Teachu2
Platinum Member
I moved to the Sierra foothills last March, to a 5ac parcel with a few hundred oak trees and some steep terrain. The need for something bigger than a riding mower was immediately apparent, and I soon acquired a Mitsubishi CT210D off Craigslist - 21hp, 4wd, diesel, 30 years old. It soon proved that a tractor was very handy, and that it was worth every penny I'd spent - but it was just not enough to handle all I wanted to do with it. The wife suggested that a more capable tractor was needed, and if we bought one now it should outlast us.
My research started on the Internet. I settled on 30hp +/-, 4wd, geared. It didn't take long to come to the realization that there is no clearly superior brand or model - many vendors are selling the same tractors with different paint, most don't make their own tractors, and all have models that are good quality and capable of doing what we need to do. The universal agreement is the dealer matters more than the color of the paint.
We were impressed by the Mahindra dealer - called on a Sunday morning and he answered (call forwarded to his cell). He said they were closed on Sunday, but he'd be happy to meet us at his lot and show us what he had. We got on our Harleys and rode the 100 miles or so. Dealer was extremely personable, but only had HST models in stock. His pricing wasn't exceptional, and most of his lot was trailers - tractors were new to him. All his 30hp units were Tier 3 models. I decided to keep looking.
Kubota dealer had a 29hp model, used, that was about half the cost of new - but with a loader, box scraper, and R4 tires added was $17k, with no warranty. A new 33hp Tier 4 was close to $25k.
The Case dealer was very accommodating - offered to bring up a demo for the weekend so I could make sure it would do the job. It was a 2012 30hp with a loader and box scraper, 89 demo hours on it, Tier 3, $24K. I happened to mention Kioti to him, and he said they are very good tractors - his parents have one they bought new 25 years ago, never had a problem with it. That got me researching Kioti....
Which led me to the local dealer, who has been in the tractor business 75 years. The founder's grandson was the salesman, and also offered to demo a unit from stock - a 45hp Tier4 with zero hours, about $24k with loader. I really wanted the DS3510, which they were out of and would not have until July. The 4510 is a lot bigger, and I have a lot of trees. It's also a Tier 4, which I was hoping to avoid. They said to give them a day, and they'd see what they could do.
Salesman called the next morning and had located a DS3510 and could have it in a few days. They got it in, installed a loader, loaded the tires, added a box scraper, and delivered it Monday. I got a few minutes Monday evening to drive it around the property, and then had an hour on it Wednesday afternoon mowing with a 5' rotary. What an upgrade from the old one! The extra 1500 lbs and wider stance improved the feeling of stability greatly, and the 50%+ increase in power proved to be just what I'd hoped.
The only issue (so far) was a simple error, probably caused by the dealer trade. The nut that holds the steering wheel on never got installed, which made for an exciting few seconds.... Dealer is sending a mechanic up to fix that and check over everything else. I think I made a great choice.
My research started on the Internet. I settled on 30hp +/-, 4wd, geared. It didn't take long to come to the realization that there is no clearly superior brand or model - many vendors are selling the same tractors with different paint, most don't make their own tractors, and all have models that are good quality and capable of doing what we need to do. The universal agreement is the dealer matters more than the color of the paint.
We were impressed by the Mahindra dealer - called on a Sunday morning and he answered (call forwarded to his cell). He said they were closed on Sunday, but he'd be happy to meet us at his lot and show us what he had. We got on our Harleys and rode the 100 miles or so. Dealer was extremely personable, but only had HST models in stock. His pricing wasn't exceptional, and most of his lot was trailers - tractors were new to him. All his 30hp units were Tier 3 models. I decided to keep looking.
Kubota dealer had a 29hp model, used, that was about half the cost of new - but with a loader, box scraper, and R4 tires added was $17k, with no warranty. A new 33hp Tier 4 was close to $25k.
The Case dealer was very accommodating - offered to bring up a demo for the weekend so I could make sure it would do the job. It was a 2012 30hp with a loader and box scraper, 89 demo hours on it, Tier 3, $24K. I happened to mention Kioti to him, and he said they are very good tractors - his parents have one they bought new 25 years ago, never had a problem with it. That got me researching Kioti....
Which led me to the local dealer, who has been in the tractor business 75 years. The founder's grandson was the salesman, and also offered to demo a unit from stock - a 45hp Tier4 with zero hours, about $24k with loader. I really wanted the DS3510, which they were out of and would not have until July. The 4510 is a lot bigger, and I have a lot of trees. It's also a Tier 4, which I was hoping to avoid. They said to give them a day, and they'd see what they could do.
Salesman called the next morning and had located a DS3510 and could have it in a few days. They got it in, installed a loader, loaded the tires, added a box scraper, and delivered it Monday. I got a few minutes Monday evening to drive it around the property, and then had an hour on it Wednesday afternoon mowing with a 5' rotary. What an upgrade from the old one! The extra 1500 lbs and wider stance improved the feeling of stability greatly, and the 50%+ increase in power proved to be just what I'd hoped.
The only issue (so far) was a simple error, probably caused by the dealer trade. The nut that holds the steering wheel on never got installed, which made for an exciting few seconds.... Dealer is sending a mechanic up to fix that and check over everything else. I think I made a great choice.
