How did you first discover Kubota?

sixdogs · Apr 5, 2008

I posted this on another thread but thought it would make a good one on it's own. Hope OK.
The question is, how were you introduced to Kubota? I mean, when did you first realize this was a really good thing and one or more was in your future?

My attraction to Kubota started in the 1980's. I saw a fellow that used a little BX or B-sized until there was nothing left. And then he used it lots more. Commonly referred to as the worst farmer on earth, he abused that little thing by commercial rototilling and plowing as well as bush hogging. No one today would dare do what he did with that. Stumps and rototilling car bumpers were no reason to take it easy.
I can't remember the hours but it was more than I had ever seen. And he tilled metal and rocks and posts and it kept on chugging along.
And, being the worst farmer in earth, I can't recall much in the way of service.
Since then I've owned an M8950 that was the best tractor I ever had and now have an L4300 and B7800. They are real workhorses.
That was my into to Kubota. Yours?

Egon · Apr 5, 2008

Just can't remember how I first heard about Kubota!

ctpres · Apr 5, 2008

TBN
As city boy building in country I knew zero about country living but I was sure I would need a tractor because just about everybody had one.
Trying to learn about country life led to countrybynet which led to TBN and Orange.

davitk · Apr 5, 2008

4 years ago we stumbled upon an old farm with a few acres that my wife just had to have. I started out looking for an old 8N to knock down the weeds, but my brother made sure I knew that the 8N he had recently sold needed repair at least twice a year to the tune of 500.00. He asked his mechanic what to buy to replace it and was told to "buy the Kubota, the one that doesn't need fixing".

My 2 nearest neighbors have BX's they putz around with and they were very happy with them. While it is totally against my nature to go with the crowd, I just couldn't bring myself to buy a lesser brand, so instead I satisfied that need buy buying a bigger Kubota

offcamber · Apr 5, 2008

Back in the 80s a friend of mine owned a landscaping business....all his tractors and mowers were Kubota....The name always stuck in my head and through the years all the farmers and landscrapers I knew either used them or had good things to say about them. In fact I have never met anyone who had a bad thing to say about Kubota.

Botabill · Apr 5, 2008

I was tired of using a push mower to mow around the paths of my 30 acre property so I went looking at what was out there. Saw the garden tractors at the big box stores with plastic parts and thin steel frames. Then by chance stopped in at Kubota dealer to have a look. When I saw the BX I just fell in love. It was apparent that the BX was built just as solid as big tractors. I was sold. I knew I loved the tractor but when I found this site I discovered I had made a real good choice based on the experiences of others. That was 4-5 years and over 1000 hours ago with very few minor repairs in between. My property has undergone a major transformation because of the tractor. One of the best purchases I've made in my life.

lawn_king · Apr 5, 2008

Working in the green industry for decades, the kubota name was no stranger to me. I walked into the dealer to purchase a jd, walked away with my 1st kubota & have never looked back!

ultrarunner · Apr 5, 2008

Why... on TractorByNet... of course!

valleydweller1 · Apr 5, 2008

Two words: State Fair

We had purchased our 5 acres a little more than a year before and hadn't done much with it yet. We were at the fair, walking past the Kubota Dealer's display when I jokingly stopped and (within earshot of the salesman) said, "Hey Honey, we should buy one of these!) The salesman obediently and reluctantly walked over. My wife's surprising reply was, "Well, we need one. You could mow the field and move dirt and stuff".

You could almost see the switch flip in the salesman's mind from "waste of time" to "potential sale".

Two weeks later I had a BX2230.

