Help! Head-spinning! Compact/Sub Compact!

[cunningstunt]

Hello all! Its a pleasure to have read many of the posts on here - I love forums!

Heres the scoop:

-Bought 8acres and a house last year
-Girlfriend owns 53acres that butts up to my 8acres
-Have roughly 3acres of grass around house to mow
-Mowed all last year w/ 31" snapper
-Decided it was time to invest in a manly mower
-found myself about to pay $5k to $7k for a mid range ZT
-saw a BX2680 and got excited - why pay 6k for something that will only ever mow, when i can spend just over twice that and have a multitool!
-Got Kubota to give me an out the door quote for $17,250 - only about $1500 higher than where I want to be
-Found a mahindra eMax HST and drove it - quoted me $17,125 no 0% financing option and absolutely no wiggle room in price from dealer - and way less comfy than the BX
-Went back to Kubota, drove the BX2680, like it but can't quite swallow the price so asked the guy to come down 1500, and I would put 2000 down and finance for 7yrs and he was receptive to at least asking the boss man- waiting to hear back from him today
-Decided to look into Kioti
-$14,550 quote from Kioti in TN for the CS2210 w/loader and deck - he told me theres little difference in performance/hp between 2510 and 2210 CS models
-Called dealer in GA and got a quote for $18,220 on the CK2510 HST w/ loader AND Belly mower and PTO kit - now I am REALLY excited - then he told me its $1100 more when I finance...

If i were going to spend $14,550 for the best valued sub compact, I have a hard time pulling trigger when I can get a MUCH more capable tractor for only a little more money - the CK2510HST w/loader and the belly mower(My initial utility I had in mind)

I WILL find many things to do with a tractor - hauling to hunting camp, planting garden, overhauling my lawn turf, hot composting piles, firewood hauling etc.

Someone help me get out of my head! I want a darn tractor and now I have a hard time buying what I first started looking into - the Sub Comp haha

Any advice here? Any way to get the CK for just 1500cheaper? I dont know how dealer margins work and such...

 

[bcp]

Welcome to TBN.

First thing I'd do is reduce the lawn to not more than 1/2 acre.

What will the tractor be doing on the 8+53 acres? Doesn't sound like a subcompact is the right choice.

Size the tractor so it can do the needed tractor work easily, then buy a mower for mowing.

Bruce

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

If you would be using it on the 53 acres as well as your property, I would recommend getting the compact and not the scut. I have a 25 hp scut, the LS mt125 TLB. Very useful and strong machine, there are also scuts from Kioti and Massey that are very capable machines. I have done a tremendous amount of work with mine, but I'm also not on any type of time restrictions. There is a BIG difference stepping up to even the small compacts such as the CK25 series. As stated elsewhere on the forums, you need to decide what you will be doing with the machine both now and in the future. There are pros and cons to both a scut and a compact. Scuts are easier to haul to other sites (I haul mine using my Jeep JK unlimited), they are very maneuverable in tight places, etc... Compacts have higher ground clearance, usually greater pto hp, and are generally stronger and can use larger implements. They can be a challenge to haul elsewhere (bigger truck, bigger trailer). Look at "Bruno's Motorsports" on the web, they sell Massey, LS, and I think Kioti. They list the prices on some. Look at the specs on the different sizes. With today's financing deals, it might be well worth it to "go bigger" for maybe another $50 bucks a month!

 

[onionfmr]

Welcome to TBN.

First thing I'd do is reduce the lawn to not more than 1/2 acre.

What will the tractor be doing on the 8+53 acres? Doesn't sound like a subcompact is the right choice.

Size the tractor so it can do the needed tractor work easily, then buy a mower for mowing.

Bruce

Agree with bcp! I'm on my 3rd tractor in 18 years as we found that we needed a bigger tractor as we took on larger projects. Also, went with a cab for comfort in the winter and summer. Not that the smaller tractors couldn't do the job, just in our case, we could do it faster with a bigger tractor handling larger implements. Sounds like a compact tractor is a better fit for you. You'll be surprised at all the things that you end up using the tractor for, especially as you get additional implements.

We finish mower approximately 5 acres, in our situation with trees and obstacles, use a Scag commercial mower. Used to use a pull behind mower on the tractors. Dealer let me demo a Scag zero turn mower. Cut our mowing time in half. Definitely for us a dedicated mower is the way to go.

 

[edgarrian]

are you going to be doing anything with the 53 acres?

