Buying Advice Used Kubota or New Kioti

[NC419N]

I went with a New Kioti for the warranty and closeness of my dealer. You may want to give Robbie a call at Joe's Tractor if he were closer to me I would have probably bought a Tractor from him (just saying) Just my .02 worth

 

[GManBart]

My vote would be for the DK4510 but I would want it with the HYD shuttle which would probably cost a little more. Having a warranty with a 20,000 dollar purchase is big on my priority list as I have seen way too many disappointed folks who got the used machine and had problems. Might be worth a call top the dealer to see what the price difference would be for the DK4510 HS model rather than the base.

Good call on the hydraulic shuttle...a world better than a standard manual transmission.

 

[uponthriedge]

Good call on the hydraulic shuttle...a world better than a standard manual transmission.

The Hydraulic shuttle is $1,000 more. The tractor I drove had it and I found that I ended up pushing in the clutch every time I went from forward to reverse. I guess just habit from riding a motorcycle with a clutch. Am I missing something. Seems like the only thing the HS does is eliminate the need to push in the clutch when shuttling between forward and reverse, that just doesn't seem to be worth $1,000 to eliminate need for clutch between forward and reverse. I can see advantage if I was a landscaper or doing lots of loader work, but I am guessing that 60-70% of tractor use will be mowing and 20% will be loader work. I guess I need to drive a tractor with manual shuttle shift.

Emailed two Yanmar dealers this morning but haven't heard from them. Prices all quoted are for cash, I like the cash discount. Don't like debt. Stopped by the Mahindra New Holland dealer just to see what they had to offer. New Holland workmaster 35 looked really cheap. They have tier 3 tractors but can't sell them due to EPA lawsuit. Dealer thought it would get resolved but I still don't think I would like the New Holland. Mahindra's are definitely beefy tractors but price was more expensive than comparable Kioti.

As for the 3 cylinder engine with turbo. I drive a 6 cylinder ecoboost Ford F150 which has been great and would not trade it for a V8. So if the 3 cylinder turbo on the Kioti performs like my Ford Ecoboost I will be happy.

Continue to lean toward Kioti despite the potential Tier IV issues. Kioti mentions 20% improved Fuel consumption with tier IV engines. Anyone have real world experience on that and how much that might save me per operating hour.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I own a Kioti DK50SE-HST with cab and I like it a lot. But between the shuttle shift Kioti and the Glide-Shift L4240, I'd take the Kubota L4240.

I don't know how the specs compare, but the Grand L4240 is a really nice tractor, the Glide Shift transmission is much preferable (to me) than a standard shuttle shift, and Tier 3 is a big, big plus in my opinion. (Actually, it's Tier 4 Interim, but we usually incorrectly refer to that as Tier 3 - meaning no DPF, no regen, etc.)

 

[GManBart]

The Hydraulic shuttle is $1,000 more. The tractor I drove had it and I found that I ended up pushing in the clutch every time I went from forward to reverse. I guess just habit from riding a motorcycle with a clutch. Am I missing something. Seems like the only thing the HS does is eliminate the need to push in the clutch when shuttling between forward and reverse, that just doesn't seem to be worth $1,000 to eliminate need for clutch between forward and reverse. I can see advantage if I was a landscaper or doing lots of loader work, but I am guessing that 60-70% of tractor use will be mowing and 20% will be loader work. I guess I need to drive a tractor with manual shuttle shift.

I think there are a couple of advantages to the hydraulic shuttle, but only you can decide if they apply to your situation or not.

One, many folks experience knee problems as they get older, and while that might not be an issue for you now, it could be down the road. More than a few folks here have said they went with a power shuttle/hydraulic shuttle, or HST for that very reason. Two, if you have any hills on your property, the hydraulic shuttle can be a bit safer because it's much harder to get caught in neutral, which can be bad on hills. Three, they really do make loader work, and even mowing faster/easier...some places it's easier to drive past, flip it into reverse and take care of quickly, but it's easy to get lazy and skip when you don't feel like pushing in the clutch....it happens. Lastly, from a resale standpoint I think the power/hydraulic shuttle would be a plus.

 

[TomSeller]

I own a Kioti DK50SE-HST with cab and I like it a lot. But between the shuttle shift Kioti and the Glide-Shift L4240, I'd take the Kubota L4240.

I don't know how the specs compare, but the Grand L4240 is a really nice tractor, the Glide Shift transmission is much preferable (to me) than a standard shuttle shift, and Tier 3 is a big, big plus in my opinion. (Actually, it's Tier 4 Interim, but we usually incorrectly refer to that as Tier 3 - meaning no DPF, no regen, etc.)

What he said^. I think you can go back to the Kubota dealer and negotiate the price down. He should know better than to price a used machine at what a very nice Kioti goes for new.

 

[paulfun9]

I guess for some folks it wouldn't matter much but for me and my uses the HYD shuttle is the way to go.

 

[Coyote machine]

Kioti. Tier 4 will not save you anything because it burns more fuel to produce less diesel particulate emissions when regenerating, etc. More parts, more expense, not yet out long enough to be proven reliable and cost effective overall. Just meets current laws from the EPA; last I heard they aren't tractor builders....
IF you can get Tier 3/interim Tier 4 machine, that would be best, BUT the Kiotis of that spec are hard to find new.

 

[uponthriedge]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment. Much appreciated. Now I have to make the tough decision and decide on one or the other. At least I have narrowed it down to two from the 6 to 8 tha I started looking at. I was starting to get comfortable with the idea of a shiny new Kioti and that the Tier IV would not be an issue but need to go back to the Kubota dealer and do some more test driving and negotiating. As for the Kioti if I go with that I think you all have convinced me to go with the Hydro shuttle.

On the used Kubota. It was a trade in. Anyone have any idea what they may have gave the guy for trade in if based on what they are sale price offering, ie how much room does a dealer have to negotiate on a used tractor. When I first looked at the tractor they quoted a verbal 22,900. When I followed up and asked for written quote for the used tractor along with some prices on new Kubota's they dropped the price to 20,500.

 

[TJP89]

Being a Kioti guy, I'd go with the DK10, but only if it had the PST. The old DKSE was a great tractor, no reason why the new one won't be. If you're comparing the SS Kioti to the Kubota, go with the Kubota, the GST is great and the grand L is impressive. There may be a little room on the price for the Kubota, that sounds a little high, but there may be room on the Kioti price as well.