Looking to purchase a MF, which one is enough?

[Walter E Kurtz]

Thanks Jeff,
for weight all dealers around here seem to fill the Rear Tires with "Beet Juice". Some do this standard, others recommend it highly.
We want to spend our Money wisely and not on items that may just have a High Commission.
JD Salesperson pushing past the 10, 20, 30K within seconds then coming to the this would work but a bit on the small size (Family 3 Tractor) and of course we need a Cab, then pushing us to the next Size up. As I started to ask about the smaller ones and with no Cab, it was all over. Handed me some Brochures and have a nice day.



Massey Ferguson: What Makes the Difference between Premium & Economy Compact Tractor - YouTube

Going to the 1700 Series, is it worth the upgrade to the Premium? Price difference about 4K.

Thanks and Happy new Year.

Check out the video. It provides a good detail of what makes up the price difference between an economy and premium This dealer has a lot of good videos for newbies (like me). When I bought mine, I went with the 1742 since my property is hilly and the hydrostatic transmission drains a bit from of the PTO HP. While I can make it up hills, it feels like it should be easier

 

[plowhog]

So we left, with a very bitter taste of MF in our mouth.

Surprising. Big obvious red flags about a dealer, not a product line. You decide to deep-6 an entire brand based on one individual who obviously was going to push you elsewhere .... to something else ..... even before you walked on the lot?

If a sales person at a Chevrolet dealership told you a Corvette had poor acceleration, you would instead buy their used Dodge Colt because ..... it was on the lot at the time .... and they get better rebates at year end from Dodge? Hmmmm .... good luck!!! Shopping is supposed to be fun and I hope you find some fun in this somehow!

 

[nalle]

Hi, first of all I agree with you all. That this was a crappy dealer and had almost nothing to do with MF as a Brand. Only thing I can blame on them, is that they should inspect their dealers a bit better. Mystery Shopper would have helped.
Now to the choices and buying enough Tractor. From looking at so many different Tractors, talking to so many People (Thank You) and learning tons. We have learned that weight is positive (first time me being bigger helps , HP is important to run PTO Implements, fitting on/in the Tractor is extremely important, dealer support is something to keep in mind, of course budget is something not to forget.

For the Massey 17..E, I just don't like the Heel to Toe Pedal. Very unnatural position for me, mainly I am to tall. Got on offered at 17K
The Massey 1736, don't really like the Tier 4 stuff (cost and more that will break). Should Fit me great. Cost right around $22K, is pretty high with the Dealer being over 2.000 miles away so now any problems afterwards (if any) would be sending me parts or having to take it to a dealer where I haven't bought it. Meaning more likely to be put to back of the line. Positive Big Name Company, been in Business long time and beautiful Tractor.
The Other Option is KIOTI CK2610HST, no emissions, Fits me well, Great dealer (backup dealer only 20 miles more). Price about 3500-4000 less. But the Brand not as common at least not to me.
We are going to sleep on it a couple more nights. Price and Dealer closeness is pushing towards the KIOTI, but still have a spot for the Red one in ours Hearts.

I'll keep you updated.

 

[nalle]

Surprising. Big obvious red flags about a dealer, not a product line. You decide to deep-6 an entire brand based on one individual who obviously was going to push you elsewhere .... to something else ..... even before you walked on the lot?
If a sales person at a Chevrolet dealership told you a Corvette had poor acceleration, you would instead buy their used Dodge Colt because ..... it was on the lot at the time .... and they get better rebates at year end from Dodge? Hmmmm .... good luck!!! Shopping is supposed to be fun and I hope you find some fun in this somehow!

Well Chevy Dealerships are a dime a dozen. Don't like the one drive 20 miles and go 4 other ones.
Tractor Dealers already driving to one 1.5 hrs, the next one 3-4 hrs one way this does start to weigh on the decision.
Like I said in the last posts, that this is a problem with the dealer, not really the Brand. But when you take out the Local dealer and now have to drive 1/2 State for any potential repairs (things happen, doesn't matter what brand). This has to play into the decision.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Kioti tractors are beasts. I wanted the CK2610 so bad that I felt physical pain when I had to downgrade to the Kubota B2650. The Kioti wouldn't fit in my garage without folding the ROPS, and the next size down in Kioti does not have a 3 range transmission. Also, I had no dealer less than 1.5 hours away. Both deal breakers. I think I cried a little bit on that. I could have gotten over the distance thing since the typical tractor will never travel back to the dealer in it's life, only that 2-3% that are truly defective or that other few percent with owners who do not repair their own will go back.

Kioti is a very high quality tractor, I think you'll find it to be held in high regard. It's going to be a stronger/heavier tractor than any comparable John Deere/Kubota compact and it will do it with a lower price.

 

[plowhog]

But when you take out the Local dealer and now have to drive 1/2 State for any potential repairs (things happen, doesn't matter what brand). This has to play into the decision.

