I've bought 13 Kubotas. Twelve with HST and one with gears. My last purchase was a
B2320 geared. I bought it to save money which I regret every time I drive it now. It doesn't have a FEL so I figured it wouldn't be that big of a deal but one day it will slip out of my stable and be replaced with a B with HST or just sold. I'd never willingly in my right mind buy a tractor with a FEL and it not be HST if I every planned on using the FEL. If it were just for storing in the barn then maybe I'd buy a geared with FEL.
It's like tools. If your never going to use them then buy the cheapest one you can find at the Flea Mkt but if your going to actually use it buy a good one which will cost more at initial purchase but you'll only have to buy the one time.
I'm a big price shopper and maybe that's one of the reasons I buy so many tractors. Barlows offers great prices and I just have to trade but I'm staying with quality products. I've bought cheap stuff before and mostly regretted it. There is a difference between cheap and discounted. Considering a tractor I'd be really careful about buying something that's not really close to what I think I want because it's a bargain that been sitting on the lot for a couple of years. That's not saying that if Steve or Brady Barlow called and said they had a
B2320/
B2620 HST two years old that had come in to them from Kubota that another dealer hadn't sold and would I be interested for a thousand or two below the already low price they give me that I wouldn't go look. If they called and said they had a L or M HST under the same story, no I wouldn't even consider it. Had an L3240HST and it was to big for my use on my hillside so for me nothing bigger than a B and price wouldn't make me change my mind. If I moved or bought some flat property it would be a different story. I'd want an L (HST). Maybe wouldn't be that important if I was just doing occassional FEL lift it from the field and carry it to the barn but not if I'm going to be doing alot of forward and reverse while operating the FEL. HST only under that usage which has been my usage, lots of forward and back using the FEL bucket.
The 0% for 60 months is also an eye opener for me. When I look at how much per month I have to pay for the one I want vs how much per month I have to pay for one that will work just throws me over into the one I want vs the one that will just work. Divide the difference by 60 and you instantly know how much extra your paying for what you want that you plan to live with for years vs the one that will work that you also will have to live with for years, same thing about picking someone to marry.:laughing:
I've bought a couple of Kubotas that were great machines but they just didn't work for me and I regretted every day that I owned them vs looking forward to getting out and using them like I do the others I own/owned.
Don't buy just because it's discounted. Pick what you really want then call every dealer in America or the ones near you or Barlows or Messicks and then look at the real price per month difference. You may be surprised and see that there may be very little difference.
NO to geared with FEL. One mans opinion from one mans experience and I have experience on several, not just the (1) one that I owned or my brother or Dad or sister or neighbor owned or (1) I tried on a dealers lot one day years ago.
