Value of 270-H

[Tinker10 3]

I've got a 270-H that I'm looking to sell. I've owned it for about 5 years. It has 260 hours. It's got a mower deck with hydraulic lift, cruise, elect pto, tilt steering. It's in fabulous conditon and runs like a champ. The only blemish is two small splits in the seat, which I've repaired with Tear-Aid. I actually can't remember what I paid for it but I'm wondering what I could reasonably expect to sell it for. Is $2000 too much? 

[johnnymag3 2,569]

Whatever you can get for it 

 

 

 

Edited Thursday at 03:34 PM by johnnymag3

[ri702bill 9,444]

You may be a bit high on that price in my opinion... The 200 Series were cost reduced machines that were made to go head to head with the Big Box Store grass cutters.

Not as collectable as the horizontal shaft versions. Any other implements included beside the cutting deck??

[kpinnc 14,650]

The mower looks clean and well maintained from the picture at least. 

 

That being said, I wouldn't pay that much for a same year model, with the same deck, classic series garden tractor. 

 

No disrespect at all. As nice as it is, @ri702bill is correct- it's just slightly more than a big box lawnmower. The only real difference is the construction of the mower deck and the cast iron front axle that is borrowed from the classic series. 

[Ed Kennell 42,021]

3 hours ago, ri702bill said:

You may be a bit high on that price in my opinion... The 200 Series were cost reduced machines that were made to go head to head with the Big Box Store grass cutters.

Not as collectable as the horizontal shaft versions. Any other implements included beside the cutting deck??

                                                         A good running riding lawn mower sells for  $4 to 600 at my weekly auction.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,609]

13 hours ago, ri702bill said:

You may be a bit high on that price in my opinion... The 200 Series were cost reduced machines that were made to go head to head with the Big Box Store grass cutters.

Not as collectable as the horizontal shaft versions. Any other implements included beside the cutting deck??

That is not necessarily true, they weren't made as entry level mowers to compete against the big box store.  They were made to slowly replace the 300 series tractors.  The build quality is a lot higher than most Sears, MTDs, Murrays, etc. that were sold at that time.  Just because they don't have a horizontal engine nor the design looks of the classic Wheel Horse, does not meant they are inferior in design quality.  Most manufacturers at that time were going to vertical shaft engines, including Cub Cadet, John Deere, Simpicity, etc., to offer more efficient way to get power to the decks, etc. 

[ri702bill 9,444]

46 minutes ago, T-Mo said:

Not as collectable as the horizontal shaft versions

Might as well try plowing 8 inches of snow with a RER...!!  My point is that the 200 series are much lighter duty units than earlier 7 to 16 HP tractors.

[Ed Kennell 42,021]

2 hours ago, T-Mo said:

 They were made to slowly replace the 300 series tractors.

So, are they designed for ground engagement implements?   What transmission, Eaton 1100?

[953 nut 60,067]

In spite of the quality built into a Wheel Horse and the outstanding condition it is in, at the end of the day you have a 20+ year old used lawn mower and the Big Box Stores sell new ones for not too much more. You may want to look around on Marketplace and Creig's List to see what comperable units are being offered for.

[Lee1977 7,214]

I have looked at the drtawings, it may be a high end lawn tractor. The steering gear is cut steel plate, typical lawn tractor. The transmission is a Tuff Torq K61, that don't say much to me about ground ingageing.

If you could get $500 for it I would say you did real good.  Be best to keep it as a mower and use it.

Edited Friday at 03:32 PM by Lee1977

[PWL216 1,101]

6 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

8 hours ago, T-Mo said:

 

So, are they designed for ground engagement implements?   What transmission, Eaton 1100?

They use either a Tuff Torq K‑61A or Hydro‑Gear 330‑3000 (depending on year). 

 

[kpinnc 14,650]

Wasn't the 270 series machines marketed as being able to accept certain "Classic" attachments? Mostly just snowblowers and mower decks as I recall... 

 

I may be way off. I just recall one of these series being marketed that way. I never kept up with any of the vertical shaft machines. 

 

Edit: nevermind, I saw the attach-a-matic sticker but failed to look at how the deck attached. Really poor marketing there on Toro's part. Clearly that connection in no way resembles the real thing. 

Edited Friday at 07:33 PM by kpinnc

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,609]

15 hours ago, kpinnc said:

Wasn't the 270 series machines marketed as being able to accept certain "Classic" attachments? Mostly just snowblowers and mower decks as I recall... 

 

I may be way off. I just recall one of these series being marketed that way. I never kept up with any of the vertical shaft machines. 

 

Edit: nevermind, I saw the attach-a-matic sticker but failed to look at how the deck attached. Really poor marketing there on Toro's part. Clearly that connection in no way resembles the real thing. 

