Dealer Buying a tractor in Dothan, AL

[espacef1fan]

I’m looking at some tractors in my area (Dothan,AL) and I’m trying to narrow down/eliminate some brands or more importantly dealers.

I’m hoping you all might be able to share some experiences you’ve had with dealers in my area.

I’m especially worried about future parts availability and customer service as I intend to keep this tractor for a few decades.

I’m very mechanically incluned(aircraft mechanic for 10 years with a hot rodding addiction) so I’m not so concerned with maintenance service but warranty service of big items.

I really liked the Mahindras at Dowling in Enterprise. No one asked if we needed help after 20 minutes in the lot. We left

We also thought the Bransons at Dixie Horse and Mule company were decent. We do question the longevity of the brand and parts going forward.

We liked the Kioti dealer in Elba but they are pretty far away( makes swinging by to pickup parts after work difficult) and the Kiotis weren’t great ergonomically.

Again I’m interested in dealer experiences and parts availability experiences for these brands as well.


EDIT: I should add I’m mostly shopping for a tractor only because my jd 1120 is hard/impossible to find a loader for that works with my aftermarket powersteering.

 

[K5lwq]

Although I don't know about the dealers in your area I do have both a Kioti and Branson. Both are well made and you should not have issues with either one. Parts is not a problem for either however dealers for both come and go. My Kioti is from before emission issues and is a simple machine.

I chose Branson as my new tractor because of it's simple design. I have never liked the idea of a lot of electronic gizmos on something that stays in a dusty or wet environment it's whole life. After a few mods the Branson is a old school tractor that performs extremely well. For me, the simpler the better. Less to give issues.

Good luck and enjoy tractor hunting!

 

[Cruiserdog]

Consider a McCormick X1 (same as 20 series Branson) if there’s a decent dealer or Zetor. I bought a Zetor from a dealer down that way many years ago ( can’t recall the dealer name), but it too was a great machine at a very good price.

 

[fried1765]

I’m looking at some tractors in my area (Dothan,AL) and I’m trying to narrow down/eliminate some brands or more importantly dealers.

I’m hoping you all might be able to share some experiences you’ve had with dealers in my area.

I’m especially worried about future parts availability and customer service as I intend to keep this tractor for a few decades.

I’m very mechanically incluned(aircraft mechanic for 10 years with a hot rodding addiction) so I’m not so concerned with maintenance service but warranty service of big items.

I really liked the Mahindras at Dowling in Enterprise. No one asked if we needed help after 20 minutes in the lot. We left

We also thought the Bransons at Dixie Horse and Mule company were decent. We do question the longevity of the brand and parts going forward.

We liked the Kioti dealer in Elba but they are pretty far away( makes swinging by to pickup parts after work difficult) and the Kiotis weren’t great ergonomically.

Again I’m interested in dealer experiences and parts availability experiences for these brands as well.


EDIT: I should add I’m mostly shopping for a tractor only because my jd 1120 is hard/impossible to find a loader for that works with my aftermarket powersteering.

Long term keep = Kubota!

 

[espacef1fan]

Long term keep = Kubota!

We looked at the Kubotas.

We didn’t like the hydro pedal size and how the brake pedal was co located.

 

[ptsg]

I totally agree with K5lwq and I'll add, even though Branson is a simpler tractor, it still comes standard full of features that others either won't even offer or will ask lots of money for it. It has little to no electronics, which is always a good thing and have a very robust and heavy duty construction like the old school tractors. No plastic fenders and hood on these. It also weights more and lifts more than the competition.

Both Kioti and Branson are very good machines and will last long time. Either one, will make you very well served.

 

[TractorGuy]

I personally think the Green Tax is worth paying. I just don't trust the stability of the foreign made brands. Kubota is probably a safe bet but the machines made in India, Italy, and S. Korea would concern me.

 

[fried1765]

We looked at the Kubotas.

We didn’t like the hydro pedal size and how the brake pedal was co located.

Fair enough.....that is a matter of personal preference.
Next in line maybe should be the Branson or Kioti, as suggested in post #6

 

[fried1765]

I personally think the Green Tax is worth paying. I just don't trust the stability of the foreign made brands. Kubota is probably a safe bet but the machines made in India, Italy, and S. Korea would concern me.

Green compact tractor parts, and pieces are manufactured in the USA?

 

[ptsg]

I personally think the Green Tax is worth paying. I just don't trust the stability of the foreign made brands. Kubota is probably a safe bet but the machines made in India, Italy, and S. Korea would concern me.

Interesting post to say the least.

Besides that post showing pure lack of knowledge, I'll just say, JD doesn't even sell tractors smaller that the 5 series here. The only compact they sold over the years, were a Goldoni tractor painted with the expensive green and yellow. And you know the best part? Those Goldoni tractors sold under JD name, were made in Italy and were some very nice machines with little to no problems.

Also, Kukje (Branson) in South Korea builds lots of tractors for JD as well. Now the Indian made JDs on the other hand, are prone to issues.

Italy and South Korea make some very nice machines that can easily par up with both JD and Kubota, being these two kinda overrated.