If you had it to do over again...

[Kwehme09]

I've been having some trouble with my Kioti and Kioti Dealer, and been thinking back to when I bought my tractor. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have gone with a Kubota, not because of the quality of my Kioti, but because my local Kioti dealer has an awful service department compared to the local Kubota dealer.

A few other things I'd do differently:

- I would have sized up a model or two. I stayed under the 25HP mark, and in hindsight given my hilly terrain, I think the extra HP would have been helpful and worth the emissions stuff. I think I whiffed on this decision because I was going from a shuttle shift (19HP) to an HST.

- I would have wired my work light with a relay. I probably will actually do this one over.

- I would have checked the tightness of the nuts on my FEL mounts. They all backed out at about 15 hours and caused some minor damage on my new tractor even though the dealer claims they put lock tight on them all during install.

I'm sure a lot of people's Do-Overs are covered in almost every post, but I thought it might be interesting to collect them all in one place.

 

[Gary Fowler]

My only do over would be to get a slightly smaller tractor than my LS, likely in the 50 HP side rather than 70 HP.

 

[Atchuuu]

I'm happy to say that I got lucky and would do the exact same thing over.

I almost went with Kioti myself but the dealer is also a farm store and while shopping I had to ask questions in between people buying feed supplies, lawn ornaments and fencing. Just didn't get the attention the asking price deserved.

As far as dealers go, my local Kubota was difficult to deal with. Hard to reach a salesman. No effort really on their part, sort of a take it or leave it attitude. So I use a dealer much farther away and pay for them to pick up and bring back. Happy with that arrangement.

Dealer inventory, parts, sales and service support make a world of difference IMHO.

 

[murphy1244]

You have been here 2 days and put up 2 posts and you're complaining about your machine..Hmmmmm.

 

[4get gto]

You have been here 2 days and put up 2 posts and you're complaining about your machine..Hmmmmm.

What's it matter..?

 

[Roadworthy]

The dealership can make or break your experience, can't they? I avoided the Tier IV stuff by getting a Kubota L2501 for my hilly property. I LOVE that little tractor!! It's a huge move up from my forty five year old Mitsubishi D2350 which had NO dealer support. I don't know that Kubota is superior to Kioti in any way but at twenty miles to the Kubota dealer versus a hundred for Kioti it was a no brainer for me. The local Kubota dealer has been very supportive and attentive both before and after the sale. Dealing tractors is kind of a side line for them. They actually manufacture agricultural equipment.

 

[davrow]

As for dealer, mine was exact opposite situation. I got my Kioti because the Kubota dealer treated me poorly when my intention was to buy a B3350. Kioti dealer was great.

I would love a cab. I would like a few more HP. But I like the size of my CK27. Not sure I would actually change anything in a do-over.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I would have thought more about ergonomics. I love my Branson 3015R but it annoys me I can't enter the cockpit from either side. The FEL controls make it really hard to enter from the right side. More of an annoyance than a deal breaker. Also, in hindsight HST might have been better for what I do most, again FAR from a deal breaker. Otherwise, I don't think I would change anything.

 

[AWSubie]

I would have put the expanded metal mesh over my brush guard immediately after delivery. I procrastinated and now have a cracked plastic grill.

 

[Jstpssng]

I would have thought more about ergonomics. I love my Branson 3015R but it annoys me I can't enter the cockpit from either side. The FEL controls make it really hard to enter from the right side. More of an annoyance than a deal breaker. Also, in hindsight HST might have been better for what I do most, again FAR from a deal breaker. Otherwise, I don't think I would change anything.

There are very few tractors which allow access from either side. I believe that it has or had something to do with avoiding stepping on controls, kicking it out of gear and/or releasing the brake. It may even go back farther than that, don’t you always mount a horse from the left side?