need help deciding

   / need help deciding #1  

BigKid

New member
Joined
May 24, 2008
Messages
14
Location
Lancaster Pa
Tractor
yanmar cbl40
I am in the market for a new CUT and have been looking at all the brands i have available to me. I think all tractors being made today are good machines and they all have their pluses and minuses. I will be trading in my yanmar cbl 40 that i currently have listed for sale on here as well. I have my own landscaping business and have found that i use the loader and 3 point about 99% of the time. The problem i have in the cbl 40 is that it doesn't have much pto hp, and it is very heavy, especially considering the footprint of the smaller tires which leads to some pretty good ruts so that limits my ability to use it for spreading mulch and topsoil when i have to drive across a nice manicured lawn. I know from machines that i have owned in the past that any machine will leave ruts but the bigger wider tires will float much better than what i have now, plus the new machines i am looking at are also lighter in weight. The following are the machines i have looked at and got quotes on.

1 Yanmar LX4500: 45HP/32.5 PTO HP, HST, FEL with SSQA and 72" bucket, grill guard, 2 sets of rear remotes, rear tires filled with beet juice and ballast box (Yanmar recommends both). $28,799 and $27,500 trade in allowance. Dealer is 2 hrs away
2 Kubota L4240: 44HP/35 PTO HP, HST+, FEL with SSQA 72" heavy duty round back bucket with bolt on edge, grill guard,1 set of rear remotes, rear tires filled with beet juice. $30,300 and $25,000 trade in allowance. Dealer is 20 minutes away
3 Mahindra 5035: 50HP/41.5 PTO HP, HST, FEL with SSQA and 72" bucket, grill guard, 1 set of rear remotes, rear tires filled with beet juice. $31,255 and $23,841 trade in allowance. Dealer is 20 minutes away.
4 John Deere 4120: 43HP/35 PTO HP, HST, FEL with SSQA and 73" Material bucket, grill guard, 1 set of rear remotes, rear tires filled with beet juice. $32,314 and 22,500 trade in allowance. Dealer is 20 minutes away.

I am also considering adding 3rd function remote hydraulics to loader for future use of root grapple. I know what numbers look the best on paper but i am looking for opnions on which machine is giving the most for the money. I will spend more if it means getting a better machine, but from what i have personally seen all of them look to be built really well. As i said earlier my primary uses will be loader work, root grapple in the future, and 3 point attatchments which will consist primarily of a rotary cutter,but will also be used for snowblower and rototiller. I am hoping to make a decision by mid week so all opinions are welcomed and greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help
 
   / need help deciding #2  
The forum has no idea where you're located, so that kind of limits the quality of our responses.

Since you're regularly going over manicured lawns, can you use turf tires? I'd also nix the idea of filled tires, and just rely on the ballast box or implement when counterweight is needed to minimize damage to manicured lawns.

Are you in a hilly area or a flat one?
 
   / need help deciding #3  
As close as they are in specs and prices, I would add one more factor. Resale value, since you may be using it in the future as you're using it now. Out of your list, that leaves Orange and Green, in my opinion. Then feature for feature, hst+ and half the difference in cash required ($5300 vs $11000) to make the deal happen leans me towards Kubota.
 
   / need help deciding
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Sorry about not having my info filled out, that has been taken care of. I have thought about the idea of going to turf tires but i occassionally do property clearing jobs and just feel like the r4's are more puncture resistant. Most of the terrain i am usually on is either flat or gentle hills, no major hills that i have encountered as of yet but they deffinitely do exist in this area so i would have to assume that at some point i might encounter them. I have thought about the resale value and around here just like anywhere it seems that kubota and deere hold there value the best, but because i live in farm country just about any make and model does pretty good in terms of resale. The specs are very close on all of the machines, and at this point i don't think i can go wrong with any of the 4 options. Just wanted a few more sets of eyes to look at the numbers and give feedback as to which they thought would be the best deal, just as you guys have done. Also If anyone has any first hand knowledge from either owning or operating any of the machines i am looking at i welcome that feedback as well. I really appreciate the help guys. keep it coming
 
   / need help deciding #5  
I didn't look up the operating weight, but the Mahindra's are usually heavier machines. And I also agree with the turf tire idea. If they go out you can get 'industrial turf's' to replace them.

Nokian TRI 2
 
   / need help deciding #6  
Hi Bigkid,
I know someone that had a cub cadet yanmar lx4500, He had installed hyd for front grapple and i also believe rear remotes (1set) if i remember right. I purchased my unit from him. he was great to work with. He still had the unit as of last week around 20-30 hours on it from him playing around on it. price was 21-22k.
he is also on this site. if interested let me know i'll give you his info.He is a stand up guy that i would deal again with. Located in ohio. good luck in your search
 
   / need help deciding #7  
No doubt they are all good tractors and I am sure they will all serve you well. I started using the HST+ a few months ago and while initially skeptical, I really find it to be superior to anything I have used previously. I also really like the John Deere 4000 Series; don't know anything about the others than by reputation. Wish I could be of more help.
 
   / need help deciding #8  
my vote would be on the kubota they are light tractors with R3 tires and i would get 3 rear remotes now there nothing worse then need them and not have enough
 
   / need help deciding #9  
I cant comment on the tractors but it looks like the JD dealer thinks his tractor is worth $2-5K more than the competitors but that your tractor is worth $5K less. I wouldnt deal with him just on principle. Stick with Kubota for the money, light weight and reputation.
I dont know how well you like the Yanmar but if it is resaleable in your area for a good price and you like it, monetary wise you are good to go there. There is only one Yanmar dealer anywhere close and that is in Memphis Tenn. which is about 3 hours from here, so only thing I have ever seen is a photo. Around here everyone is Kubota or New Holland
 
   / need help deciding
  • Thread Starter
#10  
I agree with everything that has been said so far. I think the deere 4000 series is a great machine, and while i do think the resale on a 4120 would be better than say for example the yanmar LX4500, would it be good enough to make up the large difference. They want almost 5 thousand more for their machine and they are 5 thousand less on trade in of my cbl 40. Will the deere bring in 10 thousand more in resale value down the road if both machines are the same age and have the same hours on them. I am thinking that resale will be higher but not by 10 thousand. The Kubota is a great machine and has great resale value, and the gap between it and the yanmar is much closer at only a 4 thousand dollar difference between selling price of new tractor and trade in allowance of my machine. The warranty on the kubota falls short of that of mahindra or yanmar but from what i know of kubota i am not worried about that. The mahindra is a very nice looking machine but once again the difference between it and the yanmar is pretty substantial although in terms of specs you are getting more in terms of HP/PTO HP and front end lifting capacity. I just don't know much of anything about mahindra. The reason i keep comparing all of the machines to the yanmar is simply because the yanmar is the cheapest in terms of price, so that sets it apart from the pack when all of the machines are very close in terms of specs. This would be much easier if i lived in an area where i only had access to 1 or 2 different brands, but because of where i live i have access to every brand of tractor you can think of. It deffinitely makes it easier when you get feedback from others. When you look at so many numbers and information it is sometimes very easy to overlook some very important things, and thats where you guys come in. I haven't posted much over the years but have done tons of reading and have learned a lot of valuable information from all on here. Thank you again for all your help and i look forward to even more information over the next few days to help me make a decision.
 
 
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