Which One Would You Buy?

Amos22 · Aug 14, 2012

1st Tractor:

2011 L3800DT with 5' Landpride BH, Fel with QT/SSQA Bucket, 100 hours, Ind. Tires, F-Rops. (No Sales Tax - Private Owner) $15,000. (Also has 2 years left on warranty)

2nd Tractor:

2009 L3400HST, Ag Tires (Which I like and HST which I also like), Non-Foldable Rops (I could use a foldable one), QA Loader (no SSQA bucket), 180 Hours - $14,000. + 7% sales tax (at a dealer), so total price would be about the same, but No Brushhog which are $1,200 - $1,500 I think.

The 3800 would obviously (at least to me) be a better deal.

Decision: Can I live with a Gear tractor with Ind. tires?

(How much $ would the HST add to the value of the L3400?)

What would you do???

Thanks!

johnk · Aug 14, 2012

Since you are going to own the tractor a very long time I would buy one that you desire and not worry about 1 to 2 thousand dollars difference over 20 to thirty years. If you buy the one for the cheaper price and didn't really want it, you will kick yourself in the pants every

Bluegill2 · Aug 14, 2012

I like gear drive much better than HST and I Really like my L3800! But I prefer Ag tires. Tough choice.

What would I do? I'd get the L3800 and after some use, if I couldn't live with the R-4 tires, I trade them for Ags.

JoeBuyer · Aug 14, 2012

Personally I would prefer any geared shuttle with reverser but from reading your post I think you prefer the HST. I think you ought to get what you want. You are only a few thou off but believe me you will be spending a lot more when you get the tractor anyway.

Martian · Aug 14, 2012

What do you really want? Some people like gear some people like HST, some like R1's some like R4's... You can swap tires, transmissions are another story.

If I were you . . . WAIT!!! I bugged the kind people of TBN for 4 months before I finally bought my 110. I could have settled many times for something that would work, but with a little time I found EXACTLY what I wanted for the price I wanted. Don't get to caught up in the idea that these are your only two options.

ddb123 · Aug 15, 2012

I recently bought a new tractor in large part because I got the wrong (for me) transmission the first time.

Amos22 · Aug 15, 2012

Well.... After sleeping on it, I think Martian may have the right solution for me...

I don't absolutely Have to buy either one of these. And I don't Need a Kubota right now, and I'm going to be making a considerable investment no matter what I do, so I may as well get exactly what I want. But I hate to be relegated to buying new to get everything I want when I could possibly buy one that it almost new and 6-8 thousand bucks cheaper.

I'm not even sure I have to have an HST - it just seems like a good choice for my age (nearly 60). I have Rheumetoid Arthritus, and although it's not too bad right now, using a clutch a lot might be a pain (no pun intended) down the road. Just having power-steering alone will feel like I died and went to heaven after wrestling the steering wheel on my 1960 Ford. Adding the feature of HST may be icing on the cake.

Since I plan on using a 2-bottom plow, a bush hog, 6' disk and a 6' box blade (I already have those) I want to make sure I have plenty of HP. It sounds like a 3400 or 3800 would be the right-sized tractor to do the job and still be small enough to fit in my shed without having to remove a Fel or implement on the back. (A foldable Rops is pretty much a neccesity) The Land-pride BH that comes with the 3800 really caught my eye since my BH is nearly worn out and I planned on getting a new one anyway. I do plan on using the FEL to move some mulch around occasionally, and to help cleanout/spruce up a small water-hole for deer and other wildlife (in conjunction with my box-blade for ripping) and a HST trans would make that go easier with all the backing/forward manuvers.

I haven't looked at (other than pics) either tractor, so I would want to check out how smoothly the 3PH raises should I decide to go with one of those. (Was hoping the 2011, or even the 2009 might be new enough to have the bugs worked out of that potential issue.) What did you say? "Rots of Ruck"?

