Buying Advice Evaluating options for a compact

[Teachu2]

I read through a couple threads where people had issues, nothing that sounded like a horror story to me though...perhaps I didn't read the ones you're talking about.

You missed the one that slaughtered the lambs? The one that drank all the beer? The one that was stalking it's owner? The one that wasn't green it was <gasp> BLOOD RED?

I didn't buy a Mahindra because the dealer was a trailer dealer with no service or parts department. I didn't even look at LS for similar issues - they looked like they could take their vinyl banner off the fence and be gone in an hour or less. Some of the Mahindras are built by Mitsubishi, some by TYM, some by Mahindra, some by combinations of components. Educate yourself on what you are actually buying, and make an informed decision. If I had a real dealer to work with, I'd have favored the Mitsubishi-built units over the TYM, and those over the Mahindra, based on my perceptions of quality of fit and finish. I am biased, without a doubt, with my perceptions of the countries of origin affecting my perceptions of the products.

I bought a Kioti because it met my expectations, both the tractor and the dealership. Had the same dealer had LS, Yanmar, Kubota, Deere, Branson, TYM, or any other brand, I would have given them a thorough review and bought one that met my expectations. The only dealer/tractor combinations that met my expectations were the Kioti and Kubota dealers, and the Kioti was a little more tractor for quite a bit less money. Had the Kioti dealership not been a long-time locally owned and operated family tractor dealership, or the tractor not measured up, I'd own a Kubota today. Even Kioti's competition locally said very good things about both the product and the dealer - that's a powerful testimony.

For those folks who don't have local dealers, or prefer to turn their own wrenches, availability of parts without waiting on a container ship is a concern. Messick's and Michigan Iron both have excellent reputations here on TBN. Is there a similar dealer for Mahindra? I don't know - but I'd want to know before I bought one. YMMV.

 

[rScotty]

You missed the one that slaughtered the lambs? The one that drank all the beer? The one that was stalking it's owner? The one that wasn't green it was <gasp> BLOOD RED?

I didn't buy a Mahindra because the dealer was a trailer dealer with no service or parts department. I didn't even look at LS for similar issues - they looked like they could take their vinyl banner off the fence and be gone in an hour or less. Some of the Mahindras are built by Mitsubishi, some by TYM, some by Mahindra, some by combinations of components. Educate yourself on what you are actually buying, and make an informed decision. If I had a real dealer to work with, I'd have favored the Mitsubishi-built units over the TYM, and those over the Mahindra, based on my perceptions of quality of fit and finish. I am biased, without a doubt, with my perceptions of the countries of origin affecting my perceptions of the products.

I bought a Kioti because it met my expectations, both the tractor and the dealership. Had the same dealer had LS, Yanmar, Kubota, Deere, Branson, TYM, or any other brand, I would have given them a thorough review and bought one that met my expectations. The only dealer/tractor combinations that met my expectations were the Kioti and Kubota dealers, and the Kioti was a little more tractor for quite a bit less money. Had the Kioti dealership not been a long-time locally owned and operated family tractor dealership, or the tractor not measured up, I'd own a Kubota today. Even Kioti's competition locally said very good things about both the product and the dealer - that's a powerful testimony.

For those folks who don't have local dealers, or prefer to turn their own wrenches, availability of parts without waiting on a container ship is a concern. Messick's and Michigan Iron both have excellent reputations here on TBN. Is there a similar dealer for Mahindra? I don't know - but I'd want to know before I bought one. YMMV.

Not everyone can afford to do follow that advice, but IMHO it sure is good advice for those who can.
Let me add one more idea with a sort of different slant.

Good tractors last forever. There is no way when we bought our first tractor 40+ years ago that I thought I'd still own it today....I would have just laughed. The future is never-ever-land and nothing lasts that long..... does it? A tractor was crazy-stretching the budget in the first place, and since I was adament about buying top quality, then only the most basic model was ever in the running.

Well, I was wrong about most of the future. But at least we were half right on the tractor. It's still here and it's been a joy. But with no offense ever to that wonderful tractor, if I had any idea how much a part of our life it would be, we sure would have found some way to put a few more features on it as well as a bit more size. Same brand, though.
rScotty

 

[NYCheese]

Finally made it to the Yanmar dealer today. Didn't even bother looking at the 424, went straight to the YT235. Drove it a little bit, played with the backhoe a little bit. Out of all the tractors I've looked at thus far....easily my favorite. It has 12 hours on it just from demo use, but essentially brand new. The dealer said he got it when he bought out the inventory from another dealer, so if I pull the trigger on it before someone else does, he can offer decent pricing on it. (better than ordering a brand new 2018 model).