Like you we bought 8 acres wooded lot and i purchased a 1705 massey. Its served me well for my tasks. I back filled the house, finish graded the yard, planted grass, landscaped, added stone to our drive. Ive had it for 2 years and have 200 hours on it. OF course we mow with it. Just a handy tool to have. I got a smoking deal on mine but I was also a cash customer. Really you just need to pick the one you like and talk them down if u can. or wait another month to see what the incentives will be. Goodluck

 

[flingwing1969]

Go with a CUT - LS or Mahindra will give you bang for the buck - Kubota is better (I've owned LS and Kubota) but my LS is certainly a good machine for thousands less. Use the savings for attachments you will actually use. Make sure you have an implement that will give you good rear ballest - I leave my backhoe on my G3038 for that purpose, as well as it's always there for me when I need it - when I take it off to put my snowblower on, my 4n1 (very heavy 6' unit) makes it very light on the loaded rear tires and that's with no load in it.

 

[mcfarmall]

Kubota 5660 SUHD

 

[jeff9366]

-Bought 8acres and a house last year

-Have roughly 3acres of grass around house to mow

What use do you see for a tractor at your hunting camp? With 7" to 9" ground clearance sub-compacts are not very useful on rough ground and cannot traverse many downed tree limbs.

Have you calculated trailer + tractor weight relative to towing potential of your vehicle?

Is it important that new tractor fits within a residential garage? Tractors are theft prone.

I would buy a good quality Zero Turn to mow the three acres of grass around your home. It will mow 50% to 75% faster than a subcompact with a Mid Mount Mower. Or reduce the lawn to 1/2 acre and use the Snapper.

Here is a Mowing Calculator.
LINK: Mowing Calcuator | How many acres can I mow in an hour



If you intend to work on adjacent 53 acres tell us about the property:

Sloped or flat.

Field, Forest or combination.

Crops grown.

 

[robbiele]

That seems like a high price for the Kioti CK2510 HST. I have gotten a quote for the exact same setup in east tn for $17,450 on 11/20/17, $17,350 on 1/29/18 and I am still waiting for a better incentive b/c my dealer said "that is still too much and I should wait for kioti to do a free loader or free mower deck incentive." Incentives change again April 1.

Hello all! Its a pleasure to have read many of the posts on here - I love forums!

Heres the scoop:

-Bought 8acres and a house last year
-Girlfriend owns 53acres that butts up to my 8acres
-Have roughly 3acres of grass around house to mow
-Mowed all last year w/ 31" snapper
-Decided it was time to invest in a manly mower
-found myself about to pay $5k to $7k for a mid range ZT
-saw a BX2680 and got excited - why pay 6k for something that will only ever mow, when i can spend just over twice that and have a multitool!
-Got Kubota to give me an out the door quote for $17,250 - only about $1500 higher than where I want to be
-Found a mahindra eMax HST and drove it - quoted me $17,125 no 0% financing option and absolutely no wiggle room in price from dealer - and way less comfy than the BX
-Went back to Kubota, drove the BX2680, like it but can't quite swallow the price so asked the guy to come down 1500, and I would put 2000 down and finance for 7yrs and he was receptive to at least asking the boss man- waiting to hear back from him today
-Decided to look into Kioti
-$14,550 quote from Kioti in TN for the CS2210 w/loader and deck - he told me theres little difference in performance/hp between 2510 and 2210 CS models
-Called dealer in GA and got a quote for $18,220 on the CK2510 HST w/ loader AND Belly mower and PTO kit - now I am REALLY excited - then he told me its $1100 more when I finance...

If i were going to spend $14,550 for the best valued sub compact, I have a hard time pulling trigger when I can get a MUCH more capable tractor for only a little more money - the CK2510HST w/loader and the belly mower(My initial utility I had in mind)

I WILL find many things to do with a tractor - hauling to hunting camp, planting garden, overhauling my lawn turf, hot composting piles, firewood hauling etc.

Someone help me get out of my head! I want a darn tractor and now I have a hard time buying what I first started looking into - the Sub Comp haha

Any advice here? Any way to get the CK for just 1500cheaper? I dont know how dealer margins work and such...

 

[robbiele]

Also, my dealer priced the CS2210 at $12,990, but that size will not work for me

 

[jeff9366]

KIOTI raising prices 3% ?

The US$ has weakened against the Korean Won about 7% in the last twelve months.
Kioti may be trying to recoup some of the drop in Korean purchasing power relative to the US$ through a 3% price increase.

The US$ has weakened 11% against a diffuse basket of foreign currencies in the last year.
That should mean a rise in the price goods imported to the USA.
Bad for US consumers. Good for US exporters, whose products are cheaper to foreign customers.


The time to institute a price increase is when the economy of your customers is doing well.
FRIDAY: Nonfarm payrolls increase by 313,000 in February vs. 200,000 estimated.

 

[mikester]

2 acres? Get a SCUT. 8-10 acres get a CUT.

 

[cunningstunt]

So, to answer many questions and add some amplifying information, my 8 acres is square and 70% grass with pines on east and west perimeter.

