Buying Advice Ready to buy, advice needed

[Schwermetall]

Hi everyone. Long time lurker first time poster. Never owned or even operated a tractor other than test drive them. I have 53 acres and I have to cut approx. 34 acres of it which is mostly gently sloping pasture. Looked at and test drove a L3540hst at my local dealer, he recommended it for my purposes. He said matched with a 6 foot cutter I should be able to cut all the fields in 4-5 hrs. Not too sure about that. With a LA724 loader I was quoted 24,700. To order a L3940 hst he wants $2400 more. Another 2K for a Bush Hog SQ172 cutter. I'm in central NY, from what I've read the % off MSRP isn't too great here. Here are my questions - Is the extra $ for the 3940 worth only 3.5 more pto hp? The 3540 is 3 cylinders vs the 4 cylinders of the 3940 if that matters. Is the price too high considering MSRP of the 3540 is 26,670 or is this reasonable for NY? Overall what do you think of this package including the cutter. This dealer is pretty close to me and they seem like really nice people, so I have to take that into consideration. Thanks

 

[Grateful11]

First off your dealer is too high. Our L3940HST with the LA724 QA loader, bale
spear and tooth bar for the bucket, delivered was $25,900. Tractor with loader
was $25,200, we paid cash so maybe that had a little to do with it. We got
prices ranging from $24,900-$26,400 tractor and loader only. R4 tires,
loaded in the rear.

I think it would worth it for the extra HP, we have the same Bush Hog, older
number SQ720 and behind our IH 574 which is 53hp PTO pulls it pretty good
really heavy grass and weeds, it could use new blades but they're not that bad.

We have a dealer within a 1/2 mile of our farm but we choose to drive 25
miles away because well you have to know the guy that's close by, not sure
how he stays in business.

BTW: You're going love the tractor we have close to 30 hours on ours already
and have 6 tractors total but for general utility work everyone wants to use the Kubota.

Edit: On a another note Bush Hog has been sold to I think Alamo Group so technically
you may not be getting a real Bush Hog, just thought you might want to know.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/al...arter-results-2010-05-05?reflink=MW_news_stmp

 

[PHILIP8N]

34 acres in 6 hours??? I wait till my 18 acres is about 4 to 5 foot high and it takes me 8 hours to cut it with a 6' bush hog with the cruise control set at 4.5 mph! During that time I have to stop to refuel once and several times to blow the stuff out of the radiator screen. I would definetly look at a 6' bush hog, that will match the width of the tractor better. Personally, I like 4 cylinder engines better than 3 cylinder engines, that is why I went with the L3940. Kubota did have 0% financing on Land Pride implements as well, not sure if that is still available. The Grand L series are great machines. Philip.

 

[Grandad4]

I have 53 acres and I have to cut approx. 34 acres of it which is mostly gently sloping pasture...
He said matched with a 6 foot cutter I should be able to cut all the fields in 4-5 hrs. Not too sure about that.

Hmm... 5 hours to do 34 acres? That's 6.8 acres/hr. Would kinda like to see how that's done. I can get about 2 acres/hr. with my 6 ft mower on a fairly smooth pasture having no obstructions, operating at a reasonable speed. If you could mow in a straight line all day on smooth ground, maybe you'd achieve something like 5/hr., but that's not the real world, obviously. I hope your dealer has more credibility with the other details.

If it were me, I'd go for the 3940 over the 3540, just for the extra mowing power. You'd probably do OK with the 3540, but with some hills and maybe some heavy grass, you'd find some situations where a few more ponies would be appreciated. I went bigger when buying mine and it has paid off many times since.

 

[TripleR]

I went shopping for something in the 35 HP range and came home with a 50 HP and am glad I did; go with the L3940, very good tractor. I got an RCR2672 Land Pride with it and have been very happy. For rotary cutters, my preference is Woods and Land Pride. I think you dealer is a little off on how much/fast you can cut, not sure I could do that with one of my ten foot units.

 

[art]

If you are going to be mowing that piece on a regular basis I'd go the the SQ84T which with one foot overlap you should be able to mow about four acres an hour at five miles per hour.

 

[Schwermetall]

I thought the dealer was off on how long it would take to cut that amount of pasture. JD's web site has a calculator that said it would take 8 hrs with an 8 foot cutter. Going out today to check a couple of other dealers prices. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, think I'll go for the extra hp of the 3940.

 

[Grateful11]

I didn't check with them but a lot of guys on here go with Barlow's and have
it delivered straight to their home or farm. I hear a lot of good things about them.
We didn't exactly get the great personal service we thought we were going to get
with our guy, too many irons in the fire from what I hear. I know this is silly
but they had told us they were going to call as soon as it left the dealership
and my wife wanted to video it coming up the hill to the barnyard like she did
with the Case IH 5140 18 years ago. She was washing one of the tractors
and the next thing she knew the dog is barking and there it sat in the barnyard.
If they hadn't already unloaded it I think she would have asked them bring it
back up the hill again ;-) She gets personal with her tractors, they all have
names. There's were some other little things that just didn't quite sit right
with her on the transaction either.

OT: Pre-Kubota collage:

OT: Oldest son loading round bales, we can haul up to 18 bales at a time:

Barlow Equipment - Home of the Kubota Tractor Package Builder

 

[Schwermetall]

So a second dealer, about 35 miles away, gave me the same exact quote as the first, right down to the dollar on the 3940. These are not affiliated with each other as far as I can tell. One is a very small almost Mom & Pop type place, the other is a huge dealer with several dealerships. They had the pricing broken up differently but when added up is was identical. Anyway, this dealer wants to load the tires with rimguard for another $410. He was really adamant about it, said I would definitely need it for this tractor. What do you guys think?
Oh yeah, he carries Woods cutters $2166 for a BB72X, how is that cutter compared to the Bush Hog SQ172?

 

[TripleR]

I would go with the Rimguard or wheel weights and the Woods is a really good mower. I have both Woods and Land Pride and would have gone with Woods if there was a dealer closer.