Kubota parts and obsolesence

[fwc]

I had a non Kubota dealer tell me that Kubota discontinued parts availablility 5 years after the date of last manufacture and they were constantly updating their models by design to force parts for older tractors to not be available. While this seems plausible, I don't know if I should believe them and thought I might get some real world input.

I would like to hear from some of the /Kubota owners that have had their tractors and purchased parts for them if theirs is a model that has been discontinued for 5 years or longer.

Thanks,

fwc.

 

[TresCrows]

What you have done is come across a Kubota hater. There are many Kubota Haters out there and here. Kubota does not discontinue parts after 5 years. Eventually, and I am not sure what time frame that is, parts will be diffucult to buy. Strange for example that a Honda Trail 90 from 1968 I can buy just about every part needed for the engine but things like rubber parts and decals are hard to find and costly, odd though that it still runs and the Harley produced (Armechi) Baha 100 of the same era is in the trash bin 20 years ago--try to get parts for that.
You see, all products now--ALL Products---have a built in life expectancy and at some point parts will become hard to find/costly. Consider that many domestic tractors use Japanese engines, now how do you think that will work out 20 years from now.
Sooooooo, in short, you have been misguided by a classic Kubota hater. Such people hate Kubotas and usually every thing not made in America which is just about every thing nowadays. Why this is the case is a subject often debated--hotly---and never fully comprehended. Unfortunately, we like to over simplify things--we Americans--and Kubota haters see Kubota (Honda, Toyota, Sony etc etc) as easy scapegoats for a complex problem. If you like the Kubota--BUY it, if you like a similar JD, NH etc product--buy it instead--anything you buy today--MAY---have diffuculty getting SOME parts for 20 years from now. If this is not acceptable--buy a Ford 8N. Good luck. Oh, some persons think the world will end in 2013, Aztek calendar, I would not be one of them, see you on Jan 1, 2014, me and my 'bota. J

 

[Egon]

No parts after 5 years!!!

How many older Kubota's does one see?

As the expected life span may approach 10,000 hours common sense will tell you there must be a parts supply.

Egon

 

[fwc]

TresCrows & Egon
Thanks for the replies. What ya'll are saying makes sense and was my gut feeling also. I was hoping I was wrong cuz I actually liked the dealer. He is selling Long's and has been around for 36 years. He is withing 15 miles of a Deere dealer and there is a NH/Kubota dealer the same distance. I actualy was considering a B7800HSD from the Kubota dealer but just stopped, to look at some of the fancier longs he had. He made me a great offer on a much larger tractor but I was voicing my concern over the availablity of parts and such when he gave me a lil speech about problesm with each of the above (except Long of course.) I guess you are right about buying what I like cause I suspect each will stand behind thier products or they would not be in business . hmmmm... I just thought - maybe a call the Better Business Bureau on each of them and just see if there are outstanding issues....tnx agn.

 

[art]

As a dealer for Kubota I haven't seen it yet. That is an old sales ploy unfortuantly worn out. Long has been around a long time too. There products have changed to often and as a dealer I wonder what there parts supply might be. We sold there stuff 30 years ago and moved away from there line.

 

[kevincook]

I traded-in my L175 three years ago and it was 23 years old at that point. Every part I ever asked the Kubota dealer for was still available and he had the part in 3-4 days. I was completely satisfied with the service from Kubota.

 

[Kelvin]

My personal experience is that any and all PARTS were available for my 20 year-old B7100 when I rebuilt the engine in the late 1990s.

However, for what it is worth, Kubota may very likely discontinue complete unit assemblies for the tractor, such as front end loaders, mid-mowers, and other items that are custom built for a specific tractor. But parts for the aforementioned mid-mowers and FELs I have found to be available. Not necessarily cheap, but available.

Kelvin

 

[Kelvin]

You need to keep in mind that if the ______ dealer (fill in the blank with whichever brand tractor/automobile dealer you wish) has already willingly and seemingly deliberately gave you mis-leading information, you have to wonder how much of what else he says is reliable.

I am a tremendous fan of Kubota tractors, but I believe that there are bad dealers out there selling all models of tractors (even Kubotas).

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I was hoping I was wrong cuz I actually liked the dealer. )</font>

Is your "I actually liked the dealer" statement based upon short term or long term exposure to this dealer? I would guess short term and that the salesman is counting on a good first impression to make a sale.

On another note, what part of Georgia are you in (North or South?)

Good Luck,
Kelvin

 

[Rover]

For what its worth,
When I traded my B8200 in for my B2910 the tractor was about 15 years old and had probably been out of production 5 to 10 years. The dealer wanted to install a power steering unit on it before he put it on his lot. The PS was an option for the tractor and I did not install it. The dealer said that he could not get a PS unit for the tractor anymore because Kubota had discontinued them.

Rover

 

[Junkman]

Re: Kubota parts and obsolescence

Kubota might have discontinued them, but I am certain that if he were to do a dealer search, that he might have found one sitting on the shelf at another dealership. I am into the old car hobby and I can still find parts sitting on dealership part room shelves if the dealership was around 40 years ago and hasn't been cleaned out by another car collector. Parts are out there, but you have to be persistent in looking for them. I got parts last spring for my Bolens and Bolens has been out of business for many years now. The name lives on, but once they left WI, the company for all intents and purposes was no longer. The part that I needed was at a former Bolens dealer in PA that I found through the Yahoo Bolens Club web site.