Mahindra Max 28XL HST vs Kubota 2920 HSD with FEL, 60" mower, and BH

[deathtoblackberries]

Do you have a Kioti dealer near you?

The Mahindra dealer is a Kioti dealer, I looked at a CK20 while I was there.

[s219]

Hmm, we'll that's interesting -- I was expecting the Max to be well built. I would expect a little rust here and there, but nothing excessive. Heck, my B2920 has been outdoors since Dec 2011 and the only rust is on the bucket from wear.

I will say that in favor of the Kubotas, I found their fit and finish to be outstanding when I was shopping around, even better than Deere. It reminded me of the old days, when Japanese cars were noticeably nicer than GM/Ford/Chrysler fit and finish if you we're shopping around. The B series Kubotas definitely felt clean and tight, and made a good impression on me.

I'll be interested to see my neighbors Max when he gets it.

[murphy1244]

The Mahindra dealer is a Kioti dealer, I looked at a CK20 while I was there.

What did you think of it?

[madmax12]

Well let me say the Mahindra dealer was a very nice guy. Unfortunately the customer experience was lacking as was the tractor in quality. I made an appointment to check out Max28 today, they had days to prepare. I drove 140 miles round trip and when I got there half the tractor was MIA no backhoe no mower deck. They were 10 miles away at another facility. Then I noticed it didn't have the swivel seat for the backhow, the dealer insisted there wasn't a swivel seat rather the backhoe had its own seat e.g. a two seat setup. He did some checking and later agreed I was correct. This told me I knew more about the tractor than the dealer.

The tractor itself, rust everywhere in the nooks and crannies. There was rust on both axle housing for example, dealer said it was dirt, I wiped some off and showed him it was rust. It looks like the areas painted black on the tractor were rusted before it was painted. Even the FEL control block protected up under the housing was rusting. Big turn off to be wire brushing rust and painting a brand new $26,000 tractor.

One of the quick disconnects for the FEL was bent off to the left at an angle where the rest were all straight I'm sure its fine functionally but speaks to attention to detail. The birds nest of hydraulic hoses wow, poor routing, some lines just laid along an edge of the frame where they could rub through, this was worse in person than I saw in pictures. Kubota very neat and tidy routing of lines and good protection. I could see the Mahindra hoses getting caught in the brush. Location of the FEL control hung off the FEL looked half assed. Kubota right there at your hip where it belongs. You could see Kubota took the time to route those lines and locate that control with thought to ergonomics. **** this dealer had a cheaper Korean brand tractor on the lot and it was similar to Kubota. IMO Mahindra really should get their act together in this area. It wasn't all bad, the FEL was built like a brick shithouse, 1/4 inch steel vs the Kubota 3/16. I liked other things about it. Mahindra has thicker sheet metal fenders and floor, I found the Kubota flimsy in comparison.

Lots more to say about both tractors but we are just heading out to dinner so more later. I will say this though, the Kubota dealer got within $600 of my best price on the Mahindra and overall the Kubota has more features. Fit and finish on the Kubota was flawless. I also noticed the rubber floor mats on the B2920 are thicker and better quality than the BX I commented on earlier.

I'm sorry to hear that. Well, the Kubota will serve you well. Enjoy the shopping.

[djp1218]

I was in your shoes not to long ago i shopped for a cpl yrs before i pulled the trigger kubota kioti massey mahindra even branson (branson by the way is built heavier and tougher than all the rest with a cummings diesal TURBO) In the end i went with a mahindra 2816hst tlb i just couldnt ignore the fact that it was heavier longer lifts more ect. all of them will last you a life time if taken care of if i were you i wouldnt buy anything until you see it and fall in love its to big of an investment to be saying should have

[deathtoblackberries]

What did you think of it?

Well keep in mind that I looked it over for all of 3 minutes...looked to be a Kubota clone, fit, finish, rounting of hydrolic lines, thigh positioned FEL stick on par with Kubota. I saw a few small improvements over the Kubota, diff lock pedal for example and FEL control grip.

[deathtoblackberries]

branson by the way is built heavier and tougher than all the rest with a cummings diesal TURBO

You are EVIL!

[djp1218]

haha im not evil just honest they are built well and have better motors than all the rest just hardly any dealers around

[s219]

My neighbor's Max 28 arrived today, and it looked very good to me -- I didn't see any quality or paint issues. Nice tractor. It has a similar pedal arrangement to my B2920, but everything else about the cockpit is quite different, and the loader and hitch arrangements were unique as well. I can definitely see how people test driving a bunch of these tractors would prefer one over the other. I'm looking forward to seeing it in action.

[Gittyup]

Sounds like a lousy dealer. Didn't protect his inventory, wasn't ready for you when you got there. I don't think I'd buy from him. You are likely to find a different situation on the same tractors at another dealer.

BTW, the CK20 (all the CKs) are no kubota clones. Kioti outspecs comparable size/priced kubotas in most categories. Their weight and hydraulics flow are tough to beat for ground engagement tasks. Doesn't do much good to have all that digging force if the tractor is getting tossed around by it rather than digging the earth. My buddy has a bota B21 (a supposed industrial class machine). I used it for several hours and it's not heavy enough to get good performance. Maybe it would have done better with loaded tires. Pretty tough little beast, but the backhoe especially just tossed the tractor around. But, my Kioti is a way better digging machine.

I think you'd be very happy with a CK20 for 1 acre. You'd have that property cleaned up in one or two weekends. Most of what I saw could be pushed over out of the ground. Put a toothbar on those heavy Kiotis and they'll run over anything. I've pushed over several 6" trees with the bucket up high on my CK25 (loaded tires and backhoe). Little trees just pop them out of the ground with the bucket/toothbar. Have a Bobcat dealer around? Same tractor as a Kioti and the deals on them are awesome right now as BC is looking to get out of the tractor business.