Buying Advice Narrowing down -MF 1758, mahindra 2555 Kubota L5460

[sdoubledub]

Looking for thoughtful inputs regarding these tractors from owners, reps, mechanics, operators etc.
I realize everything has trade-offs, so nothing will be perfect. The above will be fitted with a min 74" front mount blower- all will be HST. Will be using a 7' rear blade with detachable sides w/ hydraulic tilt, angle offset ( can this size tractor handle an 8'?) Also, ideas regarding hydraulic setup? Unfortunately, I'll have to give up my case 450 6 way dozer to make this happen.
Considerations/purpose:
Maintaining a mile long hilly gravel/dirt driveway prone to washouts. Snow removal in a snowbelt in northern mi.
A LOT of loader work- moving dirt, grapple tree piles, etc.
Massey dealer presence is not great, and I'd be buying out of state- I found his pricing not very competitive.
Kubota dealer about 50 minutes away- solid as a rock, but my goodness are they expensive. (Please save the get what you pay for. Lol)
Mahindra is the closest, (10 miles) and willing to take multiple units on trade, and by far, the best price- 8-9k.
Aside from the fact that I'm a nuts and bolts guy, and all of these electronics scare me, what are the cost of ownership pitfalls- ie, I heard you had to have a Mahindra dealer reset the computer after every service- true with the others? I'm looking to keep this thing forever.
Thank you for your consideration

 

[clevalley]

Can't speak about the other tractors except for the 2555. I bought the HST cab and really liked it. The only time I had to have the computer reflashed was because they forgot to flash it at the dealer before they delivered and they came out to my property and did it. They are coming out with an EGR relocation kit that keeps the EGR from getting fouled up running at low RPM's (below 1500 RPM for extended period) Right now they are for high elevations or rare conditions where it is operated in the lower RPM's. I have been told eventually everyone will get them.

My machine has an odd issue with the PTO and the dealer in conjunction with MahindraUSA are replacing the tractor - it's a long drawn out story, but the 2555 with it's capacities, weight and price is what leaned me towards them. The dealer in itself sold me because they are great to deal with. Make sure you get a good vibe from your dealer and go with them; the dealer makes all the difference in the world especially if you have any issues.

 

[sdoubledub]

Thank you for the reply. The warranty period is a huge bonus IF the dealer and company stand by it. How was dealing with Mahindra USA? I've seen some pretty harsh critiques of corporate warranty work being delayed for absurd periods of time, but I realize people are FAR more likely to post when they are po'd.
How long were you without a tractor before them replacing it? How many trips back and forth? I sincerely appreciate you sharing your experience.
Thanks!

 

[clevalley]

Thank you for the reply. The warranty period is a huge bonus IF the dealer and company stand by it. How was dealing with Mahindra USA? I've seen some pretty harsh critiques of corporate warranty work being delayed for absurd periods of time, but I realize people are FAR more likely to post when they are po'd.
How long were you without a tractor before them replacing it? How many trips back and forth? I sincerely appreciate you sharing your experience.
Thanks!

This is where the good dealers are separated by the not-so-good ones. I was only out of a tractor for about 2 weeks which was not a big deal at the time. Dealer came and picked it up/delivered 2 times. The first time it was in and they rebuilt the PTO, same problem (noise) which perpetuated into the hydro's overheating. They picked it up again and dropped off a demo for me to use - that has been 3 months ago. Again, my problem is unique and not many are experiencing the issue... it started with the PTO making a clicking sound - some have reported it with no overheat condition, some do not have the click. My tractor can run an hour at idle with nothing connected to the PTO output shaft and after the hour is up you cannot put your hand on the rear axle it is so hot you CANNOT touch it. The dealer was working with corporate and they flew out the an engineer from Texas who could not fix it. The transmission has been rebuilt and shimmed by hand to spec, PTO rebuilt and shimmed to spec 2x, clutch packs re-shimmed and the same issue... mind you all the while I am clicking hours on their demo (un-released 6065 cabbed power shuttle).