Greg

Shantycoke · Apr 5, 2008

I had a 49 Farmall Cub with a 5 foot Woods belly mower. It took me about 5 hrs. to mow my 4.5 acre yard, and that was on a good day. When I built my barn, my neighbor up the road (whose family owns the local Kubota dealership) heard that I was going to rent a Bobcat to backfill around the basement of it. He showed up at my house with a cooler full of beer and he told me that I was not to rent the Bobcat, but use his Kubota with a FEL for the backfill. This was of course, discussed while we emptied the cooler. Needless to say I was very impressed, and I really didn't want to give it back to him. A couple years later while trying to mow, he caught me welding on my Farmall, which was a common occurance during the mowing process. He went and got his brother and ended up talking me into a new tractor. Now my cutting time is about 2 hrs. and I don't have to work on it halfway through the job. I especially love it when my buddies who drove green went orange after trying my B7800 out.
Once I find something that works the way it should, I stick with it. I won't own anything else.
Pat

Mowbizz · Apr 5, 2008

A brand new owner here (BX24) but have been using one for two years (BX with snowblower and 54"MMM deck and bagger system). Love these things!
How I came to learn about them?? Word of mouth, just passing by the dealer and seeing all that ORANGE...

Started my one man operation lawn mowing and snow plowing business last year and hoping to expand my account base. Lots of work to do around my own yard so lots of practice sessions with the BX24 backhoe and loader ahead...!

texbaylea · Apr 5, 2008

Back in 1984 I got tired on of buying or rebuilding a "disposable" Craftsman riding mower every other year. I had been driving past a Kubota dealership at least once a week so thought that I would take a look. I knew that we would eventually be moving to the acreage we are now on and maybe a small tractor might be the answer.

After much looking, the only small tractor was a Kubota so I bought a B6100E with a rear finish mower. Way overkill for the small lot we then lived on but doable and also for trim work here. Had that little tractor for 20 years. Well worth the price.

Vernon

wushaw · Apr 5, 2008

I learned of Kubota the same way I learned of Sthil...word of mouth.
Before I bought my first Kubota I did look at green since my ex-wife wanted me too but when no salesman at the dealership even showed up I told the ex ....I tried

texasjohn · Apr 5, 2008

I just got lucky... had owned two previous tractors, older Case and a MF165 (now dead). Both underpowered for what I needed. I was looking to see what was available. Looked at green at a couple of dealers since all real farmers here are Green. MF dealers in the area had gone downhill dramatically. Looked at Kioti and was unfamilar with brand, not impressed although couldn't figure out just why. Decided to stop in and look at NH ... and they happened to have a 160hr used L5030HSTC with various implements. Price wise, I determined that I could get the tractor with the cab and a couple of implements for free and pay price of new JD only. I had seen Kubota's on lots for years, thus knew they were around to stay. Visited Kubota dealer and priced totally new, matching the used machine. Price of 160 hrs was about $4500. I negotiated price of used tractor down another $1000 plus a complete fluids exchange and pulled the trigger.

Now, at 550 hrs, only one very minor $35 adjustment at the dealer, I remain very happy with the selection.

BotaBigot · Apr 5, 2008

Back in the '70s, after destroying Sears biggest hydro garden tractor (some may remember it...blue/white with "moon" hubcaps...pretty) by trying to get it to act like a tractor instead of a lawnmower, I bought a used B6000 with 4WD, FEL, and rear finish mower. Being a gearhead, I could see right away I had something built like a truck...not a go-kart. For over 15 years, it never let me down. Last year, when I decided I needed a tractor for my present 4 acre ongoing project, I got a BX24. With TBN recommended mods (this year I'm looking at a toothbar and bucket grapple), it's perfect for my needs...and super easy to make into TLB or lawnmower...and anything in between.

Blackbird_BX · Apr 5, 2008

I can't remember where I first discovered Kubota, but it was when I was researching a tractor to replace the old Deere 140 that came with the property we bought. I had never hear of Kubota before, but Kubota seemed to be the only brand had consistently favorable user reviews on the sites I found on the web. I finally bought a BX24 based on that. I was only looking for a tractor with a FEL, but after reading about the utility of a backhoe with a thumb, the BX 24 seemed the only logical choice.

