Comparison LS vs Mahindra vs Kubota

[kiotiken]

Kubota has the strongest dealer organization in this country as well as higher resale value.

Man this line of thinking gets tiring to read sometimes. Yes they're nice, no I don't think they're any nicer than many other machines and there's no denying they are more expensive than lots of other choices as well. They have a good dealer network, but nowhere near Deere's anywhere around here (or anywhere else I've seen). I haven't heard of anybody having an issue getting parts for LS or Mahindra or not being taken care of by their dealer.

A used Kubota MAY sell for more, but you paid more to start. It's not always the case either. You really shouldn't be thinking of selling before you buy anyway.

HP only tells a small part of the story. I'd take a L4240 over a L4600 any day for instance. Weight, hydraulics, capabilities, features etc are all far more important.

 

[LD1]

I'd be looking at the L3800 over the L3200 if you are considering a gear model for the live PTO.

The HST models it dont much matter, just lesser HP.

All three will likely be priced similar, but the Mahindra and LS will offer more features, as the kubota is a stripped down economy model, and for similar cost, you get fewer features in trade for name/dealer network. ITs up to you which is more important.

Also be sure to test out the 3PH. Those two models of kubotas had some jerky hitches

 

[joe t]

Out of curiosity I looked up LS tractors and they change names often. Dealer network is loose too.


Look like a good deal but you may have to deal with sourcing parts later. I have a old Hinomoto and sourcing parts is kinda difficult.


Mahindra has not seemed to change names and has been around awhile, at least in India. Dealer network around here seems to be decent.


Kubota has a good dealer network.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Out of curiosity I looked up LS tractors and they change names often. Dealer network is loose too.


Look like a good deal but you may have to deal with sourcing parts later. I have a old Hinomoto and sourcing parts is kinda difficult.


Mahindra has not seemed to change names and has been around awhile, at least in India. Dealer network around here seems to be decent.


Kubota has a good dealer network.

The name changes were because those names were not LS names. Those were companies that sold LS made tractors. LS decided to sell direct and that ended many of their sales deals, not all though. That and some of those companies have gone out of business. But when you see the LS sign out front of a dealership, that dealer is selling LS tractors made by LS. They are not a 3rd party tractor company. They do currently provide some tractors to Case-New Holland.

 

[joe t]

I am actually referring to the LS corporation. Their history is so complex it is hard to follow including name changes and multiple acquisitions over time.


Not saying it is a bad tractor but I'd prefer to have a 'New Holland' LS tractor just for dealer support.


Mahindra has changed its name once in 1963 from 'Mahindra and Mahindra' to just Mahindra.


I am sourcing Wiki on this so it all might not be 100% right but usually is accurate.

 

[LD1]

I could be wrong but I think kubota is the only one that has never changed names AND makes their own tractors as opposed to having others build for them...

 

[murphy1244]

I could be wrong but I think kubota is the only one that has never changed names AND makes their own tractors as opposed to having others build for them...

And the point is?

 

[bandaidmd]

I kept a open mind when i bought my new Kubota this spring and looked at all the brands. I did use the dealer as one of the criteria and when looking at the mahindra ,kioti, and LS it seems tractors were not there main reason for being in business. The New Holland and Deere were good dealers but there product is just different paint and decals from another mfg.
When I walked into my Kubota dealer and several other Kubota dealers that I have visited theres no doubt that there in business to sell and service Kubotas .
It also weighed heavily in my decision that a Kubota is a Kubota ,not a Johnny Cash Cadillac made up of several different parts.

When I was doing the research and using the Mahindra comparison tool it sure did seem the tractor that they compared theres too was a whole different category of tractor and that seemed a little disingenuous.

 

[murphy1244]

when looking at the mahindra ,kioti, and LS it seems tractors were not there main reason for being in business.?
What does this mean?

 

[rider0]

when looking at the mahindra ,kioti, and LS it seems tractors were not there main reason for being in business.?
What does this mean?

Could be what I found when looking at tractors: "Don's used cars and Kioti tractors". "Yeah, Don'll be back after he's done signing the title paperwork on that there Dodge. Oh, and he's stopping by the bank to deposit a check. Shouldn't be more than an hour or so. No, honey, I don't know anything about the tractors. Yeah, Jimbo does our service but he only comes in on Wednesdays and Saturdays. No, we don't have price lists, but Don can tell you when he gets back. JOSE! GET BACK IN THAT CLOSET! Yeah, what's a pallet fork? We don't have none of those."

etc., etc., etc.

I'm not quite capturing the essence of the dealerships, but you might be getting the idea.

Totally, totally different from the Kubota dealers I've visited, which are either like a JD dealer (competent and ridiculously expensive) ("Yes, we charge MSRP + our monthly boat payment, take it or leave it"), or competent, highly knowledgeable, product focused, and fiercely competitive.

I think the poorly vetted, poorly trained, and poorly capitalized dealer network of some "second tier" brands are the biggest obstacle to growth of those brands.