Help from all y'all experts please

Soundguy · Apr 15, 2003

Re: Help from all y\'all experts please

That jives with how it is in my area. Green and orange at the top, NH next, then Red ( massey F ) lowest. Red dealer also sells Long's inbetween red and blue prices.

Soundguy

Anonymous Poster · Apr 16, 2003

Re: Help from all y\'all experts please

Went to second Kubota dealer today
(Jack - I went to Virnau & talked to Donny).

7500 - $10,100
2410 - $11475
2710 - $12,400
2910 - $13,350
7800 – thought it was $12,400 may have been $12,700 didn’t write that one down

Prices generally close but a few hundred higher than the first dealer.

I am leaning heavily toward the 7500. My only reservation is, do I want/need to go bigger and more powerful? There is only about a $2700 difference between the 7500 and the 2710 or the 7800. I would easily pay that IF it would be beneficial to me but I don’t want to go too big for only 4 acres.

Do I really need to go bigger than the 7500???

Anonymous Poster · Apr 16, 2003

Re: Help from all y\'all experts please

Also I am going back to JD and see if the prices I got are really what they would make me pay or just a quick quote from a busy salesman. I find it hard to believe a similar JD is going to be $3000 more than a Kubota /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif .

Bird · Apr 16, 2003

Re: Help from all y\'all experts please

Those prices sound good to me. I bought a B2710 in '99 with a FEL for $15,500 ($12,600 for the tractor and $2,900 for the FEL). Now I usually recommend the biggest tractor you can afford because you seldom hear of anyone who trades down, but there are lots of us who have traded up in size. However, I do think the smaller tractor in your case would be quite adequate, while the larger ones will be more comfortable if you stay on them for long stretches at a time.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 19, 2003

Re: Help from all y\'all experts please

The adventure continues:

Went back to the local JD dealer, the last years model 4100 with FEL and JD 5' rear finish mower now $16100. $450 cheaper just by talking to a different person but still $2000 more than Kubota.

Stopped back by Kubota. Drove a 7500 for the first time, nice little tractor. They didn't have a loader on a 7500 so I couldn't check the FEL operation out. The 7500 was nice, smooth, power steering was great.

Dummy me says "Can I drive the 2710 too?" Now of course they say yes. It was parked right next to a 7500. I could hear the difference in the engine on start up (feel the power /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif) and could see the difference in size. The 3 range hydro I liked a lot compared to the 2 range on the 7500. The incremental 3 pt lift might come in handy too.

One thing I didn’t like on the 2710 was when I cranked it up to 2600rpm there was a strong vibration in the engine, I could feel it strongly in the deck and pedals. I’ve only been on a handful of tractors but none of them have vibrated like this. Anyone have a 2710 that does this? Anyone 2710 owners (Bird? /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif) have comments for me on their machines??

Now I am back to square one. The 7500 is a nice little machine, probably do everything I’ll want a tractor to do. The 2710 was sweet, put a smile on my face driving it around, but do I really need more power & size???

OkieG · Apr 19, 2003

Re: Help from all y\'all experts please

 I don’t want to go too big for only 4 acres. 

Hi,
There must be a correlation between tractor size and lot size. I'm not sure what it is, though. However, there are other factors to consider, too. Don't be too swayed by a salesman telling you what size you need for your property. Just my opinion.

 The 7500 is a nice little machine, probably do everything I’ll want a tractor to do. 

Now you're talking! What you have to do on 4 acres is more important than being on 4 acres.

 $450 cheaper just by talking to a different person but still $2000 more than Kubota.

Sound like there's some room for negotiation. It's last years model. Talk to the manager and get his best price.

 The 2710 was sweet, put a smile on my face driving it around, 

What makes you feel good is important, too. It isn't "all important", but don't completely write it off, either. It's part of the joy of tractoring.

 but do I really need more power & size???

Don't forget about future needs and projects. Which tractor will allow you to do something for your neighborhood or church that you've been wanting to do, etc? Once you have a tractor, it's amazing the additional uses and projects that spring up. Getting a feel for that might help you decide which size/features you need to best fill the bill.

 Now I am back to square one. 

OK. Maybe you're back to square one, but you've been testing the water, and getting good advice from lots of TBN members. Maybe you're farther along than you think.

One final observation. You won't find many posts by folks that regret buying one of the larger tractors they considered. Finding a good tractor that reasonably fits your needs is possible...finding the "perfect" tractor is not. I guess that's two observations. Good luck! Don't forget to tell us what you decide.

OkieG

Anonymous Poster · Apr 26, 2003

Re: Help from all y\'all experts please

Update:

Gosh, does everyone have this much trouble deciding which tractor to buy or is it just me?

Went back to my favorite local Kubota dealer today. Talked to the same salesman as last week. He spent a lot of time with me (as he did last week too). I like these guys, sure gonna buy from them (good knowledgeable sales people, good service, good prices, spend all the time you need with you and 15min from the house).

Anyway they had a new from the crate 7500 they just put together with a FEL on it. I cranked that one up and played with the FEL….smooooth, nice, would be perfect for the 11 yards of mulch I just put down with a shovel and a cart. Drove it around a little and it seemed the FEL didn’t affect the feel of the tractor at all.

Cranked up the 2710 also. Man that thing sure vibrates! Sitting there at 2600rpm I could feel it buzzing thru the steering wheel, pedals and deck. This was quite a bit more vibration than any of the 3 cylinder tractors I have driven. Took it out on the grass and over the bumps, the vibration seemed to lessen somewhat, but still could feel it strong thru the pedals. Salesman said the 3 cylinders are smoother than the 4 cylinders, I will have to certainly agree with that.

Well it’s down to Kubota for sure, found my dealer for sure, want R4’s for sure, just have to decide 2710 or 7500. The 7500 would do everything I need I believe, runs smooth, FEL operation nice, nephews would be able to handle it. Don’t like the no position control on the 3 point and it feels like a large riding mower. The 2710 “feels” like a tractor but that vibration is nasty. The 2710 does have more power, can handle bigger implements, has 3 range hydro and position control, but does cost $2700 more.

Decisions, decisions. I’m sure I will be happy with either one, just have to figure out which.

Anonymous Poster · Apr 27, 2003

Re: Help from all y\'all experts please

bobobro: One suggestion I havn't seen in this thread, instead of spending all the time talking to salesmen, you might want to spend some time in the service department. See what's going on. Talk to the service reps, etc. Buying is easy enough, but when something goes wrong, unless you're going to fix it, you've got to take it back to them for fixing. Example, in Jan I bought a tractor - spent $1k more than I could have bought it for from another dealer. Why? I thought the service department was better. True? Well, 10 days ago had the swing cyclinders on the BH flake out. Took it in and sure enough they figured out the problem and got it ready to pick up in time to finish a project I was working on.

Also, with all due respect, please remember a tractor is not an automobile - doesn't drive like one, sound like one and shouldn't operate like one. The closer your tractor comes to seemingly operate like one, the more expensive it will be to fix. Finally, respectfully suggest you not worry about a couple thousand one way or another. If you're going to keep it for 10 years, say, (or more) you're talking about a couple hundred per year, and, the more expensive tractor, all things being equal, will probably be worth a bit more on resale.

JEH