I am thinking about buying a 1995 MF 40 RS combine with auto level , 4WD and a 20 ft power flow header. I would be grateful if anyone has any comments , good idea ? bad ? what to look out for ?

John, you are going to get a lot of people bad mouthing these combines. Don't listen to any of them. I have run 38's for years now and they are an absolute dream. I am not saying that they are all wonderful, no make or model is, but as a rule they are as good as any machine around. If you compare prices then you will not find a better combine pound for pound. The very early models suffered from poor build quality, but a '95 one will be ok. The rear axles have an adjustment for rear height level, so make sure that the axle is in the lower hole to give a higher back end. This gives a better balance for the seives to work. The straw chopper engagement needs to be checked and greased every day. If it gets muck or chaff in the slides then it will not engage correctly when you pull the lever. The result is that you will set off the main drive and then the chopper will suddenly slip into gear and smash the pulleys. The jockey wheels on all the belts don't have greaser points and can get stiff, leading to belts being tensioned wrong. Make sure that there have been no furry friends eating away at the Daniavision control boxes, and take a look at the turbo / exhaust joint on the engine, this can come apart. Engine wise, the valmet is superb, and it should start first time every time. Header belts need checking, but should be ok. Everything else is just a case of looking for obvious signs of wear and tear. There are some good combines around now, many of them are good in comparison to an MF. But, in 1995, there was nothing to touch these machines. You will not go far wrong John. MC

You don't want to be putting comments like this on the internet, mad contractor. If word gets out as to how cheap and reliable second hand MF combines are everybody will be after them and the price will go up. We paid £29K for a five year old and have now had it for 5 seasons & it looks as though it will go for another 5 years. Its been the most reliable combine we have ever had and produces a clean sample. Just hope I havn't tempted fate for the coming harvest by saying that!

Don't worry too much, :) There are plenty of farmers out there who think that a Massey combine is nothing but trouble. When I went to buy one of my 38's it was sitting in a Claas dealers yard next to a Claas 98. The 98 had a 15 ft cut, mechanical drive, narrow tyres, no chopper, no chaff spreaders, and more hours on the clock than the MF. The dealer spent the best part of an hour trying to convince me to buy this Claas which was 1 year older than the MF, £3000 more money and looked like a bag of s**t. When i bought the massey he was saying stuff like 'they will cost you more in the long run, they are so unreliable, you will regret it' etc. So I drove it home, (20ft bed, hydro, chopper, chaff spreaders, big tyres, computer, etc) and it has been an absolute dream. There are plenty of numbskulls who will gladly fork out twice as much money for a Claas badge! the MF has cost me less in the long run, is as reliable as anything, and I have never regretted buying it. MC

bought a40rs 4wd 22 ft. powerflow 5 yrs ago ,been a great combine one stop 3 yrs ago bearing on powerflow table bearing cost 6pound.As for climbing this combine would climb any hill loaded r whatever.will give anything a run for its money particually flat oats r oilseed rape.1998 machine.