Would you buy the same tractor again or a different one?

[Yotekiller]

So I am curious if you would buy the same one again or, if you had a "do-over" would you choose something different?

When I was buying, I was contemplating two different machines. It was between the 2502 or the Grand L 3560 and pricing wasn't a factor. Ultimately, I wanted a tractor I felt I could keep until I die with parts being available and that it would be easy enough for me to work on by myself. I REALLY wanted the 3560 but I just couldn't get past the emissions and the electronics aspect that this tractor had. As much as I wanted that 3560, I pulled the trigger on a 2502. I can honestly say that I have zero regrets whatsoever and would choose the 2502 again tomorrow. I abuse this machine and make it work far beyond what you would think a tractor this size can do, and yet it never fails to surprise me just how tough it is. It's been the perfect tractor for my 20 acres and the chores I throw at it. And it's definitely upped my firewood game being able to just grab a log and go verses rigging and dragging.

 

[old and tired]

Would not changed a thing... would also never sell the one I got!

Added: Top-N-tilt, grapple hydraulics, right side step, Pat's, adjustable sway links, canopy, grill guard, silky smooth 3 point hitch (instead of the real jerky one)

 

[DustyRusty]

Depending on how old you are and how long you keep the tractor, replacement parts availability might be plentiful or non existent. I have owned my 1979 Ford F250 since 1983 and today getting replacement parts for it has become a major problem. Simple items that were plentiful 20 years ago are non existent today. I need the sock that goes on the end of the fuel sender, and after doing a lot of searching, it isn't available unless you buy a replacement sending unit. Have one coming from Amazon today. Same story on a lot of other parts that I am searching for. I should have sold the truck 25 years ago but I didn't because I thought that I might have a use for it in the future. Now I have a use for it and I am spending a lot of time getting it fit for the road again. Would have been better off if I scrapped this one and bought a newer used one, but I didn't.

 

[Speed25]

I followed advice here on going bigger than you might need and opted for the L2501. It worked great, and once I had done all of the big work on my small property, I sold it for a more manageable BX. Resale was so good on the L, and I found a steal on my BX, so I ended up with the backhoe I really wanted. VERY happy with the BX, but I liked the engine and HST from the L a lot more. That thing was a beast for the size/price.

 

[NCL4701]

The L4701 with third function, three rear remotes, top/tilt: I wouldn’t change anything. It’s small enough to go where I need it to and big enough to get something done when we get there. The third function for the grapple and the top/tilt is a huge deal for my routine activities.

 

[Yotekiller]

The L4701 with third function, three rear remotes, top/tilt: I wouldn’t change anything. It’s small enough to go where I need it to and big enough to get something done when we get there. The third function for the grapple and the top/tilt is a huge deal my routine activities.

Adding the top/tilt as well as the 3rd function to my tractor was a real game changer. Wouldn't own a tractor without that now.

 

[jyoutz]

I would definitely buy my MX6000 again, but I would have remotes, top and tilt, and third function installed prior to delivery. I’m doing the remotes now and it’s more costly and time consuming to do this after the fact. Sometimes (winter or summer heat) wish I had bought a cab model, then I work among the trees and am glad that I didn’t.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Would buy a B2601,so that I can use neighbour's BH and BB and have HIM store them for me......

 

[chim]

Same one. Suits me fine.

 

[fried1765]

Depending on how old you are and how long you keep the tractor, replacement parts availability might be plentiful or non existent. I have owned my 1979 Ford F250 since 1983 and today getting replacement parts for it has become a major problem. Simple items that were plentiful 20 years ago are non existent today. I need the sock that goes on the end of the fuel sender, and after doing a lot of searching, it isn't available unless you buy a replacement sending unit. Have one coming from Amazon today. Same story on a lot of other parts that I am searching for. I should have sold the truck 25 years ago but I didn't because I thought that I might have a use for it in the future. Now I have a use for it and I am spending a lot of time getting it fit for the road again. Would have been better off if I scrapped this one and bought a newer used one, but I didn't.

I still have my (bought new- $5680) 1977 F-250 4x4, but it is stored inside on blocks, and has been donated to my older son.
It runs fine, but needs body work.

 

[mcmxi]

So I am curious if you would buy the same one again or, if you had a "do-over" would you choose something different?

When I was buying, I was contemplating two different machines. It was between the 2502 or the Grand L 3560 and pricing wasn't a factor. Ultimately, I wanted a tractor I felt I could keep until I die with parts being available and that it would be easy enough for me to work on by myself. I REALLY wanted the 3560 but I just couldn't get past the emissions and the electronics aspect that this tractor had. As much as I wanted that 3560, I pulled the trigger on a 2502. I can honestly say that I have zero regrets whatsoever and would choose the 2502 again tomorrow. I abuse this machine and make it work far beyond what you would think a tractor this size can do, and yet it never fails to surprise me just how tough it is. It's been the perfect tractor for my 20 acres and the chores I throw at it. And it's definitely upped my firewood game being able to just grab a log and go verses rigging and dragging.

