Why did you buy 'that' brand of tractor?

leaddog · Sep 4, 2003

Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?

I have 80 acres with a 7 acre lake and 15 acres of woods. Had a Ford 1910 that I have been using for about 10 years and loved the 4x4 as I just couldn't get it stuck and I have some real mud. Used it for hauling firewood, deer plots, plowing snow and just about everything else I could think of. Well The joints are getting stiff and it was getting harder to get on and off and I've been kicking the idea of getting a new one that would be easyier to use but every time I looked at what I wanted the price made me back off. I had looked at green, blue, orange, purple, and some reds. Well the ford got a bad gear in the trans and I went to the dealer to order a new gear and lo and behold he had these RED tractors setting there and I got to looking at them and was really impressed with them and just for kicks I asked him for a price. It was several grand lower than anything else I had looked at. I got some literature and came home and got on the net and started checking and in a couple of days after the wife and I talked about it I got my new Century 3045 and it has been every thing I was looking for AND it was in my price range. It will be the last tractor I will ever own but it will be a tractor I'll be able to use up untill I can't climb on it and by that time I hope my grandsons will be able to use it to kept that snow of the drive so I can get out to the local greasy spoon and get my morning cup of coffee and and swap lies about how things were when I was a kid. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Von · Sep 4, 2003

Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?

My needs were alot different than most. I got a Oliver 550 with FEL when I was building our house 14 years ago. Used it to landscape and put in the yard, even cut the grass with it with a 6ft. RFM. When I put in our ice rink the Oliver was too heavy to clear the snow, and the tire chains ripped holes in the ice. So I knew I needed 4WD and the tractor had to be light. So I looked for two years for a small used CUT. The Kubota's were the lightest so that is what I got. I picked up a B8200 HST and put a loader on it. It worked out great for cutting the lawn and clearing the snow. Worked great on the ice as well. Then I got the deal of a lifetime on the Kubota I have now, so I finally have just what I want and need!

EddieWalker · Sep 4, 2003

Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?

I ended up with Century. I wanted Kubota, but couldn't justify the price difference or the attitude I got from the dealer.

RonL · Sep 4, 2003

Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?

Years ago i had spent a considerable amount of money for Deere equipment. Some part of it, including a 935 front deck mower, was financed. My ex ran a landscape business. I had bought several pieces of equipment for her business. My ex and I parted company and disolved the business. Things became tight for me and I got somewhat behind in my payments. I had put the equipment up for purchase. The representative from Deere finance told me that they would give until a certain time until they defaulted the note. I liquidated a number of assets and sent a check prior to the indicated date, only to find that they had defaulted the note. All equipment was sold and I made good on all the debt, as I have all my life. Under no circumstances whatsoever will I ever have anything to do with Deere. I have subsequently spent $ 150,000. on Caterpillar equipment, $7,000. on Gravely and many thousands on various other equipment. I pay someone to cut my lawn so that I do not have to take out my deere mower. Screw Deere,

RonL

PhilNH5 · Sep 5, 2003

Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?

I have a BX2200 purchased this past spring. I have 5 acres of mostly hill. I looked at the entry level CUTs and felt they would be unstable on my lot. I spent 4 years looking at CUTs and the BX2200 seemed to fit my needs. Even this past spring it was hard to find a competitor ie the MF GC2300 or JD2210 in stock.

I went with the BX2200 as it was a proven model and not a new release like the JD or MF

Phil

Boondox · Sep 5, 2003

Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?

When I was in the market for a tractor the JD 4300 had just been selected as the TBN Tractor of the Year. So that's what I went to buy. But after standing around for 45 minutes at the JD dealer and seeing all the salesmen still gabbing about hunting season, I drove down the road to the Kubota dealer. The men in orange were attentive without being pushy, sat me down and offered me coffee while listening to what I intended to use a tractor for, didn't badmouth the other brands...in short, they were a class act.

I liked the visibility and feel of the 4300 better at the time (I've since grown accustomed to my L3010 and don't like the JD anymore), and had the green dealer noticed me I would have been driving a different color today.

Hence my advice that newbies not get all focused on one color over another. In many cases, the dealer makes the difference.

Pete

dmccue · Sep 5, 2003

Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?

As far as I can remember, I've always wanted to own a tractor. I live on 4 acres and started with a Sears garden tractor, which I still have. I have two acres of finish grass, 1 acre of pasture grass, and 1 acre of a combination of grass and brush. The garden tractor worked fine (still does) on the finish grass, too slow on the pasture grass, and not too good on the combination grass and brush.

A year ago I stepped up and purchased a Yanmar YM2000 on e-Bay. I added a rotary mower deck and use it for both the pasture grass and combination grass and brush. With the blade sharpened, it does a good job on the pasture grass, almost finish mower quality.

The one feature my Yanmar did not provide is an FEL. I realized how useful that would be and contemplated either the addition of an FEL to my Yanmar or the purchase of a new tractor with an FEL. I researched both possibilities and decided to add a new tractor rather than adding the additional expense of an FEL to a 30 year old tractor. In early August I purchased a Kioti CK20 with FEL and an most pleased with my purchase.

I still have and use all three tractors. It does same time by not having to add and remove implements on a regular basis, and I'm having fun!

fivestring · Sep 5, 2003

Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?

I drove every color and brand (including greys) available in the 18-22 hp range. It came down to NH or Iseli. I chose Iseki because of the best bang for the buck, size, and dealer reputation (Corriher) for service of what they sell.

DIYGuy · Sep 5, 2003

Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?

I needed a new snowblower (600' of steep driveway) a new lawn mower (smallish yard) a chipper for maintenace of 3 acres of hard woods, and to move about 300 yrds. of material over the next couple of years. A CUT made sense if I could get all I needed for under $10k.

I went the assemble it yourself route with a Jinma 224, a 6" chipper, a canadien 60" snowblower (due in a few months), a Johnny Bucket, a wagon, a KK 60" boxblade, and a used Kioti RFM (EBAY). I haven't looked back. Total investment is under $10k.

For me it was the cheapest way out and I'm comfortable being my own mechanic.

40Kchicks · Sep 5, 2003

Re: Why did you buy \'that\' brand of tractor?

I too own a poultry farm. I bought the farm 3 years ago and have been fixing it up since.

The farm came with 1977 ford 4100 2wd orchard tractor (52gross hp) and the owner really wanted to sell me his old NH skid steer. The skid steer would move around after you parked it and was in pretty bad shape. I didn’t want that around my small kids so I started looking for others. Good used ones were pretty expensive so the local JD dealership talked me into looking new. Good financing made it cost effective. I demoed the NH, JD, and Cat. I wanted the vertical lift like on the NH and JD but the Cat won because it was smoother, quieter, and easier to use plus they gave me 0 interest for 5 years and extended the warranty period.

This spring when it came to replacing the old ford, JD wouldn’t deal with me. The NH dealer was really nice and wanted my business but I ended up finding the low profile and power I needed to work in the barns with a Kubota M9000DTL. It’s only got 38 hours on it but it works great.

Eric