What is the general opinion on Kioti?

[sqdqo]

What is the general opinion on Kioti and how do they compare to say Kubota or John Deere?

[newbury]

Throw Bobcat - (repainted Kioti) into the mix.
I would have bought a used Kioti just about as quick as I got my present ride.
If Bobcat had had their discount on at the time I'd probably have a new Bobcat.

[ScottyChip]

I agree with Newbury, Kioti have come a long way. If the pricing was there I would probably be driving the other orange. No regrets, I love my Kubota.

[jimmyj]

I got a Kioti last December. I'm at 150 hours now and I really love it. I compared for a year when I finally bought the Kioti won out for a couple of reasons. I am sure I'd be happy with a JD, NH Kubota etc but I have no real complaints whatsoever. This tractor is great.

I guess if I had to be critical, admitting my somewhat newbie status, I don't get why the brake and gas pedals are on the same side. I would have thought the brake and clutch should be on the left and the gas on the right. I don't see how I could ever use the "split" brake as it is.

[Gittyup]

I own a CK25, 3+ years, ~340 hours. It has a Kioti loader and a Rhino backhoe on it, with loaded R4's. It's a great machine for ground engagement work: Heavy, good hydraulics. My experience over the 3 years of ownership has been that Kioti is trying to make an excellent machine, and mine is one.... now that Kioti has fixed some things.

Kioti has used some inferior parts over the years. Read through the Kioti forums and you find stories about First generation loaders that develop cracks, injector pumps that have brittle gears that break, problems with the plastic balls in the loader joystick, cover plugs for hydraulic lines dry rotted at delivery, keyswitches that easily get fowled such that they become intermittent, etc. Kioti has since remedied most of these and stood behind their customers, which I think says a lot about what kind of company they are and want to be. All brands have problems. But, as has been observed and written, Kubota and John Deere report fewer problems, which is indicative of their experience and supply chain choices.

All in all, what I would recommend is that, if avalable at a significant cost savings, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Kioti. But, it would be a model that has been around for 4 or 5 years so that they've had time to remedy any design issues.

[ToadHill]

I love my Kioti with 900 hours and no problems, just fluid changes and fuel fillups.

jimmy j. once you get used to the split brakes you'll find all kind of uses for them. The gas pedal is only used when you need a burst of power, use the throttle control almost all the rtime, I've only used mine when I need added power to bun the bucket into a pile of dirt or work like that.

[DK35vince]

I've been very happy with my DK 35 for the past 8 years and 1300 hours.

[coobie]

Originally Posted by sqdqo

What is the general opinion on Kioti and how do they compare to say Kubota or John Deere?

I bought a Kioti DK40se about 1 1/2 years ago and have 130 hours on it.No complaints yet.coobie

[flusher]

Originally Posted by sqdqo

What is the general opinion on Kioti and how do they compare to say Kubota or John Deere?

Not bad actually.
But be careful. The closest dealer in my neighborhood just went belly up. His was a small Kioti-only operation. Don't know if anyone locally has picked up the product line yet.

[LBrown59]

Originally Posted by DK35vince

I've been very happy with my DK 35 for the past 8 years and 1300 hours.

U don't use it much do you?

I put 1200 hours on my BX23 in 5 years.