Hi all. I've browsed the forums here for a while while researching on buying my first tractor. I just pulled the trigger today so I thought I'd join the forum and share what I got and why.
I've been looking at used and was very close to buying either a JD2130 or JD401c. Both are two wheel drive. My brother in law who has owned tractors for at least 10 years said with all the loader work I'm planning on that I'd really regret it if I didn't get 4wd.
I suppose I should backtrack a little and explain the situation. My wife had inherited 120 acres of wooded land, her brother the same, long before I knew them but my wife had no need or use for it. Around when we got married ~3 years ago, she sold the timber off to pay off some debt. Well, the timber company left a big mess of the land and I like rural life so I need a tractor to clean it up, do some dirt work for a house foundation I'm planning (if we can ever sell our house) and dig a good sized pond. So, lots of loader work!
So I look online a bit for used 4wd tractors. Figure 40hp+ would fit me well. Well, the best I'm finding lately is a 2006 40hp Kioti for ~$16,000 or a 36HP deere for $13,500. A big jump up from the ~$7500 of those 2wd tractors (I know they're old...) Well, I decided to price new and the guy with the 2130 mentioned a new dealer of "cheap" Korean LS tractors, implying a lack of quality rather than price although they are less. Well, I looked up the LS brand. As of yet have found nothing bad said about them. Read the history where they've been the Mfg for numerous other tractor companies. With the lack of complaints, I figure they must have worked out all the bugs while building tractors for other companies. Now that they have the "perfect" tractor (each has preferences but I'm sure they had lots of data to work with) they decided to sell it under their own name.
About the LS dealer, he just opened his new LS dealership after his partner at a previous New Holland dealer decided to retire and he couldn't get a loan to buy out the dealership. No surprise when the whole thing was 2.4 million and he had to buy his partner out of 1.6 million. I don't think a bank would loan me 1.6 million either...
So, a little iffy on a new brand and a new dealer, I priced out the competition. Looking at weight, HP and features I think the best comparison to the LS R4047 was the Deere 4320 or the Kubota L4400. The deere was about the same weight & HP though it seems to have much better hydraulic flow. The kubota is a good bit lighter (which I understand is not good) but close match on HP and hydraulics. Both deere and kubota price out a heck of a lot higher and a lot of the standard features on the LS are optional add-ons on deere and kubota.
So, I looked again at LS, seems the dealer finder on their site is kind of defective in that it never returns more than one.... I put in 4 cities within 60 miles searching max range and got 4 different dealers back, each that are withing 75 miles of my current home. So they aren't as rare as I thought. As for the dealer being unknown, he's a really nice guy and has a great product so I decided I'd support him by buying from him. I hope he does great with the dealership. If other posters are accurate, I'm going to love my R4047. I should be receiving it in a few days as I'm waiting on financing to go through and then his pre-delivery inspection. Besides, I want to accept it when I'm off so I can play with the new toy right away
I've been looking at used and was very close to buying either a JD2130 or JD401c. Both are two wheel drive. My brother in law who has owned tractors for at least 10 years said with all the loader work I'm planning on that I'd really regret it if I didn't get 4wd.
I suppose I should backtrack a little and explain the situation. My wife had inherited 120 acres of wooded land, her brother the same, long before I knew them but my wife had no need or use for it. Around when we got married ~3 years ago, she sold the timber off to pay off some debt. Well, the timber company left a big mess of the land and I like rural life so I need a tractor to clean it up, do some dirt work for a house foundation I'm planning (if we can ever sell our house) and dig a good sized pond. So, lots of loader work!
So I look online a bit for used 4wd tractors. Figure 40hp+ would fit me well. Well, the best I'm finding lately is a 2006 40hp Kioti for ~$16,000 or a 36HP deere for $13,500. A big jump up from the ~$7500 of those 2wd tractors (I know they're old...) Well, I decided to price new and the guy with the 2130 mentioned a new dealer of "cheap" Korean LS tractors, implying a lack of quality rather than price although they are less. Well, I looked up the LS brand. As of yet have found nothing bad said about them. Read the history where they've been the Mfg for numerous other tractor companies. With the lack of complaints, I figure they must have worked out all the bugs while building tractors for other companies. Now that they have the "perfect" tractor (each has preferences but I'm sure they had lots of data to work with) they decided to sell it under their own name.
About the LS dealer, he just opened his new LS dealership after his partner at a previous New Holland dealer decided to retire and he couldn't get a loan to buy out the dealership. No surprise when the whole thing was 2.4 million and he had to buy his partner out of 1.6 million. I don't think a bank would loan me 1.6 million either...
So, a little iffy on a new brand and a new dealer, I priced out the competition. Looking at weight, HP and features I think the best comparison to the LS R4047 was the Deere 4320 or the Kubota L4400. The deere was about the same weight & HP though it seems to have much better hydraulic flow. The kubota is a good bit lighter (which I understand is not good) but close match on HP and hydraulics. Both deere and kubota price out a heck of a lot higher and a lot of the standard features on the LS are optional add-ons on deere and kubota.
So, I looked again at LS, seems the dealer finder on their site is kind of defective in that it never returns more than one.... I put in 4 cities within 60 miles searching max range and got 4 different dealers back, each that are withing 75 miles of my current home. So they aren't as rare as I thought. As for the dealer being unknown, he's a really nice guy and has a great product so I decided I'd support him by buying from him. I hope he does great with the dealership. If other posters are accurate, I'm going to love my R4047. I should be receiving it in a few days as I'm waiting on financing to go through and then his pre-delivery inspection. Besides, I want to accept it when I'm off so I can play with the new toy right away
