Buying Advice What to buy and what's in the HP numbers?

[supertaster]

Hi everyone. I haven't been around in awhile. I have done some upkeep to the FE35 and blower but it's a lot of work to keep things working smoothly. I am contemplating a restoration and semi retirement of the tractor. The dilemma, what to replace it with?
I am partial to Massey but would be open to JD or Kubota. Realistically I only have a local JD dealer. Massey/Kioti are 60 kms away and the other Massey dealer that sells Kubota is 120kms away. That hurts when it comes to service.

So. I have looked at the 1736, 1742 cab Massey and Kubota L4060, L4760 and no JD yet.
I want a cab,FEL, I bush hog , do wood lot stuff and grade the woods road and driveways and snow removal. None of it strenuous. I do all that now with the FE35 Perkins Diesel.
Using a 72" blower is the most stress I put the tractor under and it sucks getting covered in snow while doing that.

Why are the HP numbers so close? What 'real world' advantage does 6HP give me on the Massey? And the dealer referenced my 35 as being a stronger tractor than the 1742 and I should consider the 1749 or 1754. All that creates a $10k. Premium to the sticker price.

I have no FEL or cab experience. The 35 has been my teacher. I am not a farmer. I maintain my property, the old farm land of my grandparents to keep it from growing in and plow 3 driveways. YouTube gives me walk around videos, Massey website and brochure suck in the info or detail department. The Kubota dealer told me that Sub-100HP Masseys are not good like I am used to, etc. it's just confusing. And sorting the new model numbers each year is an effort in futility.

I like the geared trans and cab of the Massey and what appears to be fast hydraulics.
I want to put an angle blade for snow on the FEL and blower on the back.

I wasn't an immediate fan of the interior and features of the kubota nor the HST and pedal

So the long post would hope to explain my position to help filter the results.

Any ideas floating around that could help push me to a couple of contenders?

Thanks in advance.

P.S.The info on here and knowledge of the members is amazing. I spend hours browsing old posts. The fabrication and custom ideas are golden.

 

[jenkinsph]

There are quite a few models that are overlapping in most brands today. Maybe marketing gurus have numbers to back this up I suspect.
I will suggest you try out a Deere ehydro cab tractor and for that matter give all of the brands a chance. I know I had preconceived notions about hydro tractors having had gear tractors in the past. The last 10 years I have had the ehydro transmission and have to say I really like them now. I like the Deere cab as it is fairly quiet to operate all day long at pto speed.
One good thing about tractor shopping today is that all of the brands seem to have well made tractors with very few problems if any.

 

[TSO]

Welcome aboard from a happy Massey owner!

The Kubota dealer told me that Sub-100HP Masseys are not good like I am used to, etc.

Of course he'll say that ... Many salesmen will say just about anything to get a sale. You may or may not be aware, MF is owned by AGCO. The truth is, all of the compact Massey tractors, and the new 46xx series, are built by Iseki in Japan. Have been for quite a long time, starting I believe with the 14xx series. They are excellent tractors, very well built, and with a great reputation.

The 16xx series have a tier 3/tier 4 interim Iseki diesel, basically same engines they've run for years, whether the tractor was branded as AGCO, Iseki, CAT-Challenger, or MF. However, with tier 4 (17xx series) they switched to a Mitsubishi diesel for emissions compliance. I suspect that they'll return to Iseki engines once Iseki finishes building them for advanced emissions. Anyhow, that's not a knock on Mitsubishi, just that the Iseki diesels are very highly regarded.

For running a 6' blower, I think you'll want a 1749 or higher. Actually, it may be worth it for you to look into a tractor for sale in Nebraska. It's a leftover Massey 1652. I tried to Maher a deal on it last month but they wouldn't work with me on the price ... But, it's priced way less than the new comparable 1754 would be! Look for it in TractorHouse.

Also, Kubota makes a nice tractor. So does LS, Kioti, JD, TYM, Mahindra, etc. They're all with a look.

