What to expect - $$$

MA_Fairtax · Sep 23, 2004

First I have to say that I am so glad I found this community! As someone in the Internet business who has built communities for Fortune 500 companies - this community is one of the most active and useful I've seen! A real testimony to tractor owners.

I'm in the process of looking to buy a tractor in the 35-50 HP range. I have 20 acres and plan to clear about 3-5 acres. I'll need to mow that plus the 2 acres of field I currently have. I plan to cultivate about .5-1 acre next spring and I plan on using a snowblower and the loader to keep the driveway clear.

I had some reservations about Kioti until I started reading this community. There is a dealer in my town in NH and I'm going to go visit. I wonder if anyone could comment on what I ought to expect to pay for the package I've outlined above?

DK35-45 (other recommendations?)
Snowblower
Tiller
Loader
Mower

It would be nice if the dealer and Kioti would put some kind of pricing up to allow us prospective purchasers to do some planning and analysis!

Thanks for any help you can provide this novice tractor buyer!!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

NHRich · Sep 23, 2004

MA_Fairtax, I just finished several months of pretty intense immersion in the world of CUTs. With my previous tractor experience being mainly old Ford gear tractors, which are a very different kind of beast, there was a huge amount of information to wade through, and like you, I found TBN and the folks here to be a great resource, and just really good folks.

I've also got 20 acres, but mostly wooded except for a good-sized paddock and some gardens, and may be clearing some pasture land next yr. If you're interested, I go into all the uses I've thought of so far for a CUT on my land a couple of threads back in this forum, and a couple of people here had some good suggestions to make.

After looking at all different color tractors, I narrowed down to the CK30, DK40 and DK45. Hard to beat the quality for the price with Kioti, and I've got a dealer about 15 min away. Went over and talked to the dealer again today, and will probably be going back tomorrow to sign the deal on a DK45 with filled R4s, KL1590 FEL/KB2385 BH, 84" back blade, hitch/log skid, sun shade, grill/brush guard, and a good PTO log splitter. Soil implements like box blade, tiller, bush hog, etc can wait at this point until next Spring. One interesting thing is that the add-on cab kits from Kioti will apparently be out soon, and it looks like for around $2500 you can get a nice cab and heater for your DK.

Your profile doesn't say where in NH you are, but if you're near the Upper Valley, Dave at Upper Valley Tractors in Enfield has been a straight dealer, knows his products and implements, and gave me a very good price. I hear good things about the dealership down in Keene, too. If you think you might buy a Kioti, pulling the trigger before the end of the month could save you some $$. Kioti has a low-interest financing (or alternately, rebate) program until Sept 30, and as of Oct 1, the prices of most models go up 5-8% due to rising steel prices. That's ultimately why I bought now instead of waiting for next season.

Hope that helped some, and good luck with your search!

--Rich

supertiger · Sep 25, 2004

Ive just bought a Cub Cadet 8404 this month and payed 16000.00 for the tractor and then 1100.00 for 6 foot hevy duty brush cutter "bush hog". oh the cub cadet 8404 is the same exact tracter as the DK40 its just painted yellow and white instead of orange.

NHRich · Sep 26, 2004

As far as pricing goes, several folks have pointed out that it varies widely by region, but since you're in New England, the prices I found should be pretty close to yours. When I looked for quotes, the list price for the DK40 was about $18900 for the tractor, $3500 for the 1470 FEL, $440 for a 72" bucket, $700 for quick attach, and $5800 for KB2385 backhoe. The DK45 list was about $20650, plus $4K for the 1590 loader, $440 for 72" bucket, $700 for quick attach, and the same for the backhoe as above. I got quotes anywhere from 10-25% off list, or, as someone else said here, you pay list for the tractor and get the FEL for free. Attachments usually got less of a discount, more like 10-15%. I got quotes from a couple of the big Internet dealers, and my local dealer came pretty darn close. He also added some good "extras" as included in the basic quote, like welded hooks on the loader and filled tires. I also liked the fact that he recommended heavier-duty attachments, even if they cost a little more, instead of trying to lowball me with the cheapest stuff that might not hold up. I'd say you're better off paying a little more to go with a local dealer you trust and can work with, particularly if you don't have a lot of experience with CUTs, but your mileage may vary.

Hope this helps. Others here have given me some very useful info, and I figure I owe some back /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

--Rich

cptdave · Sep 28, 2004

Deal with Dave at Upper Valley and save $$$ plus get great service. Cpt.Dave

NHRich · Sep 28, 2004

cpt dave, are you one of the DHART pilots? If so, I see you flying over my house from time to time. My wife works at DHMC, has great things to say about the DHART teams.

--Richard

MA_Fairtax · Sep 30, 2004

Thanks Cpt Dave - I'm moving in that Direction. Any comment on Kioti Performance. Seems pretty good to me.

MD

MA_Fairtax · Sep 30, 2004

Very Helpful - thanks very much!

KiotiJohn · Sep 30, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Thanks Cpt Dave - I'm moving in that Direction. Any comment on Kioti Performance. Seems pretty good to me.
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If you look back on all the past posts in Kioti's forum, you'll see a lot of very happy tractor owners. Other than the occasional problems found in all brands, I think you'll find the performance of Kioti tractors to be excellent.
I have certainly been satisfied with my CK20HST, and plan to add a DK45 or better in the near future. John