Back in 2010, a Claas Jaguar 970 put through the profi test wringer chopped over 300 tonnes of maize in an hour (excluding stops and turns). That was at an average chop length of 12.5mm, but even when this was reduced to 6.0mm, the forager was still delivering the region of 260 tonnes an hour. A decade on, these figures still look mighty impressive, the more so when matched to fuel use of between 0.39 litres to 0.49 litres per tonne of chopped crop. As a used buyer, you can now buy into this level of output for under £100,000 through a Claas dealer. Tempting, but you do need to think long and hard to secure the right used buy

There is no such thing a cheap Claas Jaguar 900, serious effort to find a used model forming one part of the buying equation. Operating costs to include ongoing maintenance will demand some serious number crunching, just as is the case when opting for new. A patronising start to a used buying article, maybe, but no apologies. The most cost-effective used buy needs a realistic approach to matching potential performance (with trailer logistics to keep a forger running) to the money that needs to be available for both in season and longer-term maintenance.