YT235 with FEL, BH, 60" rotary cutter, filled rear tires (rimguard), and 3rd function kit installed....right at 30k pre-tax. That also includes a 60 mile delivery for free. MSRP on the Yanmar site for the same package (minus the filled tires and 3rd function) is just under 39k, so I think it sounds like a pretty good deal.

I still want to get to Kioti for a look...but the Yanmar is gonna be hard to beat I think. I'm a little nervous about parts availability since Yanmar dealers are few and far between, but the dealer said they have a completely stocked parts warehouse in Georgia, and he's never had to wait more than a week for a part, or you can always pay for 2 day shipping if you need somethign fast.

 

[Tractorable]

The YT235 is a really sweet machine for sure. I wouldn’t worry too much about parts availability. Yanmar has been building engines and tractors for others for a long time. They’re now building under their own name again in the North American market. Plus, they’re huge in the construction and marine industries too.

 

[NYCheese]

There's the 1626, as you saw, and an upcoming 1640, which will be larger (similar to the current 1533/1538). The new 1635 will be a 35hp, but on the smaller frame of the 1626 (I'm guessing otherwise identical except for HP). Source - 2017 Mahindra Dealer Meeting: Part 2

I liked the Mahindras as well, and was really interested in the 1635, but came across the Kiotis while waiting and will now be taking delivery of a CK3510se next week.

I spent the afternoon today looking at that exact machine, CK3510se. They didn't have one to drive, (the only SE was still in the shipping crate), but they did have a regular 3510hst assembled. The SE would definitely be my choice (only 1600 dollars more).

Gave me a price of right about 32,500 for 3510se, FEL, BH, 60" RC, 60" box blade, and filled rear tires. That's including taxes. So, about teh same price as the Yanmar, maybe 1000 less, but basically the same. There were a couple things I I liked more on the Kioti. More ground clearance, more lift on the FEL, less plastic, and the steering column felt much more rigidly built vs the Yanmar.

One of the things that I thought was going to be my biggest dislike with the Kioti was the way the BH attaches. The subframe that goes under the tractor, stays on the backhoe, requiring much more space for storage when it's off the tractor. What I didn't know, is that with that type, most of the 3pt hardware stays on the tractor (all but the top link), which means much less work when switching between BH and implements. So now I think I might prefer that style.



You have any regrets yet with your Kioti? I don't think I can wait much longer for the Mahindra 1635 to come out, so right now, I've gotta choose between the yanmar YT235 and the Kioti 3510se.

 

[LMychajluk]

We just took delivery of it this past Saturday morning. Total was $31,800 (before tax) for the -SE, FEL, BH, a Wallenstein BXM32 Chipper/Shredder, a BH thumb, filled tires, and installation of a WR long 3rd function (I bought a 55" Wicked Grapple and the WR Long Kit from EA separate). Sounds like you got a pretty good quote!

We put it to work immediately cleaning up a bunch of branches I've been piling up all spring and a couple of downed trees on the edge of the lawn. Put almost 10hrs on it. It powered Wally great! What my brother and I did over 2 days would've taken us all summer with our little Mighty Mac chipper. We blew the chips into the bed of our Polaris Ranger, dumped them in a corner of the yard, used the loader to pile them up and ended up with a pile of mulch 5.5' high. Cut the trees into 6' lengths and moved them in the bucket.

The linked pedal option is very handy. I could just leave it idling most of the time, unless running the chipper, and when I stepped on the pedal the engine would spool up. Working the pile of mulch was easy, even in mid-range. The hydro static steering is almost effortless, and it turns really tight. I had some concerns that it would be a bit unstable on our hilly lawn, but it seemed fine and the R4 tires didn't do too much damage to the grass (only where I was cutting really tight turns). The PTO control was easy to operate as well, even from the ground while working with the chipper, and the engine is smoother than I was expecting.

