Tractor Shopping

[Birdbrain]

Hi all,
I am moving from the research phase to the active shopping phase. So I stopped at the Kubota dealer that is on the way to work. I took the approach of telling him what I was looking to do and what implements I wanted (I listed these in previous post) and let them recommend the size tractor. I did this because I was not completely sure, there was a difference of opinion here, and to get the dealer's local knowledge input. His recommendation was an L3400. His quote was $14987 (w/o a loader) + $1400 for a Land Pride RCR 18 60" mower. That is in the target range of my budget. How does it sound to everyone else?
Plan to visit Case IH, JD, MF, maybe Kioti dealers in the next few days. Will probably skip NH as the closest dealer is an hour away.

Glen

OK, so I can't type Let's pursue this thread w/o comments about the last title. BTW, 0% for 42 months sounds good too!

 

[2Botas]

That Price seems high. I would think that it should be around 13,600-14,000. Was tax included?? I was quoted $15,973.00 for a grand L3240 a couple months ago, and as i remember, the L3240 was about 2k more than the L3400. The MSRP of the L3400HST W/R4s is $16,125. You should end up getting about 10-15% off that price, which would be $13706.00-14,512.00.

Got to Kubota's website and use the configurator to build your kubota. then take the msrp of your configured tractor and multiply by 0.88. That should give you the price within a couple hundred dollars. Happy Hunting!

 

[Birdbrain]

His recommendation was an L3400. His quote was $14987 (w/o a loader) + $1400 for a Land Pride RCR 18 60" mower. That is in the target range of my budget. How does it sound to everyone else?

Today I visited Case IH, MF and JD. I looked in detail at the Case IH DX 34 and the JD 3320 and 4105.

Case IH - DX34 for $16500. It was in the showroom, so I did not get to test drive. It seemed to have similar features, a slightly bigger engine, but plastic fenders and hood. Hmmm, not sure what I think about that.
Under the heading of "It's a small world", I went to high school with the salesman and had not seen him since.

The same dealer sells Kubota at their other store about 1.5 hours away. A quote from them on the L3400 was $14150.

Massey Ferguson - Walked into the place and a morgue had more action. No one was in the store, but did eventually emerge from the warehouse. They had all of about 4 tractors on in inventory. Nevermind.

John Deere - The salesman was very helpful and knowledgeable and took time to point out all of the features. I liked both tractors, took both for a spin around the store. Yes, the 3320 has lots of nice bells and whistles; yes, they could be useful; yes, I could probably get my projects done without them. His price on the 3320 was $17127, but could come down a little by swapping the R4 tires it had for R1s. Add a 5' mower for $1376. We talked briefly about a bigger package with implements and he is supposed to follow up next week. While I was impressed by the dealer and the tractor, the price probably rules it out.

So what do you all think?
Glen

 

[dgl24087]

This link will take you to a site that lists MSRP's, albeit some are a bit out of date. Each brand link lists the last update. News | Buyer's Guide | Rural Life Magazine

 

[coobie]

Hi all,
I am moving from the research phase to the active shopping phase. So I stopped at the Kubota dealer that is on the way to work. I took the approach of telling him what I was looking to do and what implements I wanted (I listed these in previous post) and let them recommend the size tractor. I did this because I was not completely sure, there was a difference of opinion here, and to get the dealer's local knowledge input. His recommendation was an L3400. His quote was $14987 (w/o a loader) + $1400 for a Land Pride RCR 18 60" mower. That is in the target range of my budget. How does it sound to everyone else?
Plan to visit Case IH, JD, MF, maybe Kioti dealers in the next few days. Will probably skip NH as the closest dealer is an hour away.

Glen

OK, so I can't type Let's pursue this thread w/o comments about the last title. BTW, 0% for 42 months sounds good too!

Make sure to look and price Kioti tractors in your travels.IMHO they make a very nice tractor.I recently bought a Kioti DK40se and could not be happier.coobie

 

[Soundguy]

In the big scheme of things.. an hour drive isn't that far away to a dealer. My local CNH dealer is AT least 45 minutes from me. I only use dealer service on my 2 large ford/NH diesels.. not the small old ford gassers... As such.. i can't even haul my tractors tot he dealer.. he has to come get them due to their size. So far, this has never caused a problem. Won't hurt to either call and get a price.. or take a saturday trip out if they are open on saturday. If you call.. let them know you are a serious potential buyer, and let them know what models of other colors you have looked at / prices.. .. that should let the salesman know you are a potential customer.. and not a window shopper. that should get you a real 'quote'.. and not an of fthe top of the head 'ballpark' figure.

soundguy

 

[bjcsc]

Bird, I think you're hurting Soundguy's feelings by excluding NH...

