I'm going Bobcat..

[MoKelly]

Went with the industrials. He has one of each down there, so I did have a choice. When I ended up not needing to pull a disc, I was 100% on the industrial tire. Then someone mentioned less likely to puncture, and I thought about the junk I'm going to be hauling out..
Hopefully have it in use by the weekend.

Congrats. Have fun and stay safe.

MoKelly

 

[Dr_Zinj]

The nice thing about industrials is that if you need more traction, you can just add chains.
Kind of hard to make AG tires smoother without ruining them.

 

[gregfender]

Bought it yesterday. That guy in Neeleyville is a good guy. He held firm at $14K, which makes sense, because he's selling all he can get. He's got two left. He also has a buddy that delivers. He went thru the tractor and loader with me, scooped up some loose gravel etc. I've got a lot to learn. One good thing, I'm 6'5" and with the seat back and adjusted for my weight it was comfortable and I had leg room. I think I will be helped by the HST also. Well, next week I'll start working it. Maybe post a few pics. Thanks everyone, for all the advice.

Congrats on the CT225. I've had mine a year and 100 hours later, I'm still impressed with it. I pull a 6' box blade with little strain and run a 6' finish mower in medium range without even breaking a sweat. I drove from western North Carolina to Pennsylvania to get mine from Rick Wallace at Wallace Equipment. I won't tell you what kind of deal he made cause I wouldn't want you to get mad! ;-)

 

[Olympus]

I went and looked at the exact tractor at Neelyville last Friday. I was born and raised not far from there. They had one CT225 on the lot. I looked it over and saw what I consider a red flag. The underside of the left loader boom was CAKED in black soot from the exhaust. The hour meter showed only 12 hours on the machine. That was enough to cause me to reconsider.

I then called a friend who is a local Bobcat construction dealer. They never sold the tractors though. He told me the only dealerships that still serviced them were in St Louis and West Plains. Both are too far for me to be taking a tractor. I asked my friend if he would make some calls and find out what cost was on the CT225 when it was new. He called back and said dealer cost back in 2012 was $11K. He said if the guy in Neelyville bought 40, it was likely after they were discontinued and they were bought at close out price. He said that would have been at least 10% off dealer cost.

So I called the dealer in Neelyville and made my pitch. I brought up the concerns with the soot this early, the discontinued status of the tractor, the lack of local warranty service options, and topped it off with my knowledge that I knew within $800 what they have in the tractor. I made an offer of $11,000 cash and could pay for it that day. The guy didn't budget from $14k.

His loss, I went up to Poplar Bluff and ordered a brand new LS from Magee Equipment.

 

[TripleR]

I went and looked at the exact tractor at Neelyville last Friday. I was born and raised not far from there. They had one CT225 on the lot. I looked it over and saw what I consider a red flag. The underside of the left loader boom was CAKED in black soot from the exhaust. The hour meter showed only 12 hours on the machine. That was enough to cause me to reconsider.

I then called a friend who is a local Bobcat construction dealer. They never sold the tractors though. He told me the only dealerships that still serviced them were in St Louis and West Plains. Both are too far for me to be taking a tractor. I asked my friend if he would make some calls and find out what cost was on the CT225 when it was new. He called back and said dealer cost back in 2012 was $11K. He said if the guy in Neelyville bought 40, it was likely after they were discontinued and they were bought at close out price. He said that would have been at least 10% off dealer cost.

So I called the dealer in Neelyville and made my pitch. I brought up the concerns with the soot this early, the discontinued status of the tractor, the lack of local warranty service options, and topped it off with my knowledge that I knew within $800 what they have in the tractor. I made an offer of $11,000 cash and could pay for it that day. The guy didn't budget from $14k.

His loss, I went up to Poplar Bluff and ordered a brand new LS from Magee Equipment.

Did you check Greg Abbott, he is a lot closer to you?

 

[lilranch2001]

I do not think it was his loss......

Sounds like he has had no trouble selling 37 of them, if he can sit on it a while longer, I am sure someone will come along and make his day

As far as the exhaust carbon, they all do it......

 

[Olympus]

Did you check Greg Abbott, he is a lot closer to you?

Yep, Abbott is just down the road from me. Abbott was $300 higher on the tractor quote and they are inside city limits vs Magee who is outside city limits so that's $600 more in tax. Abbott would have been $900 more out of pocket, $600 if they would have matched Magee's price, but they said they couldn't.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I do not think it was his loss......

