Buying a Branson

[fried1765]

My Brother in-law and my sister just moved to Idaho. He is using (temporarily at this point) a Branson that was loaned to him by a new neighbor to get a feel for, and decide if he likes it.

Because of this I actually looked at a Branson Dealers stock here in New York State to get a feel for the equipment, hydraulics and piping, rear end/3 Pt materials, Backhoe additions, and other accoutrements. I didn't see any issues with the hardware, although I haven't yet seen in person, any Branson units with a Cab (my Brother in-Laws is an open station as well). I enjoy looking at the differing perspectives of how different manufacturers approach Cab design, among other design specifications. I then try to base the "specific to that manufacturers" design elements into perspective with where the unit is manufactured, its genesis, and its perspective market... and then associate that to whatever pressures are within the overall product category (tractors) to make a manufacturer step out and take risks that could help or hinder them in their growth. It's a rather interesting field to explore. Mahindra has probably some of the most interesting concepts out there in which they are attempting to move from historically "everyman's rice patty machine" to a contender for customers from many manufactures, including Kubota, Branson, and many other name brand machines. I'm not picking on Mahindra for quality or design issues, only that they have an interesting history and are still very much one of the most dynamic at attempting to "catch" customers for all other competing brands.

I appreciate your comments. They are honest. That's ok!! Personally, I tend to show an interest in all technology...to do otherwise is like sticking ones head in the sand. I think its wonderful to hear about experiences from many owners of all brands. There is no brand associated with professional feedback and exploration of ideas that pertain to how to better our world whether it's for us as individuals or for mankind as a whole. Everyone's viewpoint is welcomed, even though we may not subscribe to it. Thank you for your honesty and constructive criticism.

historically everyman's rice paddy machine.....!

 

[Bowmbd]

Just look very closely at all the "stuff" being put together in these packages. And this goes for any brand or dealer putting packages on the internet.

Most of the time, each attachment or whatever (trailer?) is the absolute cheapest thing they could find to put in there, and will be very "light duty" in nature.

Thanks. I have noticed different packages and some have HD attachments but others just list “attachments”. That was my concern that they would mostly be junk. The one that sells the heavy duty are Bad Boy attachments but the rest look like Agri-X brush hog and Kodiak box blade with no “HD” listing, so my guess is they’re light duty.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Does anyone have any experience with buying online from an out of state dealer? Depending on what my local dealer is willing to do I’ve been debating buying a package deal off tractorhouse.com. There’s 2 places on there offering packages, CSTK in Kansas and Tractor Yard in Oklahoma. I realize you have to take into account shopping costs when comparing but if it’s a couple thousand cheaper it seems like it could be worth going that route? Any experiences, good or bad, would be appreciated. Thanks!

I have purchased two tractors from out of state.... the first was 550 miles away and I rented a trailer and went and picked it up. Overall, under $400 to go get it (I also enjoy road trips). The second was from a dealer that was 500 miles away in the opposite direction. The dealer 'split' the estimated cost of $1500 with me.... cost me $750.... it ended up costing the dealer another $500 on top of the $750... he didn't even ask me for any more, just ate it!

On both tractors, it was well worth it to go out of state.... the first tractor was a SCUT w/ BH and I saved over $5K over local. The second was a small CUT, but I saved over $7K over the local dealers.

Never had any problems with parts.... not that I have had any major problems, only needed minor parts and maintenance stuff. Both dealers took excellent care of me for what I needed.

I have looked at both those dealers that you mentioned.... seem to be top notch and I wouldn't hesitate buying from either one!

Good luck on your search!

 

[kantuckid]

Feel free to PM me as I bought wrecks around the USA for many years and transported them most times, not all as some had low cost commercial transport. Many!!! out of state dealers make out of state deliveries to maintain volume sales which gets then units to build business. Any locale is likely to have independent trained tractor mechanics to assist your maintenance but realize a tractor either gets moved by the owner or often you'll pay for either a trailer rental or a rollback service, etc.. owning an equipment trailer is not logical for me as rents not that much. Tractor size as mentioned above matters a lot on both the trailer & tow vehicle-ask yourself what you have to do this with? Payments vary but most any dealer will walk you through that aspect as it's everyday stuff. personal checks are common with dealer deals-they have plenty of lawyers on their side-ha! Electronic transfer or imprinted checks mostly, cash is somewhat safe but burdensome and can be not as safe as many think it is! My current tractor I fetched from Abilene, KS back to KY. One before was in GA, before that was 30 miles away, and so on. My PU truck was 2 hrs away, SUV in Chattanooga, TN I took a greyhound down drove it back. Good luck searching. Dealer tractor deliveries vary quite a bit-more than the LS post above.

