Well, I'm a few months out from buying some more iron, and have started to narrow my search.
I have six acres of sand and oak trees, and want something in the 25hp-35-hp range, 4x4 and FEL.
Currently I mow, clear brush, light ground work, some tilling on the hacienda, and sometimes do very light dirt work and shredding for hire. I'll probably discontinue the for hire stuff due to diesel prices, and the need for a heavier trailer for any of the tractors I'm about to list.
Today I've looked at:
Kioti CK 30 and CK 35. Both have shuttle shift, 4x4 and KL130 loader. I do not know if the loader has the refit kit. Dealer is about 30 mins from me. He gave me a rough quote of over $18,000 for the CK35, closer to $20K, but he was trying to pressure me to come in before the end of the month for the free loader deal on the CK 35, so that price might come down. I really liked the look and feel of both machines (though I did not actually run either today.) I liked the postion of the loader control, and I've always liked shuttle shift.
Branson 3510i and 2910i. Both have shuttle shift, 4x4 and loader with skid steer style bucket. Dealer is a little over an hour away, is a small dealer, and pretty new to the Branson line. Quoted me for $18,000 for the 3510i that was sititng on the lot, though if he had to order more, the price might be higher. Also told me that it would cost me about $200 extra to have R1s put on the machine, which seems backwards to all my research. Really liked the feel and fit of the machine, reminds me alot of a mini version of a case 580 backhoe... Except I do not like the postion of the loader controls.
JD 3005. Gear, 4x4, 300 loader. Dealer is very establised, and about 30 mins from home. I've ran the 790, so I pretty much know what to expect from the 3005. Wished it had shuttle shift, liked the postion of the loader control. Dealer tried to talk down having rear remotes installed and top and tilt, dunno why. Quoted $15,000.
Overall, I liked how high the Kioti sat (though underneath did not seem as well protected as I liked) I really liked how wide both the Kioti and Bransons are. I know it is not quite fair to compare the JD 3005 to these, but that is what the dealer had. To be fair, I should be comparing to the 3320, which according to Deere.com goes for around $22K with 300 loader. I did not do any haggling on the prices, as that I'm still about three months from making a deal anyway.
Anyway, any thoughts or hands on knowledge of these machines?
