I bought what I could afford. Had just bought my 40 acres. Lots of work required on the home. The nature of things was such that I would have broken the heck out of a larger tractor;
B7800 was nimble AND sturdy enough to handle things that a larger tractor wouldn't have.
Kioti issues (I've got a thread somewhere but I'm too lazy to look it up):
- Leaking cab: took two trips to the dealer (dealer covered transport) to rectify (but they RTV'd the top- I later spend MANY hours cleaning up after this in order to clear out some mouse nests!)
- Loader wasn't straight/level: dealer replaced the loader (all covered)
- Leaking rear diff: dealer took care of; had other side leak and they took care of that as well, but I had to transport; minor leak, but I wanted it resolved, which under warranty it was.
Couple things no different than with the
B7800 I've had to mess with: broke a bucket cylinder on the
B7800 and it cost me about $700; broke one on the Kioti and the replacement cost was slightly less. Yup, I break stuff. Engine has been flawless (always starts easily; my
B7800 is a pig), as has the HST and the hydraulics. A WHOLE LOT more of a tractor than the
B7800, more stuff to wear and break. Not apples to oranges. I have more concern over attachments working than I do with the Kioti.
The best tractor is one that gets the work done that you need to get done, and does so reliably. My Kioti will never see the total hours that my
B7800 has racked up in which case I won't be able to use hours as the metric: I won't live long enough to rack up those hours.