New land... need a tractor!!

[Luke'sScreenName]

Unfortunately, that is still the biggest drawback to Kioti and Mahindra and LS; dealers change arround a lot (at least in my estimation and in my area).
Seems to me that good dealer quality is probably at it's most important with an inexperienced buyer/operator.

Good people (such as the dealer IT recommend) probably make up for a lot but seems like years of experience with one brand would be helpful.
:2cents:

 

[airbiscuit]

This isn't too far away from you. Nice attachments.

https://scranton.craigslist.org/grd/5381106544.html

https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/grq/5364136038.html

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I'd buy that Mahindra just based on how bada$$ it looks! Didn't someone post that Mahindra had just bought Pina Forina? I don't think they need any help.

 

[varmint]

Yes Ma'am! That Mahindra surely looks one capable machine, and with those attachments, it oughta make a useful tool for someone. Seems like a lot of value. I'm curious about what its faults, if any, might be?

 

[IslandTractor]

Unfortunately, that is still the biggest drawback to Kioti and Mahindra and LS; dealers change arround a lot (at least in my estimation and in my area). Seems to me that good dealer quality is probably at it's most important with an inexperienced buyer/operator. Good people (such as the dealer IT recommend) probably make up for a lot but seems like years of experience with one brand would be helpful. :2cents:

It is certainly true that Kubota and JD have the biggest and best established dealer networks. I found that to be more of a problem than help though. All they want is to get you to bring your machine back to them for service. My Kioti dealer was 300 miles from me and as my tractor is on an island it isn't practical to use a dealership for service anyways. Wallace Tractor supported me via cell phone and UPS. They sent supplies and parts as needed. I even crawled around under the tractor once with a multimeter testing connections as the mechanic guided me by cell phone. Worked like a charm. Found the disconnected junction and plugged it back in to restore 4wd after brush had disconnected it.

My point is that small dealerships, even if remote, can provide more than adequate support. There are really very few times that a tractor needs to go back to the dealer and doing your own maintenance enhances the tractor owning experience. I've owned two Kiotis with 800 hrs combined over the past ten years and neither ever went back to the shop.

 

[jenkinsph]

It is certainly true that Kubota and JD have the biggest and best established dealer networks. I found that to be more of a problem than help though. All they want is to get you to bring your machine back to them for service. My Kioti dealer was 300 miles from me and as my tractor is on an island it isn't practical to use a dealership for service anyways. Wallace Tractor supported me via cell phone and UPS. They sent supplies and parts as needed. I even crawled around under the tractor once with a multimeter testing connections as the mechanic guided me by cell phone. Worked like a charm. Found the disconnected junction and plugged it back in to restore 4wd after brush had disconnected it.

My point is that small dealerships, even if remote, can provide more than adequate support. There are really very few times that a tractor needs to go back to the dealer and doing your own maintenance enhances the tractor owning experience. I've owned two Kiotis with 800 hrs combined over the past ten years and neither ever went back to the shop.

Sounds like spin to me So are you saying that Kubota and Deere can't or won't supply parts and service advice just as your dealer did for you? Good dealers do it every day regardless of brand. Having a good dealer close by is optimum imo.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Sounds like spin to me So are you saying that Kubota and Deere can't or won't supply parts and service advice just as your dealer did for you? Good dealers do it every day regardless of brand. Having a good dealer close by is optimum imo.

I don't think it was spin. His piont is well taken. A dealer willing to provide after-sale service can be large or small.

My concern is a small dealer might only have one (or none) tech who really knows what they're doing. And daealer that goes out of business or changes brands won't be very helpful in the event of warranty work.

 

[IslandTractor]

Sounds like spin to me So are you saying that Kubota and Deere can't or won't supply parts and service advice just as your dealer did for you? Good dealers do it every day regardless of brand. Having a good dealer close by is optimum imo.

Spin? Perhaps but I'd prefer to call it counter marketing. :laughing: Not trying to start a color war here just pointing out some of the reasons besides initial purchase price that it can be less expensive to own and operate Kioti/Mahindra compared to JD/Kubota.

I think Kubota and Deere expect you to use their dealer shop just like a Ford or Toyota dealership and that more customers do. I don't have hard data to back that up but it seems more folks who want a turn key tractor experience go with the big two brands. The "off brands" are more akin to independent garages. Of course you can walk into a big dealer shop and buy overpriced branded SUDT etc. They are certainly there to sell you branded parts and supplies. What I'm not so sure of is that the typical Kubota/JD dealers would put a mechanic on the phone with you for half an hour to troubleshoot a problem. They'd simply expect you to bring the tractor in. It isn't the color of the tractor but rather the size of the operation that often determines the nature of customer/dealer interactions after the sale. JD and Kubota dealerships are typically much larger operations than Kioti/Mahindra/LS etc (NH and MF in between size). The owner of the JD/Kubota dealership is relatively less likely to be involved with day to day interactions with customers in big dealerships. I've had dealings with three different Kioti dealerships and with each it was pretty simple to get on the phone and talk to the owner or to one of his mechanics to help me solve a problem without bringing the tractor in. I don't doubt there are some JD/Kubota dealers that are directly accessible to CUT owners but my impression is that most are more corporate than owner operated in management style. It's not a knock on JD/Kubota tractors as many customers want exactly that type of Ford/Toyota dealership experience but it certainly is a factor in why JD/Kubota are the two most expensive brands.

I'm speaking in generalities here and I do know many JD/Kubota tractor owners do their own maintenance/repairs too and get around the corporate dealership experience.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I of course disagree with much of the above. But I suspect we can agree there are good dealers of all brands. You just have to find one at a distance you are comfortable with. So shop the dealer as much as the brand?

 

[jenkinsph]

Island Tractor,
Does Kioti and or Mahindra have a similar online parts with diagrams available for all models of their machinery as J Deere does?
If so can you provide a link as I would like to see it.

Forty years ago I had a phone in my truck to take calls from customers in my excavating business. If I had a breakdown and needed help or parts it was available from the dealers. This included being able to access good mechanics and the parts counter so I don't see where your going with this. Fast forward today I can look up parts diagrams on my phone for all of my Deere equipment and still call to check with a mechanic if I want to.

Caterpillar and Deere have the best parts network I know of and living in the sticks makes me appreciate that.