JeffroL
Bronze Member
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2016
- Messages
- 99
- Location
- Sperryville
- Tractor
- Deutz D4006; Kubota M7060; John Deere 500C
I thought I would post my recent experience selecting a "new" tractor for my property. First some background. I own 180 acres of mixed woodlands and fields. The fields are leased for hay production but it is my responsibility to maintain the fence lines. We have a major Russian Olive problem. **** things are everywhere and only chemical treatments have proven effective at controlling them. Cutting/pulling is still required though. The property has been in my family for 40 years and I recently acquired it along with a late 1970's Deutz tractor, specifically a 2WD D4006. 35HP w/ no lift or ROPS. Due to my inherent fear of all heavy equipment I had a custom ROPS fabricated and installed several years ago. But long story short, I need something bigger, more powerful, and with a front loader. So I began my search.
Given all my requirements I pretty quickly narrowed it down to the following models:
Mahindra 5570
John Deere 5065
Kubota M7060
In making my decision I relied somewhat on testimonials (these forums mainly) as well as the following factors which are listed in no particular order:
1) Tractor Specifications
2) Price
3) Comfort / Feel / Operation
4) Quality - My Impressions
I landed with the Kubota M7060, which ultimately won out mainly because I was able to get one with 350 hours on it plus all the bells/whistles I wanted for cheaper than even a new Mahindra, which was by far the least expensive new. To benefit others who may have a similar decision here are my unbias impressions (owning a Deutz I have zero "brand loyalty"). I'm not a tractor expert by any means, just a regular joe.
Mahindra - Everyone local to me to loved to trash the Mahindras. "Cheap Indian Junk". "Dealers come and go and will leave you hanging". Bottom line, the good ol' boys don't like the Mahindras in my area. I went in with an open mind and was pleasantly surprised, but not with all models. I found the smaller Mahindra tractors to be "cheap" feeling. Everything felt flimsy, from the gas petal to the dashboard, to the hood. That was until I came upon the 5500 series. Those are real tractors. Not toys. For the models I compared, the Mahindra was roughly equal to if not superior to both the Kubota and JD in terms of specifications. From a price perspective it was the CLEAR winner. 40% off the JD priced new. Is don't even know how that's possible - I suspect Mahindra is selling these at a loss and JD is tremendously marked up?!? From a comfort perspective the Mahindra operated like a semi. Steering wheel placement was very far forward, although I could adjust the seat. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it more closely mirrored my old Deutz vs. the newer tractors against which I was comparing it. It felt maybe 10-15 years dated in terms of layout and ergometrics. Quality - I had some issues here. While it FELT solid and the warranty on it is outstanding there were a few things that really bothered me. 1) The hydraulic lines were a little bit exposed and looked/felt "bolted on". 2) The lift really was nearly single function, e.g. if you were lifting/lowering I couldn't also move the bucket angle. I don't know if the pump is insufficient or what, but smooth operations are going to be tough with that arrangement. The tractor RPM didn't appear to impact this at all, it was just a hard limit of the design I guess. 3) The tractor has a lot of whines and noises. The JD and Kubota didn't. Example the tractor really "whines" a lot when you operate the lift. I don't know if that's bad or a problem AT ALL - but my instincts didn't put me at ease. Usually when a machine sounds like it's straining, it's because it is. All-in-all I took three trips to my local Mahindra dealer before I finally eliminated it from the running, mainly because I just wasn't as comfortable with how it drove and handled. It's worth pointing out that given the warranty on this tractor - if price were my primary driver then I would have bought the Mahindra with zero hesitation. From a pure VALUE perspective, neither Kubota or JD can touch them (on paper).
