Buying Advice Kubota compared to John Deere

[rScotty]

I'm new here, but, for what's it worth, I recently compared the Kubota to a Deere. In the beginning, I wanted a Deere. The Deere dealers, well, they made no effort to sell me a tractor. Gave me a strong feeling I was intruding on their day. The Kubota dealer bent over backwards for the sale. .

Well, I'm a JD guy. Don't know why, I just like them. Always have. I collect JD literature, including the history of the company. Always have. Wear a JD cap...etc.
So about 3 years back when my wife said it was time to buy a new machine.....one that did everything without needing so much fixit work. One that we would plan to keep and get old with. Well, we headed straight to JD. The dealer bent over backwards to help and arranged everything including try outs. Nice people.
What we wanted was a loader/backhoe that would carry a ton, had interchangeable buckets & power for interchaneable implements and probably in the 40 to 60 hp range. That range was more for overall size than for any real HP requirement. We priced every JD combination we could think of including their JD110 TLB as well as farm tractors with loaders, 3 pt hoes, and cabs.
We liked them all, but were surprised when so many things that we thought should come with the tractor were only available as options and that sure drove the price up. Way up. I mean, who ever heard of a skid pan being extra? Plus installation!! And remotes were out of sight. Still, I was convinced we should have a new JD.

One day after about of month of dithering with the patient JD dealer we decided to expand the search to include every machine on the market. We didn't care if it was popular or not. Just suddenly decided it was silly not to look at them all. Kubota was the last on the list because I still don't care for the color. I know that's nutty, but it's my nut.

We ended up with a Kubota M59. All of the dealers were helpful, although the Cat, Zetor, and MF - three different dealers there - sure could use more social skills. But I didn't let that throw me. After all, they just sell the machines; they don't built them or even know all that much unless it's in the sales book and I can read, too. It turns out the Kuboata just came standard with too many features for less dollars than the competition...including a lot of things that the competition didn't even offer.
It's been 3 years now and the Kubota has been great. It surprises me everytime I use it..... and yes, I still wince everytime I see the color. And hate the exhaust down by the front wheel. Oddly enough, JD still doesn't make anything to compare. That seems a bit odd. BTW, we kept one old JD. Sometime it's just nice to hear it run.
Hopefully the Kubota will run as well as the JD when it is 50 years old...what do you think?
rScotty

 

[Bota Bum]

Hopefully the Kubota will run as well as the JD when it is 50 years old...what do you think? rScotty

I hope I'm still alive when my little scut turns 50. I'll be 103!

 

[Deere Dude]

I don't understand the problem with plastic. I have had Deeres for years and never had a problem with plastic breaking, cracking or fading. Of course I think paint fades on tin or on plastic.
In fact, now that I think about it my dually has plastic fenders and my car has plastic stuff on it and they don't fade or chip or crack. I bet a majority of you have plastic on your cars, but sure wouldn't go back to the old steel cars. Why the hang up with plastic? I would think that a metal hood on a Kubota would look like crap after a tree branch falls on it just as a Deere plastic hood would.
Dealers want one thing, your money, one way or the other. No doubt a cheery, outgoing dealer will sell more. If I am going to come into a dealership and spend many hours of time checking every little thing out as some posters say they do, wasting the dealers time, it's no wonder they seem to brush many people off after a time. I would to. Deere dealers probably got burned by that many times over. Folks coming in and wasting their time and then say I'll just go get a cheapy someplace else.
I have had Kubota dealers and JD dealers slight me, at least I thought, but in the end it came down to comparing apples to apples as much as possible knowing none of them are cheap. I chose JD because of ergonomics, quality, durability and it sure looks pretty. A big plus for Kubotas, they are easier to spot in the woods.

 

[dkostiha]

Posts from earlier today:

B2320 Back wheel started to fall off @ 22 hr's


I have had my BX2350 for 2-1/2 yrs . I thought I would really love the Quality that I thought was to be represented by a Japanese company , but unfortunately is is built here. The engine yes, does have plenty of power, but dealer prep, and factory workmanship STINKS

 

[crazyal]

I don't understand the problem with plastic. I have had Deeres for years and never had a problem with plastic breaking, cracking or fading. Of course I think paint fades on tin or on plastic.
In fact, now that I think about it my dually has plastic fenders and my car has plastic stuff on it and they don't fade or chip or crack. I bet a majority of you have plastic on your cars, but sure wouldn't go back to the old steel cars. Why the hang up with plastic? I would think that a metal hood on a Kubota would look like crap after a tree branch falls on it just as a Deere plastic hood would.

