Comparison Kubota L3800 vs Massey 1635 ? Please help me make the right decision.

[ziggy88]

Plan to purchase a compact tractor for 8 acres of gently rolling pasture. Will need to brush hog about 5 acres, till 1/2 garden, 300' gravel driveway to maintain, couple cows to feed and other random projects. Please give your best unbiased advice. I'm trying to decide which tractor to choose. I have a Massey Ferguson dealer literally 5 minutes from my doorstep. This particular Massey dealership has been family owned and operated for 4 generations. Have 1 well established Kubota dealer within 30 minutes and have nothing but positive vibes(been in business over 30 years) after visiting the dealership. So based on the close proximity of the 2 dealerships and dealer support I would like to stick with Kubota or Massey. Initially had my mind set on Kubota based on the positive feedback on this and other forums. I must admit to having a soft spot for Kubota as I grew up on my fathers old b series. But, in good conscience I had to pay the Massey dealer a visit and look at the 1600 series (1635 to be exact). I chose the 1635 mainly because the price quote was within $500 dollars of my first choice the Kubota L3800. The Massey looks significantly larger, more robust, sounds quieter, less vibration, smoother to drive, better FEL specs for nearly the same money. If I move up to the Kubota L3540 the price increase is very significant and will not get final approval from the wife. It seems you get more tractor for the money with the Massey. However, can I expect the same rock solid reliability as Kubota. My gut tells me Kubota is a very safe choice, but I walked away far more impressed with the Massey 1635 in every respect. This tractor will need to last MANY years. Please point me in the right direction. Here are the price quotes;

Kubota L3800- FEL, toothbar, skid steer bucket, loaded rear R4's, Landpride 5' rotary cutter $22825

Massey 1635 - FEL, toothbar, QA Skid steer HD bucket, Loaded R4's, 5' Howse rotary cutter $23235

Your help is greatly appreciated !

 

[aginn]

If a smooth 3 point is important to you may want to lean towards the Massey. I hope you get some more insight than what I can offer you though since I have zero experience with a Massey. I bought the L3200 and wish I had bought the 3800 myself. Just a touch more power would be nice. My Kubota is hydrostat and other than the 3 point being jerky I have been pretty pleased. Hydraulics aren't extremely powerful but that will make for more longevity.
I will check back and see what advice people give you. It should be interesting.

 

[GManBart]

The problem you face now is that if you buy the Kubota, you're always oing to wonder if you would have been apper with the machine that impressed you more.

The only significant negative for the Massey is the lower PTO power....will that 4hp make a difference? I think you could get by with a medium duty 6' cutter on either machine, but the. kubota would be able to work faster through heavy stuff with t he edge in PTO power.

If you plan on lots of FEL work, the Massey is way ahead....lots more lift, and a good 8-10" more height.

I don't think you can really go wrong with any recognized name in that size machine right now....they're all good, reliable machines, and will last a long time. Having an established dealer close by is gravy...can't hurt.

 

[k0ua]

Apples and oranges.. You are comparing two different levels of tractor here. Kubota and Massey both make good reliable tractors, but you are comparing an "economy" Kubota to a "deluxe" Massey. The Massey has many more features, telescoping lower links and stabilizers, tilt wheel, electric over hydraulic pto with modulation control (engagement speed control) Floor mat, Much greater Hydraulic flow, easy addition of up to 3 factory remotes, A more powerful loader,.. etc etc.. the list goes on.. You should be comparing the Massey to a Grand L Kubota. You simply cannot make a fair comparison of these 2 tractors. If the Massey is within 500 of the L3800, you will kick your xxx later if you don't choose red. Be sure to get SSQA on the loader bucket. Even if you don't think you want forks or a grapple now, you will later. My 2 cents.. take it for what it is worth.

James K0UA

 

[murphy1244]

I don't think the Massey price is right.

 

[k0ua]

I don't think the Massey price is right.