John Deere - I had a few dealers to choose from, but settled with my local guys. First impression was that these are well built machines. I pretty rapidly settled on the 5065 as "my sized tractor". I was pleased that the entire line of JD tractors seemed "serious". Not a lot of junk until you get into the lawn tractor sizes. That was encouraging. On specs it was on par / close enough to all the others. On cost, John Deere was the CLEAR loser. Their tractors are very expensive. 40% or more higher than the Mahindra and a few thousand more than the Kubota. From a comfort perspective the JD was very good. It felt "right" operated smoothly and I believe the lift operated more crisply than any model I looked at, regardless of RPM. The "shuttle clutch" was nice and all in all it was a good experience operating the machine. Quality - I had no concerns looking and examining the machine. I did read some troubling reviews and reports on-line about this particularly tractor however. It seems like JD was taking care of the owners, but lots of three star reviews.
Kubota - I was warned away from my local dealer by several people, but went in for a visit anyways. Boy am I glad I did. Wonderful guy who wound up giving me a great deal. Sometimes listening to the "old timers" isn't the best way to go. Obviously this is the tractor I went with and here's why. The specs again were basically the same, with slight variance, but the Kubota stood up well if you looked at everything (PTO, lift, etc.). Price - even new the Kubota was attractive, several thousand less than the JD, but still FAR more than the Mahindra. I actually like the comfort / feel / operation of the Kubota the best. The controls are very ergometric and in just the right locations. One unfair advantage the Kubota has was the since this was a used tractor I was driving, the tires were 75% filled already. So it drove like it was just on rails. Rock solid steady. The JD and Mahindra bounced a lot, but that would have gone away with the tires filled I'm very sure. The lift on the Kubota was second only to the JD and only by a very little bit. It felt a bit more sluggish particularly at lower RPMs but it operated in both lift/dump smoothly and at the same time. In terms of quality the Kubota "felt" oustanding. Everything is engineered and routed/hidden. No haphazard hoses and connectors, etc. The warrant was less of a concern since I was buying used, but I do still have a year left on my powertrain and Kubota seems to stand behind their products (as do the two competitors).
So LONG STORY short - at $10k off the price of new, the Kubota with 350 hours was impossible to resist. The tractor was clearly lightly used, in fact the paint on the bucket is still pristeen. It has one owner prior, it was sold by the same dealer I purchased it from (the individual traded down for a smaller tractor), and I had the opportunity to speak with the previous owner - I still have his contact information for questions. Wow! If I were selecting a new tractor I would have made the same choice.
Hopefully this is helpful to someone else who may be facing the same decision.
-Jeff
Given all my requirements I pretty quickly narrowed it down to the following models:
Mahindra 5570
John Deere 5065
Kubota M7060
In making my decision I relied somewhat on testimonials (these forums mainly) as well as the following factors which are listed in no particular order:
1) Tractor Specifications
2) Price
3) Comfort / Feel / Operation
4) Quality - My Impressions
I landed with the Kubota M7060, which ultimately won out mainly because I was able to get one with 350 hours on it plus all the bells/whistles I wanted for cheaper than even a new Mahindra, which was by far the least expensive new. To benefit others who may have a similar decision here are my unbias impressions (owning a Deutz I have zero "brand loyalty"). I'm not a tractor expert by any means, just a regular joe.
