Is This A Legal Discussion Here?

[winesalot]

I have been researching a tractor purchase for quite some time now. I have finally decided that the Kubota for me is the L4701. I have to finish my extensive research by looking in to the comparable John Deere and New Holland machines. I am wondering if there is a web site out there that makes crossing the brand line a bit easier or if someone here can help me identify the similar models in the other lines?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Pburchett]

Boy....that is a tough one. The best thing is to go to the dealership of all tractors you are interested in and test drive them. The biggest decision is if you need manual or hydrostatic. Loader work and lots of direction change you might consider hydro. Field work, plowing or mowing large acres geared will do. Then 4x4 or 2 wheel drive. If it is for loader work or on hills 4x4 will be best. My tractor is helpless in 2 wheel drive, or course I have lots of steep hills and a loader to put extra weight on the front thus reducing the rear traction.

I looked at Massey Ferguson but the dealer had no hydro units. It was ok but not what I thought was great.

Went to New Holland and fell in love with the blue one but it would not work for my land as it had a high center of gravity and was geared. The blue NH tractor looked really we'll built.

Went to John Deere but the dealer was a jerk. Their tractors were 5,000 more for a comparable tractor and they did not have any hydro units. The dealership just left a bad taste in my mouth even though the tractors looked tough as nails.

Manhindra did not even get a consideration due to the bad transmission reputation.

Kubota was a best fit for me. Had hydro units on the lot, they had a good reputation and got a 5 year insurance. I guess the biggest thing was the dealership threw me a key and let me try anything I wanted without supervision, even though I tried whatever I wanted at the other dealers. The L4701 was too small and felt unstable. Anything over the MX series was too large for my land. Settled on a MX5200HST.

In conclusion, consider what you need a tractor for. Pick hydro or geared, select the size you need, weight and HP, then go to the dealers to compare as you might change your mind once you get on one or talk to the dealership.

 

[chim]

People tend to push what they own. Some because they're happy with their choice, and others because they are trying to convince themselves they didn't pick the wrong one. If you're still shopping, any site built around a single brand won't have much useful info on other brands. "I bought Orange because Green stinks" isn't very helpful advice. What can be helpful is to visit sites for each brand and look at what problems the owners report.

This is a great site for me due to all the Kubota-specific information and that's my main tractor. Tractorbynet.com is a good site for getting more general feedback on different brands, and it still has different sections devoted to popular brands.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Somewhere on the Kubota website there is a page that compares similar models from other brands. It may pop up if you search for model comparisons with Google. As mentioned, if you search for other brands with the same hp you will probably just get a couple in each brand. You will likely get better service from sales staff if you show up at a dealership instead of shopping by email. You can then size up their service dept a bit. Ask your neighbors how good their service is. Good service in my opinion is the most important factor in one of the new tractors.

 

[skeets]

SOme one posted a site from a testing lab in the mid west I believe that tested tractors, kinda like a consumers report thing, and listed good , bad and WTH about each brand. I dont remember the site or how small they went in tractor size, but some of the glowing statements made by leading manufactures were not so glowing after testing

 

[D2Cat]

Skeets, this what you're thinking about?

http://tractortestlab.unl.edu/

 

[coachgeo]

Skeets, this what you're thinking about?

http://tractortestlab.unl.edu/

Looks like they need to up their game on Kubota testing lol.

 

[skeets]

By golly I do believe thats it, and yeah coach, the big K needs to be in there as well

 

[Missouribound]

By golly I do believe thats it, and yeah coach, the big K needs to be in there as well

Oh it's in there, under other tractors. Just not as many as I would like to see and nothing in the sub or compact sizes.

 

[KennedyFarmer]

Best you can do is if you know what you want to do with it. then go to the other dealers and say i need a tractor to do this..this...this....see what they recommend then start from there. always ask to look at the lower and model above etc.

 

[MadMax31]

I liked the NH Boomer. I mostly like the Deere 3032e. When the decision was made That I really needed the backhoe, the Kubota SCUT was hands down my favorite.

You need to drive them all around and feel out Dealer. The Dealer is a big part of a major tractor purchase. You're looking at a larger economy machine, such as a NH Workmaster, or a Deere 5045e. My little guy can be serviced by any Kubota Dealer. Only a few Deere Dealers around me can actually handle a machine larger than a 3038r.

I like Massey, but their finance deals were trash.

 

[winesalot]

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.