Buying Advice So i go into the Kubota dealer this afternoon who also sells Mahindra's

[kiotiken]

I looked at JD and just briefly New Holland. These are the other dealers within ~ 1/2 hour of me.

I'd look a little further. If you need to load up the tractor and haul it to the dealer for warranty work, what's the difference between 30 mins and 90 mins, most of the effort is loading and it's a PITA no matter how far you have to take a broken tractor. If they're picking it up and charging you, it's probably not going to cost much if any more (especially if you discuss that concern when you're buying). My dealer is 60 mins away (in a car) and picks up and drops off for free for any warranty work, that was part of the sale.

New Holland CUTs are now make by LS. Look at Case (farmall series), any Daedong tractor (Bobcat, Kioti, McCormick, Landini), MF, LS and anything else you can get your hands on. I think the dealer is as important as the tractor, but many disagree with that. If I wanted to cut my lawn with a tractor it would be a different tractor than the one I bought to do a lot of ground engagement, so know what you want to do and decide which one is best for those tasks. Unfortunately, if it's got to be a part time lawn mower, it has to be light, but if you also want to plow fields, you want weight for traction. Some of the "comparable" tractors that I looked at were almost half the weight of my Kioti CK30. That's great for some, but for me, I'm asking where did they take all that extra steel from?

 

[ddobson]

Thanks. It's going to spend near 80% of it's time as a brush hog/lawn mower. I'll also be moving dirt and taking care of 1000' of gravel driveway. At some given point when a 'lawn' appears I'd imagine maybe getting a zero turn for part of it, but right now everything is in 'rougher' shape. I think I have the right size tractor, just need to find a model/brand that we're comfortable with...

 

[DavesTractor]

Thanks for the replies.... I'm exactly at the point of comparing the L3800 to the 3616 where we'll probably take some test rides this week. I am hoping that will help clear it up. The B series is out and I believe my dealer showed me the Mahindra as it was right in the same neighborhood pricewise. One of the things that holds me back from just flat out going with the 3616 is that they're 'newer' to the US market v. the Kubota. I'd like to have this tractor for many years into the future and don't want to worry about parts availability or dealership support in the Mahindra line. I'm not sure if my concerns are warranted but my local dealer has a 40 year relationship with kubota and only 4 with Mahindra...

That is a valid concern. Brands have come and gone, but Kubota will be here. Mahindra is earning this reputation as well, but we can't say we have 40 years in the USA yet. One thing that makes Mahindra different then the FarmTrac, Montana, Socrpian, Century (the list goes on) now defunct brands is the Mahindra USA is part of the $14B Mahindra & Mahindra group, which has over 120,000 employees and is the largest tractor company in the world (by unit count). They also make trucks, cars, SUVs, finance branch, IT branch, etc. They aren't just a group of guys that bought a bunch of tractors overseas and stared a tractor distribution in the USA. And while Mahindra does use Mitsubishi for their small tractors, you will find that most of the highest quality small tractors made in the last 30 years have been from Japan, even if they say NH or JD on them. Kubota is kind of cool in that they build their own, which is also true of most of what Mahindra sells internationally, with the Mitsubishi (16 series/Max) and the 10 series being the exceptions. But there are early Kubota tractors that were sold in the USA for which parts are a real problem. Try finding parts for a L260. So they aren't perfect either, but they do a very good job.

Mahindra's growth is phenominal, and they are a super healthy company financially. You need not worry about Mahindra.

 

[ddobson]

Interesting stats and comments, thanks. I knew Mahindra had been producing tractors for many many years in India. I'm more concerned with having a tractor 15 years from now that I can't get parts for. That's not to say that either couldn't run into financial troubles at the corporate level, where it is good to see Mahindra is diversified...

 

[edenfarms]

Not sure you can go wrong with the Kubota. I have a 7040 and love it. Not sure how far you are in PA from me - my dealer is Dotterer equipment in Lamar, PA (eventhough Dubois is closer). They are excellent - honest, trustworthy. They continually impress me - their owner actually used to also own the store in State College. He actually transports the tractors. When I bought mine - he spent 2 hours with me teaching me about the tractor. He also drove it about 75 miles to deliver it. I highly recommend them.

 

[tractchores]

Its a minor point, but don't forget resale. Resale = flexibility if your needs change. The kubota will have the better resale given the history... That said your buying it to use it, not sell it so buy what you like and if they're relatively tied then worry about resale.

 

[kiotiken]

Its a minor point, but don't forget resale. Resale = flexibility if your needs change. The kubota will have the better resale given the history... That said your buying it to use it, not sell it so buy what you like and if they're relatively tied then worry about resale.

I'm getting a little tired of this argument. It's one of the last things some brands are trying to grasp to and justify spending thousands more on a tractor that may be much less capable. As a percentage of what you paid, you'll do as well with Mahindra or any of the other non Kubota/JD brands, maybe better given how over priced some models seem to be.

 

[ddobson]

Thanks. We're planning to take some test drives tomorrow of both the L3800 and 3616. I'm hoping that clears it up for us. I'll send out a note afterwards.

Resale or maybe trade-in I think is another factor to consider, but I'm hoping to keep this machine for some time into the future. My concern there points more to getting parts or availability of parts 10-15+ years down the road...

 

[jonyyuma]

I read of the Mahindra sale in the Ark. paper this week-end. It ends the last of April, at least there?.

 

[boomer613]

I read of the Mahindra sale in the Ark. paper this week-end. It ends the last of April, at least there?.

I almost bought the Mahindra but opted for the Kioti because they had more standard features at the same price. Both had the same Daedong engine. But in keeping with the topic, I called the US Mahindra Corporation office in Houston, TX to inquire about the the promotion and they said the 0% financing or the 4.25% financing with the "rock bottom pricing" will continue AFTER April, the $300 for multiple attachments will be changed for a different promotion on May 1.