Buying Advice Thinking of a Kubota... why choose Kioti?

[marxman]

Hey All,

So I have been looking at tractors for a few months and even test driven a few. I have to admit I really only looked at John Deeres and Kubotas up till now. Having looked at my requirements I had kind of settled on the Kubota B3030 or B3000 (the latter replacing the former) both with Cab.

Last weekend I drove up Route 1 and past Batchelder in North Hampton and decided to look into Kiotis.

I believe that the CK30HST with Cab would be a similar tractor to the Kubotas I was looking at. Unfortunately Kioti's website gives no indication of tractor prices.

I'm lead to believe that while Kubota seems to be better value compared to John Deere, Kioti seems to be even better value still. This will mean that whatever level of tractor I choose will be less money, but that also means that I will be able to afford a bigger tractor (oh the irony).

Anyway I just wanted to get a sense from you guys, what it was that made you chose Kioti. I realise that your views here will be biased but that's what I'm looking for. I know about JD and Kubota.... but I'll admit I know next to nothing about Kioti.

thanks for your input.

 

[Mousefield]

After spending about 6 months looking at new Kubota's John Deere's and Kioti's I picked Kioti as my tractor. Have had my CK35 HST for just over 3 years and have, like many others, been very happy with my choice. Kioti is well built, well priced and with a great warranty.

 

[jonyyuma]

drive any of them you can find. Compare like sizes, and features, it will pay off in satisfaction later on...It is fun..

 

[whiskywizard]

I have just recently moved from an urban subdivision to a rural area with 4 acres of grass and lots of snow in the winter. I need to get out of the driveway every day and I don't want my life dominated by grass cutting, so I knew I needed to get serious about snow removal, property and driveway maintenance, mowing, trimming, stumps, etc, etc. Since I was moving to a new region, I limited myself to looking only at CUTs sold by dealers in the new area to which I was moving. That is, within about an hour's drive. Closer = better.

That gave me a list comprising John Deere, Kubota, Massey, Kioti, Case, Bobcat and new Holland. I shopped them all carefully.

I wanted something in the range of 18 - 25HP, all other things being roughly equal. FEL, 60" snowblower... I physically looked at them all, and I also researched as best I could to see if any of the dealers were really disliked. I looked at and sat on every make and drove a few.

In the end, I bought a little CK20 Kioti and a mid-range Toro zero turn mower.

What I found was that all the CUTs were good. Every one of them could do what I needed. Some were much more money than their competition. The Kioti wasn't just a good deal, it was the better tractor. Heavier, stronger, better equiped. If it were as well known as the big names, it should command the same prices as the big names. It also 'fits' nicely.

Kioti's 4 year warranty was very convincing too.

And I found the local Kioti dealer was reported to be decent and honest and took reasonable steps to stand behind their lines of equipment. Interestingly, the dealer was selling Kubota and went to Kioti a number of years ago.

BTW, Bobcat was my (close) second choice, but the dealer's sales staff turned me off.

 

[Carl_NH]

Marxman,

I used JD growing up before Kubota was around, and now I have a Kubota B21 TLB that I am very happy with. Kioti wasnt really around here in 2000 when I got it.. I looked at MB but the prices were high and they seemed to "big business" so I bought in Maine..

Also I live down the street from Batchelders you visited in North Hampton, and since he has been there would drop in and chat from time to time, and get an occasional pin etc. Real nice people, and to be honest, good looking tractors those Kioti and stout too. $ for $ I would agree - get as much as you can for the moiney and the warranty.

My neigbor has a CK20 and likes it a lot, and I can say given the proxitmity to the dealer, and build quality it would be a tough decision not to buy Kioti looking forward.

But when I got mine the significant other said "make it a good one cause its your last one" thats another story tho.. so I just do window shopping now, plus my neighbor is a contractor with big toys if needed..

Have fun in your tractor buyin and test them all out, and if you have much brush or logs get a grapple, I wish I would have.

 

[marxman]

Does anyone know where to get prices from? Their main website doesn't give an indication of msrp?

 

[Mousefield]

Just like a lot of shops selling various things prices aren't always the same from store to store selling the same product. So it can vary dealer to dealer. Different ones will have different operating/overhead cost's which can affect the price of a tractor. You need to see a dealer and get a quote from them. Like other tractor dealers (Kubota, John Deere) you may find they are not all the same price for the same product.

 

[RJJR]

Hey All,

So I have been looking at tractors for a few months and even test driven a few. I have to admit I really only looked at John Deeres and Kubotas up till now. Having looked at my requirements I had kind of settled on the Kubota B3030 or B3000 (the latter replacing the former) both with Cab.

thanks for your input.

I just went through the same exercise that you are and my posts are fairly current with pricing on different models if you search RJJR. I received a lot of good information from owners of all brands as I was originally looking JD, Kubota, Mahindra and Kioti.

There was almost 10K difference for me between the DK45HST/loader combo and a 4120 JD/loader and $5500 difference in the Kioti and the Grand l 3940/loader so the comments you made in your post are similiar to what I found.
Didn't compare to the Kubota L series as they are not quite the same tractor when looking at specs and due to the jerky 3 point hitch issues. I don't have the tractor yet so I can't talk about performance. It should be here in 3 weeks.


Speaking of green... I know we weren't but I want to myself...my brother has a JD 4320 that is 17 days out of the bumper to bumper 2 year warranty with 273 hours on it and had a front seal go out. They would not cover it under the additional drive train warranty and wanted $750 to replace it. It's made worse by the fact the dealer mentioned it may never have seated from the factory. All colors have problems and Kioti may one day do me wrong but JD's treatment of my brother made it personal for me and they quickly lost a potential sale here. Good luck in your search.
RJ

 

[Gittyup]

Two things pushed me to Kioti:

1. Stouter build with better specs
2. value

If I were looking for a mower above all else, I probably would have bought a Kubota, though a smaller tractor than I have in the Kioti. Kubotas are light, making them excellent for yard work, especially finish mowing. But the light weight and typically lower hydraulic flow rates are a detriment when digging and hauling heavy loads.

I wanted a digger. Something that would handle heavy loads with ease, and do it safely with enough hydraulics and weight to put the power to the ground: loader, backhoe, pulling. This is where Kioti excells: very heavy, excellent hydraulic flow, big axles.

Of course the Kioti was several thousand $ less for similar machines.

Buying from a good dealer should be part of your decision, and from what I've read Batchelder is first class.

 

[marxman]

Buying from a good dealer should be part of your decision, and from what I've read Batchelder is first class.

I went to Batchelder in Lebanon, ME this weekend and drove the CK20 with cab and the CK30. The cab on the CK20 albeit smaller than the one on the CK30 was very comfortable. The CK30 didnt have a cab but it felt awesome, very sturdy and powerful.

Just a word about Batchelder, Eric who seemed to be working in the garage at the time was great! He spent about an hour with me explaining everything, letting me drive them and giving me quotes. If it comes to dealerships, even though they are on the small side, they really give you a good feeling about dealing with them.

I haven't seen evidence that Kiotis are that much cheaper than what I was quoted by the Kubota dealer... maybe that's because the Kubota was a pretty competitive price. However Batchelder/Kioti offered things like free delivery, free tire filling, free quick attach bucket... all points that again sway me to the Kioti.