Kubota just raised prices tonight!

[rScotty]

Kubota IS the market for that series tractor. No one else really builds anything like this series any more.

That's what I found. When I was looking for a smallish footprint, medium weight, and semi-commercial duty TBL, if there was anything else on the market that was comparable to the M59 I couldn't find it. Still can't.

On new machines, I wonder if Kubota will end up financially shooting themselves in the foot like the Japanese motorcycle industry did? It strikes me as a similar situation.
For those that don't follow motorcycles, what happened a few decades back is that most motorcycle manufacturers had evolved their machines to be so reliable and feature-rich that the big advantage to a new one was simply being the current year's new model. Traditionally 'cycles had been maintenance hogs and people bought new because they would at least work more or less right for awhile. But when they became ultra-reliable, it turned out that from the rider's seat, new ones now just didn't work much differently from similar older used bikes at a fraction of the cost. That meant that new bike prices had to go up....farther suppressing the sales of new bikes.

A good situation for the knowledgeable rider or tractor owner, but not as good for the new customer.
rScotty

 

[Grateful11]

Talked with nearby Kubota dealer last week about an M7040 with a cab and he broke it down, showed his cost of the tractor and each option and then the MSRP. He priced at his cost plus $1400 for freight, prep and filling the rear tires plus $3000 profit for the dealership. We've only talked to one dealer about price so far. This dealer is only 1/2 mile away from the farm. $43,725 with FEL(no bucket have one already) and pretty much loaded, 2 rear remotes, cast rear wheels, grill guard, stereo, air seat, etc. $38,400 without the FEL.

 

[deamer1]

I've been looking at a M7040 HD1 for almost a year now. I've almost bought a new one twice. I was talking to our local Kubota sales office and they informed me that the prices had gone up, and when we went over the tractor prices with the preferred options...the price had indeed gone up. And...to go further with it the dealer informed me that another 14% increase was scheduled to be implemented in the short future, but he wasn't knowledgeable about the exact date. Also that the emissions standards were getting more stringent and some of the items which are now a owner/operator service item will be a dealer only item.
I started searching for a good used tractor with low hours at a fair price. I found four in different areas of the Midwest which I was interested in. Two of them were within 300 miles of home, so we took a day and went to see them. I bought one of them which was a Kubota M7040 HD1 with a FEL. purchased in Sept. 2011, with 130 hours on it and of course still in warranty. It had everything I was going to order on a new one, and also two other options which I liked but wasn't willing to pay for at a dealer prices.
I bought it at a fair price and they delivered to us 200 mile away the next day.
I was glad to get it, they were glad to get out from under the debt, and we each have no ill feeling about any of it. A good day for both of us.
The good part of all this is that I got a good nearly new tractor at a cost of several thousand under dealer pricing. The bad part is that it has been sitting in the machine shed since the day it was delivered and I haven't got to play with it yet. Maybe soon :drool: