36 
BULLETIX 174, U. S. DEPABTMEXT OF AGBICULTURE. 
festly unfair to the modern tractor to consider repairs on outfits 
placed on the market several years ago, while the repairs required 
during the first season on tractors of one, two, and three years of 
age do not vary to any great extent, and Table XXI was prepared 
to show the repairs on tractors up to three years of age. The repairs 
required on tractors located in North Dakota and California have 
been shown separately, while the remaining States west of the 
Mississippi River are grouped. 
It will be noticed that the repairs for tractors in California are 
much heavier than for the other States. This is due mainly to the 
difference hi the types of tractors most generally used, a large per- 
centage being of the track-laying type. These are usually more 
expensive outfits, as will be seen from the table. 
These figures show that during the first season, when all repairs 
not caused by the operator are ordinarily furnished free, the average 
tractor owner spends for repairs an amount varying from 1.7 to -1 
per cent of the tractor's cost. 
Table XXI. — Tractor repair charges per year, with percentage of first cost, on farms vest 
of tin Mississippi River. 
Average 
price of 
tractor. 
First season. 
Second season. 
Third season. 
Range of inquiry. 
Average 
repairs. 
Percent- 
age of 
cost. 
Average 
repairs. 
Percent- 
age of 
cost. 
Average 
repairs. 
Percent- 
age ot 
cost. 
For 1-year-old engin.-?: 
North Dakota 
-- 5 
3,181 
2,279 
2,542 
3,620 
2,361 
2,590 
3,601 
2, 430 
127.18 
38.94 
49.37 
142.37 
34.66 
62.17 
150. 13 
43. 62 
1.8 
4.0 
1.7 
1.9 
3.9 
1.5 
2.4 
4.2 
1.8 
Other States 
For 2-vear-old engines: 
North Dakota 
$107. 15 
306.68 
72.89 
ISo.oO 
104. 09 
4.2 
8.5 
3.1 
4.2 
5.2 
4.3 
For 3-year-old engines: 
North Dakota 
S13S. 39 
220.50 
98.24 
5.3 
California 
Other Stares 
6.1 
4.0 
During the second season the repair charges show a variation 
between 3.1 per cent and 8.5 per cent of the tractor's cost, while for 
the tractors which have been used three seasons the percentage is 
more favorable, varying from 4 to 6.1 per cent. 
From this it would appear that a prospective purchaser of a 
tractor should expect during the three seasons' use repair charges of 
at least 10 per cent of the first cost. 
The repair charges given throughout this bulletin include only the 
cost of the new parts. The cost of installing these parts is often 
considerable, but it is sometimes done by the tractor owner and 
sometimes by hired machinists. It is therefore difficult to ascertain 
the value of the labor expended in making the repairs. 
