Comparisons.......

[tjkadar]

When I went to buy our latest tractor, I had a vague idea of what I wanted. I called a bunch of dealers in SC and gave them my wants. Only one dealer answered the phone, listened to my wants, and then asked exactly what I was going to do with the tractor. Based on my needs (and not my wants) he suggested several options. We met in person, whittled down the choices and finally bought a tractor.

Only one dealer out of the dozen or more I talked to ever asked that very basic question, "What work are you going to do with the tractor?"

The dealer sold three different brands, NH, Kubota, & Mahindra. I felt he represented each brand without bias. He also never said a bad word about any other make. Very up front, honest, knowledgable guy.

Honestly, it is hard to go wrong buying a new tractor these days. Just about every single one out there is a solid performer. But, there are so many different models, makes, and options, it can be hard figuring out what you need versus what you want.

Too many times people get lost in the spec sheets and the dollars. They'll spend countless hours trying to save $500 and forget that buying a tractor is just the beginning.

Funny thing is, research shows that the guy that spends a couple extra dollars is often far more satisfied with his purchase then the guy that wheeled and dealed to a lower price. I don't know, but maybe the second guy will always feel he somehow got ripped off.

In the end, you have to find the tractor that suits your needs, your budget, and most importantly, you. Each tractor has a different look and feel to it. What might be great for one fella might be a torture rack for someone else.

Life ain't fair. Why should we expect tractor comparisons to be any different? As always, knowledge is the best weapon.

 

[tractorhill]

Very well said

 

[rback33]

I'll tell ya what fellas.... and ladies who are out there... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Of all the "comparison" topics I have read, this is by far the best one. Everyone has explained their POV politely with no name calling or finger pointing. It has gone a long way towards clearing up some misconceptions about buying a tractor. Am I sounding like a book or movie review writer yet? I think this thread should be a required read for anyone looking to buy. Informative in a non biased, honest, polite manner. The majority of this could be copied to ANY brands discussion groups and no one would know the difference.

Just my nickels worth... and no you can't have change...


PS Ya'll keep this up in here and they are gonna send people here to learn how to behave instead of the Kioti people needing to go to time out.... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Glen_Ippolito]

Great post! I could never afford three tractor's like you, but your thoughts are on the money.

 

[powerstroke2000]

I stopped by RKO today and seen one of the Rural King tractors first hand. It was just as I thought. The 82 hp had a fuel leak that ran about two feet down the parking lot.
Then one of the cab windows had been broken ad replaced but they could manage to clean the busted glass out of the cab, they have been robbing part off of it ,the pins and bolts laying inside. The fuse box on the right side was open and the wires for the key switch was hangin out of it and no key switch to be found. The lines on the left side of the motor was hanging out in nomans land.
The smaller one reminder me of the ones Chuck Homier sells. When they was in town it was winter time and the had to start them every twenty minutes to get them to start because they are really hard to start, the evidence for that was the can of either left on the tractor and the two 6 volt batteries they use to get more cca. I didn't look to see what the big tractor had for a battery but the Rural King tractors had two 6 volts aswell.

Went inside and talked to one of they guys inside about the tractors and he admitted they had NO parts for these tractors.

I guess you get what you pay for.

 

[DrewL]

15 posts into this question and it is still unanswered. Compact and Utility models were clearly defined years ago. Not so much anymore

I'm not so bright and I came up with that all on my own /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[BoneheadNW]

One thing that has not yet been mentioned. The closest Kioti dealer to me is a couple of hours away. I have two Kubota dealers within a short distance. You Kioti owners are lucky to have such a great tractor available to you. Some of us only have to choose from what is available.
Bonehead

 

[wallace]

Well here is you chance......
Go ahead make that call to Kioti and join the new leader of the pack /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Come on we will help you get started /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Mavrik02]

Talk about a hot subject...this question has probably been debated since the first TBN post went up.

My POV is similar yet different from many of those already mentioned.

I believe that if you are comparing tractors for the purpose of selecting one to fill a need or set of needs that you first need to consider what those needs are (this has aready been said many times). After you do that you can develop a list of tractors that will potentially fill that need...then you start to compare. This means that you might have a 20hp and 45hp tractor being compared against each other. You might be comparing the weights and bucket capacities of vastly different tractor sizes. I believe that this is ok!

In the end you might even come down to two tractors that many consider "uncomparable" (and will argue with you that X can not, under any circumstances be compared to Y). I say fooy to that!

When I start looking at features, capabilities, limitations and prices I could very easily end up with the last two tractors on my comparison list to be two very different tractors. The tractors could offer very different performance than each other but both be capable of meeting the basic need. If they are radically different all that means is that the two tractos I felt were the most most likely to meet my need will do it in drastically different styles. Your ultimate choice will be based upon which tractor you think can be the most effective given all the needs you have and which dealer network you think will best support you for the long term.

 

[npaden]

I just stumbled on this post and gamble's post because I'm looking at buying a Kubota 5030 HST. I had about settled on the Kubota MX5000 which to me seems more comparable to the Kioti55. Really the Kioti55 seems to be somewhere between the 2 Kubotas. It doesn't offer the nicer transmission options of the 5030 (glide shift and hydro) but it is a little fancier than the MX5000 on some of the options. And guess what? It seems priced accordingly. I really got excited thinking the Kioti 55 might be a good choice for me but I've about decided that the HST transmission will be the way to go for me. Also I have a really good Kubota dealer local to me and the nearest Kioti dealer is 300 miles away.

FWIW, Nathan