Buying Advice Wanting To Hear From Australian Chinese Tractor Owners
- Thread starter davidwd40
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electrarc
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2011
- Messages
- 103
- Location
- QLD, Australia
- Tractor
- Foton 82 hp with loader,Ferrari Cobram 65 & Shibaura D23F
Hi Coondle,
A quick follow up. My Foton 82 hp now has 65 hr plus, all loader work lifting old road base and clay. Repairing dam walls and driveways. Did a main hose in the first hour. But a call to the dealer and they had a hose guy on the farm in 24hrs, fixed. No cost. I have 3 tractors and may I say I am Dam impressed with this tractor. It just does what it is supposed to do. Just do a daily check get on it and work it. All I need, all I ask. I would like to tell you how well the 7' side shift flail mower works, but 15mm of rain in 6 months tells that story.
A fish farm flooded in the start of the year now without any water....Funny...Not.
But the Foton is great..
Cheers Zac
A quick follow up. My Foton 82 hp now has 65 hr plus, all loader work lifting old road base and clay. Repairing dam walls and driveways. Did a main hose in the first hour. But a call to the dealer and they had a hose guy on the farm in 24hrs, fixed. No cost. I have 3 tractors and may I say I am Dam impressed with this tractor. It just does what it is supposed to do. Just do a daily check get on it and work it. All I need, all I ask. I would like to tell you how well the 7' side shift flail mower works, but 15mm of rain in 6 months tells that story.
A fish farm flooded in the start of the year now without any water....Funny...Not.
But the Foton is great..
Cheers Zac
coondle
Bronze Member
Only cautionary note:
Check all bolts and nuts and hose joiners.
The FEL attachment bolts can come loose and put strain on the remaining bolts causing breakage including breaking some casting out of the bell housing. Broken and damaged high tensile bolts are no fun getting out, but can be done . Done more easily with German drill bits capable of drilling high tensile steel, spring steel and even files.
Glad your tractor is serving you well.
Check all bolts and nuts and hose joiners.
The FEL attachment bolts can come loose and put strain on the remaining bolts causing breakage including breaking some casting out of the bell housing. Broken and damaged high tensile bolts are no fun getting out, but can be done . Done more easily with German drill bits capable of drilling high tensile steel, spring steel and even files.
Glad your tractor is serving you well.
Mick Oz
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2006
- Messages
- 138
- Location
- Townsville Queensland
- Tractor
- Ferguson TED20 TEF20 DongFeng ZB25
My experience ha sbeen a positive one with Dong Feng about a year and a half ago I bought a ZB25 3 cyl diesel with 3in 1 bucket 5 foot slasher and PHD.
I had been using my 1952 Fergy with a home made FEL. So 4 wheel drive and power steering are still a treat for me.
150 hrs on the clock and I would buy another one tomorrow, just love it. Used it to clean up after cyclone Yasi went through my place and tore up some big trees, no worries.
I had been using my 1952 Fergy with a home made FEL. So 4 wheel drive and power steering are still a treat for me.
150 hrs on the clock and I would buy another one tomorrow, just love it. Used it to clean up after cyclone Yasi went through my place and tore up some big trees, no worries.
zonta223
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2009
- Messages
- 507
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
- Tractor
- Foton FT404, International 444 with forklift, International B250, Kubota L2000DT, Truck converted to all terrain forklift and lots of other junk
coondle
Bronze Member
Thanks for the reference to the newspaper article.
How much of a problem is there?
A dealer has had several claims made against it, 3 case studies are cited after being referenced in the article which doubles the exposure:
One was upheld:
The second was mostly dismissed (from that despite stating the claims as fact in the article those claims were mostly dismissed):
The third we do not know the result , was fault found and how much and against which party.
The principal complainant was the " Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia" (TAMMA)
Does the Association have any conflict of interest. I would have thought it is a bit like the Chamber of Commerce and Industry denigrating workers and Unions criticising the bosses. There is lots of heat and not much light from both parties.
I am sure TAMMA would come out strongly against the manufacturer of a hay baler I have that will still not bale a straight bale for me if it was a Chinese import and threatening the cosy existence of members of TAMMA. But the baler is from a US manufacturer ie part of the establishment, so no go.
