Mahindra Quality

[Texas Dawg]

Thanks. Will do.

 

[Fluid]

Mahindra sells more tractors than any other mfg in the world. They are number 3 in the US.

How did they do that if they're just cheap knock offs of other other brands?

They're huge for a reason,

Let me say this because some here are implying that I don't think Mahindra makes good tractors, thats not the case. They do make good tractors. I just don't like being lied to by the dealer salespeople. They could have told me the truth and I would have more interested instead of him thinking I will listen to his line of bull. Now as far as Mahindra being the "number 3 in the US", I wonder about that statement, I'm not saying it isn't true, but Kubota is all over the place where as Mahindra isn't. Just saying. If they don't have to spend billions engineering and developing and just buy a proven platform that would go a long ways in getting your name out there.

 

[oldpilgrim]

Not surprisingly, Mitsubishi, does have a plant in India.

I'm pretty sure mine says made in Japan as well as the other stuff I mentioned.

 

[BlackOps]

the orange dealer - the owner and sales manager both lied to me multiple times - i was not happy - but the research said go mahindra. i did - and very glad - just used it for an hr and did maybe 4 hrs or more of hard work by hand with it - love it.

 

[mike69440]

Re: Mahindra Quality Meh. You got me.

I'm very interested in your antique 1884 Kubota!! That treasure has to be one of the first tractors ever . . . and, unless it's steam powered, may very well have one of the first internal combustion engines from way before anyone knew they were even invented!

Edit . . . oops, I guess I showed my ignorance, the first practical internal combustion engine was invented in 1859. Oh well, deduct a couple hundred off your asking price.

Just sold my Precious antique.

The Kubota led a tough life. I treated it like it was a much bigger tractor. I filled the tires, and added 300 lbs of iron bolted to the loader frame for ballast to give it weight and traction.

Although I will miss the tractor, I won't miss the wonky manual steering and 3 x 2 Crash box transmission.

I put about $1,500 in repair parts in the tractor over its 15 years life with me, doing all the labor myself.

I bought wit 350 hours on it sold it with 1338 hours on it. As the B7200D has a mechanical RPM based hour meter, those hours are at calculated at full throttle, so a modern electrical hour meter would have equivalent of 2,000 hours or so.
I thought antiques go up in value, I only sold it for what I originally paid for it?
With inflation, I致e lost money!

Really though, we could only wish things like cars boats, trucks, Bikes, etc. held their value like this Old Kubota. Good well bonded Paint, Durable Trim even if some parts were plastic, good sealed protected electrical connections, rust free fasteners, and a balanced sound design with overall build quality paid off.

 

[mike69440]

Agree. I've had good luck with Kubota's, and from what I've seen, Kioti are impressive too. I'll repeat, with any make, it's good to do due diligence by searching for "issues" on-line. As an example, some smaller Deere's don't have a straight-thru rear axle, each stub axle is supported by an aluminum cased gearbox and the lower pivot of the 3-point hitch arms are mounted to an aluminum flange - they crack and break. One would ask, what the H --- were they thinking? These smaller Deeres were made in India. Massey Ferguson has a smaller model, also Indian I think, that has too short a spline shaft driving the hydraulic pump --- the splines shear off. Newer versions have been fixed, there's never been a recall - an expensive fix when it goes. Some of Kubota's BX series have a plastic hydro cooling fan that a stick poking up there can break - labor intense to replace. There's lots more examples of crappy engineering out there, and it's good when a manufacturer stands up and says, "We goofed and we'll fix it free". BUT, unfortunately, with no oversight laws (like there are with autos in the US) they have little incentive to do the right thing . . . warranties are relatively short, and so most of them don't stand behind manufacturing defects that show up later.

I just read your reply regarding the Aluminum axle covers and 3 Point attachment points being Aluminum on the small Deere.

One reason my Max28 is lighter weight than a Kioti CK2510 is that it uses Aluminum axle covers and the 3 Point attachment points is Aluminum. Axle looks fairly stout but I wonder what it looks like under the covers?

The Max28 has a steel bracket on the 3 point lower link attachment point that distributes the load over the Axle Cover, otherwise this would be REAL scary.

I would love to find a .pdf of the Max28 parts manual for free, I did find one on line, but the site wanted information and had I signed up I suspect they would want money also.