So your only experience is with the 2502 and yet you're convinced that the 3560 would have been a worse choice? Unless you've owned and used a variety of tractors you have no idea what would work best. It's enough to say that you're happy with your 2502, but any suggestion that it's the best choice is utterly ridiculous.

I can only comment on the differences between a BX25, an MX6000 open station, an MX6000 cabbed model and an M6060 cabbed model since those are the models I've owned or own. I'm happy with them, but have no idea if I would enjoy an L6060 or M7060/M4 over what I currently have.

As to your question, yes I'd buy an MX6000 again (I did it twice already), but if ordering an M I'd upgrade to the M7060, M4 or M5 models. I bought the M6060 because it was on the lot, it was a great price and I knew if I waited a year or two I'd be paying $15k to $20k more. The M6060 is close enough to my "ideal" M that it's not something I'll be upgrading. My next big Kubota purchase will be a KX057-5 or similar.

 

[Yotekiller]

So your only experience is with the 2502 and yet you're convinced that the 3560 would have been a worse choice? Unless you've owned and used a variety of tractors you have no idea what would work best. It's enough to say that you're happy with your 2502, but any suggestion that it's the best choice is utterly ridiculous.

I can only comment on the differences between a BX25, an MX6000 open station, an MX6000 cabbed model and an M6060 cabbed model since those are the models I've owned or own. I'm happy with them, but have no idea if I would enjoy an L6060 or M7060/M4 over what I currently have.

Please show me where I ever stated the 2502 was my only experience with tractors. I have been operating tractors of all sizes/brands for decades. I also have quite a bit of experience with diesel engines and the emissions issues I've personally seen from them. As well as the testimony from my brother-in-law who manages a very large tractor service center... I never suggested anything but you certainly seem to have assumed a quite a lot. But now that you mention it, yeah, the 2502 is the best for my needs/wants.

 

[Yotekiller]

I still have my (bought new- $5680) 1977 F-250 4x4, but it is stored inside on blocks, and has been donated to my older son.
It runs fine, but needs body work.

Lucky kid your son is! I have been searching heavily for a late 70's F series 4x4 truck for a while now. Most you find are butchered up disasters.

 

[beckmurph]

More power!!
More power!!

I would get a LX3310 or LX3520.

 

[Heehaw]

I would like a tractor with more lift capacity however a larger frame tractor would not fit my needs as far as storage and getting through some of my woods.
With that said I would buy another Mx5400.

 

[NCL4701]

Please show me where I ever stated the 2502 was my only experience with tractors. I have been operating tractors of all sizes/brands for decades. I also have quite a bit of experience with diesel engines and the emissions issues I've personally seen from them. As well as the testimony from my brother-in-law who manages a very large tractor service center... I never suggested anything but you certainly seem to have assumed a quite a lot. But now that you mention it, yeah, the 2502 is the best for my needs/wants.

Similar here. The L4701 is my first Kubota and the first tractor I have owned but it’s FAR removed from the first tractor I’ve operated. There is quite a lot of value to spending a few hundred (or a few thousand) hours on a variety of machines. The ones I’d operated previously belonged to my father, or a couple of employers, or farmer neighbors who knew I could operate a tractor and needed some help. When I bought my L, the Kubota salesman, as he should have, asked me what I planned to do with it. After my 90 second summary, he suggested a smaller frame tractor in the 30hp area. Maybe I explained my planned usage poorly.

If I had nothing but dealer recommendation; no prior experience and no friends with equipment to irritate with dozens of question, I probably would have gotten a big B (LX series wasn’t a thing yet). And if I had, maybe I wouldn’t have known what I was missing, but more likely I would have been trading up for more power in a larger frame and would have had a variety of implements that were undersized for the correct size machine.

There’s nothing like struggling along with undersized, underpowered, feature poor machines for far too many years to educate you on what you really need. At least that’s been the case for me.

There’s some lesson to be learned when you’ve spent hours wide open in first gear plowing a blue clay creek bottom field with a pair of 16” moldboards behind a 9N and shortly after get into the cab of a 130hp Allis Chalmers pulling 5 moldboards at about 6mph to help your neighbor finish before impending rain. For me, the lesson was get the right tool for the job unless you just can’t afford it.

 

[mcmxi]

Please show me where I ever stated the 2502 was my only experience with tractors. I have been operating tractors of all sizes/brands for decades. I also have quite a bit of experience with diesel engines and the emissions issues I've personally seen from them. As well as the testimony from my brother-in-law who manages a very large tractor service center... I never suggested anything but you certainly seem to have assumed a quite a lot. But now that you mention it, yeah, the 2502 is the best for my needs/wants.

That's a fair point, but you did say ...

"I REALLY wanted the 3560 but I just couldn't get past the emissions and the electronics aspect that this tractor had. As much as I wanted that 3560, I pulled the trigger on a 2502. I can honestly say that I have zero regrets whatsoever and would choose the 2502 again tomorrow."

