Tractor advice

[Petrol & Powder]

My old Kubota has just about had it and I'm looking to replace it. Considering one of the gear drive Mahindra tractors.

Anyone have experience with those?

[Fishman]

I really didn't know you could wear out a kubota.

With all of the new emissions stuff, I would definitely be looking at used.

Tractorbynet.com is where I would go to read up.

[Houndog]

I don't know how big of a tractor you are talking about, but I can tell you the Mahindra 40 horsepower and larger 45 series tractors are some tough economy class tractors! A good friend of mine has one and beats it to death. It has been bullet proof so far. Keep in mind this series tractor is the same as the old 400 series Internationals and are in fact built on the old International tooling in India.

[Petrol & Powder]

The Hydrostatic drive on the Kubota is in need of work and I'm not going to dump the money into it.
I'm looking at the 20-25 hp range and I'm about done with hydrostatic drive.

[Floydster]

I have Mahindra dealer just 20 miles from me, I buy all my lawn care equipment from there.
They sell a lot of tractors in a years time, many compacts and loaders.
Never hear a bad thing about them.

[rancher1913]

I am still a ford tractor man but those are hard to find anymore. the hydro static drive could be done cheaper at a drive only shop verses the dealer, but I have never been a fan of them either. only thing I can tell you is to make sure you have a dealer of whatever you buy, close so you can get parts easily. you might look into that green brand that has a stag on it ;)

[Petrol & Powder]

The green brand with the stag costs considerably more :x

[rond]

I really like my Kubota L3300 with the manual transmission, could not see going to a Mahindra.

[Finster101]

Look for an older Kubota with a manual trans an be done with it. I have an 04 L3000DT and you can't tear it up.

[PaulG67]

After having a Yanmar and a John Deere I now have a Kubota BX-25 and I would not trade it for any other.

[Petrol & Powder]

I just found out the shuttle shift Mahindra doesn't have a live PTO. That might be a problem.

[Petrol & Powder]

The lack of a live PTO put me back with the hydrostatic drive.

[Lance Boyle]

I have a Kubota and Like it, B3200. sometimes it's too big and sometimes it's too small.

I'd at least get some quotes at rebuilding your hydrostatic before shelling out 10-20k or so for a new one.

Another I wish a gave a better look at was the kioti. they're considerably heavier than the Kubotas of the same power. Weight is a factor in tractors but like I just said, sometimes more is better and sometimes less is better.

[Petrol & Powder]

It looks like the replacement will be a Mahindra and unfortunately in order to get a live PTO you have to get the hydrostatic drive.

In order to get a gear drive transmission, shuttle shift AND a live PTO, you have to step up to a large utility tractor in the 26-35 HP range. That's more money by about $6K than I want to spend.

I looked at a lot of options and the market is pretty tight. I've been told by a couple of mechanics & technicians (not salesmen) that today's hydrostatic drives are far better than the ones from 15 years ago. In fact I had one mechanic tell me that he would always select a hydrostatic drive over a gear drive in today's tractors under 25 horse power. We'll see.

The used tractor market is a minefield. Your choices are way overpriced machines (very close to new prices) that are 2-5 years old with less than 400 hours and 15-65 year old machines that need $7500 + right out of the gate to be decent rigs with unknown problems. There's not much in between.

If I had the time, I'd look for an older machine and wait until I found a good one. That's not in the cards. I did find some good older tractors (old solid B series Kubota's, hard worked but still running Ford's, 20-25 HP John Deere's with Yanmar diesels and one really cool Massey Ferguson 135 !) but none with the right combination of features and quality. It's just too much money to settle for something that's almost the right set up and unknown history. For the record, both new and used Kubota's are no longer the bargain they once were. I think they may have priced themselves out of the market they held for so long.


Thanks To All For The Input !!!

[Lance Boyle]

yea, they're pretty proud of them as indicated by their prices. My dealer didn't come off of MSRP by much. He knew he didn't have to to sell it. Around here we have 2 busy Deere shops, A Ford and Mahindra place, a Case/Kubota shop, and a farther away Kubota place that also sells lawnmowers and ATV's and less farm equipment, and a small Kioti dealer.

[MarkP]

The used tractor market is a minefield. Your choices are way overpriced machines (very close to new prices) that are 2-5 years old with less than 400 hours and 15-65 year old machines that need $7500 + right out of the gate to be decent rigs with unknown problems. There's not much in between.




I have the same dilemma in my area.

[Handloader109]

Well, I bought a new cabelas 25hp end of last year. Only 40 hours on it so far, but I think it is a good tractor and a good deal if you have a store anywhere close, you might can get a good closeout price. They were based on the Tym brand with changes. Mine is has a yanmar engine, and Woods fel. Bought a woods tiller and the belly mower that is Tym made. I love the hst transmission. No shifting and instant direction change....
Good luck....