Chinese Tractors

[SensibleNick]

I've got a Chinese tractor: a Foton 254 .. sometimes sold as a "Europard"

Generally speaking, you DO get what you pay for. In the case of Chinese tractors, you get something that has been slapped together by a workforce who're not being paid all that much, and have little in the way of quality control. As such, there are usually a few things that slip though. I have to say that the difference in price is NOT equal to the difference in quality.

The only breakages I've had have been due to my own stupidity, and much like diamondpilot's machine, Mine has so far been proven to be as tough as the proverbial bag of nails.

From what I understand, in the 'States you have a far better dealer network and support for Chinese tractors than we do. We're relatively new to the concept, and have a tiny weeny population compared to you.

My advice would be that IF you are a mechanically minded person, who grew up maintaining your own vehicles, then you'd be fine with something from China. If however you'd get a car dealer to change a brake for you .... then maybe you'd be better off with something a little more proven.

My reason for buying one was that there was no way I could justify the larger price tag of a "top name" brand, and the second hand machinery on the market here for the same price of a *new* Chinese machine was decades old, in poor shape, and far too large for the job.

Second hand choice is far larger where you're based though

 

[namesray]

I am thinking of buying a new Chinese Tractor as they seem to be better value for dollar than the established Western makes.
Are there owners here that would / would not recommend them on personal experience? What are the better brands I should be looking at, or alternatively, avoiding.
Thanks,

sirius, i am in the same boat as you kinda. i have been really researching the nortrac 25xt (same as foton ft254). it is made in china sold by northern tools. in my research (both on internet and here at tbn) the most important factors i hear repeated again and again is to get one from a reputable dealer that you trust with the setup and flush and change out the fluids as china uses substandard fluids. do these two things and the china tractor should be as good as any other. not as refined with bells and whistles, but are you buying a cadalic to drive on fridays or a tractor to do work with?:laughing: i am a kubota person, have been all my short life, but i have considered a foton as a second tractor for my small business (firewood/landscaping). jinma has been a popular tractor in the states for a while. from what i have read, foton seems to be the up and comming china tractor. i have heard it is built more rugged then both the jinma and kama (both china tractors). a few of the smaller hp china tractors use the laidong diesel engines. from my research, laidong has been making engines since 1943 and they are used a lot in diesel generators. have a 10,000 hour life rating and are inexpensive to rebuild if need be. that is a plus i hear about china tractors, the parts arn't as expensive as the other makers. there are not too many owners, but the few here (20-20, diamond pilot, greg_g, bob brooks) have all owned china tractors/bulldozers and have had good things to say on them. i have never seen one in person, other then a 2000 year jinma. it was put through the ringer, and buddy i mean put through the ringer, and still starts and as far as the tractor is concerned works ok for a tractor. the loader/hydrolics completely suck, but it was abused, and fluids never changed by the first orginal owner. without ever owning one, from what i have researched (and i have researched just about as far as you can without actually going to see/buy/sit on one=i have called northern tool about 15 times and been on many different websites, including this one) i believe they would be an ok tractor. as far as if the other brands: john deere, kubota, new holland, mahindra, etc, are better, i am not sure. i just can't quite pull that trigger on the nortrac yet. really wish i could test drive one in person, but there is no dealers even near me in north central pa. the kubota dealer is 15 miles away and i am very use to kubota products. i can fix some stuff myself, but having a dealer close by for support is a big comfort. as far as parts i believe that would not be a problem. northern tool says they have tons in stock and are continuing to stock more. "affordable" here on tbn seems real nice, helpful and knowledgable and his company stocks parts and also works with other suppliers. it is a tough decision for me. i hope my little bit of info from a guy in the same boat helps. good luck with your decision.
i would also like to add real quick, i have a champion generator, hf air compressor, and master torpedo heater=all i believe made in china. i like them all and would buy them again. in reality, i bet there is alot of stuff out there people don't realize is made in china and they use it like the rest of their stuff never knowing the difference.

 

[doxford jim]

Sirius,

I have just got to add to what has already beens said about the Chinese tractors.

First off, I am retired and approaching 70 yrs young and have a fixed income with little prospect of improving on it. That being said, I used to have a MF65 gas poered tractor with a FEL, TPH etc. It was 50 years old and in spite of it's age, did quite well for my needs. However, I soon realized that finding parts for this trator woul be a problem a few years down the road - I had managed to fix a few problems and had it in very good shape. It had nearly 11,000 hours on it but it's days were numbered, that I could see.

