Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?
I originally bought a little "grey market" Iseki TL1900F a while after I bought my property. It was a lot of "little" tractor and equipment for the money. I still like it and it is amazing what that little powerhouse will do, BUT. After working with it for a while and realizing its limitations for the size property that I have (and the "pucker factor" on hills without ROPS), I decided I needed to get a bigger tractor that could also be used in conjunction with the Iseki. I decided that I was going to look at several of the brands in my area and try and take advantage of the great financing rates.
I must admit that I probably didn't give Deere a fair shake by not considering them. I just didn't think they would be priced competitively, since so many on this forum talk about the Deere dealers not giving them the time of day nor wanting to deal. I should have checked out the local dealer to see if they are that way, but didn't /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.
I also thought about a new chinese tractor, but for the difference in price and the low or no interest financing available from others, I felt that I wanted to get something that had a better fit and finish and was either tried and true or was supported by a dealer with other major brands (an up-an-comer such as Century, Branson Kioti or Mahindra for example).
I also wanted to be able to transport the tractor with my current truck and trailer, so I didn't want to go too heavy, but wanted as much HP as I could get within 3,000 to 4,000 lbs.
I ultimately settled on a Kubota L4330DT for the power and features that it had for the price, but I also looked long and hard at the Mahindra 4500 (ultimately decided that it was too heavy for my needs). The dealer, as others have mentioned, was also what sealed the deal. Their pricing was the best on the first quote. Others tried to do the old "OK, I'm high, but what do I have to do to get the business" routine, even though I told them that I already had a quote and was looking for their best price if they wanted the business. Needless to say, the first dealer won the business because he gave me his best price up front and I wasn't going to give the business to someone else to save a few hundred by telling the other dealers where their price needed to be.
Happy Tractoring!
FarmNut