Getting anxious - waiting on a new bx1500

[bxowner]

I signed up for a brand new bx1500 a few weeks ago - the dealer is just waiting for the la181 loader to arrive from Kubota's warehouse. I did get to see the machine a couple of weeks ago - only 4/10 of an hour on the meter and no faded paint - so I assume it was assembled fairly recently.

The delay hardly matters, since it's too warm for snow and too cold to improve my yard... it's just the waiting!!

As for price, etc: it was $9800 w/o tax out the door w/ loader and 48" mmm. 0% financing for three years - no payment for six mos. Looks like Kubota knocked the financing program down to two years, starting 1/1/07 - so I'm glad I didn't wait to sign the paperwork at delivery.

Trading a John Deere GX335 w/ powerflow bagger - 40hrs. For the hit I'm taking on the trade, (hindsight, of course), I wish I had just taken the plunge for the Kubota from the start. Oh well... live and learn.

 

[kwolfe]

Congradulations! I have 50 hrs on my bx1500 and have enjoyed every minute. It is a little mule. I have been very surprised by the strength of the 15hp diesel. I also have the loader. With a little practice, it has proved to be a worth investment. Good luck. Don't forget to post pictures!

 

[Tom_H]

Wow, I thought the BX1500 was discontinued over a year ago. I wasn't aware any were still available as new. Does anybody else know of a new one being available anywhere? I don't want one, but am curious about this.

 

[jhr]

What dealer did you buy this from? Thanks.

 

[Taiser]

I know how you feel, I just got my new machine delivered yesterday (after waiting for a couple of months to make the "right" decision).

On the good side it got delivered 6 hours after I bought it (dealer prep and inspection time) and now it sits in my garage all lonely with nothing to do (no snow and ground too frozen to do anything else) except me poking around it and reading the manual!

 

[bxowner]

JHR: Champlain Equip in Swanton. Riverside in Montpelier say they have (4) new bx1500s - Jim & Tom gave me great advise and I really appreciated the time they took with me, but the price was fully $1700 more there ($600 more for the tractor - $1100 less for my trade).

Taiser: What make/model did you get? I suppose one nice thing about getting a tractor when there's nothing to do is having the time to read the owner's manual. I mean, if there was snow or a project, I'd be inclined to bypass the 'mature and logical' step of taking the time to read it. Congrats!

 

[Taiser]

I got the B7800 with loader and backhoe. You can read all about my adventure in this thread...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...0539-landscaping-tasks-looking-bx24-will.html

Turned into a long read but gave me tons of good advice (and has some entertainment along the way)

 

[bxowner]

Looking forward to a photo of the b7800 - great choice!

Wonder if the longer wheelbase accounts for some of the increased comfort.

 

[jhr]

BXowner, thanks for the info. I've looked at the ones at Riverside and the prices seemed a little high. I thought they were the only ones left in Vermont as I talked to CVE over the summer and they said they only had 1850's and 2350's. Those plastic fenders scared me then and still do so I've been holding out for a used BX. Did CVE have any other 1500's? Also did you go with Kubota's insurance and if so what rate did you get. Riverside threw me a price of $300/year for insurance, I'd just pay cash since that 0% isn't free at that price for the required insurance (hoping maybe Kubota would come out with a rebate in the mean time). Thanks and good luck with the 1500.

 

[bxowner]

JHR -

Unless there's something I haven't been told, I had been under the assumption that my homeowner's insurance was sufficient. Nothing has been said about additional insurance expense on my end - although I did decline Kubota insurance at $265/yr when signing - I'll look into that more today.

I'm still waiting on the tractor - the loader has arrived from the warehouse.

Maurice is the gentleman I've been dealing with at CVE - he's been very good about following up with my questions and was forthright about the price from the time I walked in the door. In all, I'm very pleased with his service.

Another option from Tom at Riverside that sounded interesting to me was a brand new 2230 with 54" MMM and FEL out the door for $12,000. I'm sure it's still available through them (although the tractor itself is at a dealer in NY). I was tempted, but again, my trade value at Riverside was substantially lower. If you're a cash buyer, it may be worthwhile, especially if you have reservations about the PTO power of the BX1500.