Sniggle · Apr 6, 2008

When I bought my new house with 3 acres, I needed a lawn tractor (actually I needed a tractor but I did not think big enough).

After doing research, I came to 2 conclusions, a) I wanted as large a deck as possible and b) I wanted a diesel if possible. I ended up buying a used G1900 AWS from Ebay with a 60 inch deck/ rear R4 wheels and 1100 hours for $3000.

The machine is a beast for a lawn tractor. It is built like a little tank, all metal, and the 18 hp diesel will cut just about anything (my nieghbors were amazed as I rolled into knee high grass and the machine cut right through it). I purchased a snow blade for the front and it clears snow real good.

The machine has held up well for 3 summers of work, with only 1 medium surgery required (replaced drive shaft as bearing had gone, $210 parts). I am sure she will last me for many more years.

So when it came to a tractor after buying 6 more acres, Kubota was the choice. I like having 2 Kubotas in my stable

Bob_Young · Apr 6, 2008

After I retired and moved back to NY, I needed something reliable with a loader while I got my Dad's old tractors back into running shape. Only the old Ford 4000 would run at the time and, thanks to the mice, it was an electrical disaster.

I knew the owners of the local NH/Kubota dealership and went there looking for a used NH in 2004. Had found a used gear TC40 listed on the net at one of their branch stores. Coming from an Ag tractor background, I had no use for Kubotas and thought the Russians made them. I only knew them as rusty orange relics. My colors were either Blue or Green.

The salesman looked at the printout of the ad and said, "What if I could put you in a new tractor with 5 more HP for less money?". It turned out to be a Kubota L4300 which was on clearance sale to make room for the L4400. I hemmed and hawed, took the quote home and thoroughly researched Kubota on the web...mostly here at TBN. My original TBN posts about Kubota were quite skeptical. A day or two before the clearance sale was set to end, I put some money down on the tractor. Between finding one, transporting it and installing the options, it was 6 weeks before it was ready.

When I picked it up and brought it home, I thought that the purchase was possibly the crowning folly of my existence. Over the next year I learned to admire and then love the little beast. Can't tell you how many times I said, "Dang! I'm glad I bought this thing!".

Since then I've come to regard the money I spent on it and the B7610 as some of the best I've ever spent. The new MX looks like it's going to fit that mold as well. Getting work done beats fighting with old junk anytime. As a result, some of the old blue and green stuff will probably disappear this year.

I feel fortunate to have been in a position to buy the equipment I have. Makes my frugal, penny-pinching past all seem worthwhile.
Bob

KeithInSpace · Apr 7, 2008

In 2006, we had just bought our largest house yet, ~5,500 sf on 2 wooded acres. Never lived in woods. Childhood house was ~3/4 acre, but flat grass (weeds, I mean) that we hacked to death with a rear engine Crapsman. Haven't needed more than a push mower since.

Was looking at a Cub Cadet ZTR for the new house, but wasn't 100% since I didn't know what to do with snow and such. Didn't know that the "sub-compact" class of tractor even existed.

Was on a trip somewhere and we saw an assembled BX on the back of a semi...both my wife and I had the same thought. What about THAT!!! So small, but with the FEL, so versitile.

Looked at JD and NH, but really fell in love with the Kubota. Just a wicked cool machine that doesn't look out of place on my 'small' yard.

Wouldn't trade it for the world! Just perfect for our needs.

Blagadan · Apr 7, 2008

A B6100 Kubota was the first tractor I learned to drive back when I was a kid.
Present day, now in my late 30's, I needed a tractor to take the pressure off my ride-on mower. I used that White ride-on waaaay beyond its capabilities and seemed to spend more and more time fixing it than actually using it. I started looking at compact tractors and straight away I know I wanted to have a B series Kubota again.
Eventually I found what I was looking for, a B7100, and it is absolutely perfect for my needs. One tough little bull.