 

[brain55]

I'd think Mahindra would be a good choice if you had a reliable dealer close by. I know there are plenty here that have bought tractors and have never been back to the dealer regardless of color, no dealer support is secondary to them. Our closest Mahindra dealer is a camper shell dealer. Sure they've been selling the tractors there for a few years but it clearly isn't their bread and butter. What happens to the person that gets a tractor that has problems? How effectively is that problem going to be resolved. Or what if a couple years down the road you need a repair and that dealer has decided to stick to selling camper shells and isn't doing the tractor thing? Things I think about.

Brian

 

[drajj5]

I just read your reply regarding the Aluminum axle covers and 3 Point attachment points being Aluminum on the small Deere.

One reason my Max28 is lighter weight than a Kioti CK2510 is that it uses Aluminum axle covers and the 3 Point attachment points is Aluminum. Axle looks fairly stout but I wonder what it looks like under the covers?

The Max28 has a steel bracket on the 3 point lower link attachment point that distributes the load over the Axle Cover, otherwise this would be REAL scary.

I would love to find a .pdf of the Max28 parts manual for free, I did find one on line, but the site wanted information and had I signed up I suspect they would want money also.

Mike

I like the way you speak, to the point and detailed. I do think that everyone should get a (parts manual) thrown in as a parting gift when you purchase a tractor. I did foot the cash and got me one of those service manuals, good info when repairs are needed- paperback and not PDF. I guess the PDF is only read accessible to dealer log in.

Pulled out the book to see how the case looked internally, The main body is cross-braced and looks quite strong. LH and RH differential covers are ribbed on the inside ( I am guessing that on the Deer it is ribbed on the outside ) but look stout as well.

Brian is right, "I fall into the category of customer who will never carry mine back to the dealer" - unless something catastrophic happens. Dealer support for me is unimportant as I will keep this tractor forever. I know that 30 years from now parts will be hard to find, (Few) dealers stock parts that old anyway.

To the OP

Mahindra Quality? (Any Tractor Quality) I hate to say it but Quality seems to be a thing of the past. Maybe I am wrong but nothing is made from materials that will last anymore.

For instance, look at any 20's to 50's era tractor - all steel/no plastic/just a couple of wires to make it run. Now look at almost every new tractor - Plastic/Aluminum/ bundles of wire's feeding power to safety switches and relay's. Even electronically controlled engine management systems are slowly making there way inside a tractor that is used/stored in a unforgiving environment 'the outdoors'.

To me tractors now has a shelf life, for some it will last decades, for others they will forever trade- for the latest and greatest. Regardless no Manufacturer want's them to last as long they used too.

No frills simple tractor are scorned for not having a cup holder or a tool box, I will sacrifice those luxuries for dependability. I purchased a Max as well - Mahindra dealers may fluctuate in area's, but I think that they are here to stay. Yep I feel confident that like other BIG brands 50 years from now Mahindra will be as common as them.... Knock on wood!!!

 

[Texas Dawg]

Fortunately I have 2 Mahindra dealers within and hours drive. Both are full time tractor/farm equipment dealers that sell and service multiple brands. I went with the dealer that is further away (Four Brothers Outdoor Power in Royce City, TX). I chose them because they gave a better price and when going through the buying process were much more involved and informative. The other dealer pretty much acted as if I was a bother because I was not purchasing on of the big boy's on the lot. So far I have been happy with my choice of tractor AND just as important my dealer.
I previously owned Toyota's and think this is an excellent car. That said, I would NEVER purchase one from the dealer that is closest to me due to their aggressive sales tactics when we shopped them (to top it off years after attempting to deal with them, they cold called the other night at 8:30 on a school night after the kids were in bed) and poor customer service. They alone converted me to a Nissan and Honda owner. The same I'm sure can occur with any brand of tractor. Unless the machine is of unusually poor quality, the dealer and how they take care of you is what will ultimately determine your attitude towards that brand.

 

[oldpilgrim]

To the OP

Mahindra Quality? I hate to say it but Quality seems to be a thing of the past.

Please don't make it seem like Mahindra quality is what you are referring to. Their quality is as good as anyone's.

I agree that were are living in a world where quality is not what it used to be. But based on today's manufacturer's definitions, Mahindra is as good or better than the rest.