Yes, Art. We all know you are a dealer with years of experience and qualifications. But, you still haven't substantiated your statement. Given that you are a dealer, both qualified and experienced, tell us how you justify explicity saying that one brand (the implications is Kioti in this instance) will yield 3000 hours of service while a similar Kubota will give 10,000 hours. I'd really like to know how you derived these numbers. Working as a dealer for x years, hanging out around tractors all your life, simply aren't specific enough for such specific proclamations.
If you can't substantiate it, then it's truely irresponsible for an experienced, qualified dealer to make what is seemingly an outrageous claim. A consumer says it, yeah we take it with a grain of salt. An experienced, qualified dealer such as yourself, it carries much more weight. Defend your brand. State true facts. Toot your horn all you want. But, please refrain from extreme exagerations disguised as facts from a "reputable" source. There are a lot of gullable newbies on here that might just buy into such distortions.
I don't know if they need to worry about longevity, the average is 50 to 100 hours a year.
You've been around and associated with the sales and servicing of thousands of tractors. This I don't doubt. What I do doubt is that you've seen more than a handful of CUTs with 3000+ hours, regardless of brand. And 10,000 hours on a CUT.... well that's just outrageously rediculous.
About ten a year on the average at 3000 plus hours, the 10,000 is only once in a great while. They might die on the farm and be buried with out the service. We do have tractors in our area that area are well over 10 and 20 thousand hoursas well as one that I know of over 30,000, not the kubota's, wait a couple more years!
On the difference in the number of problems posted: Many things can, and probably do, influence the data. For instance, it would be interesting to know the breakdown of tractor make/models purchased by age group. I strongly suspect that TBNers are younger owners than non-TBNers. I also suspect that older buyers will tend to stick with the tried and true, or what they have grown up with rather than try a second tier brand. Older buyers might also have more disposable income where price is less important. This assumed large group of non-internet owners of premium machines would drastically skew the data. It's really difficut (maybe impossible) to quantify the percentages based just on TBN postings. However, I do think the general statement still holds and is indicative of quality: Kubota and Deere report fewer problems. Trying to quantify it any more than that is just not credible.
A few years back, was working with a couple of different reps from differenet companies, it's amazing as to what the differences was on like machines and the amount of warantee dollar allowance per unit per brand. took it a little further and found that some lawn mowers were higher then a tractor!
The number of the trades, the perspective customers wanting to trade different makes, and listening to the customers as to WHY they want to get a new tractor and switch brands, and for those out there in our area that we are working on.
We have several BX's at 5000 plus hours at this point and it is not uncommon at all to see the larger Kubotas M-series in the five thousand plus hour range on farms and some just getting into the ten thousand hour mark
I have a B 6200 in stock right now that by the 100 hour oil changes is well over three thousand five hundred hours by his log. Was owned by a xmas tree farmer with over 17,000 tree's to mow between them(he's in retirement now with the 17,000 tree's)
I've had F-series 2400's come in from golf coarses that were over 10,000 hours with the original decks, hydro's and engines never touched, still working today.
For the customers that do trade from deere or the CNH line we see where with other makes the trade cycle is often moved from 1000 to 1500 hours to 2500 hours plus when switching to the Kubotas. These are commercial accounts that can't afford to be down at all.
the kioti's I've had in were all around the 1,000 hour mark as well as a few other makes like belarus with some of those hitting up to 3000 hours, my thoughts were figuring the problems when traded, how long did they have to go! Valve jobs at two thirds time before engine rebuild just general things from past experience.
The whole thing is initial build quality, Kubota attachments to the tractors don't need to have the wholes egged out a bit to get the bolt in while being asembled and they are not elongated to fit from the factory like some I see on brand new tractors. The controls I call generic for the most part, just like many other compacts, not something that is industry unique, on the models with the bells and whistles, we don't seem to have problems with those! The Kubota do offer a great amount variety of models with some being the same horsepower repectfully although they offer three different chassis's.
I learned a long time ago that many of the larger more commercial farms and landscapers although the operator might be rough, the day to day operations get the machines more maintenance then many home owners or small commercial accounts which do use us more for repair.
There are many studies that give us the break downs of who buys and why. They are not the same from one area to the next!
It's hard not to find a Kubota to fit!
It would be great to be able to show everyone here what we've found working on all the different makes.
I still doubt that it would change but a few for buying habits! Some still would not understand.
Besides, some people need to work on their tractor so why buy one that doesn't give an excuse to go to the man cave and have a cold one.
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