 

[supertaster]

Thanks for the input. I will see what I can find out at the JD Dealer.... the last time I looked they only had SCUT open station units in stock.

 

[supertaster]

Of course he'll say that ... Many salesmen will say just about anything to get a sale. You may or may not be aware, MF is owned by AGCO. The truth is, all of the compact Massey tractors, and the new 46xx series, are built by Iseki in Japan. Have been for quite a long time, starting I believe with the 14xx series. They are excellent tractors, very well built, and with a great reputation.

The Kubota dealer is also a MF dealer. He was pushing me to the Kubota, but I am resisting for some reason and want Massey and I think that's restricting my view, but I do like the cab better on the MF

Actually, it may be worth it for you to look into a tractor for sale in Nebraska. It's a leftover Massey 1652. I tried to Maher a deal on it last month but they wouldn't work with me on the price ... But, it's priced way less than the new comparable 1754 would be! Look for it in TractorHouse.

I am in Nova Scotia, so I think Nebraska and Customs in more hassle than it's worth.... Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[vtsnowedin]

If your comfortable with gear transmissions you might not like the switch to hydro. If you get one be sure it has a cruse control so you don't have to feed it all the time. Also are there split brakes where you can use them with your foot on the go pedal? I'm JD biased in a big way and know it so won't try to tell you which brand is best. If you have a JD dealer close as you say I'd at least sit on a couple of JDs and see how you like the controls etc.
Once I sat on and test drove a JD 5045E I was pretty much sold as it pretty much matched everything I'd put down on a clean sheet of paper before I started shopping around.
Have fun shopping. Take everything any salesman tells you with a large grain of salt.

 

[TSO]

Of course he'll say that ... Many salesmen will say just about anything to get a sale. You may or may not be aware, MF is owned by AGCO. The truth is, all of the compact Massey tractors, and the new 46xx series, are built by Iseki in Japan. Have been for quite a long time, starting I believe with the 14xx series. They are excellent tractors, very well built, and with a great reputation.

The Kubota dealer is also a MF dealer. He was pushing me to the Kubota, but I am resisting for some reason and want Massey and I think that's restricting my view, but I do like the cab better on the MF

Actually, it may be worth it for you to look into a tractor for sale in Nebraska. It's a leftover Massey 1652. I tried to Maher a deal on it last month but they wouldn't work with me on the price ... But, it's priced way less than the new comparable 1754 would be! Look for it in TractorHouse.

I am in Nova Scotia, so I think Nebraska and Customs in more hassle than it's worth.... Thanks for the heads up though.

Sorry about that, I'm using the phone app so I didn't see your location ... But yeah, that's quite a hike!

That's good that the dealer sells both brands... Always nice when you are able to compare directly. My primary MF dealer also sells Kioti, and my next closest MF dealer also sells NH.

Anyhow, I don't know why the dealer would push one brand over another, unless there's a financial reason. My primary dealer will say he believes the MF is a better built tractor than Kioti, but that the Kioti is a better value. He had said before that he makes $1000 off a new Kioti sale, but I don't know what he makes off a new MF.

I certainly wouldn't talk you out of a Kubota, or Massey for that matter, unless you had a budget and wanted the most tractor for your money (I'm which case I'd say Kioti or LS) ... Personally, I wouldn't have bought the Massey because it was too expensive BUT I got a great deal on mine and it was only marginally more $ than LS/Kioti, and I felt the quality was better. I'm glad I have the Massey because it's been excellent.

They're all good these days though ... Comes down to money, and personal feelings in the end.

 

[nybirdman]

I think you would find with a snow-blower the HST would work better than a geared tractor.Infinate speed control.With a cab/air conditioning and brush-hogging a little more HP will make life easier.We have two Kubota's and have had good luck with them;my choice would be the L4760 for your uses.
Dealer support is worth a whole lot to me.

 

[supertaster]

the L4760 is on my list to target, but I haven't heard back from the dealer on a price yet

 

[supertaster]

Does anyone have a suggestion for a(FEL) front blade? I am not familiar with much beyond truck plows. Horst is a brand I have seen.