Kubota / Kioti

[PoorMansCat]

I think Korean manufacturers as a whole are addressing that issue. I, too, have no Kioti dealers around me. I had four of them, but they all went under in short order. However, they were all either roadside yard barn gravel lot dealerships or the one that had Kioti, Belarus and some brand I forgot the name of. In other words, it's probably better for Kioti that they are gone. Heck, as far as I know, Kioti may have pulled their franchise.

I'm pretty certain I've heard that some of the smaller Kioti dealers are upset because if they are not a good sized stocking dealer, Kioti is either pulling their franchise or is putting in another dealer basically on top of them who will represent the product well. Hyundai/Kia has made it clear in Automotive News that they are going to clean house with small underproducing dealers and dealers who do not provide top notch service to their customers.

I think it goes without saying that Kubota has a world-class productheyt. I also now think that the Korean products are either now world-class products or soon will be. So far in 2010, 2007 and newer Korean vehicles (Hyundai and Kia) have had better reliability statistics than Toyota! I used to always buy Whirlpool refrigerators, washers and dryers. They were made in my home town! Quality was top notch. Their products I have purchased in the last 5 years have been absolutely terrible! I can't be alone in thinking that either. The Whirlpool plant in my town has been making Whirlpool products since they quit making P47 aircraft for WWII. Now they are closed. I bought a Samsung refrigerator early this year and love it.

My only point is that I think Kioti has been severely hampered by a poor distribution system in many parts of the country here in the US. It may have taken them a while, but I think they now are making the tough decisions and are putting in dealers that your typical JD or Kubota customer would feel comfortable walking in and looking at their product. I use myself as an example; I would have never dropped $40k or $50k for a tractor when the dealership was a yard barn. If a nice Kioti dealer springs up close to me in the next 5 years or so, I guarantee you that I'll look at their DK90 (or perhaps something bigger if they have it) and shop it against JD and Kubota.

Very well said!!!.. Although i didn't drop NEARLY as much as you did.. Wow!!.. Did it come with a 24 hour 7 day a week personal driver??? hahaha!!!... I would have been at the Dr. for meds if I spent that much on a tractor.. im just a weekend farmer with only 2 resident hay burners!!.
Very well said though... the last Kioti dealer I saw was a Branson dealer before that.. and before the Bransons, they were peddling Zetor and Farmtrac... all of these are probably very good tractors... but with no reliable dealership infrastructure, I just could NOT bring myself to pull the trigger.. One other dealer I noticed when shopping had recently went from Kioti to Bobcat, so I inquired about available units to look at and they had recently dropped the Bobcat utility tractors and had shifted to only carry Bobcat construction equipment..
Its extremely difficult to spend money in a dealership setting like that.. atleast for ME it was. Like you said, gravel and chain link fence surrounding some tractors and a tin building.
The Kubota dealer on the otherhand has been there forever, VERY nice dealership setting, owners name on the building matches the salesman I bought from... give you that warm fuzzy feeling!!. Hopefully the little Bota I bought works out well for me, my F.I.L. has already thrown a shoe for my new tractor NOT being a J.D.

 

[Ductape]

Confucious say : Man who throw shoe get cold feet !

 

[crazyal]

Around me one dealer had Kioti but now carries Mahindra. Another one was a wheel horse dealer that went under, came back, then went under again. None of the dealers are what I would call farm or ag type dealers, mostly rental places.

 

[E/S]

You are probably way ahead of the game anyway. To me dealer support is really important and since I keep stuff a long time, at some point I am probably going to need a good shop.

I all ready did need a shop !
Am glad I went Kubota .

E/S

 

[TripleR]

I all ready did need a shop !
Am glad I went Kubota .

E/S

I remember, that was quite the ordeal. I got my M8540 out for a bit yesterday and drove it back to our other farm; still like it.:thumbsup:

 

[PoorMansCat]

Confucious say : Man who throw shoe get cold feet !

hahaha... thats funny!. My F.I.L. thinks EVERYTHING should be J.D. or an old Ford 8N...
BUT, he has no problem borrowing my "sub-standard" Bota to move hay bales that his little Deere won't..
Old people!!.. Geezzzzz..

 

[Hvytrkmech]

I was tossing it up between the tractor in my sig and a Kioti Ck25HST. The deciding factor for me was the dealer. The Kioti dealer had a horrible reputation for service repairs. It was opposite for the Kubota dealer.

 

[funwithahoe]

I was tossing it up between the tractor in my sig and a Kioti Ck25HST. The deciding factor for me was the dealer. The Kioti dealer had a horrible reputation for service repairs. It was opposite for the Kubota dealer.

When I went to look at the Bobcat (basically the same as Kioti) the only demo they had to show me was an almost new one that was in the shop for repairs.:laughing: I know it can happen to any product but I had to laugh when the sales rep told me he had one in for repairs he could show me then changed his mind and said he actually didn't know why it was there but they were great tractors!