Home > Buyers Guides > Used Cultivator Buying Guide – Things to Keep in Mind When Buying Second Hand Cultivators

Used Cultivator Buying Guide – Things to Keep in Mind When Buying Second Hand Cultivators

AMTEC have been supplying used cultivation machinery to farmers across the globe for over 30 years and we have amalgamated all this experience into this comprehensive buyer’s guide to hep you choose you next cultivator.

Agricultural Cultivators

Buying a cultivator can be a daunting task there are so many options to choose from and as with a lot of farm machinery the prices of the new larger machines can be frightening.  In this guide we will run through the most popular types of cultivator used today and the main brands and models that are on the market.  The guide finishes with the costs of purchasing used cultivators and what to look out for when buying them.

Different Types of Cultivators

Short Disc

Probably the most popular cultivator used in current systems, the short disc cultivates just the top inch or two, often used shortly after harvest to create a stale seedbed and encourage weed germination.

Stubble Cultivator

Primary Cultivator

Brands of Cultivators

Horsch Cultivators

Horsch is one of the leading global manufacturers of agricultural machinery for soil cultivation. Their machinery is predominately designed for highspeed shallow tillage for trash and soil management.

Used Horsch Terrano

A mid to shallow tillage machine the Horsch Terrano can cover a lot of ground quickly and precisely using a low horsepower requirement. Horsch were one of the first manufacturers to focus on ‘tillage without a plough’ and the Terrano with its powerful and versatile TerraGrip tines is a key tool in this mission.

Vaderstad Cultivator

Vaderstad offer a wide range of cultivation machinery for a variety of working depths offering versatility in farming system and a perfect start for a successful crop.

Used Vaderstad Carrier

One of the most popular in the short discs range of cultivators. The Carrier it a versatile tool just as adept on stubble as in use breaking down ploughing. A well-built, long lasting, and fairly low maintenance machine the Carrier is widely used by arable farmers across the world.

Simba Cultivator

A very popular cultivator, particularly in Britain, the Simba range are extremely well-built strong cultivators mostly designed for primary cultivation.

Used Simba X-press

Another popular short disc machine, the Simba X-press is perfect for stubble cultivation after harvest. The large, scalloped discs are excellent for chopping up trash and topsoil and Simba’s legendary DD packers leaves a level, consolidated surface.

Sumo Cultivators

Another heavy British built cultivator, the Sumo range was traditionally deep working primary cultivators, but they have since redirected their development to focus on Conservation Agriculture.

Used Sumo Trio

Sumo’s first and most popular cultivator, the Trio revolutionised the min-till cultivator market when it was launched and continues to be a big player in the heavy primary cultivation market to this day. The Trio was the antidote to continuous ploughing and the heavily built machine still moves plenty of soil.

Market price of cultivators: How much do cultivators cost?

Market Price of Cultivators

The price of a used cultivator depends on the size, age, and condition of the machine. With manufacturers like Simba there is no new machinery to set the price but the popularity of the equipment ensures a strong second-hand market.

Price of new Cultivators vs used Cultivators.

As with all new equipment over the last few years, the cost of new cultivators has increased dramatically so there is large savings to be had in buying good second-hand equipment.

Price ranges of cultivators by brand

Horsch

Horsch Cultivators and cover a wide range of budgets, from mighty 10 and 12m machines that command a price tag in excess of £60,000 to the smaller and older cultivators like the FG which sell for Sub £10,000 there is something in the Horsch range to suit most farm sizes and types.

Vaderstad

Like Horsch, the Vaderstad cultivator range covers a wide variety of options, from primary cultivators like the Topdown to seedbed creators like the NZ, Vaderstad have a solution for most cultivation needs. With an extensive range like this it figures that the prices match, again for some of the large newer models prices can exceed £70,000-£80,000 whereas the older NZ’s and Carriers can be around £5,000.

Simba

Simba on the other hand, no longer make their machinery so used Simba machinery in good condition can dictate a good price. Some of the most popular machines like the 6.6M X-press and Cultipress in very good condition will fetch circa £40,000. Simba machinery was very well built and there is plenty of Simba discs on the market today which were made in the 1980’s and still command prices ranging from £1,000 to £5,000.

