How many owners who bought a tractor in the last 5 years wish they had never bought?

[alafarm]

I also looked at LS very close, but the LS dealer was not much more receptive than John Deere. Also, the LS dealer had just recently started carrying LS and had switched tractors they carry 3 times in about 10 years. I went with Mahindra because the dealer seemed dedicated and has been one of the South's largest Yanmar restoration places, so they have many tractor mechanics on site. The local Kioti dealer was small and told me himself that they may not remain in the kioti business. He did not. Couple of years after I bought mine he was not selling tractors. The Mahindra dealer is now one of the top 10 in the country.

 

[Dan J]

All tractors are mechanical and even the new ones have trouble. It's how well the manufacture and dealer stand behind the equipment they sale you. The difficult part is that you won't really know how they will be until things just get ugly.

I recently purchased and took delivery of a 2016 2565 and had nothing but problems with it. After 6 months of the same multiple problems plaguing the machine from the day I got it, the unit being in a Mahindra shop more than in my possession and just bad service, the dealership and Mahindra agreed to take the tractor back. The dealerships management stood up and took ownership of what happened. Needless to say, I changed colors but all of them have problems, it just comes down to how well the brand is represented, the Quality Control before the sale, and how the dealership and manufacture stands behind their equipment.

 

[Cramby]

My Max 26XL TLBMMM has performed above my expectations. Over year and half no issues at all. Like it much better than friends orange L2501.

 

[jmh1783]

I've had my 2555 HST for about 10 months and wracked up 129 hours. I use it a couple of days a week at least. I had the throttle issue initially but that was fixed. It has been a great machine. Would I buy it again, yes. I've had my moments when I wanted a bigger heavier one and sometimes a smaller one. If I had to change anything it would be implements. I wish I got a heavier back blade. I bent the frame and had to replace it. I wish I had gotten a narrower tiller with offset capability instead of a six footer. There are things I'm glad for too. I was debating gear vs hst. I kinda liked the gear but I decided hst and it has proved its worth to me with the kind of things I do. I'm glad I got the rear tires loaded. At times I wish I had more weight. I'm glad I went with the industrial tires. They are a good compromise for my uses. There are times I wish I had gotten a backhoe. Most of my hoe projects are still outstanding since I'll need to rent equipment but it would bother me to have it just sitting there rusting most of the time.

 

[dickfoster]

I've had my 2555 HST for about 10 months and wracked up 129 hours. I use it a couple of days a week at least. I had the throttle issue initially but that was fixed. It has been a great machine. Would I buy it again, yes. I've had my moments when I wanted a bigger heavier one and sometimes a smaller one. If I had to change anything it would be implements. I wish I got a heavier back blade. I bent the frame and had to replace it. I wish I had gotten a narrower tiller with offset capability instead of a six footer. There are things I'm glad for too. I was debating gear vs hst. I kinda liked the gear but I decided hst and it has proved its worth to me with the kind of things I do. I'm glad I got the rear tires loaded. At times I wish I had more weight. I'm glad I went with the industrial tires. They are a good compromise for my uses. There are times I wish I had gotten a backhoe. Most of my hoe projects are still outstanding since I'll need to rent equipment but it would bother me to have it just sitting there rusting most of the time.

Yeah but when you own a backhoe you can put up this sign.

 

[linuxman51]

I'm on the fence, but my situation isn't exactly normal either. Local dealer is great to work with, no complaints at all there.. I bought a max28 tlb back in 2012, the kioti folks were a bit too far away, and the kubota dealer didn't really want to talk so I chucked those in the burn pile and moved on, and ultimately ended up with a max28 sight unseen (they didn't have one in stock), based on dealer interaction and to a large part, reviews and word of mouth online.

