kinda OT - fluid change intervals

A friend is considering a Jinma-powered FarmPro 4X4 gear tractor with FEL from about 2005 for his new place, mostly wooded, mainly for keeping the long driveway in shape. Since he is a novice he reached out to me for advice. Having been around Kubota and Kioti tractors from the same era, as well as an older Mitsubishi some time ago, I have some background on these Chinese/Korean light duty units.

The tractor he is looking at supposedly only has 800 or so hours and looks to be in good shape. However, as we all know, looks can be deceiving - my friend's wife has been texting the seller and she asked about maintenance (smart lady). Supposedly the oil has been changed ONCE at 400 hours. Now I do not know exactly that means, if it was all fluids and filters at 400 hours, or just the motor oil, or what - so my question is should I just go look at it, pull dipsticks, maybe a quick dip with a skinny magnet in the sumps and see what my eyes and nose tell me or what??????

We live in high humidity most of the year so everything gets water in it over time. At 800 hours in 10 years it obviously has not been used heavily so probably not very regularly, either. My understanding is that it has been a chore tractor for moving hay and clipping pastures on a hobby horse farm so not hard use.

Price is not bad for what comes with it and it is the right size for what they need but is it a gamble or not with the "deferred maintenance"? I told them the first thing I do with any new-to-me equipment is a complete fluid change so I know exactly what I have at that point and that it can get pricey with filters and fluids in mass quantity.

Can't hurt to go look at it, may find something scary (or not), but what says the board on this situation? Not my money but I do not want to steer somebody wrong.

I can't help you much.
What I would do is go to tractorbynet and see if there is a specific from for those machines.
Someone there will likely have an original manual and tell you the proper intervals.
They also can tell you more about what to look out for on it.
There's probably folks here who could tell you but you'll reach more of them there.

Edit:
Forum - not from.

I always fully service a new to me tractor.

Ps, a word of advice, unless the dealer or prev owner corrected the issue, those farm pro loader machines are plumbed with quick connects at the pump, and no relief between pump and qd. Thus if qd does not seat or becomes unseated, you learn how to change a shaft seal if lucky, and if u lucky, you learn how to change the pump, so inspect the qd at time of use, like checking oil and kicking tires.

My local Tractor Supply carried those Jinma tractors under their own brand name for a couple of years back around that time frame. They were priced so low compared to anything else at the time I was saving up to buy one. About a year and a half after I first saw them at the local TSC store they no longer had the tractor on the floor. I asked about them and they said they stopped carrying them because almost every one they had sold had come back for warranty issues of one kind or another, and they were unable to get parts so they ended up giving people their money back.

With all that being said, if that one's lasted this long without having any major issues, then as long as it's properly maintained it's bound to offer good service for some time to come.

Interesting what a little time and investigation can turn up - they found a MF 1260 with loader in nice shape that looks good on paper. The prospect of getting stuck with a potentially benignly neglected, hard-to-find-parts-for Chinese tractor did not appeal to my friend's wife so the reality of upping the price bracket and going with a major manufacturer became obvious to them. I am tagging along as the dis-interested third-party tractor expert tomorrow morning to provide insights on the condition and suitability for their needs - I reckon I can call myself a consultant on this.

It will be interesting. Funny thing is my friend's wife seems more interested in finding a good reliable tractor that does what they need than worrying about how much it is gonna cost. Much different from most wives' perspective on expenditures of this sort, especially mine it seems like.

I reckon I get to live a little vicariously on this deal. Makes me want to get my tractor out for a little workout, except it is not supposed to get above freezing here this weekend. But spring is right around the corner so seat time is imminent.