does buying a tractor work like buying a car?

saylor

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Jan 14, 2021
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hi orange people! im looking to buy a tractor, but have no idea what im doing. is there TTL like on a car? do i need insurance? is there an MSRP and a dealer invoice margin? What kind of % off is competitive? Every quote I have so far is MSRP or higher. I dont understand it, so I joined this forum hoping to learn. Thanks!
 

je1279

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LX2610 w/ 60" MMM, LP 72" Snow Plow, EA Wicked 55" Grapple, and Woods 60" BB
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You will need insurance if you finance it. Currently, with low supply and high demand there are not many discounts to be had other than factory incentives, at least in my area.
 
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michigander

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B2601
May 29, 2018
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Northern Michigan
hi orange people! im looking to buy a tractor, but have no idea what im doing. is there TTL like on a car? do i need insurance? is there an MSRP and a dealer invoice margin? What kind of % off is competitive? Every quote I have so far is MSRP or higher. I dont understand it, so I joined this forum hoping to learn. Thanks!
lot different than buying a car. Dealer had me stop by to get copy of drivers license.
Kubota credit/insurance Paper work was signed in my garage when delivered :)
Price wise March 2019 my 60" deck was free when looking at MSRP
 

UpNorthMI

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L3200, L3901, MX5800, SVL75-2, KX040
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Welcome to the forum. There is no title, registration or insurance requirement unless you finance it. Pricing is variable and will be different depending on cash buy or maybe 0% financing. Lowest price in my experience is cash buy. Sometimes there are manufacturers incentives but not currently too many due to supply shortages.

Do you have any idea which model of tractor you are interest in? I’d say it’s a good idea to visit a couple of dealers to understand the product range and to get some ball park pricing.

You should consider what options to choose for your tractor, members here can help, what do you plan on using it for?

You may find that due to short supply your dealer may give a better price on an order rather than buying the one he has on the lot. In many cases lot inventory is slim.

Reach out with any questions no matter how dumb you think they are. It’s a good time to start the process as delivery could be 3-4 months out for some models.
 

saylor

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Jan 14, 2021
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i appreciate it. i need a loader scoop and backhoe. im looking at the bx23s. and the green 1025r kinda. but i like the orange ones better. i mainly have to maintain a property road and haul dead trees up to the burn pit
 

UpNorthMI

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i appreciate it. i need a loader scoop and backhoe. im looking at the bx23s. and the green 1025r kinda. but i like the orange ones better. i mainly have to maintain a property road and haul dead trees up to the burn pit
A backhoe is an expensive add on and in my opinion does not have a lot of capability at the BX level ( sorry BX owners ). I would recommend to rent an excavator instead of buy the backhoe. The BX will maintain your road (box blade or land plane) and will haul your dead trees ( chain on drawbar or light front grapple ).

How much land are you maintaining?
 
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saylor

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i appreciate it and sort of agree, but i have a need for a trench such that hiring a man would close to pay for the implement. same with the whole tractor kind of. ive already hired people to do clearing and road cutting at several thousand dollars cost. granted the guy that did the original land clearing had a BIG backhoe, and they brought a tree eater with them too. but to keep hiring guys to come out is pushing me towards just getting one myself and learning how to do the needful.

i have probably 400' of driveway and probably about 800' of electrical easement to clean up and maintain. when they cut power lines into the area they just shoved everything everywhere and there are dead trees for weeks
 
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saylor

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but im just not comprehending this - one guy gave me like 2% off MSRP, and the other guys that have responded were MSRP and one was ABOVE MSRP listed on the kubota site.

even the green tractor quote was like this.
 

bx tractorjoe

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kubota l2501 upgraded from a bx23s john deere 670 husquarvana huv 4421 gxp
Jun 3, 2020
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loxahatchee flordia
The bx23s is a great little tractor, I had one for about 8 months and put 100 hours on it, digging holes for trees and 400 feet of trench for power to my shop, the big downside is the bx will only lift about 500 pounds with pallet forks.. absolutely awesome for mowing the yard and light dirt work..

Looking back I should of rented a track hoe to do the trench, at 800 a week, or 250 a day.. and bought a bigger tractor to begin with without the backhoe, for my needs at least.

I ended up trading up to a l2501 mostly for loader work being it can pick up 1500 pounds with pallet forks and stick it in the back of a pickup truck.

Keep in mind any numbers you see on loader capacity it at the pins, not in the bucket, or on the forks, and usually at 3 to 4 feet high

As far as pricing, your at the mercy of the dealer.. with high demand, 0% interest they are not giving any deals.. and I have a feeling it's not going to get better for awhile. Look at what used tractors are selling for.. its not odd to see a tractor with a few hundred hours sell for almost what it costs new..

When I bought my l2501 it was 1800 more then msrp with all my add ons, canopy, rear hydraulic remotes, it's alot of time putting a tractor together, they come in big crates and it's usually a 5 or 6 hour job getting them together plus any added on options, and delivery costs to the dealer..
 
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UpNorthMI

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but im just not comprehending this - one guy gave me like 2% off MSRP, and the other guys that have responded were MSRP and one was ABOVE MSRP listed on the kubota site.

even the green tractor quote was like this.
There is little tractor inventory, in many cases machines have to be ordered and may take several months to deliver. Dealers do not need to offer large discounts at this time.
 

saylor

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Jan 14, 2021
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"Looking back I should of rented a track hoe to do the trench, at 800 a week, or 250 a day.. and bought a bigger tractor to begin with without the backhoe, for my needs at least.