Is my 2002 Saturn SL included in the "having plastic on it"? :laughing:
front part of the hood is plastic, the rest is metal. While there's a little surface rust on the hood and fenders the grill is in pretty rough shape. I'll be the first to admit I've gotten a little too close to the side of my dump truck while trying to get the dirt to the far side. It's a very heavy thick plastic but it did break. I can sand the rust off and paint the metal, the plastic needs to be replaced.

My Kubota gets treated more like a car and my BH gets treated like a piece of work equipment. Someday it could change for the Kubota. So for me, given how I may treat it in the future, I prefer metal over plastic. Some people don't like to have anything but the basics on a tractor while others, like me, like the extra bells. I don't think it's any different between plastic and metal, some will like one over the other.

 

[TripleR]

I can and do live with dents, but can't and won't with broken parts. We have some 50's model steel tractors that could look new with some paint. I doubt you will ever be able to do that with plastic.

Our John Deere looks fine, but it's only four years old.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Posts from earlier today:

B2320 Back wheel started to fall off @ 22 hr's

FYI, anytime tires are taken off and put back on again on anything (including a car) you need to check the bolts for torque after a few hours. This is also the case on tractors. Wheels comming loose are not at all uncommon, you'll find recomendation to check the torque in the owners manual.

 

[om21braz]

FYI, anytime tires are taken off and put back on again on anything (including a car) you need to check the bolts for torque after a few hours. This is also the case on tractors. Wheels comming loose are not at all uncommon, you'll find recomendation to check the torque in the owners manual.

+1 Especially if you have spun them a little in forward and reverse.

 

[Builder]

Skimmed through this thread quickly so if I'm repeating what someone else said, forgive me.
My conclusion is that both brands are excellent choices. There's 2 main differences.
1. John Deere has more experience in the >100HP tractor size and more overall tractor/equipment building experience. Under 100HP, Kubota seems more experienced and less likely (if not unlikely) to outsource.
2. John Deere costs more up front, but you get better resale value when you sell. My JD equipment that I've sold brought VERY handsome resale when I sold it. Cannot say same for Kubota, BUT I paid less for it compared to a comparable JD up front. IOW: Pay more up front, get more at the end (JD) or pay less up front, get less at the end (K).

I usually buy Kubota because I'm not a richy-rich guy and money talks for me. I'm also usually buying <100HP equipment, many times it's used and find this is Kubota's niche.
I am currently mulling over an M-105X and have to say, even though it's over 100HP, it has more features than a comparable Deere!!! It's lower resale value would save me thousands over a comparable Deere.

Still a Deere lover at heart, though. Something about the legacy, the heritage, American owned, etc.

 

[bp fick]

When I was three, with my grandfather already owning the Massey Harris Model 30, Dad took possession of a Massey Harris in the photo: The Canadian model, in grey. I grew up on that tractor, as soon as I could reach the pedals, logging hundreds of hours on the family farm. When I had graduated college and was living in California, my dad sold off the farm and auctioned off the equipment. That was a very sad day for me, as I was 3000 miles away and could do nothing about it.

Because of nostalgia, if anything, I'm biased toward Massey, but dealer network is horrid in this part of the country. It's pretty much Green/Orange only with the occasional New Holland. Plus, I'm not foolish enough to think that my nostalgia of Massey Harris in the 1950's has a thing to do with the Massey Ferguson-AGCO of today. Not a blessed thing. Thus, I'm about as color blind as one would imagine. I'm pretty loyal to the Big Blue Oval too, but have purchased Chrysler, Honda, GMC, etc along the way.

I chose a Kubota over Deere for more than a few reasons, among them the way the hydraulic hoses dangle under the floor board on a comparable (Yanmar) Deere but I don't believe my Kubota is way "better", just different, as were the dealers.