... so my comment is directed at that comparison, not on your extensive previous experience with other tractors since you don't mention any comparisons with those.

It just sounds like you're trying to convince yourself that the 2502 was the best decision since you're not at the point of replacing the tractor. My point is that maybe it isn't, and you'll never know unless you have and use both. The controls in the MX were ok until I used the controls in the M which are way better. We often live with what we know, and it's only by trying something else that we discover what we didn't know.

I like the tractors I have but I won't say that they're the best choices for me because I don't need to justify my choices to anyone, or pretend that all of my choices are the best. I would like to have been in a position to try an L6060 for a while and compare it to the MX since it may well have been a better choice for me, but I'll most likely never know what I'm missing.

 

[mcmxi]

Similar here. The L4701 is my first Kubota and the first tractor I have owned but it’s FAR removed from the first tractor I’ve operated. There is quite a lot of value to spending a few hundred (or a few thousand) hours on a variety of machines. The ones I’d operated previously belonged to my father, or a couple of employers, or farmer neighbors who knew I could operate a tractor and needed some help. When I bought my L, the Kubota salesman, as he should have, asked me what I planned to do with it. After my 90 second summary, he suggested a smaller frame tractor in the 30hp area. Maybe I explained my planned usage poorly.

If I had nothing but dealer recommendation; no prior experience and no friends with equipment to irritate with dozens of question, I probably would have gotten a big B (LX series wasn’t a thing yet). And if I had, maybe I wouldn’t have known what I was missing, but more likely I would have been trading up for more power in a larger frame and would have had a variety of implements that were undersized for the correct size machine.

There’s nothing like struggling along with undersized, underpowered, feature poor machines for far too many years to educate you on what you really need. At least that’s been the case for me.

There’s some lesson to be learned when you’ve spent hours wide open in first gear plowing a blue clay creek bottom field with a pair of 16” moldboards behind a 9N and shortly after get into the cab of a 130hp Allis Chalmers pulling 5 moldboards at about 6mph to help your neighbor finish before impending rain. For me, the lesson was get the right tool for the job unless you just can’t afford it.

Excellent post!

 

[Botamon]

I think my M7060 is a pretty darn good tractor. Been working it for 6 years now with no problems. But I find myself wondering what the future will hold with the Kubota - say 20 years from now. Will the electronics (something I can't repair myself) cause problems? The emissions system?

If I could have found an older tractor in great shape the same size or bigger than the M7060 I would have bought it. I'm talking a unit with no electronic controls and no emissions on the engine. Just a simple basic tractor that I could work on myself without needing a tech with a laptop to diagnose problems. But where I live finding a used tractor for sale, especially one that hasn't been beat to death, is almost impossible. So when the Kubota came up for sale with very low hours I jumped on it. Time will tell whether it was a good decision.

 

[Yotekiller]

That's a fair point, but you did say ...

"I REALLY wanted the 3560 but I just couldn't get past the emissions and the electronics aspect that this tractor had. As much as I wanted that 3560, I pulled the trigger on a 2502. I can honestly say that I have zero regrets whatsoever and would choose the 2502 again tomorrow."

... so my comment is directed at that comparison, not on your extensive previous experience with other tractors since you don't mention any comparisons with those.

It just sounds like you're trying to convince yourself that the 2502 was the best decision since you're not at the point of replacing the tractor. My point is that maybe it isn't, and you'll never know unless you have and use both. The controls in the MX were ok until I used the controls in the M which are way better. We often live with what we know, and it's only by trying something else that we discover what we didn't know.

I like the tractors I have but I won't say that they're the best choices for me because I don't need to justify my choices to anyone, or pretend that all of my choices are the best. I would like to have been in a position to try an L6060 for a while and compare it to the MX since it may well have been a better choice for me, but I'll most likely never know what I'm missing.

Dude, you’re reading way too much into everything!!! I simply asked if people are still happy with the machine they chose or if they wish they had bought something different. And here you come outta left field acting like someone took a dump in your cheerios and saying you think I secretly regret my tractor and while trying to make others feel I think it’s the best.

I am not trying to convince anyone of anything nor an I pretending to like my tractor. The 2502 was the largest new Kubota tractor available that didn’t have emissions. I didn’t then, and never would buy a tractor with emissions if I didn’t have to. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to. That is the VERY REASON I know I made the best choice.

As far as me, I had 3 priorities that were most important.
1. A tractor capable enough to get done what I wanted to do.
2. A new tractor.
3. no emissions and minimal electronics.

I achieved those 3 wants and couldn’t have met them with a larger Kubota. Any less of a tractor wouldn’t have been capable enough for me.
So, regardless of how much you over analyzed all of this, you’re still wrong. I do know I chose the best tractor I could have with the choices I had in front of me. You may regret your choice but I certainly don’t mine.