Tractor buying advice needed

I sold my B2620 to one of my brother's customers. Came up to look at, drove it around the yard once, said "I'll take it-haven't found anything like it for sale." Gave me $500 more than dealer offered for trade, no dickering.

 

That's funny, our local dealer is pushing MF, steering you away from New Holland (they are looking at new tractors at work) but that is also a little larger tractor...~60-75 HP

 

My niece worked as a diesel mechanic at a local Tractor Sales for five years, her dad is also a farmer. They sold IH Ford and Kubota. Her advice to me 10 years ago was to go Kubota and not think about it.

All her dad tractors are 25 plus year old IH, has 5 uses 3.
A lot has to do with maintenance.. The new JD, software and not being able to fix it without going towing into a dealer is what turned me off to them..

 

Kevin you might check in here http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/usercp.php if you really want to get confused.
I may get flamed for this, but for an investment of this type, (where you may be 5 years before it's even "broken in") I don't want to play with re branded 3rd world machines and "dealers" that were selling used cars last week. Even JD, NH & MF are that way with their smaller "consumer" tractors (only), JD, NH & MF dealers are generally well established.
I went from JD to Kubota strictly on price. My Deere 5400 (6o hp) was fine for the 1200 hours I had it for, but learned it's components were from around the globe by different manufacture's. It might just be me but I expect a JD to be "green" all the way through for the money. My Kubota is 100% Kubota (quality control) with the possible exceptions of the wheels/tires and the loader. I think Kioti is the same and read very little complaints about them.
Last year I bought parts for a 35+ year old Kubota front cut (F series) mower that I bought used in 1982-3, it was never more than a 2-3 days for the dealer to get them in. Should a $120 clutch be the difference in a pile of junk or a 35 year old operating machine still serving you? Now you may not keep it 35 years, but someone will, and parts you can no longer get are priceless! I bought an ignition switch, hyd lift lever and a starter along with the clutch and a few bearings for the mower deck.
Sadly tractors are getting as complicated (electronics & emissions) as cars & trucks, that means more stuff that's out of your hands to fix, and more things to fail or give you troubles that require a strong dealer (service dept.) with factory support.
I am not slamming Deere, but I have read that some parts for the discontinued JD 110 tractor-loader-backhoe are already not available. Iirc they've only been out of production for 10 years at the most. Do your homework, they all are subject to problems, it's the frequency and severity along with the warranty/dealer performance that actually matter the most over 2-3-4000 dollars at the time of purchase. A friend just went through hell with a Mahindra tractor and I just went to an auction where the state ''turnpike authority" had 5, 80 or so HP tractors entered. All with low hours and enough transmission problems to just "unload" them at auction prices.

 

No flames here fuelrod I agree, boss still having problems with 3 yo JD, posted on it several times. 75 HP not homeowner model with cab, keeps throwing codes losing 4wd. 250 to tow to shop.. He will use over summer and send it back for fourth time in 18 months!!

Neibhor farmer has 6 JD will not trade for new!!

 

There's a lot of truth in that. Once you start digging, all tractors are made up from an international supply chain. As you get lower in price-point, the % coming from outside of the US definitely goes up. It's kind of funny that if you look at lower end JD and Kubota tractors, the Kubotas are more "made in America" than the JD's.

 

Kinda like the Toyota Camry...most "made in the USA" car (the last I heard it still was anyways) Not Ford, Chevy, or Dodge...

 

VOLKEVIN, In your neck of the woods I would look into Farm Credit Express financing for your new or used tractor purchase. It’s hard to beat the dealer rates but this option allows you to take advantage of all cash disounts offered by manufactures while still getting good terms and rates. Farm Credit of Virginias - Farm Credit EXPRESS - Equipment Financing at the Dealer Good luck with your purchase!

 

I have had a JD X530 garden tractor since 2011 that’s been great. JD makes the best in that class imho. But when I wanted to buy a real tractor I went Kubota, mainly for all the reasons fuelrod stated above. JD is overpriced and overly complicated, and has poor support for machines with any age on them, and I think a lot of that is due to their penchant for outsourcing components from anywhere and everywhere. How can one control quality and parts availability like that? So I bought a L2501 because it’s simple and rugged, just like a tractor should be. Being an old heavy equipment tech, especially the old part, I wanted something I can work on myself. It’ll never go back to the dealer hopefully. So far I’m beyond pleased with the performance of it, especially for such a small tractor.
I seriously considered Kioti but their dealer network is really lacking around here. I looked at them pretty hard because they have the quality and a few advantages over Kubota at a better price point but that’s meaningless if you can’t get parts or service when necessary.
Whatever you buy make sure it’s from a dealer that you’re comfortable with.

 

What I don’t like about John Deere is that they don’t have a universal front quick attachment system.

 

You ain't kidding.............I sit and stare at pics of tractors on this website, fantasizing about owning a property big enough to own one someday. 0% APR from JD, that's pretty darn good start!! Good luck and congrats, hopefully I'll be staring at a pic of yours in the very near future!!

 

like the car stealerships that 0% is just a hook, JD is very fond of proprietary hook ups for front mount and rear mount items on the garden and CUT units they sell. From the pricing I have seen they are extremely proud of those attachments as well.

 

That hits the nail on the head!

 

Does JD not offer SSQA as an option?

 

That's just plain stubbornness imho.

 

I have:
Worked a Ford 9N.
Worked a couple of Deere 310TLBs.

Owned an older Ford Powermaster.
Owned a Kubota 3710 w/loader/backhoe.
Owned a Bobcat B300 TLB.
Owned a Ford 2120.
Owned a Kubota L35 TLB series.
Owned a Deere 210C TLB.

I now own a Mahindra 3550 w/loader/backhoe.

I have worked all of them fairly hard and accomplished a LOT of work with them. I have been happy with them. Except this latest one.

My suggestion would be to buy a Kubota tractor.

Keeping in mind: What work you are planning to do with it. (Right tool for the right job is a big part of it.)


It won’t be long before an Orange tractor is in my barn, again.

Good luck. And keep us posted man!

 

Any updates?