why no MF recommendations?

Gunfighter · Aug 23, 2004

Two years ago I bought a MF 1205, it's the smallest tractor
made by MF...Looked like a rugged little machine with allot of
case iron. I wanted it primarily for mowing close around the
house an under trees... Later I intended to get a snow blower
for it...

Sorry to say two days later I was sending it back, it couldn't keep
it's cool. That small opining in the grill acted like a vacuum cleaner,
it sucking up everything in sight. Twenty minutes was all it would do
before the screen plugged up and the idiot light came on. Next I'd
see green stuff coming from the overflow.

Lost my interest in MF...

RJK. Sr..(Richard)
West Michigan.

WilliamBos · Aug 23, 2004

Gary, I have a MF 35 that I bought in 1985. It was 20+ years old when I got it and had close to 4000 hours. I ran it for 6 years then had the engine rebuilt in 1991. Been running like a top ever since, except for some minor problems. If the new ones are as well made as the older ones, I think they are top notch.
 

Hi, exactly what rlk said.

Our MF 35 has never let us down. We have had it for 25+ years and never let us down. And that is why I plan on buying a 1440V. The reliability and dependability that we have gotten from our 35, and will get for many years to come. We also have a dealer with in 20 minutes, and they are awesome!! I am not colour blind, I do not have a reason to switch colours!!!! Nothing wrong with the other colours out there, in my case no need to switch at all!! If its not broken, don't fix it type thing!!

Take care

Will

MF1455v · Aug 23, 2004

I think it is mostly due to marketing. You can ask people who have lived in the city and have never be around a tractor and they know John Deere and Kubota has always been the CUT king.

When went shopping for a CUT I knew of MF mainly because of relatives and friends, but they had large tractors. Also when I bought my MF the dealer had not carried MF CUT's prior because of problems with the 1200 series. When the 1400 series came out he started selling them because it was a much better tractor in his eye. Must be something to it because I love my 1455.

MicroPilot · Aug 23, 2004

I went to my MF dealer when I was looking. He didn't have any CUTS on the lot in the 30-40 HP, only larger Ag tractors. He sat me down on a Farmtrac and I drove it a round a little. Didn't really like the tractor, and everytime I asked about MF's he would steer the conversation back to the Farmtrac. Got a quote from him and it was $2000 higher thatn the quote from the Century dealer 2 miles up the road and the Farmtrac was a lesser tractor!!!

OTH My neighbor has a MF 1250 and it is a great machine. He has had some problems with the paint, but nothing else.

RedDog · Aug 23, 2004

Maybe I'm wrong, but I always thought MF was the number 1 selling brand of tractor worldwide!! Or are we just talking about small tractors here?

In any event, I think they are terrific tractors!! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

My old MF65 is still running strong. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

RedDog

JerryG · Aug 23, 2004

One off, there aren't very many of use MF people here, relative to some of the other brands. As was said, they don't market compacts very well. I had a MF 1250 for 4 years and 1210 hours and like it. I now have had a MF 1440 power shuttle for about 10 months and have put 260 hours on it. I like it a lot better than the 1250.

KiotiJohn · Aug 24, 2004

From what I've read over the last couple of years, Massey just didn't do well with it's first CUTS, and a lot of bad press came out surrounding problems with extreme vibration.
I read reviews of several of their models, and a constant was that they "felt as though they were going to shake apart."
Now, I can't say if that's true or not, but that kind of publicity can certainly hinder sales.
I understand their latest offerings are much better. Massey has outsourced their tractors to such a degree, having them manufactured in so many different countries and having many different parts in some of the same models that I think many people are a little shy of them.
Kubota and Kioti (with exception of a Perkins diesel in the DK65) both manufacture their tractors, and many of their parts are interchangable between similar models. In the case of Kioti, their parts are very inexpensive based on reports from TBN members and other sources.
I think Massey would fare much better if that were the case with their offerings, but it isn't.
As for dealers when I was looking, the local dealer is called Superior Tractor, and believe me, they named the place right, because that's their attitude. They want super bucks for anything they sell there, and they act as though they're doing you the greatest of favors to even talk to you. I can't imagine how they've stayed in business for such a long time as they have.
I used to see many Masseys around this area, but now, other than Massey's old tractors, it's mostly Kioti, Deere and Kubota that are being seen.
John
Not even John Deere manufactures all of it's tractors, having

MF1455v · Aug 24, 2004

( As for dealers when I was looking, the local dealer is called Superior Tractor, and believe me, they named the place right, because that's their attitude. They want super bucks for anything they sell there, and they act as though they're doing you the greatest of favors to even talk to you. )

That's going to be a dealer problem not a tractor problem. I got the same attitude from 2 different JD dealers close to me. Both are closer than my Massey dealer. That is why JD was the first tractor removed from my list before buying.

KiotiJohn · Aug 24, 2004

( That's going to be a dealer problem not a tractor problem. I got the same attitude from 2 different JD dealers close to me. Both are closer than my Massey dealer. That is why JD was the first tractor removed from my list before buying. )
I thought that was clear when I said, "As for dealers when I was looking."
I had the same problem with a Deere/Kubota dealer that is less than 1 mile away. While they came out to the yard to show me tractors, not one of them even asked if I wanted to try one out. They gave me quotes at MSRP, and didn't allow for any discounts. The prices were $3,000 and $2,000 D/K over what I paid for Kioti.
I will NEVER understand dealers having attitudes such as this.
I think my point was that after having read all the BAD press about Massey's bad models, and then getting treated badly, I didn't bother to really check them out. Sorry I wasn't more clear about it. John

To20Chris · Aug 24, 2004

I was predisposed to want a MF, and I went to look at them at my local MF dealer. He had one, a 1428v I think. The dealer was clueless, quoted me only MSRP after calculating it out for 20min. The tractor is rugged, but I was umimpressed but the ground clearence, fit & finish, and the sheet metal aound the engine. If I recall, it did not have a tilt forward engine cover? Let me know if I'm wrong on that point! It had a lot of rust on it for a new tractor.

I have no doubt it will do a lot of work, and I like the simple styling.

The MF CUTs are made by Iseki, and not much related to the larger MF ag tractors.

NOTE: I had intended to reply to the original poster, GaryS