Buying Advice Ugg.. How did you owners ever come to a decision?

[MtnViewRanch]

There's a reason the Bob Cat company uses Kubota diesels in their equipment!

Are you sure that they are still doing that? I thought that they changed a few years ago.

 

[flusher]

Hello folks, I'm new here and am trying to decide on a machine but having a rather difficult time determining which machine would be best for my needs.
I have very limited tractor background having only operated a Kioti ck20hst and a kubota l3250 gear. That being said I much prefer the simplicity in the operation of HST.
My property size is 51 acres however the tractor is only ever likely to see 16 of those acres. There will be small tree and slash removal. small road building, Log and firewood handling, 6ish acre pasture maintenance, fence building, snow removal and of course landscapin'g. Not likely to be involved in any hay work or heavy forestry work. So I think that puts me in the compact range between 30 and 40 hp. The implements I forsee are Loader with hd bucket, rotary cutter, grapple bucket, post hole digger, snow blower/ power angle blade, box blade, landscape rakes, etc. I was thinking R4 tires (with chains for the winter), at least one rear remote and a true third function on the loader.

The models I am condering are:
kioti ck35hst
Kioti dk 35hst
deere 4105
deere 3320
kubota L3400 hst
Kubota L3800 hst
Kubota GL3240

As far as dealers go.. the kioti guys seem alright and i have heard positive reviews from a neighbor, The kubota guys get mixed reviews most of the negative being based on parts pricing but willing to deal a little a little more on tractor purchase. The deere guys actually scare me a little, they seem cold and unhelpful, however they claim to "look after their customers". The thing i likeabout deere is the size of their support networks for parts etc.

All in all i get exicted about the acquisition of a new tractor.. but after trying to determine what and who to buy from and trying to compare all the options the whole process leaves me anxious and bothered.

Any insight, experiences or suggestions are truly welcome.

With 51 acres, I'd think over my hp requirements again very carefully. With that much land, I'd go with a Kubota L4400 as a minimum. Don't fall completely in love with hydrostatic trannies to the exclusion of other options--shuttle shift trannies are nice too and generally less expensive.

Kubota's are nice machines. My first tractor was a new 2005 Kubota B7510HST. My neighbor has an L4400 which is a sweet machine.

Test drive. Be sure you like the way the 3pt hitch works (Kubota's quarter inching 3pt on the smaller machines is decidedly inferior IMHO). Check out the service and parts departments carefully, including transportation costs if you don't have a rig capable of hauling your tractor.

 

[powergod1]

Are you sure that they are still doing that? I thought that they changed a few years ago.

i just looked at the motor in my CT440, doesnt say kubota on it anywhere i can find.

 

[PapaPerk]

i just looked at the motor in my CT440, doesnt say kubota on it anywhere i can find.

I'm talking about their excavators and skidsteers. Not their compact tractors.

BobCat was purchased from Ingersoll-Rand by a foreign company. So I wouldn't doubt that BobCat may switch from Kubota to another engine manufacture. Which is a shame.

But T190, T320, etc have Kubota engines last time I checked.

 

[powergod1]

I'm talking about their excavators and skidsteers. Not their compact tractors.

BobCat was purchased from Ingersoll-Rand by a foreign company. So I wouldn't doubt that BobCat may switch from Kubota to another engine manufacture. Which is a shame.

But T190, T320, etc have Kubota engines last time I checked.

sorry my mistake

 

[milkman636]

View attachment 212196

Wow, a picture is worth a thousand words isn't it? Couldn't have said it any better, no matter how hard I tried.

 

[IslandTractor]

I'm talking about their excavators and skidsteers. Not their compact tractors.

BobCat was purchased from Ingersoll-Rand by a foreign company. So I wouldn't doubt that BobCat may switch from Kubota to another engine manufacture. Which is a shame.

But T190, T320, etc have Kubota engines last time I checked.

Yes, BobCat is now owned by a Korean company. They get the BobCat tractors from Daedong another Korean company, the same company as Kioti. I don't know if they will start using Daedong diesels in the skidsteers but if they do rest assured they are very reliable engines.

 

[DMG Tractor]

lol without the axis labeled .. not sure i get it...

 

[grsthegreat]

lol without the axis labeled .. not sure i get it...

it looks alot like Obamacare funding graph to me

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Humor is rarely universal.
There's always going to be someone who "doesn't get it".
That's okay.
Better to have folks not get a joke, than to have a bunch mad as **** because of it.

Point is, there's a lot of factors that go into the decision process for a major cost item like a tractor. And that item is always going to cost more than you want to pay. Given a field of 6 different manufacturers and 1 to 3 different models for each one, the decision point is going to start with a resounding no sale for all of them, and then increase in fits and starts until you reach a tipping point. And even after the sale, if you had a couple of other tractors that were almost at that buy point, then you're going to engage in various amounts of buyer remorse, no matter how happy you are with your new toy.