Buying Advice Advice Needed on Possible 4220 purchase

[kponds]

I am looking at possibly buying a Banson 4220 from a local dealer and would like some advice or input on the tractor. I have read thru most of the Branson posts but really haven't seen a lot of posts about this particular model. The particular tractor I am looking at is a dealer demo with 17 hrs on it. It appears to be in perfect shape and will come with a new warranty (3yr). It comes with a loader (Branson) and I will be having the dealer add a bushhog (6 ft) and a box blade.

The dealer has quoted me a price of $17,200 for the tractor and loader and approximately $2000 for the bushhog, box blade and trailer giving a total package of $19,200. I feel there is a little more room for a price decrease as he seems to want to move the tractor. I am also looking at both Kubota and Kioti tractors similar in size at competing dealers.

A few questions I have are:

1. Is the pricing seem about right - I know its a demo and that should decrease the price somewhat but I also assume with 17 hrs on it, the delaer has worked out most of the new tractor bugs. It does come with a full warranty so I am comfortable with it being a demo.

2. Is there a particular loader I should be looking for on that tractor. I believe it has a BL20 on it (I didn't see and A as listed on Bransons website) and I believe this is the correct one for this tractor. I hope someone will confirm and assure me the BL20 and BL20A are one in the same.

3. Are there any particular things I should be checking (or specifically looking for) that have been problems with this model in the past.

The pricing of the tractor package saves me about $2000 or $3000 or so off of the competing Kubota (L4400) and Kioti (DK40) packages I have been looking at. It appears that most of the posters have either a love or hate relationsship with the Branson tractors so I am prepared for both positive and negative comments. I am looking for advice as this is my first tractor purchase. I am building a new home and its being built on 18 acres and the tractor purchase will replace my cub cadet lawn tractor so any advice is GREATLY appreciated.

 

[KYMike]

Sorry no one’s responded to your request yet, and welcome to tractoring!

1) I own a 3510 instead of the larger 20 Series Branson, but compared to what I paid for mine a year ago, my guess is that your price is a good one if it also includes a mower, box blade, and a trailer. I’m a little surprised that there is only a $2000-3000 between the red and orange brands. Be sure you’re comparing similar PTO hp.

2) The BL20 or BL20A is the right loader for a 20 Series. I don’t remember what the difference between the A suffix is, but it seems like it isn’t significant. There is another thread in this forum discussing the differences between the Branson and Century loaders (twin tractors, different brands and loaders). The Century loader is thought by some to have better capacity than the Branson, but I have been pleased with the BL10 on mine. The Century joy stick is mounted on the fender and some people like that better than the loader mount of the Branson, and it does make for better access onto the tractor from the right side, but I have not found it a problem.

3) I have heard of some hydraulic problems on some Branson/Century tractors, but I have experienced no problems with mine.

If you are going to have yours do lawn-mowing duty, you might want to consider R4 tires and a multi-blade finish mower instead of the bush hog. With the shuttle shift and quick-disconnect loader, I use my tractor and 6’ Kioti mower for all mowing and don’t even need to trim with a push mower.

Good luck!

 

[halw]

kponds, Hi.
It sounds like you and I have been looking at the same tractors. One thing that you may have not considered is tractor weight, you can have all the horsepower in the world but if you dont have a hefty tractor that power wont make it to the ground in the form of traction. All of the makes that I have looked at have similar wheelbase and over all lengths, the L4400 you mentioned weighs in at 3153 lbs, while the Kioti DK40 comes in at 3836. In addition to those I looked at the Massey Ferguson 1540 @2888 lbs and the John Deere 3720 @2900 lbs, compare those tractors to the Branson coming in at 4105 and the Kioti is the only one thats close.Hey!What are those other guys leaving out!
If you are buying weight those other brands can fix you up in larger/heavier tractors for several thousand dollars more.
Another thing to consider is the tires, the Ag tires will give you more traction but they will also mark up your land everywhere you drive. The R-4 industrial tires are a good compromise, not quite as good of traction but they wont mark up your land, plus they are fatter and more stable.
I am not sure about the difference between the BL20 and BL20A so I cant comment on that.
I have a price on a new Century C42L and it was a few hundred dollars less than the price on your Branson 4220 but it could be because Century has gone belly up and dealers may be trying to close them out. I dont think thats too bad a price but I feel if you shop around you can get a new one for that, just my opinion. Hope this helps, Hal.

 

[wallace]

kponds,
Are you financing or using your own money?
If you are really interested in buying a Branson than you better grab this deal because it is to good to be true....
The tractor and loader at $17,000.00 is a STEAL let alone a cutter blade and trailer.
Run don't walk.

 

[kponds]

I haven't made up my mind as to whether I'll finance or pay cash. I spoke to someone at the Branson factory today and he indicated there was some financing incentives, I think 0% for 24, 2.9 for 36, etc. I will certainly take advantage of the financing unless the dealer will discount further for cash.

The tractor and loader is $17,200 currently and the other items (trailer, cutter, box blade) is another $2k or so, I haven't chosen the particular ones I would by there. The $2k number was the dealers rough estimate of their cost.

I'll probably go by there tomorrow to firmup the deal tomorrow and to see his service department and parts supply. The dealer is a small dealer, he probably has 10 to 15 tractors on his lot as compared to the Kubota dealer down the street who probably has 50+ tractors on his lot. But the Branson dealer is telling me all the right stuff to sway me his way.

Honestly, I found another one with fewer hours for about $500 less (6hr demo unit) but its about 300 miles away. Really too far away for me to drive for that money when I think that the end result is that the local dealer probably wouldn't want to help alot if I had problems with it. I probably will offer to pay his $17,200 price and ask him to throw in the 50hr service or something relatively small like that into the deal.

One last question. The other local tractor I was considering was the L4400 Kubota and the Kioti DK40. The Kioti dealer indicated to me that the Kioti compared to the GrandL Kubota L4330. Which version of the Kubota does the Branson 4220 compare to? In my mind I think I am comparing the Branson to the L4400 and that's probably not a fair comparison.

 

[halw]

The Grand L4330 would probably be a closer comparison, The 4220 is going to have more PTO horsepower than the Kubota.The L4330 loses almost 9 horsepower at the PTO if you go with the Hydro.
I priced a Grand L4330, I had to throw my pants away when I got home.H.

 

[kponds]

The PTO horsepower is something that concerns me, Kubota and Kioti show the PTO HP in their brochures and the website, Branson doesn't. I know the Kubota Grand L 4330 has 39.5 on their gear drive version, 38 on the HST. Do you know what the 4220 has in the gear drive version?

 

[halw]

The Branson will only have the gear drive, that is until they come out with Hydro.
My Branson brochure shows 42 horsepower and 38 PTO horsepower.
My Kubota brochure shows the Grand L4330 at 43.2 horsepower and 36 at the PTO for the shuttle shift and 34.5 at the PTO for Hydrostat. Hydrostat really sucks the HP out of a machine.
My Branson brochure shows a 2005 date, I cant find a date on the Kubota, I may have some old info,if the Kubota found a more competitive horsepower rating I wonder if the Grand L also gained 500 more pounds to be more in line with the 4220?

 

[kponds]

thanks for the Branson info - that wasn't on (or I couldn't find it) on their website. According to my new GrandL brochure, the Branson still outweighs it by about 500 lbs.