Bobcat to discontinue Tractors?

   / Bobcat to discontinue Tractors? #41  
the whole reason I went "white" in the first place, three dealers within 20 miles and at that time not a SINGLE Kioti dealer in WI, now that has changed but they are still 90 miles away....most run out of car dealers or hardware shops with no history of tractors

That bothers me when I see that. I'm lucky enough to have 3 "real" Kioti dealers in my area but I have also seen them sold from a small hardware store, well, they had one tractor anyway. That's just wrong, I have no idea why Kioti would agree to that, there can't be any winners in the long run and it cheapens the brand. In fact, I think that's what Kiotis problem really is, they're not working hard enough to establish a recognizable, trusted brand. The marketing I've seen looks like it was done by high school students, their web site and brochures are incredibly inaccurate and they've pulled big bone headed moves like firing dealers who didn't buy at least 350K of inventory (from what I've heard on TBN anyway). Should Kioti be considered equal or better than Kubota, JD etc, yes, I think the product competes with or is better than many other colours, will they ever be considered equal or better, not unless they change their ways and put some serious time and money into building the brand.

Had I bought white instead of orange, my only concern today would be if I wanted to trade or sell it. On the other hand, Bobcat is still a recognized name brand with a good reputation, so newbie tractor people would probably still be fine with it, and dealers and experienced owners know that it's made by Daedong and is a white Kioti wont be scared off either. I think resale value might take a bit of a hit, but not that bad. The whole worry about parts is a non issue in my mind. They will be available through Bobcat for a long time, and if they jack up the price on them, they'll be available through Kioti. Either dealer should be able to fix them, if not an independent shop shouldn't have any issue with them either.

There's not a single Bobcat tractor owner who's tractor is over 5 years old, so unless you've been meaning to trade for a bigger/smaller tractor, just keep maintaining it, sit back and enjoy the next 15-30 years of using it. With the price of tractors by then, you'll still get more back for it than you bought it for.
 
   / Bobcat to discontinue Tractors? #42  
Well said! With this tier 4 stuff, all used tractors should go up in resale value if you think about it. If the new ones go up as they are slated to do, that only makes the used market more appealing. I
 
   / Bobcat to discontinue Tractors? #43  
Well said! With this tier 4 stuff, all used tractors should go up in resale value if you think about it. If the new ones go up as they are slated to do, that only makes the used market more appealing. I

Thanks. I've said it in a few threads, I got 94% of what I paid back when I traded up in the spring. The biggest factor in that was that my tractor had gone up in price since I'd bought. My dealer must have sold it for 10% less than the best he could on a new one and he needed to make money on it as well. I can tell you, I never even saw it on his lot and I drive by his lot on the way to my cottage all the time. Tractors go up in value and used tractors retain value much better than cars and trucks, which is exactly why I bought new in the first place. I think tier 4 stuff is overblown, VW didn't jack prices by 25% between the 2006 model and the 2009 clean diesel. They had to stop selling them between those model years because of emissions, but came back at pretty much the same price. Maybe it'll be different with tractors.
 
   / Bobcat to discontinue Tractors? #44  
Several dealers on here have said you are looking at 3k more for a tractor in the 30-40 horsepower range.
 
   / Bobcat to discontinue Tractors? #45  
kiotiken said:
Thanks. I've said it in a few threads, I got 94% of what I paid back when I traded up in the spring. The biggest factor in that was that my tractor had gone up in price since I'd bought. My dealer must have sold it for 10% less than the best he could on a new one and he needed to make money on it as well. I can tell you, I never even saw it on his lot and I drive by his lot on the way to my cottage all the time. Tractors go up in value and used tractors retain value much better than cars and trucks, which is exactly why I bought new in the first place. I think tier 4 stuff is overblown, VW didn't jack prices by 25% between the 2006 model and the 2009 clean diesel. They had to stop selling them between those model years because of emissions, but came back at pretty much the same price. Maybe it'll be different with tractors.

What size tractor did you have and what did you trade up to? I currently have the CT335 and love it. It has done everything I have wanted it to do with no issues at all. The 8tb backhoe I got for it is a digging machine!! I don't know if it would dig better on a CT 440 or CT445?
 
   / Bobcat to discontinue Tractors? #46  
I currently have the CT335 and love it. It has done everything I have wanted it to do with no issues at all. The 8tb backhoe I got for it is a digging machine!! I don't know if it would dig better on a CT 440 or CT445?
The backhoe wouldn't have any more digging power on a 440 or 445 than it does on your 335
 
   / Bobcat to discontinue Tractors? #47  
DK35vince said:
The backhoe wouldn't have any more digging power on a 440 or 445 than it does on your 335

Really? That's good to know. I was thinking that the CT440-45 have a bigger hydro pump, thus letting it dig faster/better... (I'm not sure if I worded that correctly) I am ignorant when it comes to the backhoe, first one I have ever used/owned.
 
   / Bobcat to discontinue Tractors? #48  
I went from a CK30 to my current DK45. I had a Woods BH-70x backhoe on the CK 30 and used it's value to help trade up. I don't regret it for a minute, but I do miss the bh. I agree that the size of the tractor makes very little difference to the hoe other than extra weight helps, but that's negligible in your case. I ran the bh between 1800-2000 rpm for smoother operation. You maintain the same pressure but reduce the flow, so a bigger tractor with a bigger pump doesn't really make any difference.
 
   / Bobcat to discontinue Tractors? #49  
kiotiken said:
I went from a CK30 to my current DK45. I had a Woods BH-70x backhoe on the CK 30 and used it's value to help trade up. I don't regret it for a minute, but I do miss the bh. I agree that the size of the tractor makes very little difference to the hoe other than extra weight helps, but that's negligible in your case. I ran the bh between 1800-2000 rpm for smoother operation. You maintain the same pressure but reduce the flow, so a bigger tractor with a bigger pump doesn't really make any difference.

Ah, ok. Yes the DK45 is a sweet machine...4 cylinder opposed to the 3 and bigger frame. The CK30 is like the Bobcat CT230/235 size, still a very nice machine. I opted for the CT335, I probably should have spent the extra for the 440/445 but the 335 was a better deal at the time I believe.
 
   / Bobcat to discontinue Tractors? #50  
Really? That's good to know. I was thinking that the CT440-45 have a bigger hydro pump, thus letting it dig faster/better... (I'm not sure if I worded that correctly) I am ignorant when it comes to the backhoe, first one I have ever used/owned.

The CT335 is a shortened & narrowed version of the 440 with 3 cylinder engine. It has the same hydraulic pumps, HST, and transmission as the 400 models. Unless you need more HP or FEL capacity there would be no advantage to trading up.
 
 
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