just a general observation about new tractors

[grsthegreat]

i went through a lot of turmoil before i decided on my recent tractor purchase, and i was just wondering about something that struck me as odd the other day. When i was looking for a new car, i didnt mind if it was Korean made, or Japanese made or US made. i just wanted good value for the money. my diesel 4x4 truck cost $48,000 and i always tell people..."i sure hope it last at least 5 years". its just the way things are made nowadays. Our friends bought a Saturn a few years back..because of all the great reviews and what experts said about the car. now the company doesn't exist. I was just wondering why people are more insistent that their tractors should last forever, and only cost 10-20 grand....but are willing to spend 50 grand for an suv that may last 5-8 years?. no one ever expects to keep their cars and trucks forever. My old John Deere lasted me 14 years....and is still going strong. i have placed it for sale for $10,000 two days ago, and have already had 4 phone calls and 2 people looking at it with 2 bids. the bids are a bit below what im looking for, but im thinking about accepting one of them. I never shopped around before buying my old tractor...i just went to the local JD shop which was offering 60 months at 0.0% interest and nothing down. i probably paid list price for it at the time, but heck, i had no money. so why not give them a llittle more cash if i could get the tractor.
However, with the new tractor, i was going into the deal with a boat load of cash.....so i was looking for a better deal..something off of list. this is what took the most time sorting thru. All 4 brands i shopped looked nice, and the decision came over price alone. One dealer refused to budge off of list price, the other 3 let us do some haggling. i must admit i never really heard about Kioti before i went to the dealership, so i went and did alot of online searching about the tractors before i purchased one. i never saw any real bad responses about the tractor, but i saw alot of positive responses to it. this helped my decision making.
now that ive become familiar with the new tractor, i think i made the right decision. only time will tell.
i think that they will be a manufacturer to watch over the years, and even the most blatant " buy green" or " buy the original orange" people have said that Kioti probably will stay around.
again, no one can ever be sure who will be here in 10, 20,30 years. GM nearly left us. Saturn has left.
Anyways, this is just my ramble as i look out the window at the new 4" snowfall, and more falling. Im looking forward to moving the snow in the nice heated cab :licking: :laughing: :thumbsup:

 

[teg]

If I were to do it again, I would look at the "other" orange... real close. First by checking to see how the 3ph slowly raises... I personally think the L2800 (32/34/37/38-00) are the worst tractors that kubota offers... but granted they are still pretty good.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

i think that they will be a manufacturer to watch over the years, and even the most blatant " buy green" or " buy the original orange" people have said that Kioti probably will stay around.

The original Orange tractor went away already Always was an Allis Chalmers fan :drool::laughing:

 

[bp fick]

Frankly, we live in turbulent times and a changing world and there isn't one thing we can do about it, for all intents and purposes.

The truth? Sure, any tractor company could disappear over the next decade, but look at it this way. Compacts? Kubota and Deere frankly have something akin to 65% of the market between them, perhaps even more. That is astounding. It isn't really likely they are going anywhere soon. Even if they did, your tractor would be one of many, many of that model, making parts a necessity for someone to offer. Period.

All the other "colors" split the remaining percentage, with some of them with very small fractions of the CUT market. Doesn't mean they aren't great. Doesn't mean they won't grow in the future. But right now?

It just means there are just a whole lot less of them and if one of those smaller companies did go away, the buyer would struggle some, I'm sure, to get parts. Some of the decal tractors sure get passed around and re-branded with amazing regularity.

In my goofy, inconsequential opinion, not all the current offering are going to thrive, let alone survive. The market in tractors is too crowed. Just as there were far too many car name plates and that is now shrinking, something similar may lie ahead for tractors. Who knows.

 

[art]

Last time I counted there are about 120 manufacturers of tractors and it might be down from that count a couple of years back.

There were far more names then that!!!!!! Different names did little different things with the safety aspects as well as lighting and standard to one optional to another brand. That is not taking into account the vintages of the models.

Being in the mix of the turn over a few years back is what I draw my conclusions from as to my favorites. I've worked with others to help get parts from those brands that have come and gone.

The one thing that I've noticed is that the after market world will make enough parts to keep discontinued models and brands parts coming as long as they were a good seller when new.

It will be interesting to see what the next twenty or so years will bring!

 

[milkman636]

It was about 20 years ago that I first saw a Kubota. It caught my attention because it was small and orange with Japanese writing on it. It was like a novelty item.

Fast fordward to today and it seems that you can't drive between any two towns without seeing several little orange tractors dotting the countryside.

I do try to get at least ten years out of a truck. How heavy would it be if it was built like a tractor?

 

[DK35vince]

i went through a lot of turmoil before i decided on my recent tractor purchase, and i was just wondering about something that struck me as odd the other day. When i was looking for a new car, i didnt mind if it was Korean made, or Japanese made or US made. i just wanted good value for the money. my diesel 4x4 truck cost $48,000 and i always tell people..."i sure hope it last at least 5 years". its just the way things are made nowadays. Our friends bought a Saturn a few years back..because of all the great reviews and what experts said about the car. now the company doesn't exist. I was just wondering why people are more insistent that their tractors should last forever, and only cost 10-20 grand....but are willing to spend 50 grand for an suv that may last 5-8 years?. no one ever expects to keep their cars and trucks forever. My old John Deere lasted me 14 years....and is still going strong.

My truck is a 1991 Ford F-250.
20 years old and I run it nearly every day.

 

[jenkinsph]

I have all Deere tractors right now and so far they are all working satisfactorily but I really don't expect the new ones to last as long as the older models. All the new ones are built lighter in the compact segment than equivalent hp models of the 1960 to 1970's. Time will tell if we can get the parts we need twenty years from now. I just hope the tractors will last as long as I do.

One thing I have noticed is that with tractors becoming more prevalent, more homeowners seem to have them than before. This has led to more competition for the tractor dollar and in turn has accelerated the advancement of new features and options. Makes me wonder how dated a tractor will appear to others when it is twenty years old in the future.

I am still waiting for the self levitating lawnmower with no wheel marks.

 

[JimRB]

The truck I bought new 24 years ago is still in service for me. My car is much newer at only 8 years and 285,000 miles. I hope it will hit 600,000 miles as I don't really want a new car bill anytime soon. Car drives closer to new than the truck although both have the same mileage. The joys of mild winters and no winter salt or gravel. Car does noy have a reputation for reliability but it has serviced me well. My 13 year old JD is still working fine but it really wants to be stored in a shed.

 

[JoeinTX]

We see 30-40 year old tractors running, working, and, looking very good pretty regularly whether on the neighbor's place or for sale. They're not uncommon at all.

Cars of the same vintage being used regularly everyday are not so much.

Cars/trucks are viewed somewhat as "throwaway" items. Not garbage but as much more short term purchases that fulfill a purpose until the next wave of technology renders them replaceable. We use our vehicle everyday and put a lot of time on them. Thus, it's understandable they wear out sooner and need to be replaced sooner.

A tractor? ****, you break it out once or twice a month to pull the shredder or do this or do that. Five years later it's got 500 hundred hours on it and you've hardly broken it in, what's to replace..??? Completely different mindset and expectation for most people.

I trade PUs every 3-5 years religiously. My now 60 year old 8n that I've owned for a decade now seems hardly used since I bought it and re-did it in comparison.

That's it in a nutshell.