Buying Advice Which Tractor......Kubota L3800 or L4600?

[bossgobbler]

Hello! New member here looking for some help and advice on my first tractor purchase. I have been doing some research and looking for a month or so. I am not completely sold on the Kubota L3800 or L4600 but I am leaning hard toward one or the other. We have a local dealer that I really like about 10 minutes from my house.

I have looked at the new L3800 and L4600. Also open to buying used but the 0% financing is tough to beat. We are not rolling in money! Could spend it in cash but also have other financial obligations right now.

Here is what I will be doing....

Live in Southeast Ohio
We own about 40 acres. Someday to buy more

Tilling a 1/4 acre garden
Tilling 2 to 5 acres of food plots
Blading 1/4 mile driveway
Firewood
Bush hogging
Small landscape projects
Lifting hand hewn logs onto flat bed trailers(secondary projects)... Not very often

I can get the L3800 for just under $20,000 with loader (tax included)
I can get the L4600 for roughly $23,500(I think) with loader (tax included)

Don't want to overspend if its not needed
Don't want to go too small if 4600 is needed

Summary.....Money is tight but I will make it work. Do I need the 4600? Will I be happy with 3800?

Also, as I mentioned before I will buy used if it's the right deal but the 0% financing is nice.


Thanks for the help! I really appreciate any input

 

[Rmart30]

I bought a L4600 almost 2 months ago. So far im very happy with it. I looked at both models and Im glad I chose the 4600 over the 3800. When in doubt go bigger rather than smaller... difference in the 0% @ 60 month payments between the two probably wont be $25 more a month.

 

[Steve in MT]

I think either one would serve you well. I would go with the bigger of the 2 if payments would allow. 0% interest is a hard offer to pass up and that program ends this month (pretty sure) The LA524 loder lifts 1152lb and the LA764 lifts 1680lb. The extra lift of the LA764 just might come in handy some day, my .02 cents
Steve

 

[buildingup]

Between the two I would go with the L4600. I was looking st the same tractor and had a price of $26k with loader. With all attachments I was interested in I ended up actually getting a early model MX5100 for the same price as the L4600 and I only have 10 acres I'm working but the extra lift capacity will be nice due to the large rocks I have to move.

Good luck on your decision!

 

[jeff9366]

Based on my satisfactory experience on a smaller Kubota B3300SU I think the L3800 would be ample. Maneuverability is important for the tasks you have listed and you loose maneuverability quickly as tractor size increases.

BE SURE TO BUY AN FEL ON THE TRACTOR.

I would consider a simple, versatile 16/18" or 16/20" disc harrow before buying a PTO powered tiller.
If two implements will do the same job, one requiring a PTO hookup and a second not, the second is definitely preferred.

LINK:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/275147-disc-harrow-primer-howse-disc.html

 

[kiotiken]

There are a lot of folks (me included) who make the mistake of buying to small and then have to trade up, which of course is an expensive mistake. Personally, for 40+ acres doing the work you want to do, I wouldn't consider a standard L, only a grand L. It's not just features that are different, they're fundamentally different tractors. If they are out of the $$ range, I'd look at other brands such as Kioti, LS, Mahindra etc that offer as much tractor at a price you can swallow.

 

[ruralNearDallas]

We bought L3240 years ago. I am usually happy with it among Kubota models (very happy with Kubota). My wife is happy all the time. Here is the thing. I would not want a physically bigger one, but I definitively want more power. Once you decide on physical size and style, get the biggest HP.

 

[TripleR]

Offhand I can't remember anyone wishing they had less HP, but a lot who wish they had more. Tractors seem to shrink when you get them home and start working.

 

[kiotiken]

Offhand I can't remember anyone wishing they had less HP, but a lot who wish they had more. Tractors seem to shrink when you get them home and start working.

I totally agree. When my current tractor was delivered, I though it was a really nice tractor, but thought I might have made a mistake. It seemed so big and I thought it would be cumbersome, especially on my little 3 acre lot. Not so at all and I don't feel it's big at all anymore, it just does what I need it to do. I was actually walking back to it last night and from across the lawn was thinking about how small it looked.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
I can get the L3800 for just under $20,000 with loader (tax included)
I can get the L4600 for roughly $23,500(I think) with loader (tax included)

Don't want to overspend if its not needed
Don't want to go too small if 4600 is needed

Summary.....Money is tight but I will make it work. Do I need the 4600? Will I be happy with 3800?

Also, as I mentioned before I will buy used if it's the right deal but the 0% financing is nice.


Thanks for the help! I really appreciate any input

0% financing is nice, but the end result you are probably trying for is to minimize cash out and maximize value in.

You should definitely check the used market to see if the tradeoffs are there. As soon as you mention "logs" you enter the heavy duty lift class.

The added capability of the LA764 could make a difference, 240kg is a good margin. I just went thru a similar buying choice and one of my requirements was to be able to lift about a ton or 1,000kg on the 3 pt. for < $15K. Now I've a M4700 that lifts a ton on the FEL and 2 ton on the 3pt, for $12K.

You don't write if this will be a "work tractor", 7 days a week use (a few hundred hours a month), or for a hobby/retirement tractor, a few hundred hours a year. If it's the latter I strongly suggest a RELIABLE dealer and check Barlow's for a gently used machine. If money is tight this will free up some for that bush hog, blade, PHD and other implements you will want.