Why Buy a Mahindra or Mahindra vs . . . .?

[RoMad]

Your getting some good advice here. One thing to remember is most peoples first tractor is not their last. I bought my first tractor used and after three years decided I needed a bigger one. When I sold my first tractor after putting 700 plus hours on it I got all of money back.
You can get a very nice used tractor in your price range.

 

[MahindraDon]

Having run the 3032E and 3016 I think both are great units. My question to you would be HST or Shuttle transmission? Like flusher said, what is your plan for usage? If you plan on clearing a little and mowing a bunch then HST would be my choice and that 3032 is just fine for those light duty jobs. If you plan on gardening/tilling or pulling a box blade and doing some loader work, then the Shuttle shift 3016 is the best choice. The Mahindra has much more built in weight so it will do better with the loader and pulling things through the ground. Either way, you are wise to buy your first tractor now before the Tier IV prices come in full effect. Mahindra has a 5 year warranty so a newbie might be better with it. No telling what kind of predicaments you might get into with your first foray into the tractor world and the out of warranty Deere parts are considerably more costly than Mahindra.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Jim, something to do is take a look at all the different specs of the 30-35hp tractors. Print these out and take a good look at them side by side. DO NOT make a purchasing decision based solely on specs though. It is just something nice to know if it is close between one tractor or another that ,well this one will lift 400lbs more than that one.

Find ALL the tractor dealers within 100 miles or whatever a comfortable driving distance is for you. See what tractors each dealer has in stock. Based on that, go to the different dealers and look at the different machines. You really should sit in the seat of the tractor and get an idea of the location of all the controls. This varies from tractor to tractor and can determine that a certain tractor just is not for you.

Most of the tractors these days are pretty good machines, they are each a little different and THAT difference can make a difference in if you like the machine or not.

As far as the JD 3032e, it has no OEM back hoe available (may or may not make a difference) the loader is not a quick attach loader, meaning that it has to be un bolted to be removed. (intended to be on and stay on) No power beyond option for a log splitter or other implement requiring that type of hydraulic source.

Here is a quick list of manufacturers to look for. There are others, these are just what come to mind.
Case
John Deere
Kioti
Kubota
LS
Mahindra
Massey Ferguson
New Holland
TYM
Yanmar

Good luck and keep asking questions. Sounds like you may need to extend that range a bit. My dealer is 650 miles away, don't worry about a few miles. :laughing:

 

[JimnAZ]

Again, thank you for the advice.
We purchased 80 acres and made the decision to live on it full time. Much of this land is rocky and not much use, however some is flat. We are planting an orchard, building a Walipini greenhouse for Aquaponics, trying to create a pond (hitting a lot of cinder), and building an earth bag home. We also have a good 3/4+ mile of dirt/cinder driveway to repair and maintain.
Much of what I need done I think I can accomplish with just the FEL and a back blade. However digging the drive trenches would need a backhoe, and the pond would be a lot easier to do also. I am not sure I need a mid point PTO but they say it can snow pretty good here and maybe a snowblower would come in handy. No grass so no mowing. If we decided to do some not greenhouse growing, then maybe a tiller unless I can get it done with a back blade or box blade.
Not that we can afford all of these now, but an auger, chipper and splitter would be nice.
I am looking at the 30ish horsepower because that is the max price for our budget. Otherwise a cash sale would only be about 6k. So far, 6k out here is a 1950's no FEL tractor.
The reason I am hung up on a Mahindra is the removable FEL, optional mid point PTO, backhoe, ability to not have to sit on tractor to operate the PTO, more for the money and the 5 yr warranty & 84 month finance.
I was thinking the HST so it would be easier for my wife to use, but based on what I need to do, if you feel shifting would give better results I am open to that.
650 miles is quite the drive! Hopefully we will not have to go that far
If after reading this and you have a suggestion on make and model of tractor, please share.

