Tractor shopping (kind of long)

[Ender]

Tractor shopping.
In the past 10 days or so I have visited a

Jinma dealer…284 standard transmission $9400,00 with Koyker 60” loader. Dealer 150 miles away.
Tym dealer T330 with shuttle shift and Tym 60” loader approx. $15,500 dealer 12 miles away
NH dealer TC-30 hydrostatic transmission 60” loader and box blade 17K even. Dealer 22 miles away
Massy dealer 1433v with shuttle shift, industrial tires, and 60” loader and box blade for 18.8K. Dealer 1.5 miles away

(Ran out of time before I got a chance to go to the Kubota dealer and JD)

Looking at the 4 machines in a strictly working sense that is can it do the job that I need. Turning 5 acres of rocks, juniper trees, sagebrush, downed trees, and stumps into the “park like” setting my wife and I envision. I see no real difference. They all will move rocks, haul gravel, pick up stumps, blade a long driveway, and assist in a hundred other tasks around the place. It is the level of comfort that these various jobs will be accomplished at that is factor that separates the contenders.

I am a good mechanic and with my weird work schedule, I am home 2 weeks of every month and away 2, I have the time to tinker with the tractor. So mechanics of the machine becomes almost a moot point.

I have never owned a tractor or driven one further than around the lots at the various dealers so learning the very basic Jinma over the no effortless NH is still learning. I am not dead or living in a self-imposed box so if I learn on any one of them I will be able to make it do the tasks I need. So that is a tertiary argument at best. Plus having never owned one features are unknown and hence not much of a consideration.

No, it comes down to costs, reliability, and comfort. They all are quality machines in their own right. Even the Jinma is a solid mechanically well-built machine. One that like all the others will require certain maintenance to continue proper operation.

Costs…the Jinma was the most inexpensive, but the hardest to operate.
Costs…the Massy was the most expensive, but had the most bells and whistles.
Costs… the Tym had the best warrantee.
Costs…the NH was on the high side, but was simple enough to operate my 11 year old could do it.

What have I missed?
And the nebulas question of the day…How do I choose?

Ender

 

[Inspector507]

For $17K AND a box blade, I think I'd go NH /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif of course I own <font color="blue"> BLUE </font> .
But the Jinma dealer is so far away.
Which dealer did you feel most comfortable with? Did you visit the service dept of any of the dealers?
The hydro on the NH is great to use.
Visit the other dealers, see what you get from them.

Just my thoughts

Jerry

 

[PaulieD]

I'm a brand new (8 hours) tractor owner, and I have no valuable tractor experience other than some recent pricing experience. I priced (and bought) a standard transmission TC30 with the NH 7308 FEL. Two dealers came in around $15.1K and $15.3K, but the dealer I eventually did business with, came in at $13.6K. Two of the dealers told me the hydrostatic would have added $1200 to $1300. Are there other NH dealers in your area you can price compare against?

I love my new tractor, but with no comparable experience, that is not much of a recommendation

 

[pekabu]

I bought a NH TC24d, but I liked the Agco a lot.

 

[BLUEBONNET2]

if you can, take a look at the CENTURY.......great cut, reasonable, too /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

good luck,
bluebonnet2

 

[Tonester]

Hi and welcome!

You have discovered a very useful place here, take advantage of it!
As mentioned above, pick the best dealer! You won't regret it.

I chose the Massey MF1433 w/Hydro, not the cheapest, or the most pricey, but it does more than what I need, is easy to use, comfortable & quiet, turns on a dime and the dealer has an excellent rep. 'Nuff said?

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[EFC]

The closest equivalent NH for a TYM 330 would be a TC35 and would be more expensive than the budget level TC-30. Look at the tractor weight as a good judge of traction. They all have enough power to spin the tires the heavier they are the further they go before that happens. Do you really need a commercial grade tractor for residential work? How many hours a year do you realistically think you are going to be in the seat? Most homeowners can get 50 hours a year. Will you be using it more at first and then less or will it be used for everyday chores? If you want a 5 acre park you might want something comfortable and quiet..... Plus a tractor with industrials or turfs that have a wide footprint so you don’t ruin your mountain golf course /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif . Like others have said a good dealer is important. Warranty means nothing if the guy you take it to is an idiot..

 

[B7500]

Which one did you like most??
...Then buy it **** it!
...Just joking. But it does come down to that gut feeling you have.
You have all the arguments pro and con eloquently categorized. The bottom line is which tractor YOU liked.
Good luck in your choice and have fun when buy it.
-Terry

 

[Ender]

EFC wrote </font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue"> Do you really need a commercial grade tractor for residential work? How many hours a year do you realistically think you are going to be in the seat? Most homeowners can get 50 hours a year. Will you be using it more at first and then less or will it be used for everyday chores? </font> )</font>

As I am kind of new at this, I will have to ask what you mean by a commercial grade tractor? If you mean could I get by with a law tractor the answer is no. The land is quite raw. It has lots of large rocks that have been pushed onto the land when the road was made as well as a dozen or so trees that were also pushed over to make the same road. That is the work I see at a glance. To clear and seed the land for grass will require many hours of tractor work...at least I think so.

I have to look at the land from the shovel and wheelbarrow point of view(it is the only point of reference I have), and from there I can see 2 years of steady work before I could say I am ready to seed the whole thing.

Ok having said that I must add that I am at a point in my life both age and financially where I do not want to do all the work by hand and back. And, where I can afford to purchase the mechanical help.

I am going to rent the TC 30 for a week end of work and go from there /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif. So far, the Newholland guys are the only true tractor dealership I have been to. That puts them a level up in my book.

Ender

 

[FarmNut]

I think you should look at the Kubota and JD, but you should also try to take a look at Century, Branson, Mahindra, Kioti and others brands. If maximum weight had not been an issue for me for several reasons, I'd probably have ended up with a Mahindra 4110, 4500 or maybe even 6000. I'd have saved a little money, and would have given up a few nice features that I have with my Kubota L4330, but I would have received some other features that I don't have like remote hydrolics and a 2 speed PTO in addition to the additional weight for a comparable HP range tractor.

FarmNut