Go vote! (on our poll that is)

[Mr. K]

Most of the fun of this site is getting to hear what other people think (and then if I get tired of that just turn the monitor off and walk away... I bet some of us wish we could do that in real life situations involving certain "CFOs" right Michael? ).

We've got a new poll up and I'm curious to know what the Kubota tractoring community on OTT feels toward those gray models out there. Love 'em or leave 'em?

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/2009/03/poll-would-you-own-a-gray-market-kubota/

 

[Starko]

voted

Yes - but I worry about finding parts and service for repairs

i think i would go gray if the price was right and the equipment looked to be in good shape. i know that parts are available if i look hard enough but that seems like extra work to me! i guess given the choice between a gray kubota and a non-gray, i'd go non-gray unless the price was really good to begin with.

i think i just realized that i should have voted "Maybe"! DOH! can't go back now.

 

[Mr. K]

Wow! Very quick voting.

Ok ok, I understand where you are coming from. Kubota certainly does make it hard to get parts, but, there's lots of handy sites around where folks would give you a hand. I guess, technically that would be the extra work you are referring to... hmmmm.... well, as a nice side-effect, when you come onto the forums to ask questions you'd get to meet some helpful and friendly people!

 

[Michael]

I voted and of course being a owner of a gray Kubota I not worried about parts issues but it might be interesting if and when I need to rebuild mine. I fully intend to keep the Kubota gray as I still need it for some of the rougher work I am doing. My new tractor the CFO would pitch a fit if I do what I would normally do to the Kubota and it keeps on going.

 

[Mr. K]

Michael, you have a new green tractor if I remember correctly right? Mind sharing a few pics - we'll make room for a Deere in here now and then.

What made you choose the JD over the comparable Kubota? Better deal? Closer dealer? What I'm getting at is, you had experience with the gray Kubota, seemed to treat you well - why didn't you stay orange with a new purchase?

 

[Michael]

When we were shopping for new the dealers were really trying to match me to a tractor and it ended by the decision that the green won (by the CFO) Since we have been married for over 30 years I did not fight and I needed something that could mow our property quicker then the 2 lawn tractors (We have a JD L120, 48" deck and a Kubota T1400, 40" deck).

The other thing is the Kubota was really tight for me move around, that is something I could live with but the green had more room. I also wanted something that had a backhoe as I will be reworking the drainage on my property for the next few years and redoing the landscaping.

With the Kubota we looked at you had to detach the backhoe to put on the deck and the Deere the backhoe and the deck can on at the same time. Since the CFO (AKA Mrs) was helping to pay for it, we went green and for domestic peace we went for the green. also the dealers were really close and I have been treated good by both even the Kubota dealer treats me right on getting parts for the Kubota gray. But the big thing came down to price the Kubota was $2,500 more for a very similar tractor and price won out.

The green tractor is a John Deere 2305 made by Yanmar in Osaka Japan.

So without further adieu here is are some pictures.

 

[Mr. K]

Nice pics! Looks like you have a lot of space out there and a few green machines in the shed. Looks good.

What model Kubota where you comparing against when you finally decided to go with the JD2305?

 

[Michael]

The dealer was offering a BX25 and it was a nice tractor. It just lost in the pricing and the dealer unwilling to come down any lower then what I got the Deere for.

With having the CFO insisting on the tractor that had the lowest price for the package we wanted and she was impressed by the JD lawn tractor that has never skipped a beat and has never had a minutes down time since we bought it new 6 years ago, I can and will still use the old Kubota for a lot the things I need to do.

The lot is 5 acres and we moved in ten years ago. I have what I like to refer to is I am outside screaming distance from the nearest neighbor and it affords me some privacy from everyone. We fell in love with this lot as it also has plenty of room for us to grow into the property and we are in the process of having a new 36' X 38' garage built this summer that will be tall enough for us to store our 5th wheel trailer inside out of the weather. We just started the process and are waiting for the building permit right now.

 

[ipz2222]

Man, that looks like a LOT of weight to be driveing around while mowing.

 

[Michael]

The front end loader and the backhoe can be taken off in less then 5 minutes on each. I do not have them on the tractor when I mow as they also make it hard to get into the tight areas I have on the property.

The Kubota BX25 also has a really quick removal and reinstall on their tractor and on the backhoe it is actually faster to remove the backhoe on it then on the Deere and the Deere is quick to remove and reinstall.