I ended up trading up to a l2501 mostly for loader work being it can pick up 1500 pounds with pallet forks and stick it in the back of a pickup truck.

Keep in mind any numbers you see on loader capacity it at the pins, not in the bucket, or on the forks usually at 4 feet high "

this is me all day - i got about 400' trench to make. and i have rocks to move. i figured a sling around the rock and tow wench i really didnt think about picking up a rock with a bucket.

i dont know im a city boy about to get countryfied
 

OrangeKrush

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BX2680, LA344 with Piranha tooth bar, LP PF 1242, LP Rear Blade, KK 60" BB
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I would go with at least a B series for what you’re wanting it for but if you’re set on a BX right now they have the 0 down and 0% for 60 months.
 

busterja21

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Oct 12, 2019
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try the kubota equine discount kubotausa.com/equine-offer, there is another recent post on here with a discussion on it. Dealer charges for freight and setup vary, so shop around even with the discount.

insurance is required by most financial companies. check your homeowners, they might cover it, depends on your policy. Kubota finance requires ktac insurance, expect about $400/yr for a 25k tractor for insurance from ktac. If you pay cash it's up to you if you want insurance.

normally you'll pay sales tax where you have it delivered. I don't think any states title or register them.
 

PaulL

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B2601
Jul 17, 2017
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An L2501 with grapple will be massively better for clearing what could be substantial trees and rocks. A BX will do some, but they're limited. Also sounds to me like the ground would be pretty rough, and a BX doesn't have much ground clearance. You didn't say the size of the property, but if it has 800 foot of electrical easement then it's 10 acres or more?

My rule of thumb would be a BX is for about 1-2 acres, B2601 out to 5 acres or so, you're looking an LX or an L above 5 acres. Depends how much of it is being maintained and how much is in woods though - if you're only maintaining 2 acres of a 15 acre farm, then you can go down a size. And go up a bit if you want a bigger machine or have tasks that require more weight, or need more ground clearance.

Overall it sounds like you're looking at too small of a machine. And you should consider a used machine for your first machine - then you can make all your rookie errors on that, and then buy a good one that you're not going to break.

On the equine discount, note that you don't need a horse to get the discount, you just need to join the horse club which is cheap and available online.
 

WhitleyStu

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Last fall dealer gave me 8% off MSRP on B2601 with FEL and MMM.
 
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je1279

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LX2610 w/ 60" MMM, LP 72" Snow Plow, EA Wicked 55" Grapple, and Woods 60" BB
Dec 6, 2020
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One thing to consider that others have mentioned above is that freight to the dealership, assembly, prep and delivery to your location is not included in the MSRP on the website. Because of this, even at MSRP you are getting a discount albeit less than what it would have been when supply and demand were inversed.
 

saylor

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i was raised up in the south where you dont ask or tell about how much land someone has, sorry. I have about 25ac. give or take a couple. its SOLID thick ass woods, except the parts that have been cut out for driveways/roadways.

there are rocks as big as my car, so im agreeing that i should probably step up a model size bigger.

i did join the cutting horse assoc. yesterday. i think. i tried to anyways.

i appreciate all the comments and advice from yall! im going to start looking at a size larger, and maybe about some pallet forks. seem people can do alot with a set of plain ol pallet forks.
 
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je1279

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LX2610 w/ 60" MMM, LP 72" Snow Plow, EA Wicked 55" Grapple, and Woods 60" BB
Dec 6, 2020
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Upstate NY
I would strongly consider an LX or an L series. I promise you that its cheaper to buy the right tractor the first time rather than realizing that you got something too small and needing to upgrade in the first few years.
 
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bx tractorjoe

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kubota l2501 upgraded from a bx23s john deere 670 husquarvana huv 4421 gxp
Jun 3, 2020
258
140
43
loxahatchee flordia
i was raised up in the south where you dont ask or tell about how much land someone has, sorry. I have about 25ac. give or take a couple. its SOLID thick ass woods, except the parts that have been cut out for driveways/roadways.

there are rocks as big as my car, so im agreeing that i should probably step up a model size bigger.

i did join the cutting horse assoc. yesterday. i think. i tried to anyways.

i appreciate all the comments and advice from yall! im going to start looking at a size larger, and maybe about some pallet forks. seem people can do alot with a set of plain ol pallet forks.

Watch these people called outdoors with the Morgan's on YouTube they have alot of good tractor info and land like yours they maintain with kubota equipment
 
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random

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L3301, bucket, backhoe, grader, plow, harrow, cultivator
Nov 2, 2020
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i dont know im a city boy about to get countryfied
I get you - I was there about 7 years ago.

I ended up with a L3301 and backhoe, a good bit bigger than you're looking. I've found it a really good fit for my 2 clear acres and a mile of road to maintain, definitely would have regretted anything smaller.

Not saying you should get one of those, but just as a comparison for your space and road maintenance.

I don't have near the experience of others around here, but my suggestion to everyone I've talked to about buying: figure out the one that seems to be the best match for your needs, and then go up at least one bigger. You could easily regret not having enough tractor, but you won't regret having too much.
 
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