NH TC45, JD 4120, or a big DK55

[muscat]

New to the group, have enjoyed reading others post. I have been looking at NH TC45s and JD 4120s but an opportunity has come up for me to get a DK55 with 10hrs on it from the dealer (with the poorly reviewed KL1595 loader due to its self leveling capability limiting roll back) for $23K. This price is 10-20% better than I can get the NH or JD for with a few options to bring it closer to the DKs features.
Looks like the DK55 is quite a bit more tractor but I am worried about warranty. This deal is at a very small new dealer over 200 miles away. The local dealer gave the the clear indication "dont by it from me dont expect me to help with warranty"
Any thought on the deal for the DK vs NH and JD pricing as well as the warranty would be appreciated.

 

[KiotiJohn]

The local dealer is obligated to do the warranty work on your tractor. He will be paid, albeit maybe not as much as some other things might pay, but he gets paid.
Any abuse of that will not be looked favorably upon by Kioti.
They have shut dealers down for behaviors like this.
I'd say go for it as you would be saving in the neighborhood of $5-6K on the purchase, and will have a new tractor with the full balance of the warranty in place.
John

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I'm generally in agreement with John, but perhaps with a bit more caution. And the caution is a general note of caution about any long distance deal. Most manufacturers REQUIRE that the local dealer provide warrenty service, however, there are all sorts of reports on TBN (from various brands) that dealers can put you on the bottom of the priority stack behind any and every piece of equipment that is in their repair bays. There are ways that a dealer can meet the requirements of the manufacturer's contract and still not provide the highest levels of service.

Now there are ways to soften the blow, such as buying the tractor long distance buy getting implements, fluids, filters, etc from the local guy to try to build a relationship. Personally I have purchased 2 cars from places in New York and had them shipped to me in Indiana and the local dealer takes care of me, but then again, I already had a relationship with the dealer here, having purchase from him both before and after those transactions.

If the tractor suits your needs, fits you well, feels good to you when you operate it, then I would seriously consider it, regardless of the dealer.

 

[Keith_B]

I'd go with the good deal on the DK55, even if it is 200 miles away. Over the life of a tractor the warranty period is pretty short, and not frequently used. The dealer is not only obligated to do the warranty work, but is knocking himself out of the lifetime of the tractor secondary sales, like filters, fluids, implements, etc., if he isn't real cooperative.

 

[8Buzz8]

G'day Muscat, I'm also new to the group & my first tractor which happens to be a DK55 will be delivered tomorrow.

I can't make comment on the other machines that you are looking at and the specs on them but I have had a very good look at the DK55 & other Kioti's & they are a well priced & well appointed unit.
Plenty of bang for your buck!
The Kioti's are also very well spoken of throughout this site too.

I was, until the begining of the week, struggling with a decision between 2 tractors, the Kioti DK45 & LG Montana N47 (Aust) when I also was offered a great deal on a DK55. Fortunately for me it was from the local dealer.
I have also seen the dialog on the KL1595 loader and again this was an issue that didn't effect me as the loaders that are on the DK55's here in Oz are different all together.
The loader did have an issue with restricted rollback to but the dealer is changing the bucket rams to hopefully correct this problem.

Something that I did was to make a list of pro's & con's for each tractor (including specs, price, personal comfort, features & anything relevent to YOUR needs & YOUR situation.
I guess the other question that you may want to ask yourself is,
"Will the extra size be an advantage or disadvantage in my situation?"
How big is your block?
Is it easy to get around?
I'd also encourage you to post your thoughts and questions to the relevent discussion groups on this site (TBN) for feedback.
I have personally found the help & feedback to be invaluable in my decission making process & the folks were most helpful & friendly.

Just some of my thoughts.
Hope this helps in some way.

Best regards, Buzz.

 

[muscat]

G'Day Buzz (night actually)
I have 54 acres, 5 in grapes (10ft centers) about 20 in pasture 20 in trees and brush and 10 in creek (ie the part that looks nice but you can not use)

I am a bit concerned that the DK55 might be to big, however I think going to small would be worse than going to big.

Send me your impressions of you new DK when you get some seat time (like in 24 hours!!!!)

 

[8Buzz8]

G'day again Muscat, well with that kind of acreage you sure wouldn't be over doing it with a 55 HP unit with the sort of established agriculture already in place.
That's a serious chunk of grapes, you may want to consider a compact tractor in the same HP range that would be easier to manouver amongst the rows.
Perhaps someone else with experiece in this arena may like to throw in their 2 cents worth now that we know your situation in more detail.

Regards,
Buzz.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Vinyard tractors typically are a bit smaller in frame size and higher in HP than a traditional homeowner type CUT. The higher hp helps with the PTO powered sprayers/foggers, etc. Not sure you need a pure vinyard tractor, but consider manuverability since you have 5 acres in grapes that is quite a bit so it should be high on your priority list. Are the trees planted in rows for harvest as a crop or are they natural woods that you don't really do much with? I don't know a lot about the JD tractor line up, but they have a series that is a modest frame size with plenty of hp for its size. It might be the best compramise for your needs. Perhaps one of our JD experts could chime in. New Holland has specialized vinyard tractors, but if I recall, all of those are in the 60+ hp range which is well above what you are considering.

 

[KiotiJohn]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Most manufacturers REQUIRE that the local dealer provide warrenty service, however, there are all sorts of reports on TBN (from various brands) that dealers can put you on the bottom of the priority stack behind any and every piece of equipment that is in their repair bays. )</font>
Not meant to be argumentative, but I have never read one report from someone to whom this actually happened. Only that it "could" happen, and recently one report that said the dealer virtually threatened this would be the case if the buyer bought out of town. I have not seen ANY posts from experience, only conjecture. Of the many dealers with whom I've discussed this issue, not one ever said that he didn't welcome warranty business as it was a good way to obtain a loyal future customer for after warranty period work. Any dealer who would handle the situation this way probably woudn't be in business for long.
John

 

[muscat]

Thanks Bob and Buzz
The vinyard is on 10 foot centers both ways (ie no trellis so you can till or disk both ways too) turning radius is nice regardless of spacing, basically you skip rows.

The rest of the trees are woods, old oaks, cottonwood lots of it need to be moved out to a burn pile which I plan on doing with a root/brush grapple bucket.

I just realized reading this forum that I have never looked at Kubota so I guess I better look to the 4330/4630/5030 and maybe the M4800 although I sure would like HST (for the wife, not for me,,,, right) yes I know the DK55 is a 12x12 SS

Cheers