TYM 293 or Kioti CK20

[tkappeler]

No, the 14,150 does NOT include the quick attach bracket. Add that and you are up to 14,465 and then I have to get the dealer to kick in the CK27 QA bucket.

I think I am talking myself into the TYM.

 

[lilranch2001]

We had a TYM dealer here in town for 4-5 years, they folded, no one would buy the TYM;s

 

[IslandTractor]

We had a TYM dealer here in town for 4-5 years, they folded, no one would buy the TYM;s

This is a fair consideration. I don't doubt TYM builds excellent durable tractors but without sufficient volume no dealer or distributor can stay in business long. Although it is hardly scientific, just look at the comparative interest in purchasing new TYM vs Kioti tractors on this forum by counting the number of new threads in the buying/pricing subforum for each brand. There have been nine new threads since January 2012 for TYM. There have been that many in the past week or so for Kioti.

Kubota started the modern CUT business and JD, NH and MF were already well established so could jump in pretty easily. Mahindra and Kioti have been pretty successful in building business over the past ten years or so. That means there are already at least six brands already better established than TYM. Branson and a few others are out there too and someday soon we'll see a major push by a Chinese company. I don't know how much room there is for TYM unless they figure out some angle that has yet to be exploited. TYM tractors are solid but don't have any real advantage technologically. TYM can try to compete on price which worked well for Kioti but being the last to the market with a low price strategy means you have thin margins and little capital to build business infrastructure or to survive lean years.

I have a neighbor with a Belarus tractor from the 1980's. He loves it and keeps it running but finds it difficult to get unique parts etc. There are other well made tractor brands that have also lost distributor and dealer support and that is not a pleasant circumstance for an owner. This is not to say that only JD and Kubota are to be trusted but rather that the further down the list you go the greater the chance that even a well designed and built tractor brand might not survive in the market. Mahindra and Kioti seem to have jumped that hurdle but I'm not sure how many more companies will be able to do that before the market is fully saturated.

 

[Airedale]

Island tractor has made some valid points but I would not place a whole lot of weight in the number of posts in the TYM forum as much of a deciding factor on whether to buy or not to buy. I know of several TYM tractor owners near me that are very happy with their tractors but they do not belong to this or any other tractor forum, they are just not interested in such.

As for the two choices proposed by the poster, I think both are good tractors and he would not go wrong with either.
The main thing with any tractor purchase is to find a good dealer within a reasonable distance that is a straight shooter you believe in.

Al

 

[lilranch2001]

Island tractor has made some valid points but I would not place a whole lot of weight in the number of posts in the TYM forum as much of a deciding factor on whether to buy or not to buy. I know of several TYM tractor owners near me that are very happy with their tractors but they do not belong to this or any other tractor forum, they are just not interested in such.

As for the two choices proposed by the poster, I think both are good tractors and he would not go wrong with either.
The main thing with any tractor purchase is to find a good dealer within a reasonable distance that is a straight shooter you believe in.

Al

I would add one more thing, a dealer you know will stay in business.
That is why I chose Bobcat
I started with Kubota ( loved some aspects of it, did not like the chincyness of the controls, went to Deere, was very pricey, and Dealers were arrogant, went to a New Holland dealer, but didnt want to drive 60 miles out of my way all the time, went to Kioti, loved the tractor but the dealer was 50 miles away, looked at the TYM, that dealer was just a little more than a stones throw away from my house, liked the tractor, but was talking to a neighbor and he cautioned me not to buy it, the dealership was in serious money trouble, and then I saw an ad for a new model tractor..... They birthed the new Bobcat, and the local Bobcat Dealer was less than a mile away from my work as the crow flys. I went in, they made me a great deal, and loved the tractor ever since.
:thumbsup:

 

[Gittyup]

The tough part is the tym: u won't find that much tractor for that price anywhere else. And it is a good design. So more tractor? Or better dealer network? Not an easy decision.

 

[tkappeler]

The tough part is the tym: u won't find that much tractor for that price anywhere else. And it is a good design. So more tractor? Or better dealer network? Not an easy decision.

Amen to that. That's why I look to the experienced sages here.

Looked at BBB today to see how strong TYM is financially. TYM-USA in Oregon is listed in the Tractor Distributors & Manufacturers category and had an F rating with one unresolved complaint. The phone has been disconnected there.

TYM-USA in Wilson, NC is listed as a Tractor Dealer, and has an A- rating. Why isn't it under the same Distributors & Manufacturers category?

I also saw something on another forum where a person had some not so nice things to say about the same dealer I would have to deal with.

I was all set to dismiss TYM but still hung up on the Quick Attach feature. Someone recommended Bobcat as they are the same as Kioti but can come with the Quick Attach as a factory option. Great Now I have more to look at, at least it is the same tractor. I am waiting on a call from a local Bobcat dealer on the price of the CT122 with quick attach.

Maybe I should change the title of my thread to "Kioti CK20 or Bobcat CT122"

 

[woodlandfarms]

First and foremost it comes down to dealer service. Not the dealer but the service dept. at the end of the day I bet if you looked at statistics most manufacturers would have around the same failure rate. I personally really like the tym line. A lot of bang for the buck. But it is not well known, similar to the kioti I feel. Not going to get the most dollars back in resale. I don't know for sure but tym Oregon and tym Wilson was a poorly designed idea to distribute the tract. Something to keep two investors happy. Tym had to cut back as everyone did and they closed the Oregon building.

Anyway.. At thi point in the economy if a ealer is still around they probably will be for a lot longer... Don't think that buying a deer or kubota is going to give you dealer Peirce of mind as I know a number of people in the Midwest whose local dealers folded.