Made in China

[DavesTractor]

Maka,
Great pictures, thanks. Mahindra is taking a risk, and it needs to work for them or it will do some damage. I think that is why these weren't released for production sooner. I have a Mahindra China tractor (prototype) on my lot next to a new Jinma 284 I bought for comparison. There is a lot of difference. Even so, reliability will be what floats or sinks the boat. Even with all the testing, Mahindra will ramp up volume slowly. You can test and test, but until a couple hundred of these get out in the real world, you can be sure that some things will need attention. But you can say that about almost any new model, but probably more so from China.

Those loaders look good. Thanks again for the input.

 

[civesnedfield]

OK, look at these pictures. Taesung loaders are or backhoes are used by TYM, Montana, Mahindra, Kioti and Look at that other orange machine. I found it interesting that Kubota has their tractors at the Korean loader manufacturer.

I got these pictures in Oct. 07 so about 3 months ago. While there I was talking to a dealer of Mahindra who also sells TYM. We looked at the Chinese Mahindra pictured here and it is no different than any other Chinese and it is supposed to be the current model Chinese Mahindra.

I think if Mahindra does much with these they will hurt themselves. I am a Mahindra fan but if this is what they are putting out there it will probably be short lived in the U.S., be expensive and most likely upset some consumers who get these.

Enjoy the pictures.

Maka

The very last loader picture is very interesting. The label says it is a 475 loader and looks like it has auto level control. What model would this be for and what is the HP rating. The loader looks quite big, so I am wondering

 

[gamble77]

That loader is only for overseas...you won't see that stateside.

 

[wallace]

I will be seeing the new China tractors first hand this coming week and then I can make the decission if I will sell them or not.

I not sure how I can pass them up... a 25 hp 4 wheel drive tractor with a loader and r4 tires to retail for around 12-13k

 

[Builder]

I have a friend who was an Ambassador to China from Denmark. He still lives in Hong Kong.

He recently told me there is one thing you can always expect from China and that is poor quality control.

Maybe Mahindra can produce a good tractor from China but I seriously doubt it.

If I was Mahindra I wouldn't import anything from China to the US. They are still trying to overcome the "Its made in India" syndrome. What do you think will happen to the Mahindra name if they get a few poorly made tractor on the market. I may not know much but I do know bad news travels much faster than good news. What that means is this if Mahindra makes the best tractor in the world few will praise it. But let them make a few bad one and everyone will talk about it.

If I were a dealer I would fight tooth and nail to stop imports from China. I think the Mahindra dealers have too much at stake. Well, when you think about it, so do I. If my dealer has to go out of business because of a few bad, poorly made tractor, where will I get parts?

Just my 2 cents.

Don

I agree. I don't own a Chinese tractor and I hope I will never have to.

Based on what I've seen from their smaller tools & equipment, the temporary joy from a cheap price at purchase is usually overcome by the disappointment of throwing it away much sooner than a quality made version.

 

[praha]

It is funny.....Indian takes his factory to China. Too expensive labor in India??? Hahaha.
Compering China and Japan? China is still a communist state, Japan never was. Do you have any idea what a communist system has done to the people in China /initiative, pride, attitude and work ettics/ over 50 years. And that is a major difference. It's like private family bus. here vs. government workers here. Or at least close to it.

Deadly combination , chinese product sold in Home Depot.
Even US made produsts sold in Home Depot are lesser quality, made in accordance with HD specifications.

Joe

 

[praha]

It is funny.....Indian takes his factory to China. Too expensive labor in India??? Hahaha.
Compering China and Japan? China is still a communist state, Japan never was. Do you have any idea what a communist system has done to the people in China /initiative, pride, attitude and work ettics/ over 50 years. And that is a major difference. It's like private family bus. here vs. government workers here. Or at least close to it.

Deadly combination , chinese product sold in Home Depot.
Even US made produsts sold in Home Depot are lesser quality, made in accordance with HD specifications.

Joe

 

[driver444]

Do you have any idea what a communist system has done to the people in China /initiative, pride, attitude and work ettics/ over 50 years.


Yeah... ... The same thing it's gonna do here if we're not careful!!!

 

[Builder]

Do you have any idea what a communist system has done to the people in China /initiative, pride, attitude and work ettics/ over 50 years.


Yeah... ... The same thing it's gonna do here if we're not careful!!!

Ain't that the truth. Looks like it's gonna happen, too if we don't wake up!

 

[DavesTractor]

Ah, the whole issue of China taking USA jobs, moral issues of the Chinese government, etc. It's a complicated thing. I suspect most every major manufacturer has a presence in China or soon will.

I'd highly suggest reading "The World is Flat" by Friedman. It takes a weekend to read, but offers a lot of perspective on China, India, outsourcing, etc. I learned a lot.

As for quality, China can produce a quality product, but it costs a lot more than the cheap junk that they also can produce. I have a Jet metal lathe made in China. I've had it for years and it works great. No it's not the quality of a $15K lathe, but it works good for a tractor guy! I've also seen simple things like a bench vice that breaks on it's first use...so we can't lump every manufactuer in China in the same group as it regards to quality.

 

[Builder]

..........As for quality, China can produce a quality product, but it costs a lot more than the cheap junk that they also can produce. I have a Jet metal lathe made in China. I've had it for years and it works great. No it's not the quality of a $15K lathe, but it works good for a tractor guy! I've also seen simple things like a bench vice that breaks on it's first use...so we can't lump every manufactuer in China in the same group as it regards to quality.

The big difference being that you wouldn't see the cheapest US built vice break on the first use. Anyone who builds such a product is not a manufacturer, but a thief.

