Terra Vac paddock cleaner! Buy new or second hand?

[Tommiecharlie]

Hello, I'm looking to get a Terra Vac Colt paddock cleaner and i'm currently procrastinating other whether to get a second hand one or bite the bullet and buy new. I'm usually a second hand person but history has taught me that sometimes it can be more hassle, risk and cost if mechanics are old etc! So to anyone who has a terra vac are they pretty robust / reliable or do things tend to disintegrate / fail over time? And does anyone know if the newer models are considerably better/ more efficient than the older ones?
Many thanks

 

[paddy555]

I have a predator which is very similar to the colt. Can't comment on the colt but I can on S/H machines. I bought my first one new. After about 10 years I needed a replacement and like the colt they are not cheap new. I found that people either love them or hate them and simply cannot get on with them. When that happens they want to sell them. Sometimes these machines have not had a great deal of use, just an unhappy owner.
A new one was going to cost me around 6K. I saw a S/H one advertised, went to see it. they couldn't get on with it l. I saw instantly that it needed a new air cleaner. Cost around £25 and it's problems were solved . I got the machine for less than £1000, it had had little wear and they were so grateful to get rid of it. I spent around £120 on the engine, air filter, fuel filter, plug and the like. I put a new hose on it another £100 and new belts and it was just like a new machine.

So it is possible to pick up a S/H bargain just because people don't get on with them.



The engines on the new ones appear to be Kohler petrol or Kubota diesel. You could check if the same engine was on a s/h one. The new colt tips as the newer predators do. You could check a S/H one and make sure it also tips (rather than empty by hand)