I pondered this and, living on 150 acres with the house set back 1/4 mile the road on 500 yd driveway, realized that I needed something newer to keep my property properly maintained. We have snow for around 5 months of the year here - sometimes a lot less. A 500 yd riveway is a lot of snow clearing - especially when the temperatures are around -15F.

I looked at all the different combinations and settled on a NEW tractor with a FEL. My brand choice was Jinma - mainly for ease of parts. I went with the 55hp 4x4 size - which has proved to be a great choice for me. The equivalent size new tractor in a major US or Korean make would set me back around $35000 (I live in Canada where everything is too expensive). The Chinese Jinma tractor cost me $15,000 including taxes and shipping.

Like gOrdO above, I purchased "China Best Products" and bought a crated unit - which I had to assemble myself. The deal was absolutely painless and the delivery was quite a bit quicker than initially estimated. I was / am happy with what I got and the way everything worked.

Like everyone else has said, if you are mechanically inclined, a Chinese tractor should not be a problem. There will be things that break and go wrong - that happens to all makes. The Chinese tractors probably need a bit more maintenance as the initial build and assembly is probably not as thorough as other makes, but they are pretty tuff. Keep up with the maintenance and be thorough in checking the tractor over on a regular basis and you should be fine.

In the US there are a number of dealers that carry a pretty comprehensive stock of parts and delivery is only days if sent by mail.

Every make has their lemons including Ford, Massey, John Deere, so don't be too swayed by rumours and those that outright condemn.

Like everything in life, do your homework and check, check, check. If there is a dealer near you go check them out.

In conclusion, yes I have had some problems but they have mostly been self inflicted. Some minor electrical problems as well - all the mechanical ones have been my fault and were cheap to fix (mt labour).

So, check out the Chinese brands - they are getting better each year.

I hope this helps you in your decision making.

Good luck in your search - and don't forget to check out the Chinese Tractors section on this website - lots of good info there.

I sold my MF65 for $4500 so the new tractor plus unloader only cost me $10,500 in reality - and it is a diesel engined one too :thumbsup:

My next project is to build a cab on the tractor - badly needed when blowing snow :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Cheers

Jim

 

[rgs03833]

I am thinking of buying a new Chinese Tractor as they seem to be better value for dollar than the established Western makes.
Are there owners here that would / would not recommend them on personal experience? What are the better brands I should be looking at, or alternatively, avoiding.
Thanks,

You needed attentions huh?

LMAO

 

[David_Kb7uns]

I'd also like to add you'll get some on here that will bash the snot out of the chinese brand. For the most part they are dung flingers that more then likely never saw this type machine much less been around one. Sorry I felt the need to add this, because 99% of the folks on this site seem to be decent and will give a honest opinion.

You tell that to a friend of mine that has a Farm Pro.

David Kb7uns

 

[RoyJackson]

I am thinking of buying a new Chinese Tractor as they seem to be better value for dollar than the established Western makes...

Would this be in addition to your Deere 2520, or a replacement?

How big a machine do you need and what tasks are you considering for it's use?

Based upon your other posts, I'm thinking you're new to farming. If that's correct and if you plan on making a living as a farmer, you'll want a dependable machine.
What ever brand you buy...ensure there's a solid dealer/parts/service network behind it. There have been a number of "fly by night" importers who haven't lasted too long.

 

[20 20]

You tell that to a friend of mine that has a Farm Pro.

David Kb7uns

BINGO Well I'll tell my sisters husband that can tell his cousin, she inturn can tell her sisters husbands third cousin who more then likely knows your friend :laughing::laughing:

 

[Diamondpilot]

Farm Pro is part of the problem. The ones I have seen are poorly assembled, not serviced, ect. They are sold by Homier here in Indiana and through a dealer network that is nothing more than a guy wanting to sell tractors. I have seen them at flee markets, gas stations, ect.

I took the 80 mile trip to the Homier facility in Huntington Indiana and have seen first hand the operation. I was not impressed. Nit Wits slapping them together as quick as they could then loaded on the truck. No service at all.

Chris

 

[RSKY]

Don't know what size you are looking at but my Kioti with loader was cheaper than the Chinese tractors of the same size.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

BINGO Well I'll tell my sisters husband that can tell his cousin, she inturn can tell her sisters husbands third cousin who more then likely knows your friend :laughing::laughing:

Well this one had a broken gear in the front end, after finally tracking down a place to get the part and putting it in, still no 4wd as it looks their is something else broke because of the gears jamming and tractror must be split to find the other half of the problem. They are just not worth the time because of poor parts quality.

David Kb7uns