With over 1,300 GT 170 harvesters sold in the UK alone, finding a decent used example should be relatively easy. But there’s a snag. The GT 170 tag covers a broad range of model variants, with a choice of options enabling these machines to be tailored to suit specific customer needs. The line-up has evolved a great deal, too, so you need to know what you want to secure the right used buy
Grimme has by far and away the lion’s share of the UK two-row trailed potato harvester market with its GT 170 models. Launched in 2005, the GT 170 range effectively took over from where the equally popular GZ 1700 series left off. Good news for used buyers is that there will be a decent selection of used GT harvesters to choose from. The more complicated counter is that not only do you need to consider what variant of GT 170 you’re after but also the options fitted and the year the machine was built.
Part of the complication is due to Grimme retaining the same GT 170 tag for a decade when it could usefully have re-branded these harvesters with at least four ‘marked’ differentiations. Although the GT design DNA hasn’t changed hugely there is more than just detail difference between the earliest ‘Mk1’ and latest ‘Mk4’ machines, and even our unofficial mark differentiation misses some important spec detail developments.
Once the various options offered are added into the buying equation, selecting the right used model is perhaps more involved than you might think. It also goes a long way towards explaining why the prices for what appear to be essentially similar GT 170 models can vary so widely.
For more up-to-date farming news click here and subscribe now to profi and save
