Northern Tractor comparison

[careyb]

Northern has a 20 hp 4wd tractor with FEL and box blade for $8999. Is this a chinese tractor? Would that be a fair price or should I keep looking? I've been looking for something like a kioti 1914 or kubota 7500 and thought this compared fairly well.
http://www.northerntractor.com/20pkg.html

I've also seen the Kubota 7500DT with LA272 FEL, Bush Hog SQ480 cutter, and Tufline 4' box blade for 11,950. It's here in TX so I'd get hit with sales tax (unless I come up a genuine agricultural use).
http://www.deenimplement.com/monthly_special.htm

A dealer in S. TX (Riveras) has the Kioti 1914 with FEL, 4' blade, 4' shredder and trailer for 12,995 + tax
http://www.riverasmachinery.com/kioti_20_30hp_package_specials.html

I would appreciate any guidance you might have. I've got 3 acres that is very rough but not hilly except for one area around the ponds. I need to rough cut about 2 1/4 acres, clean the ponds, and I want to excavate a trail about 4' wide and 2 - 3" deep around the entire property and fill it with mulch for a jogging/ walking path. I expect whatever I buy to be the last one I buy, but price is still a major constraint.

I've been lurking for awhile so I know you guys are very knowledgable and not shy about sharing. Lead me to the path of enlightment if you please. Thanks for your help.

 

[ByuBill]

If you are comparing the Koiti, Rivera's deal can be beat. Try, O'Bryan Implement Sales in Owensboro, Ky.'http://www.kioti.com/'

Kioti LB1914 Compact Tractor Package ... only $10,695
Kioti LB1914 (20.5 engine hp, 17.5 pto hp) 4WD Tractor with industrial tires
60" Finish Mower
48" Rotary Tiller
16' dual-axle trailer with brakes on one axle, treated wood floor, ramps, jack, turn signals and brake lights, used tires. I am sure that if you ask, you can get
the attachments that you desire. You may want to check out Carver Equipment 'http://www.carverequipment.com/ '
Good luck with your purchase.
Bill

 

[Tractor_Barn]

20HP tractor/fel/5'box blade...$7570.00.

 

[careyb]

Thanks Byubill, O'Bryans pkg doesn't include the FEL, Riveras does (also don't have to pay $200 extra to get new tires on the trailer as far as I know). I'll have to get them to price out the same equipment (- tiller, +FEL) - thanks for the tip, I haven't seen that site before. I guess I need to ask Riveras about their trailer also. It's good drive from my house to the southern tip of texas (560 mi) or to kentucky (775 mi)

As far as the jinma, is there a web site for that showing the equipment? Do they have sales tax up there? Is that trailer road worthy? That's a long haul also.

Thanks guys, the more info the better.

 

[Bird]

Carey, before you seriously consider buying a tractor from Northern Tool, you might want to talk to them about service, parts availability, manuals, etc. I'm not saying it isn't a good deal, but be cautious. (You must be visiting the store at I-30 and Beltline Road in Garland/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif). I've bought several things there myself.

 

[jasonf]

Be careful, I don't remember hearing any reports on the NORTRAC tractors. When I looked at the website, I found this: 6 month limited warranty on parts and labor. Consumer use 6 month limited warranty on parts and labor. I believe this means that If you have a problem, the warranty is only for 12 months, the first 6 they cover parts and labor, after that they will ship you the new replacement parts, but YOU have it install them for the next 6 months. This may or may not be ok for you depending on your mechanical skills. Also where do you go to have the labor covered in the first 6 months? WWW.CHINADIESEL.COM also has cheap tractors, they are HARDY tractors and have been around fo a while, but I'm not sure on the warranty, I think they send you the parts and you put them in for warranty work.

 

[careyb]

Yea, I've got to find out about the warranty site and details but I'm thinking that if the power & reliability are anywhere NEAR that of the kioti or kubota then I don't mind doing a fair amount of the labor myself if they'll ship me the parts. Definately need to do some research on that.

If I could avoid the sales tax and shipping then that $9,000 vs the $12k - $13k is a huge difference. Am I way off track here or am I comparing similar apples, um, I mean tractors? I checked CTOA and didn't see too much on the Northern Tractor, nothing really bad. Certainly nothing $3,000 bad.

I'd love to help keep a local dealer in business but I don't have that kind of excess funds. There is a used Kubota dealer near me and I'm going to try and see what he's got. Only problem is he's only open when I'm at work (I work a LOT!).

 

[PaulT]

I too, once had my eye on those Northern tractors (I bought a Kub). After looking at the and the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.chinadepot.com/wb274.html>terra cylcone, at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.chinadepot.com>www.chinadepot.com</A>, I would give these guys a hard look, too. Although they say some of the stuff is only available by the container load, if you look carefully, they also sell samples/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.

 

[PitbullMidwest]

2thdoc posted his experience with Jinma awhile back, you might want to review it as you make your tractor decision. You can read it <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=genbuy&Number=113621&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1#Post113621> here </A>.

The Chinese tractors have a reputation as rugged, simple, get it done machines but they also have a "what's going to be wrong next time I try to start it" reputation. The guys on CTOA made no bones about this. After looking at these tractors for over 2 years, talking to everyone I could find that actually owned one I finally decided that they were not for me. The main reason is I would rather work with my tractor than work on my tractor. The money saved upfront will eventually catch up with you in downtime and labor (your's or someone else's). I've heard it over and over from owners, these Chinese tractors aren't for everyone.

 

[jasonf]

Check out these post on the other board about Nortrac Tractors. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://jplan.com/cgi-bin/tractor/fullThread.pl?parentnum=20984&catname=Size%20Tractor%20Needed&catcode=SZ#23421/>http://jplan.com/cgi-bin/tractor/fullThread.pl?parentnum=20984&catname=Size%20Tractor%20Needed&catcode=SZ#23421/</A>