Montana?

[robertwhite]

First off, the disclaimer: I didn't post this in the Montana forum as obviously opinions would be biased.

Now on to business.

Very close to my place down South is a place that sells Montana.

I did not stop there yet to check them out, and the place is more like a used car/auto repair place than a tractor dealer, but the tractors are new/unused.

Who makes a Montana?

What engine is used?

Quality?

Reliability?

Dealer network?

What I would like to do is compare them to the "normal" brands and see if they are anything I should be looking at.

For those that don't know/remember, property is basically level and consists of 15 acres (8-9 grass, rest is field). Tractor MUST have FEL and be around 25-30 HP. HST, able to pull brush hog and finish mower, post hole digger, and possibly backhoe.

I looked into possibly getting a Dixie Chopper Excalibur (9 acres an hour rating), and a separate excavator but at $17K for the Dixie, I won't be buying one.

 

[wampum]

As you will find out Montana builds none of its tractors. They are almost all made by LS,that belongs to LG,that is big in electronics and heavy equipment company in South Korea. LG also made some tractors for the now extinct Landtrac brand. LS has also recently brought their own tractor into the states selling it under their name. I believe some McCormicks are also made by LG. Montana also signed a letter of intent to partner with the maker of Branson to sell their tractors,and bought out the stock of Landtrac-farmtract. These are well built tractors and preform well. I guess no one knows Montana's future but a lot do not think they will be around long. You may have trouble on Warranty issues like landtrac owners did,if they go belly up. But parts should be not hard to get,other then possibly fenders,hoods and the like. All Montanas were Green and silver. Now you will find them in red and blue also. These are rebranded Land and Farmtracs and Bransons. Saw one red one with Montana logo and Branson floor mats with the Branson name,in the mat at a Montana dealer last week. One strong point about these tractors is they have mostly Mitsi engines and usually more features then the big boys.

 

[LittleBlueTractor]

As a newbie to both CUTs and TBN I'm not really very qualified to tell you much about this subject. You may want to take a look at this discussion thread for more info:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/all-other-brands/114183-farmtrac-troubles.html

From the best that I can gather Montana, McCormick, and FarmTrac, (among others) simply re-brand equipment from large manufacturers. A couple of years ago there was a falling out between some of these re-branders and the manufacturer, so they were scrambling around to find new suppliers. The Montana equipment has had a pretty good reputation in the past, but now there's all kinds worries about warranties and parts for some of their gear. In this case you may actually want to post your questions in the Montana forum to see what those guys have to say. Maybe everything has all been ironed out by now.

Hope this helps.

 

[LittleBlueTractor]

Darn-it, I waited until it appeared nobody was going to reply and then BAM -- somebody (with a lot more understanding of the issue) did while I was trying to parse it all out.

 

[robertwhite]

Thanks for the info. I guess I will not be wasting my time and/or money on Montana. Just not worth the risk. BTW, these were Blue ones.

 

[LittleBlueTractor]

Thanks for the info. I guess I will not be wasting my time and/or money on Montana. Just not worth the risk. BTW, these were Blue ones.

Yeah, LS tractors are blue too. I posted some pics of mine here:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/all-other-brands/160828-ls-s3010-pics.html

Maybe Montana is still re-branding LS gear, but instead of getting them in green they are just swapping out the stickers!

 

[wampum]

Thanks for the info. I guess I will not be wasting my time and/or money on Montana. Just not worth the risk. BTW, these were Blue ones.

The blue ones are rebranded Land and Farmtracs. I think they are calling them the limited series. They are limited,because when they run out they are gone. I have owned several tractors over the years,both Deere "A's and "B"s,AC WD45,even a International Cub. I have an International 454,which has given me years of good service. About 6 years ago I bought a Landtrac 330 HST with a FEL. This has been a great little tractor,a few small issues,but nothing major. The biggest problem was the bolts getting loose on the loader support. I changed them all and Torqued them at the proper torque and they so far have been okay.I am Looking to restore and retire my 454,so I am looking for a larger HP tractor,to take the place of both the 454 and 330. I am basically down to 3 tractors the Mahindra 4035,and 2 Montanas the R4944 and the U4984. I am not scared to buy a Montana,I know that LS builds a good tractor,and parts should be available through them if needed. I am retired.the good part of that is I am not looking at resale value. I figure in 10 to 15 years if I am still around the tractor will not be used much anyhow. And I do not plan on selling it. Also right now a Montana can be picked up pretty cheap. I like that because of being on fixed income I am cheap.The Montana also has a lot of features that are options on other brands,like the duel remotesI have not seen the Montanas,but the dealer is getting both in this week. I am going Monday to try them both. I am leaning towards the Mahindra,mainly because of the closeness of the dealer and the 5 year warranty and 0% financing. Monday I will buy either a Mahindra or Montana

 

[robertwhite]

I think they are calling them the limited series. They are limited,because when they run out they are gone.

Pretty funny and probably true.

I am not scared to buy a Montana,I know that LS builds a good tractor,and parts should be available through them if needed.

For myself, "should be" is not good enough. If I need a part 5 yrs from now, I need to know it will be available.

Thanks for the info though.

 

[wampum]

Good point Bob. Its not quit the same but a few years ago who would have thought that Plymouth,Olds and Pontiac would be gone. You can still get parts but none of us know that GM or any auto maker, will still be around in a few years. I feel that unless this economy straightens out,we will have a few more surprises in the tractor side also. I have tried to buy a so called brand name,and just can not get a price I can fit in my budget. The thing that amazes me is that all of these tractors are being made across the pond. So common sense tells me that the big three are making them for less then the small guys,and are selling them for a lot more. So I guess I will roll the dice and go another direction. If I am wrong,I guess I will have a nice lawn ornament that will look nice at Christmas time with lights on it. But with so many of the LG tractors out there,with the same basic parts,it would be profitable, to make parts.