Korean built Tractors

[Anonymous Poster]

I have been reviewing the specifications of the Korean built tractors, Kioti, Long, Branson, Century, Mahindra, and Scorpion. It appears that their specs and pricing are very similiar. However, the Scorpion tractor offers both a kubota engine and a John Deere engine in their models. The other tractors are equipped with Korean built engines. Can anyone comment about the quality comparison between Korean built engines vs Kubota and John Deere? It seems as though the Scorpion tractor has to be a better value for the money.

[motelman]

What John Deere engines, Doesn't Yanmar make all of JD's CUT engines?

[Woodbeef]

What deifference does it make? I've never heard of any more problems with Korean engines vs. Japanese. Cummins signed a deal with Kukje of Korea earlier this year to buy engines from them.

[JohnMiller3]

<font color=blue>...Scorpion tractor offers both a kubota engine and a John Deere engine in their models...</font color=blue>

This may be the same Millennium tractor that changed their name recently...

Do a search on TBN and you'll find numerous posts and pictures... I don't have any work experience with this unit... but I sure liked what I saw... the Kubota and John Deere powerplants offered just make them that much nicer... [img]/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif[/img]

(the JD units are the PowerTech's ~~50hp, not Yanmar's)

[btractco]

Century has Yanmar engines in some models. Yanmar has built engines for John Deere for years. Zetor has built tractors for Deere and Kukje builds tractors for Deere for Asian market. As was said Kukje will be building Cummings and there engines are as good as kubota in my opinion and I don`t think there is any diesel engine that beats Yanmar for starting etc.

[markie61]

I've been doing the same comparisons of KOREAN tractors, as well. I'll share what I've learned:

Kioti (Daedong) manufactures their own tractors with their own engines and controls their own distribution - the same business model kubota uses.

I'm not sure who actually builds the Korean tractors for Long (I saw it on another post, but can't find it), but they use both Kioti/Daedong and Mitsubishi engines for the Landtrac (Korean series) and are built for Long Agribusiness who distributes them.

Kukje builds tractors for both Century (AMJAWA) and Branson using Kukje and Yanmar engines with distribution handled by their respective importers.

Tong Yang (TYM) builds Mahindra using Kioti/Daedong engines and Scorpion (formerly Millennium) using Kubota and John Deere engines (hecho en Mexico??). My understanding is that Tong Yang handles Scorpion/TYM distribution in the west directly and Decker &amp; Co. handles distribution in the east.

I have driven everything on this list, except the Tong Yang products and they appear to be world-class quality close to, equivalent to, and even exceeding what I have seen in the big three. I expect the TYM's to be up there too. My feelings are as follows:
The Longs have the most standard equipment.
The Kiotis have the most standard equipment for the price.
The Kukjes are the most affordable.
The TYM's seem to fit in with the Kukjes and Kiotis.

IMHO, these are all worthy pieces of hardware, but that is just one piece of the puzzle. I think the deciding factor will ultimately be the dealer. One brand I am seriously considering has a dealer that is selling out of hand-made buildings in the middle of a farm field. Another dealer for a lesser known brand operates in a converted auto showroom with a four bay repair shop. The guy in the pasture has a slightly better price, but the guy with the service bay has a hoist to crack open the tractor if necessary. Who is going to get my business? I still don't know.... But, I feel that organizational support BEHIND the product helps you find the VALUE you get for your money. I'm hoping this thread will help me make some decisions, too.

JMHO, but I want to share AND learn.

Mark

[Anonymous Poster]

I have a brand new Mahindra 4110 model with Daedong engine and XSMN system. Have about 15 hours on it, and it works swell. Have called my dealer about different ideas and he gets right back with the answer and the name/phone number of who he talked to at Mahindra. The dealer can make or break a nice tractor sale. I also tried almost all of them out there. The big three are just too expensive considering the dealers here in the north east just won't deal period. Mahindra, and their only dealer available right at this moment is the one who won out. I am happy with the tractor, the dealer, and especially the long arm instant support offered by Mahindra.

[Woodbeef]

LG builds the Long Korean offerings.

Yep,I think Mahindra is very serious about becoming a major player in North America!!

[Anonymous Poster]

I believe that only a couple of Mahindra models are built in Korea, the rest are built in India.

Ben in KY

[markie61]

Yep - the Mahindras that end in "10" are Korean-made.