Seriously though, my JD dealer is an hour away. You don't want to buy something and then a month later see a NH that fits you better, do you?

 

[RalphVa]

You didn't list the implements you want to have us help to make a recommendation on size. Dealers and many of the people on this forum, if you go in and say "I want a vehicle", will tell you to buy a SUBURBAN or an EXCURSION. With the price of fuel now and the cry to keep pollutants and excess CO2 out of the atmosphere, think SMALLER IS BETTER. Go as small as you dare. If you only need 30 hp about 10% of the time, RENT or HIRE it done.

Unless you do some pretty heavy duty agricultural chores A LOT, you won't need 30 hp. 16-18 will do probably 90% of the time.

Hp use is a function of hp needed AND hp available. Buy big, and you feed it big whether you need it all the time or not.

Ralph

 

[2Botas]

You didn't list the implements you want to have us help to make a recommendation on size. Dealers and many of the people on this forum, if you go in and say "I want a vehicle", will tell you to buy a SUBURBAN or an EXCURSION. With the price of fuel now and the cry to keep pollutants and excess CO2 out of the atmosphere, think SMALLER IS BETTER. Go as small as you dare. If you only need 30 hp about 10% of the time, RENT or HIRE it done.

Unless you do some pretty heavy duty agricultural chores A LOT, you won't need 30 hp. 16-18 will do probably 90% of the time.

Hp use is a function of hp needed AND hp available. Buy big, and you feed it big whether you need it all the time or not.

Ralph

I used this theory when i purchased my first tractor. It was a 2006 B7510, I then found that I needed more power and weight to get my jobs done in a reasonable amount of time. So, I traded up to a B3030. The 3030 worked pretty well And i was happy for a while.... But then found myself getting really aggrevated when I ran into a job that the 3030 couldnt handle very well.(stumping, moving large rocks, plowing snow with a 96" blade etc.) So I then traded up to a L5740. I have not found a job in my application that the L5740 can not handle in top notch fasion. For the stuff that i do, the L5740 is "my" perfect fit. I was just fooling myself, thinking i could stump trees with a 7510, or the 3030(at least trees that have <10" trunk).

Moral of the story is, It would have been alot cheaper for me to have just purchased the L5740 to begin with, rather than trading up twice to get there.

Ralph- I understand your point and agree for the most part, But running a 18hp tractor for 4 hours to complete a project that a 50hp tractor could get done in 1 hour, is not saving any fuel.

 

[Birdbrain]

I think some of the responses to my original post got caught up on the number that I have 50 acres total. But much of the property will be converted to ponds and habitat that will not need any regular maintenance. Instead, I will be farming / gardening 5-6 acres and mowing about 10 acres once per year. So I am considering my needs based on 15 acres.

So my main needs stand at
1. plow / disc the garden and wildlife plantings
2. mowing to maintain grasslands
3. minor grading work to maintain back lane, pond dikes, occasional snow removal. (all minor occurences)

My wish list is
A. 30 hp +/- tractor with rear hydraulic, r1 tires and fwd (some muddy conditions possible)
B. 2 bottom plow, 5' +/- disc
C. rear mower (5'-6')
D. rear blade
E. some sort of planter or seeder (have not researched yet)

Here are my needs/wants and my implement wish list from another thread. The tasks I want to accomplish easily are plowing and mowing. I has struggled pulling 2 plows with the Farmall A for years. It goes OK if all conditions are right, but rarely does that happen. Usually it is maxing out what the A can do. So, I think I will be perfectly happy with a tractor that can handle 2 plows well. Maybe I can move up from 2-12s.

To keep costs down, my next move will be to consider a Gear transmission instead of the HST. While I like the HST after trying it out over the weekend, it may not be a necessity for me since I am not getting a loader. My main tasks of plowing and mowing my be accomplished just fine with a gear tractor.

Glen