G'day from Australia, Assessing New Chinese 60 HP 4WD FEL Tractors

[jthorne]

Hi All, great website and brilliant forums, thanks for all the very useful information. This is my first post. I'm in New South Wales on the Pacific Coast of Australia. There are a lot of New Chinese Tractors on the market here at very competitive prices. Initially I was intending to buy a traditional brand second hand tractor such as MF or IH or JD or Case or Kubota etc, but the high price and risk of buying someone else's problems has me seriously considering some of the newer Chinese Tractors available here in Australia. The one that has caught my eye is the 60 HP 4WD SH604 ROPS Changlin Deutz-Fahr with 4 in 1 Front End Loader and wheel weights and 5 foot Slasher and 6 foot Rear Grader Blade and a Ripper all for $23,000 plus $550 Delivery (in Australian Dollars). The Tractor has a Dry Double action Clutch; 12/12 forward/reverse gears; Transmission Shift is a Sliding Sleeve; Main Drive Type Front/Rear is Spiral Bevel Gear Type; weighs 2,360 kilograms without attachments. Parts are apparently available and are a good price if the Catalogue is anything to go by; warranty is only 12 months on Parts only. Apart from the warranty it sounds very attractive for the money, so I am very keen to hear from anyone who has bought one of these tractors to find out if there is any reason why they are so inexpensive relative to comparable tractors on the market at present. [By the way, an Australian Dollar only buys about 72 US cents at present, so in US Dollars the tractor would only cost about $16,500; conversely 1 US Dollars buys $1.39 Australian]. Any input greatly appreciated, Thanks, Jon

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Cobber and welcome to TBN from Tassie.

Enjoy the site.

Is this tractor from a dealership or are 'they' going to ship it to you... I ask because there have been reports (here on TBN) of the tractor being shipped in a crate with a lot of 'your' assembly required. There was a bloke from Vic who recently bought Chinese from outside of Melbourne and has nothing but problems with the tractor and the dealer. The dealer's problem was a lack of support from China, if I remember correctly.

Anyway, although the Deutz-Fahr name has been around for a while, its partnership with Chang Lin was only established in 2011.

My advice is to talk to your neighbours and sound out 'the word in the pub' as to who the best Dealership is in the area. It doesn't matter what colour tractor... you want the best support (service & parts availability) to compliment the dollars spent. If you were down here on the 'South Island' I'd steer you towards JD. Things may be different in your Shire.

Good luck, Mate.

 

[jthorne]

Thanks mate, good input and food for thought. My impression from the advertising has been that the tractor arrives assembled and ready to go but I will check that out with the seller if I decide to go ahead. Apparently these tractors are badged Changlin Deutz-Fahr and I've been told that this seller has sold over a hundred with good reports from the purchasers. As far as I can wotk out the best dealership in the area sells mainly Kubota's which are a terrific unit, I was looking at the 50 HP model, and they are priced a fair amount higher, but that said, if they're less hassle overall and parts and service are nearby, maybe that's a better way to go. The JD's are a nice unit but out of my price range for now. Thanks again for your input. Jon

 

[jthorne]

By the way since you're at St Helens in Tassie, thought you might be interested that my father used to fly Crayfish from St Helens to Melbourne in an Avro Anson aircraft that he purchased after WWII from the RAAF. He was a pilot in the war stationed in England 1940 - 45 and purchased the plane with his pay when he left the Royal Australian Air Force. Attached is a photo of my Dad on the left in the door of the Anson in Tassie with some Tasmanian Crayfish from St Helens; The other photo is in England during the war, my father is front row 2nd from the left, all are in front of an Avro Anson. Jon

 

[Wagtail]

Love the photos, Jon. The war photo looks like a graduating (received their wings) photo... all Sergeants & Flight Sergeants. I noticed quite a few of them are sporting 'referee whistles' in their button-holes, there must be a reason for that?

Crays are bloody expensive these days, mostly due to the algae blooms they've been having. Still, it's the alternative to a traditional Christmas luncheon, eh?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Initially I was intending to buy a traditional brand second hand tractor such as MF or IH or JD or Case or Kubota etc, but the high price and risk of buying someone else's problems has me seriously considering some of the newer Chinese Tractors available here in Australia.
Thanks, Jon

IF it was ME, I'd go with your initial idea!!

I've yet to see a well made, reliable tractor from china!

SR

 

[jthorne]

Love the photos, Jon. The war photo looks like a graduating (received their wings) photo... all Sergeants & Flight Sergeants. I noticed quite a few of them are sporting 'referee whistles' in their button-holes, there must be a reason for that?

Crays are bloody expensive these days, mostly due to the algae blooms they've been having. Still, it's the alternative to a traditional Christmas luncheon, eh?