Actually I think the Kubota is too high. and the Massey about right

 

[Bluegill2]

I looked hard at Massey and Mahindra (dealer right down the road) almost two years ago. Then bought a L3800DT from a dealer one hour away. The Kubota has really been impressive for it's size! 3 pt hitch smooth. And was less money. Also it looked to me the comparable Masseys' were made by Kubota, or were very close copies?

 

[TripleR]

If I had to choose between the two it would be the Massey, BUT my preference would be the Kubota GL equivalent.

I realize you didn't ask, so I apologize, but in reality being close to a dealer is not that important. I have a Kubota dealer 20 miles and one close to 40 and I go the furthest as I like them better and do all my own maintenance, so I would shop other brands as well, my brother just bought a Kioti in another state and saved $1300, happy, happy happy...

 

[k0ua]

I looked hard at Massey and Mahindra (dealer right down the road) almost two years ago. Then bought a L3800DT from a dealer one hour away. The Kubota has really been impressive for it's size! 3 pt hitch smooth. And was less money. Also it looked to me the comparable Masseys' were made by Kubota, or were very close copies?

But wasn't there a lot bigger spread in the prices? He is showing $500 here, the spread should be a lot more I think... I believe the Masseys are made by Iseki.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Apples and oranges.. You are comparing two different levels of tractor here. Kubota and Massey both make good reliable tractors, but you are comparing an "economy" Kubota to a "deluxe" Massey. The Massey has many more features, telescoping lower links and stabilizers, tilt wheel, electric over hydraulic pto with modulation control (engagement speed control) Floor mat, Much greater Hydraulic flow, easy addition of up to 3 factory remotes, A more powerful loader,.. etc etc.. the list goes on.. You should be comparing the Massey to a Grand L Kubota. You simply cannot make a fair comparison of these 2 tractors. If the Massey is within 500 of the L3800, you will kick your xxx later if you don't choose red. Be sure to get SSQA on the loader bucket. Even if you don't think you want forks or a grapple now, you will later. My 2 cents.. take it for what it is worth.

James K0UA

I agree with KOUA. You are not comparing the same level of machines. It seems as though you have asked "what can I get that is in the low $20k area?"
Need to ask about a Grand L to get a true comparison. You can still stay in the same price range, probably going to get a lot less machine though.

 

[Bluegill2]

But wasn't there a lot bigger spread in the prices? He is showing $500 here, the spread should be a lot more I think... I believe the Masseys are made by Iseki.

I don't remember the model of the Massey, but it was around 35hp and looked a lot like a L3800. The price was real close, with the Bota slightly less, but I bought a L3800 with 14 hours for 15k and a 4K savings.

They are all good tractors! Buy what ya like and can afford...

 

[k0ua]

I don't remember the model of the Massey, but it was around 35hp and looked a lot like a L3800. The price was real close, with the Bota slightly less, but I bought a L3800 with 14 hours for 15k and a 4K savings.

They are all good tractors! Buy what ya like and can afford...

Probably a 15xx series..Massey.. The 16xx series is upscale

 

[ziggy88]

Thanks to all for the prompt replies. Both price quotes include 5' rotary cutters, QA buckets, loaded R4's and toothbar. The Kubota dealer quoted $1250 for a landpride rotary cutter and an additional $200 fee to fill the rear tires. The Massey dealer quoted a Howse rotary cutter for $850 and no fee to fill rear tires. I received 3 quotes from 3 local Kubota dealers within relatively close proximity and went with the lowest quote. I understand comparing the Massey 1635 to the L3800 is not apples to apples, but for nearly the same money the Massey offers more capability and features. Again, I had my heart set on Kubota from the outset. My gut tells me the Kubota is bulletproof. My fathers b series has 4470 hours with only a few issues. Perhaps I should have asked what can I purchase in the low $20,000 range. Either way, the Massey appears a much better value. But I'm unsure about long term reliability. I wish a current 1600 series owner could pipe in. Thanks to all for sharing your knowledge and expertise. It really does help in the decision making process.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Thanks to all for the prompt replies. Both price quotes include 5' rotary cutters, QA buckets, loaded R4's and toothbar. The Kubota dealer quoted $1250 for a landpride rotary cutter and an additional $200 fee to fill the rear tires. The Massey dealer quoted a Howse rotary cutter for $850 and no fee to fill rear tires. I received 3 quotes from 3 local Kubota dealers within relatively close proximity and went with the lowest quote. I understand comparing the Massey 1635 to the L3800 is not apples to apples, but for nearly the same money the Massey offers more capability and features. Again, I had my heart set on Kubota from the outset. My gut tells me the Kubota is bulletproof. My fathers b series has 4470 hours with only a few issues. Perhaps I should have asked what can I purchase in the low $20,000 range. Either way, the Massey appears a much better value. But I'm unsure about long term reliability. I wish a current 1600 series owner could pipe in. Thanks to all for sharing your knowledge and expertise. It really does help in the decision making process.

