Productive day. Made it to one of the three towns with dealerships that I intend to shop before making a decision and had an opportunity to at least sit in all three models I'm considering. Got quotes on all models loaded out with FEL, 6' rotary cutter, 6' box blade, 3rd function installed, and 6' grapple.
I approached all my conversations the same as I did this one. I didn't go in looking for a particular model or size, I just tried to accurately describe the work I intend to be doing and allowed them to size the tractor for me. All three ended up in that 40 hp class.
Mahindra 5545 4WD Shuttle Shift
- 43/34 hp
- 5,567 lbs
- Price w/ attachments (well, forks instead of grappler): $33,620
Spec wise this tractor gets the nod. It was by far the heaviest and had the highest lifting capacities while also coming in at the cheapest price point. Sounds good, yea? Well that's about where the good stopped. The dealer relationship didn't go well from the start. Salesman seemed relatively disinterested from the word "hello". Maybe it's because I'm a young guy and he didn't consider me a serious buyer, maybe he was just having a tough day, I don't know. He also for some reason refused to price me the grappler attachment, insisting I get pallet forks instead. Ensured me I'd never hook up a grappler if I had a set of forks, and maybe he's right, but I left the dealership still not knowing the price of the grappler that I wanted... Anyway, on to the tractor. I initially thought it seemed like a nice tractor but I noticed right away I did not love the ergonomics from the seat. For such a large tractor I was surprised by the lack of leg room. Also, the loader control lever was stuck and I could not raise the bucket. Salesman slammed the lever back and it broke free, raising the bucket as it's supposed to. He claimed "these tractors sit out and don't get used so sometimes they get stuck." Alright, if you say so? I test drove it around the parking lot and the shuttle shift was nice, worked smoothly. All in all I felt that even with nothing to reference it against I could tell that Mahindra was going the economy workhouse route by sacrificing luxuries and comfort for an impressive machine that gets the job done at a budget price. I'm not ruling this one out yet, just going to chalk it up to a bad experience and certainly will not be buying from that dealer. It is far from the front-runner right now though.
John Deere 4044R 4WD HST
-43/34 hp
- 3,770 lbs
Price w/ attachments: $44,000
This was the second stop of the day and was an eye-opening experience after the first one. Salesman was very professional and genuinely interested from the outset, did an excellent job explaining the features of the tractor and took the time to explain the difference between the M series and R series. Some of it got lost in translation, but I felt so much more knowledgeable about the machine before ever even climbing into the seat. Wow, the difference was immediately noticeable compared to the Mahindra. The seat suspension and spacing in the cockpit alone instantly put the comfort factor well above it's competitor. All the controls and ergonomics seemed comfortable, hitch assist seems awesome, and I could just see and feel the quality difference in most every aspect. Unfortunately, all these amenities don't come for free and it was significantly the highest priced machine of the day, likely out of the budget range that I was considering.
Kubota Grand L4060 4WD HST
- 42/32.5
- 3,759
- Price w/ attachments: $35,000
Another great experience at the Kubota dealership. The salesmen were all busy when I arrived so I started looking on my own. Started with the
L3901, which I quickly decided was too small of a frame and lacked the loader capacity for what I wanted. I then moved on to an
L4701 which is what I was looking at when a salesman arrived. I explained my needs and expected uses for the tractor. He explained to me (basically echoing what Jeff said) that the sizing decision for my tractor should be based more on the lifting capabilities rather than the horsepower since most of my tasks were not heavy hp-dependent, which I agreed with. He then explained that at the same price point I could move from the
L4701 to the Grand
L4060 which has a beefier chassis, higher lifting capacities, and all the bells/whistles at the expense of 7 hp. I have to admit that this idea won me over. They didn't have a
L4060 on-site but they did have a
L5460 that I was able to sit on. Loved pretty much everything about it. Spacious, comfortable, the ergonomics made sense, and the features of the Grand L seem quite practical. The salesman told me that the company has a
L4060 at another location and that he would have it here for me to test drive by the end of the week.
The search continues, but right now the Kubota Grand L has a commanding lead.