Why are my 75 yr old dad's Milwaukee & Stanley electric power tools from the 60's still running to this day and I've been through several off-shore built power tools in less than 20 years? I just threw away a Ryobi Chinese made belt sander after 2 years of light use. The dust collection bag was trashed after ~6 months.

Frankly, I'm tired of this crap. I would definately buy American tools, tractors, trucks, etc. from a company that builds tools that will last 30-50 years instead of junk that winds up in the dumpster after 3-5 years.

Milwaukee was the best I can find, but many of their tools are now made offshore. The quality has coincidentally dropped since then.

 

[rback33]

The very last loader picture is very interesting. The label says it is a 475 loader and looks like it has auto level control. What model would this be for and what is the HP rating. The loader looks quite big, so I am wondering

Like Gamble said... those loaders are for Mahindra's other overseas conquests. Australia specifically. We supplied several containers of loaders to them, but their governmental "desire" (more or less law) for self-level for all sizes was not worthwhile for us. The volume could never pay for the engineering.. at least not anytime soon... and the American market does not need the added cost either.

 

[DavesTractor]

The big difference being that you wouldn't see the cheapest US built vice break on the first use. Anyone who builds such a product is not a manufacturer, but a thief.

Builder, I certainly agree. A junk product is worthless at any price, and such an item would never be made by a US manufacturer. Incidentally, I bought the vice through Enco, a US Company. It was amazed that they would think they could sell such an item, and it wasn't dirt cheap either.

 

[jwcinpk]

Frankly, I'm tired of this crap. I would definately buy American tools, tractors, trucks, etc. from a company that builds tools that will last 30-50 years instead of junk that winds up in the dumpster after 3-5 years.

Most people will not buy the best, or even a better product, they will buy the cheapest. That's the only rational thing I can find about Mahindra going this route. We'll see how it works when the sales figures come out.

 

[DavesTractor]

Most people will not buy the best, or even a better product, they will buy the cheapest. That's the only rational thing I can find about Mahindra going this route. We'll see how it works when the sales figures come out.

Don't forget that Mahindra has invested a bunch of time and money to make this a good product. They didn't just contract with some Chinese plant to label their tractors as Mahindra. I don't blame everyone from being skeptical, and that is healthy. Let's get a few with some hours on them and see how they do. I have 50 hours on one so far, not much I know, but it has been very good.

Why would a manufacturer want an economy line? Look at all the imported Yanmars. Look at the Jinma's and other imports. It is clear that there is a market for a less expensive tractor. The key is to pull it off with adequate quality and reliability.

 

[rback33]

Why would a manufacturer want an economy line? Look at all the imported Yanmars. Look at the Jinma's and other imports. It is clear that there is a market for a less expensive tractor. The key is to pull it off with adequate quality and reliability.

Well stated!

 

[Builder]

Most people will not buy the best, or even a better product, they will buy the cheapest. That's the only rational thing I can find about Mahindra going this route. We'll see how it works when the sales figures come out.

Put me in the minority then. I don't think I've ever bought one thing from China that lasted as long as it was supposed to. Bought my kids 2 "Air Hogs" radio control planes for Christmas-neither of them fly for more than 5 seconds. All the tools I buy from them end up breaking before their time. Digital cameras just stop working, defective light fixtures, trailer tires that blow out nearly causing an accident, computer printers that crap-out in 2 years.......

I guess it's just me, but I remember the old simple ugly American, European or Japanese stuff lasting so much longer.

And someone mentioned "higher quality Chinese goods".

Someone want to give me a name of an original Chinese product that's any good other than Fireworks or Kung Pao Chicken?

 

[bindian]

The very last loader picture is very interesting. The label says it is a 475 loader and looks like it has auto level control. What model would this be for and what is the HP rating. The loader looks quite big, so I am wondering

I can tell y'all one thing from that photo. It is a bad design. It looks like a link(that is attached to a bellcrank on the forward end) is ABOVE the main loader booms. If anything rolls out of the back of the bucket when it is up high, it will hit that link, which could bend them bad. My KMW loader has the main boom beams there to take the abuse from an overhead object falling.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Maka]

Most people will not buy the best, or even a better product, they will buy the cheapest. That's the only rational thing I can find about Mahindra going this route. We'll see how it works when the sales figures come out.

This is true but for how long and at what expense to the companys good name? I think Mahindra is a good company with good products but this is risky as the people who buy the cheapest are usually the loudest and most unreasonable when they have a problem.

They will come to this website and scream what junk it is if they do end up breaking and that will skew other buyers who are interested in quality and will bypass the good Mahindra machines for the bad rep of the Chinese one. Now, this is just assuming these machines turn out to be a problem, who knows they may turn out to be great but is the gamble worth it?

Maka

 

[Builder]

My across the board personal opinion / experience is that Chinese- made products from comanies NOT based in China often have a high level of quality. They are made to non-Chinese/Western production specs. However, Chinese products marketed thru importers can be very varied in quality and are not considered equal to Western - branded products.

Remember the connotation of "made in Japan" 40 years ago?

As they say - it's a global economy, not just for the U.S, but for everyone.

"Made in Japan" never struck me as a "negative" connotation. The Japanese have historically built excellent quality machinery that anyone would be proud to own.

Let's not forget the Japanese war machine of over 60 years ago almost conquered the world. They had some pretty nice equipment back then....."Zero" fighter planess, Battleship Yamato, you know....little stuff like that All that from a country the size of California with almost no natural resources.

The Chinese have never struck me as a group that built any machinery of noted or lasting quality.
The only reason for the upsurge of Chinese industry is that they have a super cheap labor force, low taxes and virtually no enviromental regulations. A nice healthy dose of toxic lead paint included, free of charge!

"Chinese quality" has never been the reason for the flight of industry to China.