Well, I've been searching for about 9 months for a loader tractor. Originally I was looking at International 300 and 330 utilities, then 340 utilities, then 656 and 706 with loaders. I looked at 460's and 560's and finally started looking at new tractors. I ended up with an orange tractor instead of a red one though.I almost bought a brand new Kubota L5030 and then saw this 1996 Kubota L4200 for sale just north of Dallas about 350 miles from me. I'd been looking for long enough that it looked good and was a good price and there just aren't very many of these later model tractors for sale so I jumped on it. I paid $11,900 for it with 926 hours on the clock. It isn't brand new but everything seems to work well and cosmetically it looks pretty good also. It has the GST transmission (Glide Shift) that allows you to shift up or down through all 8 gears and back and forth between forward and reverse without using the clutch. A few minor things like the plastic cover on the headlights is broken and the seat is a little loose but overall it seems like a good solid tractor. Tires are decent but probably will need replaced in a few years and I'll replace them with ag tires. I also got the trailer with it for $850 that seems to be a decent trailer also. One lesson learned for sure was that the tie down straps might be rated for enough weight but they don't work very well with a tractor. The front strap broke twice and the back strap broke once on the 300 mile trip home. It pulled really well and I drove slow on the back roads but I still was really lucky this time that nothing bad happened with the straps. Here is a picture: 
Now I have to decide if I want to sell my 1945 Farmall M or keep it as a backup or keep the rotary mower hooked up to it and use the Kubota for road work and loader work only. Thanks for all the input along the way and now I'll be able to quit pestering everyone wondering if this or that tractor is any good or not. Nathan
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