Buying Advice Kubota L3800 vs Mahindra 3616

[Morroder]

Have narrowed my endless quest to get this right to these two models. They both have the same price. $18,600 with FEL. Loaded tires. Give me your best argument for one vs the other. Both local dealers. Both helpful and informative. What say you?

[murphy1244]

Which dealer is the best? Which dealer wants to work for your hard earned dollars?? Thats a question for you not us cause your the one buying it..

[LD1]

Brice being the same, I'd choose the Kubota just because of the name and resale. BUT, that is IF and only IF the 3PH is not jerky. What you need to do is go to the kubota dealer, and have him install a heavy item on the 3PH like a bushhog or box blade. Then start the tractor and try to lift it as slowly as you can.

On older models of this tractor it would jerk so bad it was hard to stay in the darn seat. There have been mixed reviews on wether the new ones are fixed or not. So test THAT first. If the hitch is ok/acceptable to you, it is a great rock solid tractor.

And you didnt specify either, but make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Like, Are BOTH prices as HST or Both gear? And not one is HST the other gear? Remotes? Same tires? you get the idea.

But as to everything else, these two tractors spec out almost near identical. The mahindra is a tad lighter (which is not normally the case with them). But they do show a tad more loader capacity, which I am not saying is BS, but I am saying it is probabally useless and no advantage over the kubota. I have the kubota, and it takes both tires loaded and a 1100lb bushhog just to keep the rear end tamed. And remember the mahindra is a tad lighter.

Nothing wrong with the mahindra though if thats what you choose. I am not trying to bad-mouth them. Both these tractors are good and very similar. I just dont think the mahindra should be priced as much as the kubota. Now if that mahindra was 3K less, then I'd be a real tough call IMO

[Morroder]

Both are HST with AG tires. Kubota was price with the 524-1 FEL (SSQA) and Manhidra has it also. No remotes. No other options included

[k0ua]

Its a tough call, if both are equipped the same, I assume both dealers are reputable, and you like the way both sit and operate. Generally the Kubota will sell for more money if you decide to trade later down the road. I too would check the 3pt and see if it is to your liking..raise it slowly like you were trying to feather a box blade. If it is reasonably smooth, then you are good to go. I would choose the Kubota, based on resale value and dealer network. (they are everywhere). But as near as I know there is nothing wrong with the Mahindra's either. A lot of the guys on here have them and like them.

James K0UA

[madmax12]

I like my mahindra, but I agree with much of the other posts.

As far as loader lift and tractor weight, I'm new to this stuff, but the Max28XL exceeds its specs for lift... Just have proper ballast.

If u aren't selling it anytime soon, resale may be less important. Otherwise, LD1 has a point there.

And dealer is a big thing.

No wrong decision, to me anyway.

[Bluegill2]

Both good tractors.

I looked at both 8 months ago, bought the L3800 and love it!!! No jerky hitch! My 3rd Kubota in close to 30 years and they have been bullet proof.

[Bluegill2]

Those are also very good prices. Especially on the Kubota!

[MahindraDon]

Did you price the Kubota with the 5 year warranty? I think it is extra and it has a deductible. Mahindra has 5 yr warranty standard and no deductible. The 3616 weighs more than the L3800 and according to TRACTORDATA has a 650 lb lift advantage. Also the 3616 Shuttle Shift has an independent pto so if you run a cutter you will really enjoy it. That live pto in the Kubota gets annoying when you are backing up to ditches brush cutting. The Mitsubishi engine seems more quiet than that Kubota, maybe because the Kubota has to wind up to higher RPM's to achieve the same PTO hp as the smaller Mitsu engine. That should save you fuel with the Mahindra too. Add that up with the less expensive filters of the Mahindra and over the years between warranty, maintenance costs and fuel savings you can see that the Mahindra is the most economical choice. Obviously I am a Mahindra Man, but these facts came from tractor data and we get Kubotas in on trade for Mahindras all of the time.

[LD1]

The 3616 weighs more than the L3800 and according to TRACTORDATA has a 650 lb lift advantage.

Check again. The Kubota is 100lbs heavier. Mahindra HST w/ROPS....2566 TractorData.com Mahindra 3616 tractor dimensions information Kubota HST 2668 TractorData.com Kubota L3800 tractor dimensions information
Loader lift means squat in the real world unless you plan on chaining the rear end down. Even so, there is far cry from a 650# difference. Actually 519# by my math. So if you like to round numbers, you should have said 500lb more lift. And even the heavier kubota with loaded tires and 1000# ballast will still lift the rears. So even adding another optimistic 650# lift is pointless IMO

Also the 3616 Shuttle Shift has an independent pto so if you run a cutter you will really enjoy it. That live pto in the Kubota gets annoying when you are backing up to ditches brush cutting.

Dont see how that makes a lick of difference bushhogging with a HST tractor

The Mitsubishi engine seems more quiet than that Kubota, maybe because the Kubota has to wind up to higher RPM's to achieve the same PTO hp as the smaller Mitsu engine. That should save you fuel with the Mahindra too.

The kubota has to wind up a whole whopping 100 RPM more. Doubt there would be a lick of measurable fuel difference. As to the noise, I cant comment but other opinions may vary without a decible measurment across the range. Also considering the kubota is about a HP more, it could back down 100rpm and still make as much power as the mahindra. So again, a pointless comparison

Add that up with the less expensive filters of the Mahindra and over the years between warranty, maintenance costs and fuel savings you can see that the Mahindra is the most economical choice.

Sorry, but that is completely unfounded, bias, and total BS with no facts at all to back it up.

Obviously I am a Mahindra Man,

Obviously. While I believe the kubota is the better deal here, and I own one, I dont consider myself to be a "kubota-man". Rather I am a tractor man and will reccomend what I believe is the BEST for the OP, and not because I want to push a brand I sell

but these facts came from tractor data and we get Kubotas in on trade for Mahindras all of the time.

I dont think you managed to get any facts from tractordata right. Certainly not you biased engine noise, fuel usage, maintenance costs, filter price, etc. And for someone who I "assume" is a mahindra dealer, I certainly would not be using tractor data for my references. You should be using YOUR manufactures published numbers vs Kubota's, not a third party website that ocasionally has errors.