I have posts elsewhere on this forum seeking help with the issue but there is no solution. The baler is from my perspective a failure under certain conditions. There were buyers after me that took their non-performing balers back and got a full refund.
Have you heard about the guy who bought an Italian high performance motor bike that after 12 months he was given a brand new replacement bike for which he had to pay effectively the plus stamp duty on the deal (the old bike was up for registration and CTP).
That will give you and idea what a pile of rubbish it was but was the press interested?. No because it was not controversial and there may have been advertising revenue at stake.
From my experience my Foton (Branded "Euroleopard" here) tractors are very good performers far better than my hay baler.
I have a Chinese 10 tonne 125 hp 1.7 cu metre front end loader and if my baler performed as well as the FEL then I would have not gone and bought another branded baler to do this hay season.
TAMA may just wake up one morning and find that Chinese machinery is among their membership and the silence will reign.
I have heard all this doom and gloom about Japanese gear, Korean gear and now Chinese.
Tell me what car manufacturer other than 2 from Korea offer 5 year unlimited kilometre warranty. My wifes car with 248,000 km on the clock and 1 week before 5 years had all warranty work attended to and with very good grace, not "what do you expect from a car that has done almost 1/4 million KM".
No it was "thank you ma'am please sign here to show the repairs were done and is there anything else we can help you with?"
China may not be there yet , it took the Japanese decades to be tops in quality, the Koreans about 15 years and I think the Chinese will be up with the very best in another 5 years. Try the TUNLAND utility with a 2.8 litre Cummins diesel as a power plant.
Great Wall single cab utes with a tray were on the market a few weeks ago for under $20K. Now that takes some beating if you are after a budget priced vehicle and your expectations are tempered by the budget.
How much of a problem is there?
A dealer has had several claims made against it, 3 case studies are cited after being referenced in the article which doubles the exposure:
One was upheld:
The second was mostly dismissed (from that despite stating the claims as fact in the article those claims were mostly dismissed):
The third we do not know the result , was fault found and how much and against which party.
The principal complainant was the " Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia" (TAMMA)
Does the Association have any conflict of interest. I would have thought it is a bit like the Chamber of Commerce and Industry denigrating workers and Unions criticising the bosses. There is lots of heat and not much light from both parties.
I am sure TAMMA would come out strongly against the manufacturer of a hay baler I have that will still not bale a straight bale for me if it was a Chinese import and threatening the cosy existence of members of TAMMA. But the baler is from a US manufacturer ie part of the establishment, so no go.
I have posts elsewhere on this forum seeking help with the issue but there is no solution. The baler is from my perspective a failure under certain conditions. There were buyers after me that took their non-performing balers back and got a full refund.
Have you heard about the guy who bought an Italian high performance motor bike that after 12 months he was given a brand new replacement bike for which he had to pay effectively the plus stamp duty on the deal (the old bike was up for registration and CTP).
That will give you and idea what a pile of rubbish it was but was the press interested?. No because it was not controversial and there may have been advertising revenue at stake.
From my experience my Foton (Branded "Euroleopard" here) tractors are very good performers far better than my hay baler.
I have a Chinese 10 tonne 125 hp 1.7 cu metre front end loader and if my baler performed as well as the FEL then I would have not gone and bought another branded baler to do this hay season.
TAMA may just wake up one morning and find that Chinese machinery is among their membership and the silence will reign.
I have heard all this doom and gloom about Japanese gear, Korean gear and now Chinese.
Tell me what car manufacturer other than 2 from Korea offer 5 year unlimited kilometre warranty. My wifes car with 248,000 km on the clock and 1 week before 5 years had all warranty work attended to and with very good grace, not "what do you expect from a car that has done almost 1/4 million KM".
No it was "thank you ma'am please sign here to show the repairs were done and is there anything else we can help you with?"
China may not be there yet , it took the Japanese decades to be tops in quality, the Koreans about 15 years and I think the Chinese will be up with the very best in another 5 years. Try the TUNLAND utility with a 2.8 litre Cummins diesel as a power plant.