Yep, I haven't met anyone from St Helens before, thought you would like the crays, they're getting scarcer everywhere. Don't know why the air force photo was taken but I do know that it was in taken in England during the war, could well be a graduation (getting wings parade) or possibly something else, I guess I'll never know for sure.

Still, in a bit of a quandary about what tractor to buy, I've been reading a lot and sure would like to buy a Kubota but the extra $12,000 will hurt a bit if I go down that road, but I realise that it may be money well spent if I don't end up with the headaches I've seen with so many that have bought Chinese tractors, though then again most of the information I've seen that have problems with Chinese tractors are a few years old. I really would appreciate any information that is current about any brands in Australia that are reliable and have a genuine parts and service supply chain. Thanks again for your interest, Jon

 

[jthorne]

IF it was ME, I'd go with your initial idea!!

I've yet to see a well made, reliable tractor from china!

SR

Thanks SR, yep, I'm rapidly coming to the same conclusion, the lack of information around a few Chinese brands (that sound attractive initially from a price perspective), is ringing some alarm bells. Brands I have looked at are Apollo 85HP for $32k [USD $23k]; Foton Lovol 55HP for AUD $29k [USD $21k]; Changlin Deutz-Fahr 60HP for AUD $23k [USD $16.5k]. All three offer a package that includes 4 in 1 FEL and 5' Slasher, and all weigh in around about 3,000 Kg [6,500 lbs] which is attractive as I'll be looking after my 1 mile long driveway and slashing my hilly paddocks with Loader and Slasher and other bits and pieces fitted, but I'm still unconvinced at this stage. Thanks for confirming my gut feeling.
Might keep looking for a used 50+ HP 4 in 1 FEL Kubota with not too many hours and good service history as I have a Kubota dealer just up the mountain from home less than 10 miles away. Jon

 

[Wagtail]

Jon, I've tried Googling the "SH604 ROPS Changlin Deutz-Fahr" and nothing 'independent' comes up... they're all company websites. I also looked in TractorData.com (a very handy website to bookmark) and this tractor doesn't show up. I looked under Changlin, Chang Lin, SAME & Deutz-Fahr. (Deutz-Fahr sold to SAME).

That being said, if the tractor is being made under licence in China, the quality may be very good. Chinese Factories do make top quality products as long as they strictly adhere to the specifications of the parent product. It's when you get into the "just-as-good/knock-off" brands that you run into trouble.

Heck, after WWII Japan had the reputation of cheap, poor quality products... and now you're considering a Kubota.

Go and just 'talk' to your Kubota dealership and see what they can offer. Indeed, don't discard any of the other dealerships and what they may offer. You could be pleasantly surprised... if they're a good dealership they will sell you the tractor you need.

 

[jthorne]

Jon, I've tried Googling the "SH604 ROPS Changlin Deutz-Fahr" and nothing 'independent' comes up... they're all company websites. I also looked in TractorData.com (a very handy website to bookmark) and this tractor doesn't show up. I looked under Changlin, Chang Lin, SAME & Deutz-Fahr. (Deutz-Fahr sold to SAME).

That being said, if the tractor is being made under licence in China, the quality may be very good. Chinese Factories do make top quality products as long as they strictly adhere to the specifications of the parent product. It's when you get into the "just-as-good/knock-off" brands that you run into trouble.

Heck, after WWII Japan had the reputation of cheap, poor quality products... and now you're considering a Kubota.

Go and just 'talk' to your Kubota dealership and see what they can offer. Indeed, don't discard any of the other dealerships and what they may offer. You could be pleasantly surprised... if they're a good dealership they will sell you the tractor you need.

Thanks Wagtail, that's been my experience too! The only information I can find on the internet is from the manufacturers and the three dealers, hardly an unbiased source of reliable information about each tractor package. The only thing going for all three therefore is the very low price for each package. The Foton-Lovol does have a 1 year parts and labour warranty and then parts only for years 2 & 3; the Changlin Deutz-Fahr only has 1 year parts only warranty; the Apollo has 1 year parts & labour on-site warranty plus years 2 & 3 Engine and Transmission parts only warranty.

As you correctly point out Japanese technology was considered junk forty years ago and I'm wondering if some of the Chinese tractors have improved in their engineering to an acceptable standard. The question that I can't answer is which one's are good and which one's should be avoided. All the salesmen say that their Chinese tractors are high quality but that can be a very subjective statement.

Even though I may well be passing up a good Chinese Tractor at a rock bottom price, the risk is too great of getting stuck with a problem because of the absence of unbiased information about the three Chinese tractors I've mentioned so I think I'm going to pay a bit extra and buy either a used JD, Kubota or MF as I know I will always be able to source parts and local expert advice. Maybe in a few years when there is more independent information about the Chinese tractors, I'll adventure in that direction. Thanks for your advice, it's much appreciated! Jon