Sounds like he has had no trouble selling 37 of them, if he can sit on it a while longer, I am sure someone will come along and make his day

As far as the exhaust carbon, they all do it......

Exactly, why sell for just above cost when the next guy in the door will be happy to pay the asking price. :confused2: And if someone could point us to a pre tier 4 diesel that does not put out soot of some kind, that would be interesting to see.

 

[Olympus]

I do not think it was his loss...... Sounds like he has had no trouble selling 37 of them, if he can sit on it a while longer, I am sure someone will come along and make his day As far as the exhaust carbon, they all do it......

With that much soot after only 12 hours, that's not normal. I've been around tractors my whole life. I wouldn't take that gamble with the nearest warranty dealer being 3 hours away. A little soot is nothing to worry about, but this was more than just a thin film. I scraped a little off with the hoe of my boot.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

With that much soot after only 12 hours, that's not normal. I've been around tractors my whole life.

The tractor was never worked, probably barely not cold stacking, I would think a lot of soot would be common in that situation.

 

[TripleR]

Yep, Abbott is just down the road from me. Abbott was $300 higher on the tractor quote and they are inside city limits vs Magee who is outside city limits so that's $600 more in tax. Abbott would have been $900 more out of pocket, $600 if they would have matched Magee's price, but they said they couldn't.

Good grief, I didn't know the city limits were that far down. I've never bought anything there, but was told they were reasonable.

 

[Olympus]

The tractor was never worked, probably barely not cold stacking, I would think a lot of soot would be common in that situation.

Like I said, I wouldn't take that gamble with the nearest servicing dealer being so far away. Too many marks in the "cons" column for me to pay asking price on that particular tractor. I'm a magnet for Murphy's Law.

 

[Olympus]

Good grief, I didn't know the city limits were that far down. I've never bought anything there, but was told they were reasonable.

He's really not that far down 25 Hwy. I thought he was too, but he's not 1/2 mile from the elementary school.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Like I said, I wouldn't take that gamble with the nearest servicing dealer being so far away. Too many marks in the "cons" column for me to pay asking price on that particular tractor. I'm a magnet for Murphy's Law.

If things tend to go that way for you, then I understand.

 

[arnoldziffel]

Olympus,

What model LS tractor did you order please?

And at what price please?

 

[Olympus]

Olympus, What model LS tractor did you order please? And at what price please?

I bought a J2023 for $12,200. I called two other dealers who are closer to me, but nobody could beat or even match that price.

 

[lilranch2001]

I bought a J2023 for $12,200. I called two other dealers who are closer to me, but nobody could beat or even match that price.

It does not appear to me that you have gotten such of a he11ofa deal, 12,200 for a 23 hp, verses 14K for a 25 hp.
Maybe saved a few bucks, nothing spectacular, but as long as you are happy, that's all that matters.

 

[Olympus]

It does not appear to me that you have gotten such of a he11ofa deal, 12,200 for a 23 hp, verses 14K for a 25 hp.
Maybe saved a few bucks, nothing spectacular, but as long as you are happy, that's all that matters.

I saved almost $2000, no "few bucks" to my bank account. Got a tractor that is 2 years newer, with 5 years of warranty, with a servicing dealer just 5 miles from my house, from a company that is still producing tractors. Factor all of those in along with the fact that all of implements were based on the size of my last tractor JD 750, I can still use all of my implements with the new tractor. The Bobcat was bigger than what I really needed and all of my implements would have been too small for it. I couldn't afford to upgrade to bigger implements as well as buy a new tractor. I only have 4 acres. So yeah, I made the better deal. At least in my situation. YMMV

 

[lilranch2001]

Like I said, as long as you are happy!

 

[arnoldziffel]

Olympus,

That implement information helps me understand your comments. You really couldn't buy the Bobcat given the implement/budget limitation you were under.

Prior to gaining that knowledge I was sitting here scratching my head knowing that the Bobcat CT225 and the LS J2023 are not even in the same ball park size and capability wise -- Compact vs. SUB compact. (Do know that I really like and respect the LS tractor line.)

By the way, the Bobcat CT225 platform is still in production as a Kioti and other brands. MoPops has a need for a larger/stronger machine for his work and he also selected the Bobcat based upon ergonomics and platform space.

MoPops' purchase price reflects a solid value in the Compact tractor arena. Your price reflects a solid value in the SUB compact field.

Everyone should be happy!