Valid point. It seems many here recommend "choose the dealer first, then the tractor." For my residential use, I don't agree with that, but I understand those who choose that path. If you value the dealer over the machine, that makes a lot of sense. People with commercial businesses or full time ag operators lose a lot of money due to downtime. So for them, speedy service and repair is an economic issue.

My residential uses are not mission-critical. There is no crop to lose if the tractor takes a dump on me. So, my shopping led me to choose what I believe was the best machine that fits my needs. I bypassed local JD and Kubota dealers for what I felt were justifiable reasons. And although I don't have a local Massey dealer, there is reasonable availability of parts and service if needed. You can get many parts delivered overnight if you really, really need to. And in my area there are lots of people who work on tractors-- outside of dealer support. It's a subjective choice about how much weight to assign to having a local dealer.

 

[Tompet]

For the Massey 17..E, I just don't like the Heel to Toe Pedal. Very unnatural position for me, mainly I am to tall.

I'll keep you updated.

Minor point to some and major point to others, but I'm tall and when I read a reference like this, it sounds like you may be attempting to straddle the entire pedal on top with your heel and toe and use a rocking motion at ankle joint for operation. If so, try the pedal using it's offset so only heel or toe is on pedal at any one time. Then it becomes pretty effortless.

 

[NewLight]

B3300SU tractor-loader with Kubota's four (4) cylinder, 91.4 cubic inch diesel engine with 25 gross horsepower.

L3560 tractor-loader with Kubota's three (3) cylinder, 111.4 cubic inch diesel engine with 37 gross horsepower.

The L3560's three cylinder engine has more torque and is considerably quieter, though powering a much heavier tractor, than the four cylinder engine in the B3300SU.

An excellent topic to discus. The old saying there's no replacement for displacement really comes into it's own in your example here.

B3300SU
4cyl. (91.4ci/1.5L)
Bore/Stroke: 3.1x3.1in [79 x 79 mm]
Power (gross):33 hp [24.6 kW] @2700RPM

L3560
3cyl. (111.4 ci/[1.8 L)
Bore/Stroke: 3.4x4.0in [86 x 102 mm]
Power (gross):37 hp [27.6 kW] @2700RPM

This isn't exactly an apples to apples comparison, but it works all the same. The B may have a 4cyl but its displacement is considerably less than the L's 3cyl engine. So are the bore and stroke, the stroke on the L's engine is quite a bit longer actually. While 4 HP may not sound like a lot it certainly makes a big difference. And the much longer stroke is really what gives a engine with 1 less cylinder the ability to out pull, push, tow, and maintain more consistent speeds going up grades with heavy loads, especially in higher gears or at lower RPMs.

What I think would be a more apples to apples comparison would be with the L4060. They are the same class/size tractor and much more comparable.

L4060
4cyl. (148.5ci/2.4 L)
Bore/Stroke: 3.4x4.0in [86 x 102 mm]
Power (gross):42 hp [31.3 kW] @2700RPM

While the 4060 has grater displacement it has the same bore/stroke as 3560. So in this case "all things being equal" because the tractor itself is the same its the 4th cyl that makes the difference. The 4060 is going to out do the 3560 in situations were torque is what gets the job done.

The reason I bring this up is when I was tractor shopping I talked to a guy that ran a small business fixing and building driveways and private roads that were often gravel and usually long (several hundred yard hilly driveways and mile long private roads are common here), he had a 3560 when he started and it didn't take him long to start running out of grunt. He promptly stepped up to the 4060 and was good to go from there on out. His advice to me was this, if you are pulling, pushing, moving heavy things up hills, slopes, or long grades you'll need lots of torque. And the extra cylinder will allow you to do the same job with less rpms, less fuel, and in less time. I headed his advise and haven't regretted it. Nalle may have no need for that much power or torque, just thought it was worth mentioning.

 

[2ndhalf]

Have you gone to Tractorhouse.com and done a search on tractors in your area. I think that for your needs don't go below 2500 - 3000lb or less than 25hp - 35hp. For your lane being that long you will want enough weight to put at least a six foot blade on.

Many good tractors out there. Lots of MF fans on here and I am one of them. Also like Kubota and several others. Being a big guy I hear ya.. not everyone understands when you go to shop for something the first thing I do is climb on it/in it. I have basically told saleman not to bother talking about it until I climb on it/in it to see if I fit. If you are not at least 6'4" you may not understand. They don't build things to fit usins.. They have little Japanese engineers climbing in and saying feels great to me. I fit in European cars because those engineers are big : )

 

[ID Corgi Ranch]

All I can say is I liked my little 1710. But now, with the bigger tractor, it's amazing how much more can be done with less wear and tear on the machine and me. I'm happy I stepped up to the T454. It's like night and day and I've only had it 36 hours. Pallet forks arrive tomorrow and I can't wait to see what happens when I put a little weight on the front...more than the little tractor could begin to handle. If you have the weight and power you don't have to use it. If you don't have the weight and power you can't use it.

I need to get some tires filled...