Looking at Kubotas

[Anonymous Poster]

I have a John Deere 4400 and am thinking about getting rid of it,I was thinking about the JD 4710,but I have been looking at the Kubotas(on line) what are the advantages and disadvantages Kubota versus John Deere? Would the base tractor prices be comparable or are John Deere prices higher?
One many things I do like about Kubota is the optional factory installed cab with air conditioning that is not available on any of the John Deere compacts,where as you have to opt for a Curtis cab on John Deere.
How much more does one of the cabs add to the price of the Kubota ?
I have had my John deere 4400 for over 2 1/2 years and have had considerable problems with it,I have been very courteous with John Deere and I do not particulary like the arrogance of the field reps,it seem's they are so un- approachable and distant to the customers..
I thought when I bought the John Deere I was buying a product I could trust through name recognition alone,but looking back I feel kind of foolish for being so naive in thinking that way. There are several people around where I live who own Kubotas and they have nothing but a good reputation. John Deere reputation in my opinion was built on the older tractors they made down through the years more so than on the 4000 serie or compact tractors lines.
How is parts availability on the Kubotas? I know John Deere can generally have the parts in 24 hours,is Kubota this fast?

Thanks in advance

 

[grandad]

Welcome to TBN... you will find a wealth of knowledge and experience on this message board. Sorry to hear of your troubles with your JD. Kubotas have a reputation for great engines, hydro transmissions and overall reliability, but I don't know if anyone here would promise you changing brands automatically brings nirvana. For the most part, the discussions here try to stay away from promoting one brand at the expense of another, since those debates almost never settle anything (if you ever listened to a Ford guy and a Chevy guy endlessly disagreeing, you know what I mean!). The differences often boil down to personal preference and the dealers you have access to anyhow. For the most part, you'll find lots of happy JD owners here along with everyone else.

Best I can figure, prices vary by geography and dealer, so you'd probably have to scope out the Kub prices vs. JD prices in your own area.

Kubota does have a nice factory cab... probably one of the better choices if that is important to you. I think the cab tractors run another $5k or so over the price of the tractor itself, which is more than the aftermarket ones mostly because of the built in A/C. You also need to check out whether all the implements and options you want will work on a cab tractor, since it obviously adds weight and takes some space.

I can't tell you anything about getting parts for Kubotas because I haven't needed any so far.

If you really want to buy another tractor, this is a great place to learn a lot, and then you'll want to check out the brands, equipment and dealers in great detail. Good luck!

 

[JATO_RaT]

Sky King, I have two major reasons why I prefer Kubota over John Deere and New Holland. I definitely think the hydrostatic drive in Kubota is superior to other manufactueres and I like the loaders better. They are heavier and beefier. I think the JD and Kubota engines while different are both the best in the business. For manual transmissions, Kubota offers more here with GST, shuttle shift and synchro shift on some models. The difference between using plastic as JD uses and metal as the Kubota uses is not important to me. After that it comes down to needs. If you need a cab, I don't know how you can beat the Kubotas even with after market cabs for other makes. Price definitely has a big role in all of this and I don't think anyone has the market cornered here. The JD 4710 has a little smaller engine then the Kubota what is it 5030 or 5130 which has the same smooth engine as my L48. They are all pretty darn nice tractors, Rat...

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Does Kubota offer a 4 in 1 loader?
I assume from what you are saying the pricing is pretty comparable across the board..

Thanks

 

[JATO_RaT]

Kubota does not but your dealer should or will. Its an after market bucket made by many manufactuer's. They will install the necessary hydraulics as well. Rat

 

[froggy]

If you want to compare retail pricing of the various models and possible discounts, you may want to look at http://www.dot.state.mn.us/equipment/contracts/tr_cpt_utl/index.html.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks guys /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[frank_f15]

WELCOME TO THE FORUM; was just wondering , why if your are so unpleased with the JD as to problems and attitude of the reps, why would you consider another one? i am not saying one is better than the other , i just feel if i was that unhappy with a brand i would most definetly look elsewhere. again welcome to the board and let us know of your decesion.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

My tractor is 2 1/2 years old a little over 500 hours on it.
The 1st year I had it:
The hydro pump/differental lock/and starter was replaced.
I have had problems keeping the lug nuts tight on the rear wheels,the dealer replaced the axles and wheel centers under warranty(said they were damaged from the lug nuts on the wheels coming loose)They installed new wheels and centers on the tractor and honestly the day the tractor was brought home after about 3 hours use, the new lug nuts started coming loose again and I have to watch them very closely to keep them tight and John Deere will not follow up on the problem since my warranty has expired,the service rep has never contacted me to follow up on the reoccuring problems.
The differental lock has failed again,and John deere will not even reply to my e-mails(bellieve me I have been very courteous and patient)The rear end has a small leak where the dealer has put the tractor back together(not a major leak,just a small drip)the John Deere will not fix it or reply.I am kinda of outta site outta mind with John Deere since the warranty is expired,John Deere I feel is tired of seeing my JD 4400.
I do not have a good feeling about this tractor.And I do not like the way John Deere has slammed the door in my face.
The reason I want to change tractors is,I want a bigger size tractor/I want a cab with a/c.Ihave thought about the JD 4610/or JD 4710 but I cannot see any difference between the wheel lug nut design on the new 4010 series versus my JD 4400 series.John Deere does not offer a factory installed cab on the 4010 series.I like the looks of the way Kubota installs there wheels,with a bolt/nut and washer.
Overall from what I hear etc..Kubota just makes a more solid built machine in the compact sizes.