Great Wall single cab utes with a tray were on the market a few weeks ago for under $20K. Now that takes some beating if you are after a budget priced vehicle and your expectations are tempered by the budget.
zonta223
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2009
- Messages
- 507
- Location
- Adelaide South Australia
- Tractor
- Foton FT404, International 444 with forklift, International B250, Kubota L2000DT, Truck converted to all terrain forklift and lots of other junk
I don't think anybody is knocking Chinese tractors rather a certain dealer. The article says more than 20 actions in VCAT, having spoken to the person who wrote the story he quoted me the number is more like 25 and these are from VCAT alone (Actions taken in the state of Victoria). Actions taken in other states were not counted.
chinkachink
New member
hi there, what size tractor are you chasing? I know a bit about theses tractors and who sells them. thanks
woffleon
Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2010
- Messages
- 25
- Location
- Macleay Valley NSW Australia
- Tractor
- Apollo 5540, John Deere X320 lawn tractor
What do you want to do with your tractor? (configuration 4WD/FEL)
How quickly do you want to do it? (Size HP)
How long will you be sitting in the seat? (farmer/weekend warrior)
Knowing the capability of your machine is paramount... its weaknesses and its strengths. If you think that you will never repair anything on your tractor your "dreamin" unless its parked in the shed for its entire life. Of course we all know that when you start her up testosterone kicks in and you drive a 50HP like a 100HP until you hear the snap/crunch/bang then its "Oh sh!!t" back to the shed...NOT the tractors fault.
I did a clutch in 800hrs working the FEL but did a lot of hokey pokey work ...it was worth it... replaced with a better type of ceramic clutch plate.
Head Gasket but I did get it HOT 300hrs earlier when grass seed (whisky grass) blocked the radiator and I didnt notice the temp gauge... Not tractors fault
Lifted 3 1.2 Tonne concrete box culvert into the gully crossing with the 700KG rated FEL - AWESOME but scary !!!
Impressed with how this tractor puts up with my crazy ideas. Its fantastic for pulling out cocos palm trees (Now classed as a noxious weed)
Didnt buy a tractor with a great warranty so that when it broke down someone else would fix it .... bought a tractor that I knew its limits so when "I" went past them charged with testosterone I new I would have to fix it.
Dealer should give a little backup on advice, parts, and "known issues" as ALL manufactures have these. They know what can be a problem cause they are seeing trends in part sales or information requests. Its good to have a working relationship with them - its in their interests as well to keep you going
Love the battle with mother nature, its sorta a love hate thing, she is gonna win, perhaps a truce now while we still have oxygen.
How quickly do you want to do it? (Size HP)
How long will you be sitting in the seat? (farmer/weekend warrior)
Knowing the capability of your machine is paramount... its weaknesses and its strengths. If you think that you will never repair anything on your tractor your "dreamin" unless its parked in the shed for its entire life. Of course we all know that when you start her up testosterone kicks in and you drive a 50HP like a 100HP until you hear the snap/crunch/bang then its "Oh sh!!t" back to the shed...NOT the tractors fault.
I did a clutch in 800hrs working the FEL but did a lot of hokey pokey work ...it was worth it... replaced with a better type of ceramic clutch plate.
Head Gasket but I did get it HOT 300hrs earlier when grass seed (whisky grass) blocked the radiator and I didnt notice the temp gauge... Not tractors fault
Lifted 3 1.2 Tonne concrete box culvert into the gully crossing with the 700KG rated FEL - AWESOME but scary !!!
Impressed with how this tractor puts up with my crazy ideas. Its fantastic for pulling out cocos palm trees (Now classed as a noxious weed)
Didnt buy a tractor with a great warranty so that when it broke down someone else would fix it .... bought a tractor that I knew its limits so when "I" went past them charged with testosterone I new I would have to fix it.
Dealer should give a little backup on advice, parts, and "known issues" as ALL manufactures have these. They know what can be a problem cause they are seeing trends in part sales or information requests. Its good to have a working relationship with them - its in their interests as well to keep you going
Love the battle with mother nature, its sorta a love hate thing, she is gonna win, perhaps a truce now while we still have oxygen.