I probably put 130 hours or so on it from dec 2012 to may/june 2015 when it was stolen from the dealer while (well, after, actually) getting a few things sorted out. biggest problems I recall having with it were the seat sensor wiring getting torn up at the 10 hour mark (missing a zip tie or two from the factory, and probably could've been routed better), and a wasp got in the fuel tank and clogged the pickup.
It went to the dealer for a no-start and a sticky loader issue. the no-start was said to be something in the wiring harness (it would run fine, you just had to bypass all of the safety stuff and hit the starter directly), and I think the loader issue was an adjustment in the control mechanism. I really enjoyed that tractor.

I ended up with a replacement, since the 28 is no more, I'm now the owner of a max26 tlb, and its.. it's ok I guess. I've had enough little issues with it (some self-inflicted, some not) that I'm starting to sour on it a bit. It currently has about 76 hours on it, one of the loader hoses exploded (unloaded at the time) in spectacular fashion while shuffling things around and clearing brush for my shop.. clearly a manufacturing defect with the hose, it wasn't abraided or cut, it just.. exploded on a mid air curl. The routing for the hydraulic stuff seemed a little more questionable than on the 28, but that's likely just a figment of my imagination. had several brush-related issues with that before I made a skit plate. branches bouncing around under the tractor can do some massive damage yall. Battery leaks and has corroded the crap out of the terminals on the harness, the tie down, and the battery tray. This in my mind is probably the biggest brand-problem: cheaping out on that such that a two year old tractor suffers a no start condition and the terminals are gonzo, that, coupled with the oft documented garbage seat arangement just about has me to the point where I'm thinking about unloading this thing and talking to the guys in green.

for their part, mahindra is uninterested in talking about that, but comically enough, they put pressure on the dealer (whom I left out of the loop-on purpose-they didn't build the tractor) to handle the stituation.. as cheaply and ineffectively as possible. For my part, I did what any number of people do these days, I tagg'd em up on social media every time the tractor wouldn't start, shared pictures of the cool terminals on their FB pages, and generally applied the ideology that if you're going to act like a B, I'm going to treat you like a B. I don't know that I can adequately express just how much that lack of foresight and unwillingness to talk angers me.

It really is a bummer when your neighbor shows up with a new JD, heavier duty tractor (than I need, but I'd put'r to use) that really only costs a couple k more than the 26 but is muuuuuuuuuucchhh better thought out. battery in a box, with bigass terminals and cables, nothing hanging low to snag, beeeeeefy loader components. I wouldn't be able to tow it with my volvo anymore though :laughing:

 

[4tillingdirt]

Yeah it seems like a lot of things are not well thought out on the Mahindra tractors.

 

[linuxman51]

Yeah there are some things. I'm not some sort of tractor guru, so I can't really speak to how things are done differently on other brands, but I do tend to think that with the small units (scuts, cuts, muts, buts, whatever) they should probably all come with some sort of skid plate to keep branches and things out of critical areas. I don't think mahindra is alone with that potential issue, so I don't really count that one against them any more than anyone else.

I will say, all negatives aside, there are some things they updated (Since I bought my max 28 in '12) on the 26 line that I felt were missing on my first tractor... the 3pt stowage built into the backhoe frame is nice, along with the bracket that holds the lower links to the drawbar. cup holder is nice as well, and the integrated 'teeth' on the backhoe arm to help grab things was a welcome update. The cup holder is ok, but ends up in the line of fire if you're doing anything but mowing grass/tilling/etc. still better than no cup holder though hahaha

 

[Navasot]

Yeah that is what I am looking for - people who have bought Mahindra in the past 5 years and regret it because of issues, etc. Mahindra has a good price on them, but a lot of people complain about them. More so than the other brands I have researched anyway.

lol funny

 

[tkevan]

lol funny

Yep. My dealer had a Workmaster 40 and a 4025 side by side on the lot, as he dealt both brands. The 40 was like a toy next to the 4025. Climbed off the 40, bought the 4025 and never looked back. My 4025 is within a small child of being able to lift the WM40 with the bucket, LOL.