You're pic is a little biased. I wouldn't shop based on what competitors say about a competing brand.
Kubota tractors
- Thread starter fhe
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You're pic is a little biased. I wouldn't shop based on what competitors say about a competing brand.
handyandy
Active VIP Member
What year and model are you loking at? Lots of farmers have them for yard tractors and I have yet to hear too many complaints.
Massey makes good small tractors too, Massey actually sells the most tractors worldwide because their small tractors so they would be another option.
Massey makes good small tractors too, Massey actually sells the most tractors worldwide because their small tractors so they would be another option.
Cat401
Active VIP Member
I think you are missing the point. From what I understand of those pics is someone took the operating manuals of 2 equivalent rated tractors and added up the suggested scheduled service items / maintenance for 5 years. Added up the cost of filters, oil, grease and whatever else was suggested that be changed / serviced within those 5 years......and the Kubota added up to $8000 and the Deere was less than $1800. This is NOT repairs...only regular scheduled maintenance as suggested by each manufacturers service manuals.
So, if the Kubota is not cheaper (according to other poster's on here...I thought they were cheaper) and it is going to cost you over $1200 per year more to do basic maintenance and the unit is worth the least of all down the road come trade in time (vs Case, NH & John Deere).....then tell me again why it makes sense to own one?
I recently had the chance to ride & drive a bunch of 90-120 hp Kubota's, NH's, Massey, CIH & Deere tractors....all new models.....spent approx. 30 minutes looking at service points, ergonomics, cab controls and general features then spent 20-30 minutes driving each one....driving on a bumpy track, loader work....moving dirt from pile to pile, loader cycle times, etc.
The NH, Case and Deere all had good and bad features but the Kubota units (one was a standard and one was the deluxe...GX?) were rated the worst overall in ride quality and ergonomics.
I would really suggest that if you are buying...get in and drive them...preferably at your place where you can maybe try another brand side by side. Do some loader work, check cycle times. What rpm's do you need to run the tractor to be at rated pto speed? Most were 2100 but one needed to be at 2700 RPM. Do you want to sit in a tractor all day where you need to rev it at 2700 rpm .....screaming, noisy tractor.
no disrespect meant but a lot of acreage owners look at a the bottom line price and don't spend the time getting on them and operating them thoroughly. So when I hear a lot of guys speak up and say, "yup, I bought one of those ______, its the best tractor I ever owned, never had a stitch of problems" The guy is probably not lying.....but he also probably does not know what he is missing because he never owned or driven a different brand. Just going to the dealer and sitting in a seat for 5 minutes does not make a good test. Work the loader, work the reverser in numerous gears, go drive on some rough ground, go through all the gears over and over... vision yourself sitting in the seat for hours on end doing repetitive tasks like working the hydraulics, the loader joystick, the 3 pt hitch controls...are the controls in a natural zone or do you have to twist your wrist of hand to work the lever/control? Then ask about service intervals....some brands allow 500+ hours between oil changes if you use their oils while some are at 150 hours and they don't care who's oil or filter you use.....
If the dealer won't let you try it...ask yourself why? and go somewhere else.
Go look how the service is done. Is it easy to check, add, change oil? Are the filters easily accessible? How do you check the hydraulic fluid, etc...
One thing that I really noticed when comparing the loaders was the bucket level indicator...some where pure junk and when you are doing repetitive loader work, you need one. Small thing but yet significant was that every manufacturer except one do not have a flat top bucket....seems minor but when you can just look at the top of the bucket and you know that it is parallel with the bottom of the bucket, it makes it a dream for knowing if the bucket is level when its on the ground
Speaking of oil and engines, there are only two manufacturers who are in the oil & engine manufacturing business....Cat & Deere and are the only ones who produce their own engines....coincidence? Maybe, yet those 2 companies offer the highest service intervals if you use their products. Sure you can go to Walmart and buy a pail of oil for cheap but if you have to change it twice as often...where is the savings?
Ask any Cat or Deere dealer who has had to deal with a mechanical failure when a machine is out of warranty and the customer is asking for a break in the cost.....the 1st question that the company reps from Deere or Cat ask is "who's oil were they using? And a quick oil sample proves if it was theirs or not. If it was not theirs, don't expect any special consideration.
