Well, I have been talking with a dealer about an hour and a half away regarding taking a look at other Mahindra units and the TYM brand as well. I wanted to see the 2216 HST and the TYM 233. The dealer had a 2216 Gear on hand and brought a TYM 293 in from another location an hour further away. We went out there to see them today.
Mahindra 2216: The one we saw was a gear transmission, not HST. I tried it ... it was ok but we have come to the conclusion that we DO want a HST transmission. The dealer told me that the 2216 is not available in HST. After coming home and checking, either the Mahindra spec sheet is wrong or the dealer is wrong. So, scratch the Mahindra. The mahindra was just so-so. As a result, we are eliminating that one.
TYM: We are more interested in the 233 and the dealer only had the 293. He indicated that main differences are is more HP, rear remotes and tire sizes (larger on the 293). He said, and spec sheets confirm, that they do use the same frames and configuration. Ride and operation was quite nice on the 293. Both my girlfriend and I were comfortable using it.
One thing that seemed weird on the TYM was that the hydraulic disconnects for the FEL were mounted to the FEL, not the tractor. Disconnecting the FEL would leave the hoses flapping in the breeze on the tractor while the quick connects would be nicely mounted to the FEL arm. This seems backwards to me. I was told that BOTH the 233 and 293 come with SSQA FELs.
As for pricing, that is were it got really weird. The 293 was quoted as $14,775. This was including a free FEL. I asked about the 233 as that is what we really were interested in and was told $14,500 (including free FEL). He said that the 233 is not discounted more since the discounts they can pass on are based on how many units they purchase PER DELIVERY, not per contract year, etc. Since he does not have a 233 in stock that is not configured with the MMM or BH, he could have to order it and would not have a good discount to pass on to us. This seemed really off.
I agree that if I wanted to spend this much, the trivial difference between the 233 and 293 would push me to the 293. However; I was trying to stay lower. He is currently $1400 more for the 233 than the Kioti CK20. I will give him a chance to make the 233 better, but am not hopeful. I really like him as he is definitely hungry.
So far, the CK20 is the top of the list. It could come down to the 1026 and CK20. Farm fair and 1026 drive later this week, possibly with better "show prices".
If you had to pick 1026 or CK20, which would it be and why?
Edit:
BTW: Even though the TYM web site still shows the 273, the literature no longer includes it. It appears that the 273 is being put to rest after current inventory is exhausted. And of course, the dealer did not have one.
