When we owned, we did the annual inspections and that kept the repairs down. However, I'm afraid that if we buy a used machine with, say, 1200 hrs. that wasn't, we may spend more on repairs than we would have on upgrading to a lower hour machine. What are some of the bigger spots to check to avoid a situation like that. Clearly any of the grain handling parts, but anything else?