Buying anything used right now would cause me to take a hit on paying interest on a loan. (My bank wants my first and second born children for an unsecured loan - 10.22 apr!) I thought about taking the loan and then paying it off when I'm able to withdraw enough $ from my 401K (at 59 1/2) with handing 10% extra over to Uncle Sam. (The interest I'd pay would until I could pay off the loan would come to about $800.)

I could buy New, order exactly what I want, save on the 0 percent interest, but would still have to pay several thousand more than something that's barely broke in, and then add sales tax also to boot. (I may have to go that route to get enough of the options I think I want)

I guess I'll just wait a few months until I can tap into my savings acct and pay cash, hopefully from a private seller to avoid the considerable sales tax hit.

Sometimes it's hard to reel this old man in... These urges to put myself into the seat of a nice Kubota and go to work are like Labor Pains - they come in waves and sometimes they're pretty intense - lol

Of course, with the way my luck runs, after I plop down a thick stack of cash for a tractor, the washing machine, dryer and A/C and my wife's car will decide to call it quits :-(

P.S. I thank all you fellow tractor fanciers for providing opinions, advice and moral support! You guys are great!

JOHNTHOMAS · Aug 15, 2012

Well Secret about Yourself Amos (Don't know why people will not include info about themselves to their info page so more specific info can be provided).
I'll give my opinion. I currently have 5 Kubotas and owe monthly payments on 4 of them. One is paid off and in a couple of years they will all be paid off. Couldn't resist 0% financing. Also price increases by Kubota are not a bad thing for me but a neutral or good thing. New ones go up, so do used ones. (Read the antifreeze thread and you'll never buy a used one)
Of the 13 Kubotas I've bought the last one was a B2320 GEARED with no FEL and Ag tires (my first and last set of Ag tires, I prefer R/I4s) to just be used for 3ph work since I have a BX25 with FEL/BH (Back hoe).
Even though I just use the B2320 for Rotary mower (not Bush Hog brand), tiller, Boxblade, Reese hitch on front for moving stuff, Single bottom plow for plowing and digging ditches and other things I can't remember. I've had this B2320 for over a year and have a bit over 25 hours on it. I got geared to save money. The B2320 is a great little tractor and I look forward to the day I have enough equity in it to trade it to another B2320/B2620 with HST. This is for sure my first and last geared tractor. With a FEL I'd paid the money for HST and never have given it a second thought. FEL and no HST to me makes no sense, well it's something I'd never do unless it was free or close to free.
Get the right tractor to start with and don't let a few dollars make you unhappy every time you use it because your a tight hide that won't pay for what you want. Penny wise and a pound foolish I now understand completely. Maybe next year I'll have enough paid on my B2320 GEARED to trade it to a NEW B2320/B2620 HST and I'll probably have close to 30 hours on my B2320 GEARED. Glad I live a mile away from Barlows and glad he gives me fair prices for my trade ins.

k0ua · Aug 15, 2012

I agree with the others, get what you want. If you want a HST. get a HST.. I like HST and will never own another gear tractor. I too am getting older and have a bum left knee. Trust me if you intend to do any loader work, get HST.. You should also look at a CK35 Kioti too, it has several more features than the comparable Kubota (L3800). The telescoping lower links and sway bars alone are enough to make it worthwhile. As you pointed out you are getting older, and pushing and shoving an implement around to hook up without telescoping lower links is a pain. Literally. The Kioti is cheaper too. Also look at the Mahindra line. Remember these little convenience features make operation much more enjoyable, and you will feel better at the end of the day. Some guys like the "bare bones" tractor idea. Tough simple tractor and all of that. Well all of that was great when I was 25, now I am 57, and I want every darn luxury I can get. I even enjoy the electric 4wd switch instead of a handle actuator to struggle with. I will deal with it if it breaks. It makes me smile every time I use my "luxury" tractor with all of it's bells and whistle's.

James K0UA