Toro probably was in the process of phasing out the classic Wheel Horse design, as they were moving to more efficient deck designs and also to more modern manufacturing processes.  The Classic Wheel Horse manufacturing process was expensive and time consuming and was forcing that tractor line into the more expensive market, though it wasn't keeping up with the more efficient machines in that market.  We sometimes get caught up in the machine itself and forget how much it takes to make that machine.  Toro eventually got out of the lawn tractor business altogether years ago, and in fact, contracted MTD to make their machines for a few years.  Toro invested into the zero turn market, walk behinds, golf industry and commercial landscaping.  Sad, I know, but that's where Toro went. 

 

If you would look at the other brands, you can see where the design philosophy move from horizontal engines with complicated deck drive belt configurations to vertical shaft engines with a more efficient, direct deck drive belt designs.  Deere, Simplicity, Kubota, Cub Cadet, etc. all went that route and so did Toro until they got out of that market.   Us, being used to and loving the old stuff, see this as a drawback and so we put the "cheap" moniker on it.  It is what it is.  Ingersoll tried to hang onto the old designs that Case used for their garden tractors and struggled on until they were forced to get out of that market and Eastman Industries took over.  But that didn't go so well for Eastman.

 

Will these new machines be around in 40 years....some will, but not all.

[76c12091520h 3,906]

 For a point of reference, I sold this unit about 3 years ago for the owner of the company where I work. Keep in mind we're in the middle of Pennsylvania where Wheel Horse was and is well known and very popular. Had around 600 hrs on it. It sold for $600

Edited Sunday at 02:36 AM by 76c12091520h

[Tinker10 3]

Thank you all for your responses. I'm grateful for the various opinions and practical suggestions about my tractor's value. I have done a fairly thorough search for similar machines on various classifieds platforms but have found very few like mine listed. 

 

I've owned several classic garden tractors over the years, mostly Bolens, so understand the arguments about quality and attachment availability etc. and I agree that this 270 is quite a different breed. As some of you've explained, it truly does make for a compelling example of a company at a time of major transition. The company itself was literally combining the brands of Toro and WH and was also combining elements of old and new. The result could be graciously described as "somewhere in the middle" but honestly, it's worse than that. 

 

Of all the deluxe features Toro could have included, for instance, they chose some really strange ones. The electo-hydraulic lift is a premium (if not exorbitant) feature and is by no means an example of cost cutting. On the contrary, it's a ridiculously complex bit of over-engineering. Worse yet, it hogs an enormous portion of the engine space, making access to the battery nigh impossible. I would have MUCH preferred power-assisted steering over an assisted deck lift. One of my biggest complaints with this machine (and one of its most glaring shortcomings when compared to the really feature-rich powerhouses of the old days, is its horribly hard steering.

 

I like horizontal engines too but have no complaints about the vertical Kohler on this tractor. I'm also impressed with the build quality overall. There's really no fair comparison between it and the stuff MTD is selling today. That being said, I've been consistently disappointed in what Toro chose to include for features and what they chose to leave out. Some might appreciate cruise control and power lift, but I'd have traded both in a heartbeat for power steering, or at least way better manual steering like what I've got on my old Kubota 1760. 

 

When I posted my question in this forum, I simply wasn't sure how much of a demand there might be out there for the 270, if for no other reason that it's at least the last in the dying WH line of machines made in the US. Now I've got some answers and a better idea what it's worth. 

Edited yesterday at 12:58 AM by Tinker10

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,609]

On 8/1/2025 at 6:29 AM, Ed Kennell said:

So, are they designed for ground engagement implements?   What transmission, Eaton 1100?

 

The brochure lists a 36 inch tiller as an optional attachment, plus other ground engaging attachments from Brinly, Agri-Fab, etc, can be used with it.  Don't underestimate this series.

On 8/1/2025 at 5:09 AM, ri702bill said:

Might as well try plowing 8 inches of snow with a RER...!!  My point is that the 200 series are much lighter duty units than earlier 7 to 16 HP tractors.

You might be surprised on what this series can do, this is rated as a yard tractor, pretty much in line with the mid-70s B series, like the B100, etc., and probably will handle about any job that the 60-70s tractors could, except the GT-14, D series, etc.

[OutdoorEnvy 1,766]

There's a 265-H in my parts for sale right now with the tiller hooked up.  No deck.  It's not as nice as yours but it's pretty clean and they are asking $750.  

 

I wonder if the 36" tiller for these is the same as the 300, 400, etc. series.  Anyone know?  

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,609]

The tiller listed is model # 79271.  Here is the section listed that has the manuals for this tiller.  It does not seem like it's the same tiller for the 300 and 400 series.

 

https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/search/?q=79271&quick=1&type=downloads_file&nodes=20