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Beels
Active VIP Member
I'll can give you multiple customer's names that have thousands of hours of Kubota tractors (and I'm not talking acreage guys) and the same guys are buying over again. The proof is with the guys running this stuff, not John Deere's marketing department.
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Cat401
Active VIP Member
ya, ok Beels...
the info is out of Kubota's owner's manual....written by Kubota...no smoke and mirrors of a marketing department.....just basic math
Cat401
Active VIP Member
Beels, with you being a Kubota dealer, you most likely have access to the owners manuals. Why not pick the model shown in the pic and add up the costs of five years worth of the suggested maintenance. If my info is wrong, I will remove my post.
Luke The Drifter
Active VIP Member
How many hours do acreage owners (assuming this is what the OP is buying it for) put on their tractors? I'm willing to bet it's minimal so a maintainence schedule based on hours operated doesn't really mean much.
Cat and Deere make their own engines, for their bigger stuff. The compact tractors and equipment is Mitsubishi or Perkins for cat and yanmar for Deere. As for the oil, they both make specs for their stuff and have a company refine it for them and slap their label on it. JD oil is made by Mobil, cat, I'm not too sure. I would have to look up the msds for their stuff.
Cat and Deere make their own engines, for their bigger stuff. The compact tractors and equipment is Mitsubishi or Perkins for cat and yanmar for Deere. As for the oil, they both make specs for their stuff and have a company refine it for them and slap their label on it. JD oil is made by Mobil, cat, I'm not too sure. I would have to look up the msds for their stuff.
sumx54
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DaveB
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I just want to know how many tractors Cat401 owns.
NOTE: please note that due to sensitivity within the Polaris camp, no brand bash was posted here.
NOTE: please note that due to sensitivity within the Polaris camp, no brand bash was posted here.
- Thread starter
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fhe
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Not sure of the year, just looking a dependable tractor and may add snow blower at a later date.
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fhe
Active VIP Member
A 4 ft tiller or so, and use to move dirt, gravel and float driveway. Easier on the back.
xmsummit154
Active member
I have ran tractors all of my life and am a Journeyman Ag mechanic. If the John Deere and Kubota are the same price then don't be foolish and buy the John Deere. Kubota doesn't even come close to a John Deere. In 5 years what will the Kubota be worth compared to the John Deere. The resale on John Deere is amazing compared to the other brands.
Beels
Active VIP Member
Look at the BX series tractor. Just don't expect to move a whole bunch of material at once with the loader (which goes for anything that size).
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Beels
Active VIP Member
There's no point even trying to convince you there's other brands besides John Deere worth looking at. I need people to sell used green stuff to.
Cat401
Active VIP Member
I know of the other brands....some are built well and are worth buying (even spending a bit more while others are built like bic lighters
You have the access to the Kubota owners manuals....prove me wrong about the much higher uptime costs of your Kubota....I will gladly remove my post where I knocked them. But I think my source has done their homework on this.
AreWeThereYet
Active VIP Member
I was at one time the only licensed Kubota engine tech up until 2010 in GP, from 2001 until 2010 I worked on all models of these machines from the T-series lawn up to the 135x tractors, tillers, mowers(all which were Farm King by the way), G-series generators, compact excavators, even the POS RTV machines. I have stayed out of the conversation and will not post my opinion,. But have access to not all, but most service manuals, but no OP's and can post needed information if I have it.
What information do you want posted, the general maintenance per hour guide?
Cat401
Active VIP Member
What I am trying to find out is the cost of recommended service as per the owners manual. According to the picture I posted earlier in this thread, someone from Deere compared the cost of two comparable tractors and added up the cost of upkeep (only recommended service as per the OM...repairs would be extra) over five years....filters, fluids, etc....whatever is suggested that be done within those 5 years. They took those items and added them up....the Deere tractor has a total of ~$1800 while the Kubota had a total of ~8000 over the same time frame.
I would like to see the OM of that tractor and see what is on that service list....why would there be over $8000 in maintenance in 5 years?
I know that you can go onto Deere.com and look at the owners manual of pretty well any tractor made but I can't find any Kubota manuals on line