We didn't even have the back hoe on it all weekend, but I'll try that out next weekend. Dropping it was really easy - just pull the 2 pins. You're right, though, that the sub-frame comes off, leaving a longer unit on the ground. The entire 3-pt can stay on w/ the backhoe, though - no need to remove the top link. It took my brother and I about 20 min to re-mount it while we tried to figure out how it lined up, but I'm sure it'll get easier. I'll have to figure out the best way to manage the storage of it before I get any other implements, but for now it will stay mounted on the Kioti when in the garage.

A few minor gripes that I do have:
1) I'm only 5'9", but I wish the seat slid back a few more inches. As is, my right knee is closer to the pedals than I'd prefer, so I'm almost stepping on them rather than pressing them forward with my outstretched leg. Otherwise, the seat is nice and comfy!
2) It needs an idiot light for the parking brake. Maybe even an audible alarm. A couple of times I was wondering why it was on the verge of stalling while travelling over perfectly flat ground before realizing the brake was still on. It did get me thinking about those posts I saw about a new HST that couldn't climb a hill in Mid-range.
3) As the delivery driver was showing us the screw-stop do-dad on the 3-pt lever, it unscrewed from the backing nut, which then fell down into the fender. We recovered the nut w/ a magnet, but it looks near impossible to re-attach w/o unbolting at least 3-4 bolts for the shroud. We don't have any implements that would need to be set to a specific height, so we probably won't replace it any time soon, but I'll still nit-pick about it because the screw could've been longer and prevented the issue.
4) It's easy enough to get in/out of the seat from the right side, except for the fact that it doesn't have a step like the left side does.

As an overall package, though, I'm very happy with it!

 

[RandyinTN]

You've read the Mahindra horror story threads right?
Just make sure your eyes are wide open to false ecomomies.

What are some of the horror stories? Very interested as this brand is on my short list to purchase.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

All my opinion here but then again that's pretty much all there is...

There have been what I would describe as a bunch, certainly too many. Tractors with various issues but the real issue is little or no dealer and/or little or no Mahindra corporate support. I mean truly shameful Mahindra support.

This is one of the LESS troublesome threads but it just it just popped up so I figured I'd link it.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/.../386963-mahindra-owners-little-help-here.html

If I had a truly exceptional dealer like Dave's Tractor Id definitely consider one. Otherwise, no way in heck Id buy one and expect the warranty to be worth more than the paper it's printed on. Again, just my opinion.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

I also would like links to the other horror stories please. So far I only have found Gasifier's, about which he wrote two threads. I am also considering Mahindra, so I read these threads very carefully, and I also thought about them a lot.

I am not a tractor expert, very much NOT, but I am a logical thinker, and this was my take FWIW.

Apparently, the tractor developed an intermittent short and the tractor was in the shop for 6 weeks while they tried to find the problem, which they did finally, and fixed it. That poster is what Dave's Tractor described as a hard user, hey nothing wrong with that. But sure 250 hours in 9 months cleaning up after a logging, pulling stumps and rocks, is definitely rugged use, which of course, a good tractor should be able to take. But perhaps small problems that would have occurred over a longer period of time with more normal use, became apparent more quickly?

In any case, the problem was fixed, and Gasifier has posted more recently about his tractor:

Originally Posted by Gasifier View Post
After they found the intermittent electrical short/problem, and fixed it, I have not had any problems with it. It is back to working like it should be, a working beast. And I am impressed when everything is working properly.

I also couldn't help but notice that the poster mentioned that he had been buying used tractors, working them for a year or two, and then selling them, which sounds like perhaps they get worked hard? Seems like most of you folks, if you have a good tractor that you like, you tend to keep it. I also noticed that he managed to break the backhoe bucket.

I don't mean to argue with you folks who know so much more than me....but I couldn't help but notice these things. And as I said, I'm trying to figure this out myself before I buy a Mahindra. I'm almost thinking if an experienced user who works his tractors that hard is impressed with the tractor's performance, it's more of a recommendation.

Need more data, so would appreciate the links. Thank you.

 

[RandyinTN]

I read most of the 19 page thread. Seems one individual had several problems with the same tractor and ended up getting it fixed after a lot of heart ache. I really dont view as a serious issue as I bet the same could be said about every tractor brand built. Stuff happens.

I am still on the fence with either a Mahindra or Kioti. So far I visited the Mahindra dealer twice and have yet to have anyone offer to help me. That alarms me most of all, but the dealership was pretty busy on both visits.