Branson or Kubota???

sassafraspete · Dec 28, 2004

Chad, I also enjoyed pictures of your 8n on the southern Indiana landscape. Where in Indiana is grandpa's place? It is unbelievable how much work those old ford tractors have done over the years. We had a 1956 600 series, and I can remember watching my dad bush hogging stuff that was way over his head. Try doing that with the cuts today, and I am sure there is something you would tear off.... but not on those old fords. Luckily, my nephew has the tractor now and is taking good care of it, so we were able to keep it in the family. Check out the "start them young" thread in the photo section.... I posted some pictures of my kids on our ford 641 ....circa 1986.

sassafraspete

Zork · Dec 28, 2004

Hi, I shopped "K" too, as well as other name brands. After looking over the the tractors, the assemblies looked to be much beefier in the bransons. Bull gears appeared larger as well- if my memory serves me correctly. I know that all steel/ metals are not alike and some that are thinner may actually be stronger. With that said, weight being very important in any tractor equation, reputation and price as well, I opted for the Branson. With a desire to help the income of my fellow citizens here in the United States I wanted to keep in mind- buy American. However, with Japanese, Korean, Chinese parts and assemblies, that argument is no longer true in my book. I had to watch out for myself. Overall saved about 12k over geen and about 8 over orange. Any tractor can have problems regardless of the name, some more than others. Branson should be a good choice. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Red_rider · Dec 30, 2004

Chad,
Not sure about the pricing between Florida and Indiana, but my $0.02 is that I would buy from the dealer that is going to be my service provider later. You might save a few bucks in Indy, but consider the fuel costs of pulling a couple of extra tons that far. My experience has been that the dealer who sells you the tractor will likely give you "better" service down the road. And one more thing - buy from the dealer you trust.

robfarmacist · Jan 8, 2005

what kind of issues did you have with your branson?i thinking of getting a branson 3820 over a Kubota 3130l thanks rob

Dargo · Jan 8, 2005

I can't make any sort of comment about a Branson, because I've never seen one. (should not be interpreted as anything negative about the Branson make - I just haven't seen one) However, where I live, Kubota and JD are locked in a strong battle for the business. I shopped around before buying my last tractor (10/04), and locally there wasn't much difference between a Kioti and Kubota in price. In my area, that made it a "no brainer". I have a lot more resources for parts and service for a Kubota and, since I have a tendency to trade every 3 to 5 years, the resale difference is huge for me. Again, please don't interpret this statement as me trashing Kioti. Where I live, I have several good Kubota dealers, and great access to Kubota parts. Kioti has had two of their 3 dealers in my area go out, and the one that is left is hitting home runs on the ones he sells based upon prices I've heard of from other areas in the country. Since I feel it is necessary for me to buy locally, that sort of unfortunately kills Kioti for me right now

Anyway, I didn't mean to get far off of the "Branson or Kubota" subject, but I did want to explain why Kubota is a much better deal where I live than the Kioti, without the Kioti people thinking that I'm trashing their tractor. If you are coming up to S. IN, I'd recommend pricing the Kubota and compare it to the price you get locally in your area. If nothing else, it may help you get a better price from your local Kubota dealer. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

GEB · Jan 8, 2005

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( what kind of issues did you have with your branson?i thinking of getting a branson 3820 over a Kubota 3130l thanks rob )</font>

Something to do with the fuel system, lot's of white smoke
on a cold start up!
They said they changed everything to do with the fuel system
including the injector pump.
It had been worked on so much trying to find the problem
that I told them to keep it.
I'd say as long as the one your lookin at dont blow a
very big cloud of white smoke for 2-3 min's on a cold start
and lug on 2-3 cylinders it should not have the issues mine had.
Come to find out it may of had a weak glow timer?
Gene