Newbie - Help me decide

[Verdemont]

Brand new user. Have been perusing the boards for several weeks and really appreciate all of the very useful information.

I live in Colorado on 5 acres. Mostly treed. Have a Sears 25HP GT now that is not enough. I need a nice compact tractor with FEL and 4 or 5' blade. I want to do general landscaping, maintain my 350' gravel/dirt drivway, and other misc work around the "estate". We don't have much grass so don't need a mower. Use a Honda SP mower to do the stuff I need. The deer eat the rest....

Local dealer is nice and prices seem okay. I need some help deciding on which tractor to get:

I am considering:

#1 A used 2001 model BX2200 with 104 hours on it. Has only a FEL. One owner, very gentle use. Looks almost new. Best
price I can negotiate is $9800. Previous owner upgraded to a 7800.

#2 New 2230. With FEL only. Best price is $11,995. They have plenty of them sitting around.

#3 A 7610 with FEL. I haven't priced this yet but the MSRP on the 7610 and LA352 is in the mid 15's which means I'm guessing local dealer's price will be around high 14's. I will get price on Monday.

I like the 2200/2230 a lot. I've driven the 2200 for about 30 minutes around the dealers parking lot, etc.. I feel comfy. What I don't like are: the small tires, especially up front which means not a lot of ground clearance. Also the FEL weight limit is pretty puny. What I do like: $< $10K get's me into an almost new (hours wise) Kubota. I would do cash for this.

I like the new 2230 as I can finance at 0% or 3.9% for 60 months.

I like the 7610 as it seems more "significant".

I don't want too much tractor, but also not enough.

Helps!


I'll sell my Sears GT5000 when I get the Kubota.

 

[Poppa]

Tom,

Couple of things, first off is have you seen this link .

That should help you with prices. Also, search this site for prices for the BX and the B tractors you are looking at. There are fair dealers in eastern CO,you just have to look for them /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

But, what really helped me decide what I wanted was to sit down and make a list of every thing I thought I could, would or might do with my tractor. Make the list, read TBN and then you will probably find that you will add to the list.

The two tractors you are looking at are both good. The difference that comes first to mind is ground clearance. Do you need it or not? The 7610 will give you more but I have heard that the BX will be alittle more stable on a slope due to it's lower stance.

Take your time, read read read here and work on your list. Then Have fun shopping.

Mike

 

[blackwell]

Tom,

Take a look at Power Trac at www.power-trac.com.
The 422 is only $6900 with a few attachments and you would be all set. The 4WD articulated machine with quick attach allows you to change attachments in seconds.
Good luck,
EB

 

[JayC]

Have you looked at the Kioti CK20 at all? It is a small chassis CUT, not a sub-CUT. It is a very nice unit for the price. It is a 20 hp machine. It comes in HST and manual. You should be able to get a CK20 with FEL for about $12k. I know you're looking at Kubota, but it may be worth checking out. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Here is a link:

Kioti CK20

 

[Verdemont]

All:

I began my search about 2 months ago with ALL tractor models on my list. I eliminated some due to quality or reliabity issues. I eliminated others based on price (JD) and also wanted a tractor with a good local dealer.

I actually (don't laugh please) rode around the local area on my dirt motorcycle and "interviewed/bothered) many local homeowners, small farmers, etc.. and asked a lot of questions and got a lot of opinions about tractors. I also asked a lot of questions of co-workers who have tractors: "what do you like, what do you not like, was it big enough, was it too big, how much $$$, maintenance issues?, repairs, warranty, etc...".

After all of this I finally settled on a Kubota. I am an engineer by trade and I have to admit that the Kubota appeals to me on that basis. Parts, dealer network, repair history, etc.. are all just icing on the cake.

So, yes, I have decided that a Kubota is the one for me.

Tom

PS: I have already been warned that once I have a tractor all of my neighbors will quickly become more "friendly'. True?

 

[Verdemont]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Tom,

Couple of things, first off is have you seen this link .

That should help you with prices. Also, search this site for prices for the BX and the B tractors you are looking at. There are fair dealers in eastern CO,you just have to look for them /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Mike:

Yes, I've seen that site and have the prices printed off. I am making my next journey to the local dealer on Monday and my wife is going to ride the 2230, 7610, and maybe the 7800 (serious tractor envy, that's the one I WANT, now the one I need).

If anyone has a lead on a dealer within 500 miles of Colorado Springs that can approach the prices on that link or the one that has the "good" and "great" price suggestions, I'm all ears. I have a pickup truck... I am tom_vervaeke@yahoo.com.

Tom

 

[Soundguy]

Tom.. I'm not an orange fan.. but there is nothing wrong with them..and they are great tractors.. however that used BX with a loader seems pricey... I think you could get a NH tc 18 and loader in that balpark. Heck.. I paid 9500 for a used NH 1920.. ( no loader ).. and that is a stout machine...

Keep looking.. you are on the right track.

Also.. as yo've heard.. 4wd is a plus with a loader.. and at bare minimum.. you will want power steering.. even if you don't get 4wd.

There is alot to be said about good dealer support. no matter what color or flavor you get.


If you are the hands on wrenchy sort.. you might even look at a chineese tractor. ( jinma ).. inexpensive.. but with their own issues.. like I said.. unless you are wrenchy, or have a great dealer for support.. forget the chineese units..

Good luck,

Soundguy

 

[Poppa]

Tom, hopefully you got my answer to your PM and hopefully it was some help.

At the time I didn't realize you wanted the B7800. Great choice if you can justify /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif If not, the others are very good choices as well,


Mike

 

[BotaGuy]

Tom,

Kubota is a great choice. I owned a B7500 before, and now own a BX23 TLB. So far I am impressed with the BX series, and it does a lot of work. My B7500 was great, but this time around i needed a better mower, and I liked the backhoe. If you are not going to get the backhoe, then I think the B7510-7610 model would be better fit. Mainly because the 3 point will raise the rear implements higher for better clearance and such. The ground clearance was never an issue for me as these are not off road machines and when i had the B7500, I certainly wasn't trying to climb over logs. My BX23 feels every bit as powerfull as the B7500 I used to have.

Good Luck!!