Jim

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Again, thank you for the advice.
We purchased 80 acres and made the decision to live on it full time. Much of this land is rocky and not much use, however some is flat. We are planting an orchard, building a Walipini greenhouse for Aquaponics, trying to create a pond (hitting a lot of cinder), and building an earth bag home. We also have a good 3/4+ mile of dirt/cinder driveway to repair and maintain.
Much of what I need done I think I can accomplish with just the FEL and a back blade. However digging the drive trenches would need a backhoe, and the pond would be a lot easier to do also. I am not sure I need a mid point PTO but they say it can snow pretty good here and maybe a snowblower would come in handy. No grass so no mowing. If we decided to do some not greenhouse growing, then maybe a tiller unless I can get it done with a back blade or box blade.
Not that we can afford all of these now, but an auger, chipper and splitter would be nice.
I am looking at the 30ish horsepower because that is the max price for our budget. Otherwise a cash sale would only be about 6k. So far, 6k out here is a 1950's no FEL tractor.
The reason I am hung up on a Mahindra is the removable FEL, optional mid point PTO, backhoe, ability to not have to sit on tractor to operate the PTO, more for the money and the 5 yr warranty & 84 month finance.
I was thinking the HST so it would be easier for my wife to use, but based on what I need to do, if you feel shifting would give better results I am open to that.
650 miles is quite the drive! Hopefully we will not have to go that far
If after reading this and you have a suggestion on make and model of tractor, please share.

Jim

I did not have to go 650 miles, just a dealer that I knew and could-can trust.:thumbsup:

What elevation is your place at? I am not trying to steer you away from Mahindra, I have 2 of them and very happy with both. I would go with the 3616 myself unless you are up higher in elevation, then you really need something with a turbo and that probably means used.

Sounds like you are going to need quite a few implements to be able to get things done in a timely manner. The other consideration would be to go with a 4035 HST. Bigger machine, gets things done quicker, but probably out of the budget.

Down the road, you might want to get a LPGS to maintain that road. I have over a mile of road that gets used regularly and 1/2 of that is shared. I have 4 different types of implements that get used on it. (box blade, rear blade, LPGS and landscape rake) If I could only have one, the LPGS is the implement that I would have.

 

[JimnAZ]

We are at 6000ish feet elevation. I think the 3616 is out of our budget. ?
What is a LPGS?

 

[Redneck in training]

We are at 6000ish feet elevation. I think the 3616 is out of our budget. ?
What is a LPGS?

I think it is land plane. Box blade is great for moving dirt and can be used for road maintenance. Land plane is great for leveling road (provide there are not embedded large rocks) but not for much else. I have both. I used to maintain our driveway with box blade but after I tried land plane I bought it and that what I am using now.
Speaking about tractors. There are too many choices. It is a blessing and curse in the same time. If no plowing is involved I would go for HST. I am pulling somewhat oversized (for my size of tractor) disk behind my HST. It can pull it for hours but the trany gets quite hot. At 6000 ft turbo would be preferable engine. They don't lose power with altitude, use somewhat less fuel and are much quieter than non turbo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIed2lzfQ-g Here is land plane in action.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

We are at 6000ish feet elevation. I think the 3616 is out of our budget. ?
What is a LPGS?

Land plane grading scraper. The picture. I personally would not even consider ANY tractor without a turbo at your elevation. You loose roughly 3% of your power per 1000' of elevation. So a 30hp tractor is only going to have less than 25hp at your place.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I think it is land plane. Box blade is great for moving dirt and can be used for road maintenance. Land plane is great for leveling road (provide there are not embedded large rocks) but not for much else. I have both. I used to maintain our driveway with box blade but after I tried land plane I bought it and that what I am using now.
Speaking about tractors. There are too many choices. It is a blessing and curse in the same time. If no plowing is involved I would go for HST. I am pulling somewhat oversized (for my size of tractor) disk behind my HST. It can pull it for hours but the trany gets quite hot. At 6000 ft turbo would be preferable engine. They don't lose power with altitude, use somewhat less fuel and are much quieter than non turbo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIed2lzfQ-g Here is land plane in action.

I disagree about a LPGS only being good for roads. I have used mine to even out acre sized areas many times. By far exceeds the capability of a box blade when the conditions are right.

 

[tcreeley]

Calculate the hp power you need. HST tractors absorb some of the HP power as compared to gear tractors. Plan to buy a bigger HST tractor than the HP you calculate you will need to be on the safe side. Buying bigger is always useful! I like my gear tractor, I think my wife would prefer an HST if we had one!
My understanding is gear tractors are at the rated hp for the tractor. HST tractors are a little less hp than the hp rating due to loss of hp from the HST.