Since the repairs have been done I have had a lot of problems with the machine,it seems like everytime I want to use it something about the hydraulics doesn't work. I had John deere come pick it up on Monday for the latest issues and am hoping it will be a warranty issue on the hydraulic pump,if not I'm not sure I'm willing to stick anymore money into it I am up to around 30,000 in repairs now in the last year and was only able to put around a 100 hrs on it. I could have bought a whole different machine for what i have in repair costs.
While I know nothing about Deere, it reflects the risk that is taken when buying a higher houred track machines. Spending 30K on repairs on a CTL that is that old and not worth 30K on a good day, is an example of how easy it is to go down that rabbit hole. A CTL of any color is expensive to work on and when things keep going wrong your compelled to fix it. You cant resell it broke, and cant justify to keep fixing it either.
This is my thought on the matter and how I address it. I buy new or near new or at least considered new by the OEM (warranty coverage). My current 2017 CASE TR340 had 300 hours on it when I bought it, I traded in a TR320. I paid 50K for it and it had the 3 year bumper to bumper warranty. I am currently negotiating numbers to trade it for a TV450. It still has the remainder of the warranty left, about a year. So far it will have cost me 10K to own the machine for about 2.35 years in depreciation, maybe less by the time we get done. It has been under warranty and other than shearing the bolt that holds the upper tilt cylinder on, I have not had an issue with the 1000 hours I have put on it. The bolt was covered. But the coverage is there if I do really need it. I get out while the resale is high and some factory warranty coverage still gives the next guy piece of mind (having factory warranty coverage is not always the case, but works well when it is). I have never kept a track machine longer than 2000K hours.
The initial buy in can hurt depending on how much your will to spend on a CTL. However once your in, and you maximize the offers OEM's give through out the year, and trade it back while values are high, your only covering deprecation, and not huge repair bills. Some OEMs base warranty coverage is not as good, but extended coverage can always be purchased at time of buying the machine. WN has excellent base warranty coverage, maybe something to look into.