Sumo

Built in Yorkshire, Sumo machinery was designed for the UK farming industry but is now sold around the world. The Sumo range of cultivators if wide ranging from large primary cultivators to stubble rakes, so can cater for most farming systems. In the second hand market most Sumo machinery sell for mid to late teens with some of the older cultivators going for under £10,000.

Buying second hand cultivators

Price of buying used Cultivator spares

Providing that the frame of your cultivator frame is in good condition, straight and with no cracks, the maintenance of a cultivator can be low cost. Usually, the only parts that will need replacing are the wearing metal and bearings if there are moving parts. Depending on your soil type wearing metal like points and shins could last a long time especially if the tungsten tipped ones are used.

Where to buy a second-hand Cultivators

Buying second-hand cultivators can be tricky. No one wants to be sold a dud, the key thing to check is that the frame is square and free of damage, and that any hydraulics are working. Wearing parts and bearings are normally easy to replace.

Auction

Auctions have been a popular marketplace for machinery for many years. During the Covid outbreak in 2020 a lot of machinery auction moved online which made it easier to access them. The downside is most machinery is sold as seen at auctions so can look like a deal but might not work out that way. AMTEC runs an online auction that buyers and sellers can deal directly with each other, you can read more about our auction here https://amtec-group.com/auction

Classified Advertisement

A traditional method of buying and selling in the industry. Magazines like the Farmers Weekly used to thrive on it, but with new, low cost, marketplaces on the internet more of it has moved online.

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Private Sale

As per the above a lot of this goes on through online marketplaces these days but there is still room to move machinery between farming neighbours and by word of mouth.

Defects to keep an eye out for

When purchasing a second-hand cultivator there are a few things to bear in mind.

Excessively worn metal.

Whilst not terminal to the cultivator’s future, completely re-metaling a cultivator can be an expensive task so a cultivator with very worn metal would need to be a bargain. The other thing to look out for if the metal is excessively worn is that the hubs and legs haven’t worn as well, if metal has been left for too long it can wear other parts of the cultivator.

Issues with Hydraulics

More modern cultivators tend to have more hydraulics and in turn electrics and hydraulics working together. If these are damaged, then the issue can be hard to trace and cost repair cost potentially high.

Damage to the main frame

This is the really important point. With wearing metal, bearings and other parts that are replaceable there is potential to solve most issues. On the other hand, if the frame of the machine is bent or damaged repairing it can be much more difficult. Sure, plating and welding can sort some frame cracks but often weakness can remain and if the frame is bent then the effectiveness of the cultivator can be affected.

Safety and Compliance with Legal requirements

PUWER

PUWER Regulations also known as the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 were updated when the UK left the EU. The points that apply when buying and selling farm machinery are that the machinery is suitable for the intended use and most importantly that it is safe for use, maintained in safe condition and inspected correctly. If you buy machinery from AMTEC you can be sure that we have checked that it is safe to use and replaced and broken guards etc.

Used Cultivator Buying Guide – Things to Keep in Mind When Buying Second Hand Cultivators

Agricultural Cultivators

Different Types of Cultivators

Short Disc

Stubble Cultivator

Primary Cultivator

Brands of Cultivators

Horsch Cultivators

Used Horsch Terrano

Vaderstad Cultivator

Used Vaderstad Carrier

Simba Cultivator

Used Simba X-press

Sumo Cultivators

Used Sumo Trio

Market price of cultivators: How much do cultivators cost?

Market Price of Cultivators

Price of new Cultivators vs used Cultivators.

Price ranges of cultivators by brand

Horsch

Vaderstad

Simba

Sumo

Buying second hand cultivators

Price of buying used Cultivator spares

Where to buy a second-hand Cultivators

Auction

Classified Advertisement

Private Sale

Defects to keep an eye out for

Excessively worn metal.

Issues with Hydraulics

Damage to the main frame

Safety and Compliance with Legal requirements

PUWER

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