 

[markie61]

For cab tractors, be sure to check out the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.kiotitractor.com/>Kioti</A> line. They have two with factory cabs: DK50 and DK65. Both are available with a self-leveling loader, which is very nice. The interiors are great. In Virginia, I had one dealer quote me just under $30K for the the big one with loader. I've had quotes for the regular DK50 with the nicer loader for around $22K, so I would guess the cab adds about $4500. Climbing inside one is almost sinfully luxurious.

I agree with others: the dealer is key in your buying decision. Every line has problems here and there. Your first point of contact is the dealer, so if your dealer is lousy: vote against him with your $ elsewhere and pass the word!

Good luck!

Mark

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Who makes the engines for the Kiotis?
Are they as good of machine as Kubota,are they as well established as Kubota,the company itself?
I like the looks of the New Holland line of tractors(But I prefer Kubota over N.Holland),I would have concerns of CNH,the company seems to be struggling financially.
I may be wrong but I see Kubota and John Deere as the "2 biggest kids on the block".

 

[markie61]

Kioti is a part of Daedong from Korea. They make their own engines (plus engines for some other brands). From what I understand, Kioti and Kubota have hired each others' engineers over the years and have some striking similarities. For instance, the 35hp engines (on spec sheets) are almost identical.

A significant thing about comparing Kubota and Kioti: they both design, manufacture, and control distribution of their own products directly - a very successful business model. Significant subassemblies of both Deere and NH tractors (plus Massey + others) are farmed out to Shibura, Yanmar, Kukje, Iseki, etc. and then assembled here and there. Nothing bad about it, but all manufacturing these days seems to be done on a global scale.

If you go to the Kioti forum, you will see many posts about people and their experiences with the products. I REALLY like Kioti - after driving the DK50, I could hear the turbo whistling in my dreams. I just bought a barely used NH, though, because I couldnt resist it -low hours, low $. The Kiotis are traditionally built, very sturdy construction, and have a lot of standard features for the buck. My caveat: I think the dealer is going to be your deciding factor with the lesser-known brands. Some are selling out of converted shacks; some are in professional shops. I've seen both.

Check one out - you may be impressed.

Mark

 

[Rockdog]

I ordered a Kubota L3430 HST w/Factory Cab about 2 months ago. Should be delivered in 2-3 weeks. The cab lists for about $5300. My "new" dealer quoted me $4200 and I got him to throw in the rear work lights for free. The "old" dealer quoted the full $5300 and was giving me $1300 less in trade-in on my B2710. I can't wait to plow snow or drive on a windy cold night. The cab is what really got my interst up in upgrading. Good luck on you decision and welcome to TBN.

Jerry

 

[frank_f15]

DON'T BLAME U FOR WANTING TO GET RID OF THAT TRACTOR. although i am KUBOTA oreinted, i think you just got a bad machine, it happens but jd should have made it right. u should not have to be checking your wheel lug nuts everytime u get on the tractor.JD makes a fine machine and can't understand why u had so many problems. like i said i am partial to KUBOTA, but there are a lot of folks that like the KIOTI tractors. hope u have better luck with your new one.

 

[Kelvin]

I have heard of problems with some of the JD hydrostatic transmission in the 4xxx series, but other than that, I think that both Kubota and JD are good tractors.

After looking at Kubota, JD, Kioti and Massey, I decided I liked the Kubotas best and JD second. There was two reasons for this:
(1) I liked the Kubota tractor better, and more importantly (to me),
(2) I liked the Kubota dealer much better.

I will point out that if the Kubota dealer had been a poor one, as some of them are, I would've probably ended up with a JD.

Regarding the Kioti, they were much cheaper, but my local dealer appeared to be a "fly by night" operation. About a year after I purchased my Kubota I was visiting the Kubota dealer where they had a nearly brand-new Kioti tore apart in the shop. Apparently the local Kioti dealer had gone out of buisness and the Kubota dealer got the job to fix the Kioti tractor (seems like it was warrantied by Kioti, but I can't remember for sure). What I do specifically remember is the comment by the Kubota Service Manager to the effect of "If you thought that Kubota parts were expensive..."

Bottom Line: Regardless of which color you end up purchasing, I feel that a decent dealer is VERY important (as you have unfortunately found with your JD dealer).

Regarding your "parts" question, I don't have any idea how quickly Kubota parts can make it to you. Seems like most of the parts I order come in on either Thursday or Monday. I have never asked for a more "rapid shipment", but I suppose that option is available at an additional cost.

Good luck,
Kelvin

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I appreciate everyones reply./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Happy Holidays.

 

[Buster57]

I own a JD 318 lawn tractor and a L3010 for my orchard. My JD dealer is great and so is my Kubota dealer, however, I think my selections I made are correct.
JD is great in L&G and the best for bigger stuff. Kubota is the only way to go in the 20 to 40 HP range. Having said this, I do plan to purchase a NH as soon as my son's college is paid for.
Basically nothing has gone wrong with my Kubota-and I have really worked it very hard in very tough conditions. I spoil it when I am finished, however, I have every reason to believe it will last several thousand hours without major problems.
I can't remember who it was that said, "Kubota makes the tractor from the ground up. This includes the engine." That sold me. I have no regrets at all.
Take one out and drive it. Talk to your neighbors and ask them what they think.
There are reasons Kubota owners are fanatically loyal to the brand.
Good luck!