Down to the wire -- Orange or Blue?

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks to all of the advice from TBN, I'm down to two tractors:
Kubota 4310 and New Holland TC-45 (yes, I did look at Green).

Pricing is about the same (again thanks to TBN in negotiating with dealers). Options: FEL, Hydro, R-4's, FWD -- also will get a 72" bush hog, teeth for the bucket, bucket hooks, and pallet forks at the same time. (Am I missing anything? -- the consensus seems to be no calcium in the tires.)

I've driven them both, I like them both. And I'd like to be driving as opposed to searching by the middle of next week.

Not as sure that the Blue will hold value for resale as well as the Orange -- not that I intend to sell anytime soon. the guarantee on Orange is 3 years vs. 1 year for Blue.

My "treasurer" points out that we made the decision to get married with far less wringing of hands than this.

The collective wisdom of TBN will be a help in making the final decision!

 

[thcri]

Zozo,

Tell us some about the dealers. Both tractors are good. I went Blue because of the dealer. Both of them will hold their values just as good as the other. It comes down to dealer, pricing/finaning and just your gut feeling. You will be happy with either one.

murph

 

[valkman]

I drove all 3 - it was Orange for me --- but that is for you to decide. I know what you mean about hand wringing - Ive spent more on a car without this much thought /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
I agree about not loading tires with Calcium - working on farm when I was a kid the JD rims where always rusted. But definitely load them with something. My dealer loaded them with windshield washer fluid, not quite as heavy, but safer on the rims and the environment.
good luck

oh yeah, what about a rear worklight, block heater, and cutter edge for the bucket?

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Come'on, you'll love whichever one she picks...

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[2003Pilot]

ZOZO:

What Kubota dealer(s) are you dealing with. I live in central NJ, between Flemington and Somerville, and am interested in a Kubota B-7800.

I got a reasonably good price from a dealer down south, but I am interested in lookinfg a little closer.

 

[AndyMA]

I would go with the Blue because I've had 4 and they've all served me well. My dealer who we've done business with for over 40 years sells both so I've tried both, I just like the way the New Hollands feel better. I can't imagine running a machine with a loader without loaded tires. I've been on this board for quite a while and I don't get the sense that most recommend against it. My 2120 has been loaded since 1988 & has no sign of rim damage (the calcium is in the tubes). My recent TN has the rims filled with Rim Guard (Beat Juice) which does not damage rims at all and is enviromentally safe. I can tell in a second when I get on a tractor without loaded rims because of the feel and the instability when using the loader even with heavy 3 point hitch equipment mounted. Remember loading puts the weight down low where you want it. Also on my machines I use the Quick Attach so that I can switch between buckets and Skid Steer type forks almost instantly. I ran the 2120 for 10 years without it and hardly ever mounted forks, now I may change them multiple times in an hour. If you haven't already you may want to consider Quick attach now as it is less when bought on the machine.

Good Luck either machine will serve you well.

Andy

 

[MDSteve]

I too looked at both and choose Orange. I never owned a tractor before this and didn't want to worry about anything going wrong so the 3 year guarantee helped some. My dealer also added 2 years on top of that. After I made the deal my dealer delivered it @ 6 am the next morning (Saturday) so I could start working. I am sure the tractor you choose will be great.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color="blue"> I've driven them both, I like them both...

Not as sure that the Blue will hold value for resale as well as the Orange -- not that I intend to sell anytime soon. the guarantee on Orange is 3 years vs. 1 year for Blue. </font>

3 years VS 1 year warantee? Wow, I did not realize there would be a difference. I just assumed that both orange and blue and also green would offer about the same warantee period.

If I liked both the same, and one had three times the warantee period of the other, and in my area the one with the longer guarantee period also might hold its value better as it aged...unless the dealer had a really bad reputation, I would have to take the one with the longer guarantee.

Both colors are good tractors. Tractor repairs if needed can be pretty expensive. An extra two years of peace of mind would be worth a lot to me, all else being equal.

Good luck in your decision. With all that hand wringing you have been doing, I hope you will be able to hold onto the steering wheel of that new machine when you get on it! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[hazmat]

Don't know where you got your info on warranty. From New Holland's web site 24 months, 2,000 hours "bumper to bumper" plus an additional year of powertrain

New Holland Boomer Warranty

Kubota has 24 months 1,500 hours + 1 year /500 hours powertrain.

Kubota Warranty (pdf)

Now that we've leveled that playing field. Choose the one you like better or I'd venture to say the dealer you like better. Service after the sale is huge. Especially if you are a rookie.

As mentioned, you do want your tires loaded, especially since it doesn't sound like you are going to use a 40+ tractor as a lawn mower. Ask your dealer about rim guard if you are concerned about corrosion.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

That 1 year warranty for the TC45 didn't sound right to me, 'cause I got more than that on my new TC18 - so I checked NH Boomer Warranty and this is what is says:
Basic Warranty
24 Months or 2000 hours
Extended Power Train Warranty**
An additional 12 months
(maximum 2000 hours total)

That sounds a lot closer to the Orange warranty. In fact, I checked the Kubota site(Kubota Warranty), and this is what they say for the L series:
24 MONTHS or 1500 HOURS (whichever occurs first)
(powertrain – 36 months or 2000 hours, whichever occurs first)

Based on this, Blue has the better warranty, providing you go over 1500 hours in the first two years. Essentially, I'd consider them dead even. Based on that, and my natural (and admitted) prejudice for Blue, I'd choose the TC45.

By the way, my rear tires are loaded -- with plain water. Another advantage of living in sunny Florida /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif .