Importing Jinma Tractors

whitepine · Oct 6, 2005

I am interested in importing a Jinma tractor myself to get the cost down. Any information on importing would be appreciated. How much will shipping be? Are there any customs charges/fees? What are some potential problems associated with actually getting the tractor? Also, most importantly, does anybody have any suggestions or recommendations on a company to purchase/import the tractor from?

Thanks,
Whitepine

MarkNHow · Oct 6, 2005

Your best bet is to do a search in this section for importing and you will get a lot of info you can look at.

Mark H

KevinW · Oct 6, 2005

Hey Whitepine,

While searching, you'll see where I had the same idea. But I''ve decide to go with the deals offered by Artrac. Kama offers the shuttle shift option.

TS354C

KM554

RonMar · Oct 6, 2005

Where are you located at Whitepine, your profile dosn't say? Self importing can be cheaper but the drawback is that although the tractor is warrantied from the factory in China, the replacement parts you may need during that warranty period are also in China and you will have to pay and wait for them to be delivered or purchase the part from a dealer here in the states. You might pay a little more getting one thru a dealer but in most cases they will stock spares here to limit your down time if you should have a problem.

whitepine · Oct 7, 2005

I am located in far western North Carolina. I have looked at a dealership but the nearest one is about 2 hours away and the cost is about twice that of importing a tractor in a crate. I am trying to get the cost down as low as possible. I like the idea of putting one together out of a crate. If you have any suggestions, I will be open to them. Right now I am talking with Goldhorse Group Corp and Hubei Machinery. I appreciate all your advice and information.

dogfarm · Oct 7, 2005

Whitepine

I also started looking at crate tractors and thought about importing one myself. But after studying things a little (including reading about the subject here), I decided there were too many pitfalls. You need to worry about EPA engine issues, blue tractor issues, parts issues, initial startup issues.... There just seems to be a lot of effort involved and a lot of things that can go wrong. And those things could end up costing you a lot of money or tractor downtime or both.

I decided to go with Artrac and have Chip Uren ship a tractor to me from Arkansas to western Massachusetts. He is offering good deals on the KAMA 554 that KevinW posted some pictures of. If you read the forums, you'll see alot of participation by Chip and you'll also find out about his reputation.

Check it out at www.artrac.com. Sometimes, there are very expensive ways of saving money!

Affordable · Oct 7, 2005

Self importing has it's pitfalls, once the chinese recieve the money (upfront) you don't have any recourse on the tractor, customs, epa, fda, ect. it's all yours at that point.Your saving are not as much as you think when you total broker fees, shipping, customs, x-ray,ect.They tell you 60 days which turns to 120 days or longer, missing parts, warranty ,what warranty?Buy from a dealer assemblied ready to go with a warranty.You just think you are saving money right now.

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales

P.S. If you do stay with the crate deal and are looking for missing parts,we would be more than glad to sell you some replacements,or you could wait to get them from your importer.They can normaly get them out in a few weeks

Lenarguy · Oct 7, 2005

Whitepine,
My advice is stay away from importing! I tried it and never received the tractor or my money! Like Tommy said, you have no or very little recourse. I am going to question the "half the price" statement, I will bet all of the shipping is not calculated in. Shipping often almost doubles the price of the tractor. Search here in the states, you can find a great deal from very reliable dealers. Best of luck to you!

Hagar · Oct 7, 2005

I looked at a lot of options and between TractorConnection.com and tractor-outlet.com (they handle everything) I went with the former for a shuttle-shift (jury is still out whether it was a good decision on the shuttle). I picked up the crate in Boston and assembled. There was less assembly than I hoped for. I am totally happy with the way I went.