 

[Jjohnson9989]

Now you are talking only don't trade up, start there.

I am taking a hit and selling my mahindra 1628 because it’s too small. I’m going big with the Branson 5520ch. Definitely get at least 30+Hp.

 

[Cougsfan]

My personal opinion is that dealer support is a secondary concern. I am quite sure there are good dealers and bad dealers for every brand. You can't make a nation wide generalization. Warranty coverage is another issue. Some of that has to do with the quality of your dealer but more has to do with the how the tractor company backs its product. Fortunately my Branson Dealer has been great and he has had no problem getting Branson to back and repair the few minor problems I have had in my 5 years of ownership. Mahindra, on the other hand has a reputation for bad support from the tractor company itself, regardless of the quality of the dealer. If my Branson dealer were lousy in the area of service (which he isn't) I know of a few independent service shops that would be able fix my problem if I couldn't myself. Due to its lack of electronics, Branson has an upper hand on many brands in this regard.

 

[kantuckid]

In a somewhat related discussion of brand dealers vs. distributors and brand reps I learned via personal conversations with TYM, Branson and Kioti dealers (all brands I was interested in at the time) that in todays climate of poor to non-existent inventories and poor parts availability there are some very serious issues in those brands I mention. Distributors are playing "unit shipment favorites" under the banner of sales volumes (when not always factual) and also dishonoring well established dealer sales areas by establishing new dealers in related brands in violation of long standing practice and sales areas. I'm not into tractor dealer gossip but the hard truth is that this affects our ability as owners to get the best from our tractors brand dealers.
Every brand dealer of vehicles & tractors has their own set of issues to find and keep skilled labor-I was in the tech school business for many years and know that end of supply/demand for entry level mechanics.
I talked to one of them this week at a Branson dealer and the kid confused ballast fluid with hydraulic fluid over the phone...
That said, I agree with the Cougsfan post above. I will say that most any dealer of anything with a service dept does assign the better, more experienced techs (I still call them mechanics) to the more complex tasks if they are large enough to enjoy that luxury of help.
A few of the Mahindra dealers I've encountered in the recent past dropped the brand over poor brand support for warranty work and mostly switched to Kukje or Kioti products.
An honest dealer (most) does what they can to do the right thing, thankfully. They do have many customers who lack their level of understanding issues that pop up in complex machines-we see them on the web real often nowdays where many tractor buyers are newbies having bought their first tractor. FB is full of pics in mundane daily uses for a tractor. Who has time to joy over pushing dirt around or yet another of dozens of pics of shiny new grapples picking up limbs?

 

[kantuckid]

I do wish members (like the above guy) would give us a notion of their geographic location!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks!

 

[Boss 302]

We have a 2400h that my wife uses for all of her yard work and she loves it. It's dependable, handy to use due to it's smaller size and helps with accessing those tight spots around the barn. I have had zero issues with it and we are glad we made the purchase.

 

[52wej]

Another voice to this ruckus - I purchased a Century 2535 ( think Branson 3510) in 2004 and now have 1600+ hours on it. Because the rear end was designed to work with larger motors than my 35 pto HP, it will do serious heavy work. For comparison, it is just as sturdy as the rear end of our MX5200 Kubota if not more so. The three point will actually lift more than the Kubota. I have done some small scale logging with mine and have easily pulled 24" diameter by 12ft long oak logs out of the woods with it. I regularly load 1/3 cord of wood in a pallet on the back end and move it easily. It is a tough little tractor. I have replaced the hydraulic tank, fuel pump, glow plugs and rebuilt the three point lift cylinder (due to my mistake) and these are not overly complicated tasks. Nearest dealer is about 2+ hours away and so I order my filters by phone. My original dealer lasted about 2 years.
To be honest I am expecting a clutch replacement in the next few hundred hours simply because I have done a pile of front loader work. And one day I expect to replace the original battery but not yet.

As others have mentioned you do have to be sure to keep screens cleaned and do other service work regularly. I use OEM filters. I have also used it on a 15kw generator after an ice storm for 160+ hours continuously and it never missed a beat. 5ft rototillers, and 6 ft bushings are perfect sizes for it.

If there were a closer dealer you bet I would buy another one. But again, there should be no real need to; at least not in this size tractor. My larger tractors are Kubotas for reference. W. Jones