Am I ever disappointed....

Brian_Stephens · Apr 26, 2004

WARNING THIS MAY TURN INTO A RANT AND IT WILL BE LONG! Any prices are Canadian dollars so they may sound high...

After writing back and forth to a dealer about a Kioti CK20 we finally made the 2 hour drive (he is supposed to be the closed dealer around) to see him.... We were talking about a CK20 HST with a BH and Loader for 23500 with 20% down and 5% financing for 6 years

Maybe I'm new at looking at tractors but I would have thought that a new tractor (7 hours) shouldn't have rust on the loader arms, on the top of the engine block and exhaust system and if it did the dealer would be concerned about it....

Add to this the guy gave me some C&B story about Kioti and Kubota having had a series of deals in the 40's and Kubota backing out....

Then we started talking attachments.. He doesn't have any Kioti attachments other then the loader and he wants to sell me Farm King and 2 other companies... He quotes me 1200 for a 3PH log splitter when I can buy them out of a catalog up here for 800...

Also during this he suggests maybe I don't want Kioti and shows me a TYM??? Then we get to financing and he doesn't use theirs so there are different terms then he was quoting in the email.... 25% down and 5.25% variable for 4 years

Both the wife and I decided that we like the tractor (not the rust) and will have to find another dealer... But we also may have to go back to the Kubota and JD dealers and see what we can do....

At least the jerk opened his mouth and said something about his backhoe coming in with the stock for a new dealer (which is about an hour from here)

I was a little nervous about the tractor until I got on it but with this guy it seems that Kioti is so small a part of his business that he doesn't really care... and it shows..... I was looking for some comfort that there would be solutions if I ran into problems and I didn't see it coming from this guy... The Kubota we were looking at was 10 grand more without the BH and the financing was more but at least this guy knew where the hoold release was, and the tractor with 14 hours didn't have a layer of surface rust.

To20Chris · Apr 26, 2004

Sounds like you got a bum dealer! A litttle bit of surface rust on a part or two seems to be fairly common on tractors that have been sitting out. I would not be surprised if the boat trip over were not part of the problem. Maybe they dropped that one in the drink! A good dealer will clean the small stuff up when they prep it, and touch up the paint, but if it is that bad you gotta wonder! I looked at a MF1428 that had a big rust stain all over dash panel from a cheap unplated washer and nut that held on a switch - looked like crap & it wasn't going to clean up easily. It had a lot of chipped and cracked paint too.

As far as the attachments go, even a lot of the ones sold by the name brands are really made by someone else, often over here. One of the nice things about these tractors is that most of the attachments are standardized and will fit any brand, so you can choose the mfr you want for the tractor and attachment separately.

The dealer is one of the most important things, so if you didn't like the feeling you got, don't buy from him!

jinman · Apr 27, 2004

Brian, all these things relate to the quality of the dealer rather than the quality of the tractor. You can expect as a customer that he would treat you no better than he treats his products. I think you are wise to find another dealer even if you don't get your first choice in tractors. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

SteveH_CT · Apr 27, 2004

Your experience sounds a lot like mine. If you dig into my old posts you'd find roughly the same observations and comments about the Kioti dealer experience I had. The Kioti website listed 2 dealers near me. The 1st one didn't have any tractors at all, and was obviously not really in the business. The 2nd one had a tire store and obviously did Kioti tractors on the side. I observed the same thing with surface rust... lots of it for a "new" machine. The kicker was the dealer couldn't deliver the tractor to me - I would have had to pay some 3rd party to get it my house. As much as I liked some of the features on the tractor I was totally put off by the dealer network in my area. I even got a couple emails from the dealer - They weren't happy that I was discussing prices on this board. So I know they continue to read these posts.

I suspect things will improve in the coming years relating to their dealers because Kioti does seem to have a good product. One thing I was surprised by was that the "dealer" with no stock was removed from their website listing within days of my complaint - so I can see the company is responsive to issues like that. So many of the folks who have bought them are happy with the tractor so I think it's a good solid product - I certainly will check them out if I ever replace the Deere - I just hope the dealer network in my area has improved by then or I'll continue to spend my $$ elsewhere.

Good Luck with your search - the right one will present itself!

TBrown · Apr 27, 2004

You might want to include Mahindra in your search, as well. The first time I set eyes on a Kioti CK20 I thought it was perfect for me, but the first dealer I visited apparently only had the solid gold version in stock, or so it seemed from the price he quoted me. The second dealer, in Syracuse, was alot better on price, but still a bit high. I ended up with a Mahindra 2015, built in Japan by Mitsubishi, its very similar spec-wise to the Kioti in size, power, and features. The big advantage the Kioti has, IMO, is the curved arm loader, but they're both excellent tractors.

The best nugget of advice I picked up from surfing this sight, (and I don't remember who said it, so forgive me if I don't get this exactly right) was "everybody makes a good tractor these days. Find a dealer you like, and buy what he sells." Sounds like your dealer is a weenie, so its time to look elsewhere.

Good luck with whatever you decide !

Woodbeef · Apr 27, 2004

hey Brian,

So how is ol Scotty doing these days? Did he at least give you a free cup of coffee?

Check your private messages,sir.

rockyridgefarm · Apr 27, 2004

Sorry at your disappointment.

In another post you mentioned being a little wary of Kioti, but that they were saving you about C$10K... Well, Kioti is a great product, but still not as established as those other brands. While you will want to check other Kioti dealers, I would also check the others closely, as well.

There are a few reasons for such a big difference. First, are you comparing apples to apples? A CK20 isn't in the same size class as, say a Deere 4410 or Kubota L3430, so it will of course be cheaper.

Also, many dealers will shoot the price high (for some unknown crazy reason) Sending out bid requests or just letting them know they need to sharpen their pencil might be what it takes to get a closer price.

But most of all, get with a dealer you are comfortable with...

Brian_Stephens · Apr 27, 2004

( hey Brian,

So how is ol Scotty doing these days? Did he at least give you a free cup of coffee?

Check your private messages,sir. )

Now this says something.... In that I didn't mention the dealer or salesman.... and you are bang on.... No he didn't offer me a coffee and thanks for the referral to the other dealer I will give them a call....

As for comparing apples to apples... I'm trying but in the Kubota the BH alone is 7K and the deere about 6K neither of them want to package them... but HP to HP for the tractor alone is 7K or more and Kitoti has a package deal with the BH and FEL which knocks off a bunch more...

SteveH_CT · Apr 27, 2004

When I was comparison shopping I found Kioti to be about $2000 cheaper than the comparable Deere and Bota. I was comparing machines that had a FEL and a BH already installed. I looked at the DK35 (and 40) the 4310 and 4410, and the Bota L3130.

Brian_Stephens · Apr 27, 2004

( When I was comparison shopping I found Kioti to be about $2000 cheaper than the comparable Deere and Bota. I was comparing machines that had a FEL and a BH already installed. I looked at the DK35 (and 40) the 4310 and 4410, and the Bota L3130. )

On the bigger machines we were about 4500 apart between the kioti and the JD and 'Bota ( which would be about 3K USD) on the smaller machines Deere was hesitant saying the BH would not work well (it would be very light duty)... But I don't have the 40K to get into a bigger machine... And I really don't know that I need the bigger machine right now...