kioti tractors

andyb · May 9, 2001

I'm new to tractors and am looking for one that will be dependable for years, perform a variety of light (lawn cutting) to medium/heavy duty jobs (brush mowing and field tilling.) We are a new farm (cut flowers - annuals) and are looking at Kioti tractors. Talked to a dealer who also services them and am looking at $12,000 new for a 30 hp. Any Kioti owners out there who would care to give me some feedback...good/bad experiences, thoughts, etc? Thanks for any responses.

Kelvin · May 9, 2001

Story #1: I briefly looked at Kioti tractors before buying my first used Kubota in 1997. The Kiotis had really good prices but I was concerned when I couldn't find any Kioti owners to talk to, and I didn't see any in use around the county. I didn't feel real comfortable with the dealer, either. With this board hopefully you can get more information than I was able to.

Story #2: A year or so later I saw a "very new looking" Kioti tractor in the shop at the Kubota dealer. Upon the "what's up with that?" enquiry I was told that the Kioti dealer had gone out of buisness and there was no authorized Kioti dealer in the area. The Kioti was in the shop for clutch and/or transmission repair, if I remember correctly. Anyway, when I was commenting on how expensive some of the Kubota parts were the dealer told me that the Kioti parts were significantly more expensive than the Kubota parts.

Bottom line for me is that I am very glad that I spent the extra money and bought the Kubota. I would look carefully at the Kioti dealer and his reputation before making a final decision. Hopefully you'll get some good feedback on this forum.

Kelvin

jyoutz · May 10, 2001

For $12,000, you can buy a new John Deere 790 4wd (30 HP) tractor, with lots of service and part availability.

Miklos · May 10, 2001

I have a LK3504 Kioti with FEL and R-4's. I paid $13,000 for it, brand spankin new. I have certainly been satisfied with it so far. I have used it for loader work, field mowing, landscaping, driveway maintanence and working my arena. Nothing has broken or failed to work. I researched for several months prior to purchasing, looking primarily at JD and Kubota. For near the same money, I could have got either a JD 790 or a Kubota L3000. However, by purchasing the Kioti instead, I got 5 more hp, full synchromesh transmission with shuttle shift, increased lifting capacities and eaiser entry/exit from operator platform.

I was almost ready to spend $4,000 more and get a Kubota B2910 with hydrostatic transmission, but then reality set in. But between snowmobiles, motorcycles, horses, and bicycles, I could not justify spending the extra cash. In the end, they would both do the same job.

My only worry about owning my Kioti is parts availability in the future. The quality of the castings and all other visable parts seems on par with the rest of the major manufacturers. Nothing is overly complicated on the machine, so with being a machinist and knowing how to weld, I worry less than some would about parts. Figure out what features are important to you and how much you have to spend. That extra $4,000 that I have saved will be put to lot better uses than the luxury of not having to use a clutch.

Miklos