Go over to the Massey forum and ask there. Massey has been around a loooooong time, I doubt that they would have Iseki build them junk.

 

[k0ua]

Let me ask you a question..have you ever hooked up a 3pt implement using the "standard" 3pt lower links and turnbuckles. And have you hooked up one with telescoping lower links and telescoping stabilizers? They make them for a reason, the the reason is so that your swear word vocabulary stays low.

 

[k0ua]

Go over to the Massey forum and ask there. Massey has been around a loooooong time, I doubt that they would have Iseki build them junk.

Yep:thumbsup:

 

[Bluegill2]

Let me ask you a question..have you ever hooked up a 3pt implement using the "standard" 3pt lower links and turnbuckles. And have you hooked up one with telescoping lower links and telescoping stabilizers? They make them for a reason, the the reason is so that your swear word vocabulary stays low.

I have telescoping stabilizers on my L3800. They are very nice! I don't want the lower links that way I do not believe. Never use any though

 

[Bluegill2]

Thanks to all for the prompt replies. Both price quotes include 5' rotary cutters, QA buckets, loaded R4's and toothbar. The Kubota dealer quoted $1250 for a landpride rotary cutter and an additional $200 fee to fill the rear tires. The Massey dealer quoted a Howse rotary cutter for $850 and no fee to fill rear tires. I received 3 quotes from 3 local Kubota dealers within relatively close proximity and went with the lowest quote. I understand comparing the Massey 1635 to the L3800 is not apples to apples, but for nearly the same money the Massey offers more capability and features. Again, I had my heart set on Kubota from the outset. My gut tells me the Kubota is bulletproof. My fathers b series has 4470 hours with only a few issues. Perhaps I should have asked what can I purchase in the low $20,000 range. Either way, the Massey appears a much better value. But I'm unsure about long term reliability. I wish a current 1600 series owner could pipe in. Thanks to all for sharing your knowledge and expertise. It really does help in the decision making process.

The Land Pride is a better mower and worth the extra $ in my opinion. You are right about Kubota being bullet proof! They are and the 3800 is a very simple, no frills, bullet proof model! But the Massey should treat ya right also, I'm not knocking it. Go drive both and see what feels right to you.

 

[k0ua]

I have telescoping stabilizers on my L3800. They are very nice! I don't want the lower links that way I do not believe. Never use any though

The telescoping stabilizers help a bunch, but the telescoping lower links just complete the package, and allow you to "just get close" to the pins, you do not have to exactly back up in line with the pins, or "horse" the implement around to make it fit. A lot of guys use a prybar for the heavier implements to get things lined up. But with telescoping lower links, it is easy.

 

[Bluegill2]

The telescoping stabilizers help a bunch, but the telescoping lower links just complete the package, and allow you to "just get close" to the pins, you do not have to exactly back up in line with the pins, or "horse" the implement around to make it fit. A lot of guys use a prybar for the heavier implements to get things lined up. But with telescoping lower links, it is easy.

I don't change implements that often, but I can see where that would be handy. Not a deal breaker though if a tractor doesn't come with em.