First appearing in the UK at the tail end of 2011, John Deere 7230R, 7260R and 7280R tractors looked all set to take over from the outgoing 7030 series, with a host of developments to include the promise of improved efficiency. Teething troubles, however, put paid to this early promise, and residual values of the first 7R series suffered. What went wrong … and are these tractors now a sound used buy?
Bad luck, used buyers. Expect a bargain price to be attached to a first generation John Deere 7230R, 7260R or 7280R, and you will be disappointed. The early problems with the 2011 to 2014 7R series that initially led to these tractors having less than stellar residual values have passed into history. Some may recall the time when a main dealer would sell on a three-year-old 7230R with a sticker price of just £40-£50K. You’ll now have to pay more than that for an entry-level five-year-old 7230R with around 4,500 hours on the clock, prices even climbing to around £60K for these models by the middle of 2016. So, what has driven these price rises?
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