I live in SE Alabama - Land is mildly sloped and the 53 acres has 6 acres cleared for hay pasture and the rest is mostly mixed woods - not incredibly dense - with a few spots with pine plots. The 53 acres is much more hilly, but remember - SE Alabama "Hilly" is not extreme compared to NE when you get into the foothills of Appalachia.

The 53 will be worked to make walking trails down by the creek and maybe even damming up an old pond that used to be on the property - about a 2 acre pond but small creek fed reservoir. Maybe log removal, firewood collection, and minor grading to even certain spots out for horse arena in the future.

My hunting camp is in North Florida and is flat flat flat - will need to plow small plots, maybe move road obstructions, and will use to assemble/raise small wooden shooting houses and the such.

I got a quote on CK2610 Friday with loader and Finish mower for 21,124 0% for 6yrs.

I am leaning towards the compact now instead of Sub.

My Ram can pull 9k lbs - so hauling the Compact with loader shouldn't be an issue.

Still dont want to drop 21k though, I bought my Ram 1500 4x4 2014 for only 25k haha but I know this tractor will have much more utility than my daily driver/hauler will ever have.

 

[skipperbrown]

I'd go with your first plan and buy a ZT to mow your yard. Then look for a used farm tractor with a loader for your tractor work. The ZT will mow better and faster than a scut and much better and much faster than a cut and neither will work as good as a full sized tractor for farm tractor work.

 

[robbiele]

I was looking for the exact same things you were and was actually hoping that CK2610 would add mid mount mower, but it didn't happen. That number on the CK2610 is really expensive as well in my opinion. I realize I was talking about numbers that didnt' include financing but in late June the CK2610 geared model was $15,500 with loader (not including finish mower). I think the HST adds about $1200 if I remember correctly, but I didn't ever price a finish mower.

So, to answer many questions and add some amplifying information, my 8 acres is square and 70% grass with pines on east and west perimeter.

I live in SE Alabama - Land is mildly sloped and the 53 acres has 6 acres cleared for hay pasture and the rest is mostly mixed woods - not incredibly dense - with a few spots with pine plots. The 53 acres is much more hilly, but remember - SE Alabama "Hilly" is not extreme compared to NE when you get into the foothills of Appalachia.

The 53 will be worked to make walking trails down by the creek and maybe even damming up an old pond that used to be on the property - about a 2 acre pond but small creek fed reservoir. Maybe log removal, firewood collection, and minor grading to even certain spots out for horse arena in the future.

My hunting camp is in North Florida and is flat flat flat - will need to plow small plots, maybe move road obstructions, and will use to assemble/raise small wooden shooting houses and the such.

I got a quote on CK2610 Friday with loader and Finish mower for 21,124 0% for 6yrs.

I am leaning towards the compact now instead of Sub.

My Ram can pull 9k lbs - so hauling the Compact with loader shouldn't be an issue.

Still dont want to drop 21k though, I bought my Ram 1500 4x4 2014 for only 25k haha but I know this tractor will have much more utility than my daily driver/hauler will ever have.

 

[TxBigRed]

I'd go with your first plan and buy a ZT to mow your yard. Then look for a used farm tractor with a loader for your tractor work. The ZT will mow better and faster than a scut and much better and much faster than a cut and neither will work as good as a full sized tractor for farm tractor work.

This, exactly what I did. Got a commercial zt, cut my mowing time in half, and not wore out when I'm done. Then I looked for a used tractor. Finally found a l3240 with only 230 hrs and in great shape and bought that. I use the zt every week, tractor when needed. I only get to my lake property on the weekends, and need to mow, so the zt came first.

Dave

 

[cphilip]

I got a quote on CK2610 Friday with loader and Finish mower for 21,124 0% for 6yrs.

I am leaning towards the compact now instead of Sub.

My Ram can pull 9k lbs - so hauling the Compact with loader shouldn't be an issue.

Sounds like what I have now. And I think I was in at about that but I cannot be certain because I traded a lot of attachments. Think my 2610 HST was about 19000 cash out the door with FEL. Then I traded attachments for attachments so its hard to say but I been finding good newer used finish mowers for about $1000. I think you can beat that number but your not far off. You certainly want a CUT not a SCUT. Then I found a good trailer for $2500 and my hauler is only rated for what you have and it hauls really nicely. But you'll be happy with a Kioti 2610 if you go that route. Good luck.

 

[3rd Coast]

I have a CK2610. I would hate to mow grass with it. I only have 3 acres but I bought a Ferris to mow and the Kioti for the improvements I have planned. Wouldn’t do anything differently either.

 

[cphilip]

Yes... I too mow with a ZT. In my case a Toro. I mow about 5 acres overall between my yard and some trails and my mother in laws large yard. I have 9 acres and she has 10. They adjoin so its easy to do both. But I bush hog about 8 acres of that. I've considered finish mowing some of those acres with the tractor. Id hate to do that all with the ZT.