Looking to buy a '80 JD 2040

A 2040 with a loader was about 18,000 new 20 years ago. Fifty per cent depreciation may not be enough, i.e. -- it may be a little high -- but at 1650 hours it certainly doesn't have a lot of wear. Did the old tires just dry rot? They surely weren't used hard? A lot of 2040's had Canadian JD 143 loaders. That bucket cylinder tends to leak.

I'm guessing it was made about 1980 -- during the period Carter and Vokker gave us "economic malaise" and 15 per cent inflation rates. Our dollar inflated versus other currencies and made imports really cheap -- and screwed up a lot of American jobs. JD is the largest tractor builder in Germany at their Mannheim plant. The smart play then would have been to build it at Deutsch Mark prices and bring it here and sell it at inflated US Dollar prices. I wouldn't worry about the German plate. It's legit JD, just Mannheim JD.

JD's tend to hold their value well. So if you get it and keep it for a lot of years, you probably won't get stung. With an older machine or another brand, you might get a comparable setup for 5 to 7K -- although it's likely to have more hours on it, and another brand might not have the parts support you get with JD. If you wait till this Fall, JD credit might get competitive and offer 0 per cent financing on a comparable new one for about 25 to 30K. Then you get a Yanmar with a Japanese plate on it. All in all, the 2040 is not too bad of a deal.

Best of luck in your choice.

Steve

However---John Deere's BEST tractors have ALWAYS come from WATERLOO. IOWA!

Mannheim tractors are very good, however!

My idea of a QUALITY built tractor is a 4020.(Mine is a 1968 diesel) My 1976, Dubuque built, 2440 is NOT as nice and has had a lot more problems than the Waterloo built 4020 and 3020.

I have heard that the 2355 is a very nice peice of work. I have also heard that the 6400 (which followed) is a POS. Perhaps DEERE has moved their emphasis on quality to the over 150hp level, I do not know. I have little need for a $50,000+ tractor so I won't find out either.

I do think that Deere utility tractors left something to be desired. The only ones I've never heard anything bad about at all, except for how scarce and how expensive they are, is the 1020 and 2020 series of tractors. Apparantly NO 1020 tractors are available because the owners won't part with them!

Good news: You can have my 1020! It's got a loader, runs like a top, and only has 2200 hours on it!

Bad news: It's gonna set you back the price of the 2040 we're talking about, plus I've always wanted a 4020, what's more Dave's 2355 is pretty cool, and if you could see your way clear, my wife wants a 40 or 420 or 430. She thinks they're cute. That about covers all the bases and all the JD factories.

Actually, let's don't. The 1020 has been here so many years it's like our favorite old mare or one of the Labradors -- part of the family. That's probably the way you feel about your 4020 and Dave feels about his 2355. Probably best to call it a draw.

take care,

Steve

The way I read my JD annual report is that the 7000 series might be a wetback that crossed the Rio Grande at Laredo Texas on its way to Waterloo. A Mannheim machine could well have salsa and sangria with the kraut in its veins as well, 'cause some components come from the JD plant in Madrid. Things just aren't real simple anymore, so it's not easy to point fingers at one place. One factory is just as capable as another of laying an egg. Even Six Sigma gives you 3.4 lemons per million good tractors. A Three Sigma factory makes 66,000 lemon tractors per million. Maybe it's better to wonder if it was built on a Wednesday or a Friday. Then again, probably best to say "there but for the Grace of... " and be glad your tractor is one of the good ones!

The thing that is certain is that a Mannheim tractor will have accessory parts with names like Bosch and VDO that will be more familiar to guys at your Mercedes, Audi/VW or BMW dealer than the guys at your JD dealer. My cousins would say that's no concern as things German never break. My Dad would have said the 500 pounders they dropped broke a lot of things that were German. Our family skirmishes over US versus German matters are mild these days, and we've never argued over towns in Iowa that I can recall. So I'd say the 2040 was probably designed in Moline and on average should do as well as a Waterloo or a Dubuque tractor... but I sure am glad the grandparents left Germany!