Need tractor... head is spinning.

[piller]

Lot's of good tractors out there to choose from. Before I bought my tractor I hired a guy to do some work at my place, he had a Kubota L3940, it's a nice machine.

I financed through Kubota, yes they require insurance for the tractor which makes sense to me. I got a better deal on tractor insurance through my Farm Bureau agent and went with them.

One other thing I've seen is that Kubota does not seem to charge any more if you take advantage of their financial incentives. Some other manufacturers will charge you a fee to get 0% financing for example.

 

[e.myers]

Still Lurking....
Thanks for the info. All well taken.
Was actually looking at skid steers for the MX application I have. What led me away from it was the ability to manuever in soft (as in tilled) dirt and the possibility of bottoming. Even figured out a way to pull a disc etc. Bottom line is that no matter how many implements are available, it's limited as far as farm work goes.

Kubota L3940 vs L4400. Can get both for almost identical price. Any preference?

What does the Kubota buy me over the JD 4105 for between 2 & 2500?

 

[carpenter383]

My tractor is covered from my homeowners insurance, which is cheaper for me than taking out a policy specifically for my tractor.

 

[bp fick]

All the finance companies will require insurance on your investment. At least untill the loan is paid. They don't want the tractor to get trashed and then you have no way to fix it.It's actually a pretty good deal, I think it was $500 to insure my $35K tractor for 3 years. That's a no brainer, kept it and put it on the farm policy also.

Why the hate on Iseki? AGCO and Iseki have been working with each other for quite a while now. I think you'll find most of the compact companies are " in bed" with someone else.
Are you going to get the Quick Attach for the bucket? I could see where you would be using that in the future.

What he said.

You need to reconsider your aversion to Kubota's requirement. Actually, on mine, it was $500 for 5 years, or $100 a year on the zero deal. My homeowner salesperson couldn't compete with it.

This isn't the typical homeowner type policy. Do Not Assume, repeat that, do not assume your homeowner's policy will just feely cover your machine in a manner that will satisfy the loan company, regardless of color of tractor.

Enjoy the process!

 

[bp fick]

My tractor is covered from my homeowners insurance, which is cheaper for me than taking out a policy specifically for my tractor.

Carpenter, did you finance? Just askin' If paid for, homeowner's works just fine. If financed, those companies have some pretty stiff requirements for CYA.

 

[warhammer]

I have a Kioti DK45SE which is basically the same as the Bobcat and use it on 38 acres. 9 acres vacant land with trees, where I ride my dirt bike from time to time, 5 acre hay field and 24 acre row crop which is leased to a farmer.
I like the Kioti a bunch and it does everything I have asked of it.
I bought the largest tractor I could afford and if I could do it over, and had more money, I'd get a bigger machine.

Warhammer

Narrowed down to the following. All with hydrostatic drive, 4 wheel drive and a Loader.

I think I've narrowed it down to the 40-45 hp range.

John Deere 4105
Kubota L4400
Kubota Grand L 3940
Massey 1540 possibly 1547
Bobcat CT445

150 acres planted pines.
5 acre MX track. Ultimately I'm shooting for max 5 acre farm w/ small orchard, vineyard, small nursery and a couple greenhouses (we'll see).

John Deere dealer is right around the corner.
Kubota dealer is where I work.
John Deere is the least expensive but the Massey is very close with almost identical specs. Massey has excellent financing so it effectively makes the tractor much cheaper than the JD since I'm financing. Worry that the Massey is made by iseki, and marketed by AGCO who also sells a rebaged "challenger" version to Catapiller. I looked at the catapillars by accident and was not impressed with the way they look. Noticed also that the new massey 1600 series is out and wonder who makes those tractors and if the same will hold true.
Talked with John Deere dealer and he said that the 4105 is all John Deere except for the engine which is yanmar. Originally thought the 4105 was natrually aspirated 4 cylinder (that's what the brochure I have says) but according to the website specs it's 3 cylinder turbo. I think I'd rather have the naturally aspirated engine.... oh well. Read about the JD4105 having a "standard hydro". What does this mean? How are the other hydros different and what am I going to be lacking with the JD?

Kubotas are a possibility but are 2000 and 2500 more than the other two brands. Kubota has some good financing but they require you to have insurance AND the dealer and/or finance company wants 500 for their trouble. So, ultimately, I look at it like the "good" finance deal isn't really saving me anything. Not sure if Massey will have some of the same issues with their financing.

Bobcat CT445 can be had for 1500 less than the Deere which is the least expensive, but I have to find my own financing. Bobcat is rebadged Kioti, it's a new venture for bobcat that concerns me somewhat.

So, after everything factored in, the massey is probably the best "deal" as far as pricing goes.

Anyone know how any of these tractors stack up for my applications and familiar with features that can help me sort through this?

Anything I'm missing that I need to consider?

Thanks!

 

[piller]

What does the Kubota buy me over the JD 4105 for between 2 & 2500?

I suggest that you test drive both and see which you prefer.

As to your question, comparing specs for the L3940 and the 4105 I find:
Kubota has the 3 range HST+ transmission which is quite popular.
Kubota has more three point lift capacity
Kubota has a longer wheelbase
Kubota weighs more
Kubota has foldable ROPS
Kubota has 4 cylinder natural aspirated 122 cubic inch Kubota diesel engine, JD has 3 cylinder tubocharged 91 cubic inch Yanmar diesel
Kubota L3940 available with cab
Kubota offers LA724 loader, capacity should be 724 kg, not sure about what JD offers.

Spend a little time with both machines and both dealers. Maybe one tractor will feel more comfortable to you than the other.

 

[Lyrch75]

My tractor is covered from my homeowners insurance, which is cheaper for me than taking out a policy specifically for my tractor.

Not always the case. I went with the Kubota insurance as it was about $120 a year cheaper than my tractor insurance rider was. I could have dropped it even more if I had dropped my homeowner's liability that I was required to bump up when I put my old tractor on it. Of course the old tractor was a 55hp and current is a 70hp, so they are a bit on the outliers of what homeowner's cover.

Check the coverages and costs of adding it to your homeowner's policy, Kubota ins., and check out a third party insurance company as well. If I hadn't gone with Kubota, I still would have dropped it from my homeowners and gone with a seperate policy as my buddy who is an insurance agent fould me a better deal that route, just not quite as good as the K ins.

 

[carpenter383]

Carpenter, did you finance? Just askin' If paid for, homeowner's works just fine. If financed, those companies have some pretty stiff requirements for CYA.

Yes I financed the tractor, farm credit services is my lender for the tractor. They didn't seem to have a problem with me using my homeowners insurance.
What is CYA?

 

[carpenter383]

Not always the case. I went with the Kubota insurance as it was about $120 a year cheaper than my tractor insurance rider was. I could have dropped it even more if I had dropped my homeowner's liability that I was required to bump up when I put my old tractor on it. Of course the old tractor was a 55hp and current is a 70hp, so they are a bit on the outliers of what homeowner's cover.

Check the coverages and costs of adding it to your homeowner's policy, Kubota ins., and check out a third party insurance company as well. If I hadn't gone with Kubota, I still would have dropped it from my homeowners and gone with a seperate policy as my buddy who is an insurance agent fould me a better deal that route, just not quite as good as the K ins.

They did raise my homeowners insurance a few bucks a year to cover my tractor. I can't remember exactly how much, but it was a minimal difference from what I was already paying.