Kioti vs. Bobcat prices

[efudd]

In Lafayette, IN: The Bobcat dealer has had an open house to display the new CUT and these are the prices I was quoted:

The Bobcat CT225 HST with FEL $17586 compared to a Kioti CK25Hst w/FEL from a dealer 40 miles away is $15970.

The BC CT120HST with FEL is $14798 and the Kioti CK20 HST w/FEL is $13500. These prices were given to me about December 1st.

The Bobcat doesn't have a gear drive model as far as I know, but they are about 5 mile from where I will be living instead of 40 miles. I guess I hate to pay 10% more just for the color of paint that I really don't like as much as orange. I also felt very comfortable talking with the Kioti dealer.
Then, of course the forty mile ride won't be a big deal when I'm retired.

efudd

[gordon21]

I'm only guessing here, but Bobcat has a long term excellent reputation in the USA. Anyone who drives and is over 30 has been seeing their name for many many years merely by driving. There is probably at least one piece of Bobcat equipment in every town in America with over 500 people in it. They may be testing the waters to see if that reputation is worth an extra 10%.

I never heard of a Kioti until 2 years ago. But then, I never owned a tractor until 2 years ago.

[dgl24087]

Could be that Daedong is charging Bobcat a higher price than their own dealers as well.

[bluechip]

Since Daedong now ownes KIOTI (no longer a third part importer) Kioti dealers are buying with (at least) one less middle man that a Bobcat dealer and so I would expect, in a fair world, that their prices would be a bit higher. Or it could be that us tractor dealers are more accustomed to "dropping our drawers" on price to get the sale. Ive heard construction equipment is very competitive too, so it could also be that the Bobcat guys hoped that compact tractors offered better margins. In any even, being a KIOTI dealer, I guess I'm glad that the pricing didn't run the reverse!

[davitk]

I don't think Bobcat intends to compete with Kioti. At all. The dealer I spoke with claimed to be matching Kubota with their machine, and I would guess most of their buyers will not even know Bobcats are Kiotis.

[mark.r]

Originally Posted by davitk

. . . I would guess most of their buyers will not even know Bobcats are Kiotis.

I have a feeling that they are banking on most of their prospective buyers not knowing this.

[albmn10]

If you go to Bobcats website they show the new tractors.. I did notice a few things that looked like misprints.. They listed the CT25 as a 27 hp? The 3 point lifts were not the same either at 24" back , they listed them at 1225lbs, instead of the 1765lbs.. It was interesting to see their own spin on the machines though..

[Slackdaddy]

Stopped at the Bobcat dealer in Balt MD, they had a 25HP, talked to a no BS sales person - said they are Kioti, said it took a while for kioti to get some things squared away to satisfy bob cat (parts supply), etc.
Quoted 16.5K for the 25 HP, that is a solid price for the Balt-Wash DC area.

Here is the odd thing, Kioto list the CK25 as a geared shuttle shift, bob cat list the 25HP as a Hydro, the unit at bob cat was a Hydro.

so they are not the same tractor ??

Nick

[IXLR8]

Nick,
Kioti makes both a geared (w/ shuttle shift) and a HST version of most of their tractor line. So you can get a CK25 gear or for about $1K more you can get a CK25 Hydro. From what I am hearing, Bobcat is only offering the HST versions at the moment.

[tommybr]

I think the tractor-buying public will figure out pretty quickly that the Kioti is a "Chevrolet truck" and the Bobcat is a "GMC truck"....same truck, different name...both good products, but the "Chevrolet" version (KIOTI) will probably cost less.....buying prices , parts prices and shop labor rates for later on will probably be less expensive at the Kioti dealership.