Mahindra - Everyone local to me to loved to trash the Mahindras. "Cheap Indian Junk". "Dealers come and go and will leave you hanging". Bottom line, the good ol' boys don't like the Mahindras in my area. I went in with an open mind and was pleasantly surprised, but not with all models. I found the smaller Mahindra tractors to be "cheap" feeling. Everything felt flimsy, from the gas petal to the dashboard, to the hood. That was until I came upon the 5500 series. Those are real tractors. Not toys. For the models I compared, the Mahindra was roughly equal to if not superior to both the Kubota and JD in terms of specifications. From a price perspective it was the CLEAR winner. 40% off the JD priced new. Is don't even know how that's possible - I suspect Mahindra is selling these at a loss and JD is tremendously marked up?!? From a comfort perspective the Mahindra operated like a semi. Steering wheel placement was very far forward, although I could adjust the seat. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it more closely mirrored my old Deutz vs. the newer tractors against which I was comparing it. It felt maybe 10-15 years dated in terms of layout and ergometrics. Quality - I had some issues here. While it FELT solid and the warranty on it is outstanding there were a few things that really bothered me. 1) The hydraulic lines were a little bit exposed and looked/felt "bolted on". 2) The lift really was nearly single function, e.g. if you were lifting/lowering I couldn't also move the bucket angle. I don't know if the pump is insufficient or what, but smooth operations are going to be tough with that arrangement. The tractor RPM didn't appear to impact this at all, it was just a hard limit of the design I guess. 3) The tractor has a lot of whines and noises. The JD and Kubota didn't. Example the tractor really "whines" a lot when you operate the lift. I don't know if that's bad or a problem AT ALL - but my instincts didn't put me at ease. Usually when a machine sounds like it's straining, it's because it is. All-in-all I took three trips to my local Mahindra dealer before I finally eliminated it from the running, mainly because I just wasn't as comfortable with how it drove and handled. It's worth pointing out that given the warranty on this tractor - if price were my primary driver then I would have bought the Mahindra with zero hesitation. From a pure VALUE perspective, neither Kubota or JD can touch them (on paper).
John Deere - I had a few dealers to choose from, but settled with my local guys. First impression was that these are well built machines. I pretty rapidly settled on the 5065 as "my sized tractor". I was pleased that the entire line of JD tractors seemed "serious". Not a lot of junk until you get into the lawn tractor sizes. That was encouraging. On specs it was on par / close enough to all the others. On cost, John Deere was the CLEAR loser. Their tractors are very expensive. 40% or more higher than the Mahindra and a few thousand more than the Kubota. From a comfort perspective the JD was very good. It felt "right" operated smoothly and I believe the lift operated more crisply than any model I looked at, regardless of RPM. The "shuttle clutch" was nice and all in all it was a good experience operating the machine. Quality - I had no concerns looking and examining the machine. I did read some troubling reviews and reports on-line about this particularly tractor however. It seems like JD was taking care of the owners, but lots of three star reviews.
Kubota - I was warned away from my local dealer by several people, but went in for a visit anyways. Boy am I glad I did. Wonderful guy who wound up giving me a great deal. Sometimes listening to the "old timers" isn't the best way to go. Obviously this is the tractor I went with and here's why. The specs again were basically the same, with slight variance, but the Kubota stood up well if you looked at everything (PTO, lift, etc.). Price - even new the Kubota was attractive, several thousand less than the JD, but still FAR more than the Mahindra. I actually like the comfort / feel / operation of the Kubota the best. The controls are very ergometric and in just the right locations. One unfair advantage the Kubota has was the since this was a used tractor I was driving, the tires were 75% filled already. So it drove like it was just on rails. Rock solid steady. The JD and Mahindra bounced a lot, but that would have gone away with the tires filled I'm very sure. The lift on the Kubota was second only to the JD and only by a very little bit. It felt a bit more sluggish particularly at lower RPMs but it operated in both lift/dump smoothly and at the same time. In terms of quality the Kubota "felt" oustanding. Everything is engineered and routed/hidden. No haphazard hoses and connectors, etc. The warrant was less of a concern since I was buying used, but I do still have a year left on my powertrain and Kubota seems to stand behind their products (as do the two competitors).
So LONG STORY short - at $10k off the price of new, the Kubota with 350 hours was impossible to resist. The tractor was clearly lightly used, in fact the paint on the bucket is still pristeen. It has one owner prior, it was sold by the same dealer I purchased it from (the individual traded down for a smaller tractor), and I had the opportunity to speak with the previous owner - I still have his contact information for questions. Wow! If I were selecting a new tractor I would have made the same choice.
Hopefully this is helpful to someone else who may be facing the same decision.
-Jeff
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