 

[jhr]

BXowner, It will be interesting to hear how you make out on the insurance. When I looked into that I heard conflicting stories on the insurance requirement. Can't remember the exact phrasing but basically that homeowners typically is not sufficient. I talked to my insurance agent and although I have a ton of personal property coverage he did not believe that is what Kubota requires on a financed tractor. Something to the effect that homeowners will only cover the tractor if it's on your property, Kubota wants coverage specific to the tractor regardless of where it is. That seemed to be in agreement with what I had read on this site. Sorry I can't remember more details but it's been a while since I looked into it and flushed it from the brain once I decided I'd be better off paying cash. You could search the forum as it's been discussed in the past.

PTO hp doesn't really matter to me, I'm looking to retire the wheel barrow and walk behind snow blower and keep my lawn mowed while only having one machine to maintain. The bx1500 has the appeal of being small, 4wd, and has a reasonble loader capacity. Just can't seem to justify the extra 2K given my needs/expected usage.

 

[JoeG]

The Kubota sponsored insurance program is to protect their collateral, not you or the tractor. The coverage is for the balance of the loan, not the tractor. The balance of the loan will quickly be less than the value of the tractor, and if you put down any money at all it will already be less than the value of the tractor. A substantial loss on a tractor will free you from debt to Kubota but helps you in no way in replacing your ownership part of that asset.

 

[kwolfe]

If anyone is interested in buying a slightly used LA181 loader, I have one listed in the classifieds here. It only has about 20 hours of use on it. I am getting rid of it because I do not have the tractor anymore.

 

[bradyky]

I still have one new BX1500 left and one used one w/ a 48" deck. They were discontinued a year ago but there are still a few out there.

 

[kwolfe]

I still have one new BX1500 left and one used one w/ a 48" deck. They were discontinued a year ago but there are still a few out there.

How far is Kentucky from mid state PA. I could use one.

 

[Double 00 Soul]

bxowner

Regarding insurance, my dealer told me that some companies will insure your tractor on your homeowners policy and some will not, I found he was correct. Fortunately, my homeowners insurance does cover my tractor. All I had to do was contact my agent and update the personal property portion of my policy. My dealer told me I was lucky, many of his customers had to get the Kubota insurance to have any insurance at all and the Kubota insurance is very spendy compared to having the tractor covered under a homeowners policy.

Hope this helps.

 

[bradyky]

How far is Kentucky from mid state PA. I could use one.

It is around 750 miles. We are coming to NH and RI over the next few weeks and could try to get one on a load.

 

[LBrown59]

1*As for price, etc: it was $9800
3*Trading a John Deere GX335 w/ powerflow bagger - 40hrs. For the hit I'm taking on the trade, (hindsight, of course), >I wish I had just taken the plunge for the Kubota from the start. Oh well... live and learn
4*I have been very surprised by the strength of the 15hp diesel.
6*Does anybody else know of a new one being available anywhere?
9*so I've been holding out for a used BX 1500.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

1*Good deal
3* > Know what you mean I should have bought a BX 1500 last year instead of the CC 2554 garden tractor.
4* Kinda dispels the myth that the BX1500 is underpowered then don't it?
6*I'm buying one as of OCT-2007
9*I just bought a nice 350 Hour one for 4425.

 

[LBrown59]

BXowner, thanks for the info. I've looked at the ones at Riverside and the prices seemed a little high. I thought they were the only ones left in Vermont as I talked to CVE over the summer and they said they only had 1850's and 2350's. Those plastic fenders scared me then and still do so I've been holding out for a used BX. Did CVE have any other 1500's? Also did you go with Kubota's insurance and if so what rate did you get.
Riverside threw me a price of $300/year for insurance,
I'd just pay cash since that 0% isn't free at that price for the required insurance
(hoping maybe Kubota would come out with a rebate in the mean time). Thanks and good luck with the 1500.

Not exactly:
The 0% is still free as the insurance has nothing to do with it.
Insurance and finance should never be bundled together as that's where most people get fooled.
Insurance and finance are 2 different things so always keep them separate from each other.

 

[LBrown59]

did you go with Kubota's insurance and if so what rate did you get.
Riverside threw me a price of $300/year for insurance, I'd just pay cash since that 0% isn't free at that price for the required insurance

Not a wise move :

The better alternative is to go with the 0% and find other insurance for a reasonable rate.
This way you get the best of both worlds while earning interest on kubotas money.
Paying cash just to skip the insurance hurts 2 ways.
You loose the earnings on Kubotas money and you have an uninsured tractor where in if something happens to the tractor your investment goes down the tubes.
Also keep in mind there are mainly 2 different types of insurance involved here.
1*Credit Life
2*Causality.
Which type were you quoted $300 for?