If you plan to have your tractor a long time...

[jeffgreef]

Still researching what tractor to buy. Will probably get a 5-10 year old used 4x4 unit about 23hp, with 500-1000 hours on it.

Question I have is about parts availability down the road. I may have this tractor for 20 years, so I don't want to get something that will be impossible to get parts for in 5 years.

Deere, Kubota, Holland, Massey, they will all be there in 20 years for parts, I guess.

But, as an example of a serious parts problem, I think I read that Montana is now defunct. Correct me if I'm wrong- Montana was a US company that bought the units to Montana's specs from LS in Korea. LS makes good tractors, but no longer produce the tractors or parts for Montana, which is defunct. So, if you have a Montana, you won't be able to get parts for it in a couple of years, right? Not so good.

I have learned that if you consider a grey market unit, you MUST research parts availability for the specific model you are looking at, cause there are Yanmars for which you can't get any parts now.

So, what about other smaller brands like Kioti, Mahindra, Mitsubishi, older Fords, Nortrac, Iseki, Lenar, LS, Case compacts, etc.- are you taking a risk buying such a tractor with respect to parts availability 10 years down the road? How do you tell if a brand you are buying today will have parts support 10 years later? Flip a coin- heads they will, tails they won't?

Thanks

JG

 

[brin]

You are exactly right ..we bought a Hyundai golf cart about 10 yrs. ago and it has seen only light use but right now it needs a starter but Hyundai no longer makes golf carts and the parts are not available...so there goes that investment. You are right to stick to the major brands in my opinion.

 

[California]

For that golf cart starter - I'll bet a starter rebuild shop could put new guts in your old core.

 

[Reg]

Still researching what tractor to buy. Will probably get a 5-10 year old used 4x4 unit about 23hp, with 500-1000 hours on it.

Question I have is about parts availability down the road. I may have this tractor for 20 years, so I don't want to get something that will be impossible to get parts for in 5 years.

Deere, Kubota, Holland, Massey, they will all be there in 20 years for parts, I guess.

But, as an example of a serious parts problem, I think I read that Montana is now defunct. Correct me if I'm wrong- Montana was a US company that bought the units to Montana's specs from LS in Korea. LS makes good tractors, but no longer produce the tractors or parts for Montana, which is defunct. So, if you have a Montana, you won't be able to get parts for it in a couple of years, right? Not so good.

I have learned that if you consider a grey market unit, you MUST research parts availability for the specific model you are looking at, cause there are Yanmars for which you can't get any parts now.

So, what about other smaller brands like Kioti, Mahindra, Mitsubishi, older Fords, Nortrac, Iseki, Lenar, LS, Case compacts, etc.- are you taking a risk buying such a tractor with respect to parts availability 10 years down the road? How do you tell if a brand you are buying today will have parts support 10 years later? Flip a coin- heads they will, tails they won't?

Thanks

JG

Kinda, sorta, yes and no.
For Montana you could well substitute Chrysler and for LS substitute Mitsubishi, for 2009 substitute 197x.
They have been importing and re-badging, they are not de-funct so much as re-structuring and their latest import source is Kukje.

Say WHAT !?
Kukje, an OEM producer to JD - who also BTW use the Yanmar engines that you speculate parts are not available for.
Folks on "yesterday's tractors" have GOOD intelligence of what has which importer's emblems on it, with that knowledge "parts are available".
Example Yanmar engines; 4JH5E and 3JH5E, these cover a LOT of compact and small utility tractors which are merely "assembled" by those calling themselves manufacturers. Similarly they buy in transmissions and axles, with a bit of research and knowing that "parts is parts" you can find what you need.

For the time being GM is in business again, Ford is still around, so is Chryco(/FIAT).
I don't know what the parts availability for any of them will be 3 or 6 years from now.
SOME New Holland tractors are in fact Iseki, so 10 or 15 years from now you might have to do the parts research anyway - in one direction or the other (-:

PS It should be no real surprise to read HERE that LS sourced tractors become available again within say a year.
As you said, they are good tractors and it is predictable that someone will once again import them into the US.
Montana didn't so much spec what was to be built FOR them as shop for what was available TO them.

 

[NSBound]

PS It should be no real surprise to read HERE that LS sourced tractors become available again within say a year.

LS Tractor USA

 

[Reg]

LS Tractor USA

OK, a year, a day, an hour... (-:
Seriously, I really did NOT know that they are back already.
Now to find the Rosetta stone to figure Montana/LS model equivalencies - not for me, I don't have one.

 

[brin]

For that golf cart starter - I'll bet a starter rebuild shop could put new guts in your old core.

Thanks..we have an auto electric shop like that in our town..I will check on it..Good idea.

 

[ModMech]

Mahindra is a MAJOR world player in Ag tractors and has enjoyed market share increases in almost every region they sell in, including the USA. I don't see them going anywhere because they are a profitable company that makes a good product (not a Deere, but not a Deere price either).

 

[Thomas]

Kinda of gamble Jeff,as they say.."Here today gone tomorrow"

You could look at tractor company w/long history,which means there parts still out there floating around even if they should close there doors.

Just go w/your gut feelings when it comes the time to purchase.

 

[o2batsea]

Will probably get a 5-10 year old used 4x4 unit about 23hp, with 500-1000 hours on it.

If you're willing to buy an old tractor, it doesn't matter what brand you buy as you'll be chasing down parts for it no matter who made it. Thing is, the market has been saturated with Japanese, Indian, Czech, Polish, German, Korean, and Chinese units for the last three decades. These may have been rebadged as Deere or another "USA" brand.
If you buy new or lightly used, at least you'll be in better shape regarding country of origin and parts availability.