Let me preface this post by saying I don't believe my "home area" is typical, average, or for that matter, UNlike other areas of the country. It is what it is... regardless of what some other locale might be like.
Roughly 12 years ago, to the best of my recollection, the first Kioti dealer opened his doors here. I'd heard of them, albeit just a word or two in passing. But when the dealer opened, I had my very first opportunity to "eyeball" a Kioti. I was ALMOST impressed enough to buy one (45hp loader tractor w/cab) Price was affordable, and it seemed to have all the bells and whistles. What prevented me from buying was the dealer. It was a part time venture. He, and his parts/service dept were available by appointment only. I was somewhat concerned with how the service dept would work out, and very much concerned about parts.... I was used to dealers who kept the lights on 'till way up into the night in busy season. (Planting and harvest seasons, along with hayin' time)
That dealer lasted all of 18 months.
Fast forward a year. A disgruntled buyer (from dealer #1) opened up his Kioti dealership. They were more interested in selling low end implements as opposed to tractors. I noticed one tractor on his lot that was similar to what I almost bought. It sat there for 2-1/2 years.....until dealer #2 had his inventory sold off at a sheriffs sale. (by order of judge.....bankruptcy)
Enter dealer #3. A flippin' PAWN SHOP...! Yep. They were selling new Kioti's off the lot of a pawn shop/real estate office. That worked out about as successfully as #1 and #2.
It's been 6+ years since we've had a local Kioti dealer. To the best of my knowledge, the nearest still in business is roughly 60 miles from me. While that isn't terribly far away, based on past history (around here) I can't help but wonder how long they'll stay afloat.
One of the greatest misconceptions I hear (almost daily) on here, as well as other websites, is the alleged "lack of parts support" on older tractors, especially those brands that are no longer "new". In MOST cases, these older brands were absorbed by main line MAJOR brands, and still have very good parts support through dealers handling the brand that bought out the "oldies". That translates to great parts availability just minutes away for every brand of tractor I own. (5 currently)
While the local history of Kioti was being written, Kubota was just beginning to make their presence known here. A local Case/IH dealer took on their lineup. They now have 11 stores within an hour's drive, 2 within 15 MINUTES of here. The local "orange vs orange" dawgfight, based on what I'm seeing, is quite one sided.
From what I read, this might not be typical in all areas, maybe not even in MOST areas, but it does appear to be common enough to be a concern if I was about to shell out several thousand bux on a new tractor. And enough that it has effectively killed the used market for Kioti here. (A friend just bought an '05 DK45 (??) w/loader, less than 200hrs, and paid $5500. That included a Landpride 6' tiller. Try finding a 6 year old Kubota or Deere or Massey, or NH (that's not stolen...) for that sort of money. You won't.
As I've said in a previous post, as well as this one....I like the Kioti TRACTOR.....Just not a fan of Kioti the brand. Without some sort of standards for dealerships, as well as the lack of continuity of service and parts availability locally, Kioti hasn't a snowballs chance in h@!! of making it here. Their best bet is with a VERY strong local Bobcat dealer. Problem there is, 2 VERY good Kubota dealers, an EXTREMELY good Deere dealer, the best Massey Ferguson dealer on earth, a long time (and very popular) Case IH dealer, and a high volume New Holland dealer, all within a 40 mile radius of here. Only the strong survive.
In the past it was comments like that that lost a lot of credibility for those Kioti owners and made most other owners laugh and never consider Kioti. In other words, those 10 hour experts who exaggerated, big time, on pricing didn't really help Kioti; especially when I ran to the only semi-local Kioti dealer in my area and found Kioti was priced HIGHER than John Deere in my area where JD and Kubota dealers have to battle with each other each day. I'm kind of excited that a new Kioti dealer is going to open soon in my area.