The dealer gave me the number to the VP of Marketing and I spoke to him on the phone, got a call back from the Director of Customer Service and had a "Come to Jesus" meeting with him because I know the dealer is tired of screwing with it. They have a new one on the assembly line and it will be tested and delivered to my farm for me to test and if all goes well they take the demo back.

On my side, not much of a hassle because I am backing the dealer and they are backing me. MahindraUSA has probably lost out on what it would have cost to replace the tractor from the start, but they know this is on them.

At the end of the day, there are TONS of the 2555's out there in HST and Shuttle with ZERO issues. They are a monster and a great tractor but with my situation they are going to upgrade me for free for my trouble for being out of my tractor AND I have been providing them valuable feedback to their R&D department about the 6065. It wound up being a win-win.

If you go with ANY manufacturer dealer, make sure they have a loaner program and find out what the terms are. We run a horse farm and being without one for more than a couple of weeks is a back breaker, we come to a standstill without it.

 

[jeff9366]

Kubota dealer about 50 minutes away- solid as a rock, but my goodness are they expensive. (Please save the get what you pay for. Lol)

Mahindra is the closest, (10 miles) and willing to take multiple units on trade, and by far, the best price- 8-9k.

Kubota L5460 is one of Kubota's heavy chassis "Grand Ls." It comes loaded with premium kit but........you have to pay.

Have you considered one of Kubota's MX series, built on the same heavy chassis as the L5460 but with spartan, rather than deluxe features?
Minimal kit, lower price.
MX5200 LINK: http://www.kubota.com/product/MX4800/MX4800.aspx

For me, possibly not for you, having my tractor dealer ten miles away would be an important consideration. I have purchased two new Kubotas plus several Land Pride implements in seven years from my dealer, six miles away. I am in there as least twice a month for SOMETHING, often just information. (The Kubota dealer does all my tractor service except greasing.)

 

[sdoubledub]

Thank you Jeff. I might not have mentioned, but I need a cab. I don't think the mx offers one. Is there another more "spartan" cabbed version that I'm not aware of? (Hst)
Thank you again for your time.

 

[jeff9366]

No cabs within the MX series.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

It's too bad you don't have a LS or Kioti dealer nearby. Both are supposed to have very nice cabbed tractors in this size.

There really have been some horror stories on here with Mahindra Corporate and Mahindra dealers but usually both in concert. Much higher than the other major brands as a percentage of unit sold in the USA (IMO of course).

 

[crazyal]

I think you will find that not every model will be compatible with a front mount blower. After owning my Grand L for 7 years now I know I made the right choice for me. The two speed rear motor for the HST is worth it's weight in gold. On rare occasion I do have to shift between L and M or M and H and each time I love being able to flick a lever and shift without being able to let off the pedal. I'm really surprised that other brands haven't offered this. For snow blowing when I come to a drift or a bank I can slow down without having to stop and shift and back again. I don't think you would miss it if you've never had it but if you have it you'll realize just how useful it is. How much it's worth really comes down to personal preference. The whole point of HST is to make life easier. Kubota's HST+ just takes it to the next level.

 

[TSO]

All of them would be decent choices but for overall quality, the Japan builds (the Kubota and the Massey) are, in my opinion, of higher quality. Just in case you didn't know, Massey compact machines (under 100 HP) are built by Iseki MFG in Japan... Have been for a long time

For running a front blower, I'm assuming you're planning on using a rear PTO power pack? All of these tractors should have enough PTO HP to run the blower thru the power pack, but in theory, the tractor with the most PTO HP should handle it best. In that case, i believe the L6060 has the highest PTO HP of the machines you mentioned.

But with that said, they're all relatively close in PTO HP. If your dealer support for each machine is fairly equal, then it's going to come down to your personal feelings on each machine.

Play with each machine and go with your gut.