Is My Neighbor Correct?

[rocknrod]

I was talking to my neighbor about buying a tractor.
He stated that that buying foreign tractors may be cheaper, but the costs of parts will be greater. Therefore I should look out for that.

 

[TripleR]

Simply put, no. You simply cannot make this generalization with the number of American brands being made over seas and some foreign ones made here.

 

[oldnslo]

I haven't found any parts yet yet I considered inexpensive. In some cases JD may cost less than Kubota, NH, MF, etc for a similar item but in most cases there is very little difference for the more commonly used items like filters, oils, etc..

 

[brucew44guns]

Thing I have a hard time getting a grip on, is the cost of a tractor----VS.----where it's made. I know labor costs are terrible, but wouldn't it be sweet if JD or IH for example would build a tractor factory here in the states, totally modern with robots and labor saving devices, and hired Americans to build these great named pieces of machinery? JD started here, got famous here, are used here. Seems like they ought to be built here, at a price we could afford, same for IH or MF or NH. Didn't mean to hijack anything, just tired of evrything made sounding foreign.

 

[rocknrod]

Simply put, no. You simply cannot make this generalization with the number of American brands being made over seas and some foreign ones made here.

Thanks - Thats what I thought as well.

Thing I have a hard time getting a grip on, is the cost of a tractor----VS.----where it's made. I know labor costs are terrible, but wouldn't it be sweet if JD or IH for example would build a tractor factory here in the states, totally modern with robots and labor saving devices, and hired Americans to build these great named pieces of machinery? JD started here, got famous here, are used here. Seems like they ought to be built here, at a price we could afford, same for IH or MF or NH. Didn't mean to hijack anything, just tired of evrything made sounding foreign.

No - Its just a question my neighbor asked - that I thought was incorrect and wanted to ask.
And lets be honest - Just look at JD engines and such - Not made here.

Back to the question.

 

[20 20]

I was talking to my neighbor about buying a tractor.
He stated that that buying foreign tractors may be cheaper, but the costs of parts will be greater. Therefore I should look out for that.

foreign tractor I would bet most are.

If you're comparing something like john deere newholland etc.. to a jinma then the answer would be NO.

Over all I would say NO{your neighbor is blowing smoke} but it still depends on make, were it is built, how it was built etc....

 

[rtimgray]

Which parts are you going to need? Beyond routine maintenance, who knows.

In 9 years, I've needed very few parts for my foreign tractor. Far and away the biggest expense I ever had (about $900 repair) was due to a shift collar key in the tranny going bad and the tractor had to split. Of the total bill, about 80% was labor, 10% was for materials (transmission fluid and filter), 5% delivery and 5% parts. In other words, the parts were pretty cheap.

Other parts that I've needed were quite reasonably. I had to buy a glow plug controller that was about $50, a few nuts/bolts/washers and some seals for hydraulic valves, and I probably haven't spent $100 combined on those. I can tell you that I spent way, way more on my John Deere tractor (in fairness, it was a 1964 2010 model).

I would say that your neighbor will be right on occasion, wrong on occasion, and who knows on the rest.

Good luck and take care.

 

[IslandTractor]

I was talking to my neighbor about buying a tractor.
He stated that that buying foreign tractors may be cheaper, but the costs of parts will be greater. Therefore I should look out for that.

Where do I buy an American made CUT other than a foreign CUT assembled in the USA?

Maybe your neighbor was confused or just FOS.

 

[TGF]

I was talking to my neighbor about buying a tractor.
He stated that that buying foreign tractors may be cheaper, but the costs of parts will be greater. Therefore I should look out for that.

Depending on the tractor you buy foreign maybe your only option. If you are in the SCUT or CUT market almost every single one of those is Japan or Korea in design and parts. Even JD's are. Many people will tell you that JD or whoever outsourced to save money etc, but truth of it is probably closer to, a farm in Japan or Korea is tiny by American standards so a SCUT or CUT is used much more there than a Row Tractor. They have put more time and tech into them, it would be silly to reinvent the wheel, and probably a losing endeavor.

There is nothing wrong with foreign made tractors or part, they can be of the same or better quality just like anything else. Heck my favorite pistols are Sig's and those are German made Swiss Arms. Its a global economy the buy American thing is a granfalloon. If you tie yourself to a Made In America label all you are doing is limiting your options and often times reducing quality for a silly bars and stars warm fuzzy. Buy quality first and foremost.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I was talking to my neighbor about buying a tractor.
He stated that that buying foreign tractors may be cheaper, but the costs of parts will be greater. Therefore I should look out for that.

Very wrong. This may have been true 20 years ago but the internet changed all that. Look at cars for example. 20 years ago getting a Honda worked on in a small town may have been a issue but now they are as well established as the big 3.

Me and my uncle bought tractors 1 year apart. He got a JD and me a imported Jinma. Both of us have had about the same number of small problems but one thing we both had to replace was the starter. Mine was $180 and his was $640. I also got mine in 24 hours via the internet and he had to wait 72 hours for the JD dealer to get it in.

Now there are some imported tractors that are not supported very well but my Jinma is supported as good as my Ford tractor I also own.

Chris

 

[flusher]

I was talking to my neighbor about buying a tractor.
He stated that that buying foreign tractors may be cheaper, but the costs of parts will be greater. Therefore I should look out for that.

Your first concerns should be servicing and parts availability. Then worry about cost. If you don't plan to do major repairs (when necessary) on your tractor yourself, you'll need to find a local dealer or tractor service place. Sometimes this is a real problem, especially if you are fixated on a particular brand and there's no local dealer for service and parts.

My new tractor is a 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto 2WD, gear tranny) made in India. The local dealer is a super guy--always ready to help, fair prices for parts and service. No problems here.

I also restore old tractors and get the parts from suppliers via the Internet.

 

[gauthier]

Like said,there ain't no american made tractors[maybe those pt's but bet many of the parts on them are imported.]

 

[LBrown59]

I haven't found any parts yet yet I considered inexpensive. In some cases JD may cost less than Kubota, NH, MF, etc for a similar item but in most cases there is very little difference for the more commonly used items like filters, oils, etc..

Me neither!

 

[Pipestone Kid]

Your neighbor may have been talking about"gray market" tractors. Parts for them can be very expensive, if you can get them. It depends on what part of the country you are in and who is selling them (Gray, that is)

 

[clemsonfor]

Your neighbor may have been talking about"gray market" tractors. Parts for them can be very expensive, if you can get them. It depends on what part of the country you are in and who is selling them (Gray, that is)

And again what part for they grey tractor as well as the model of grey tractor and make. My yanmar has excellent service from Hoye tractor. Even though it is a japanneese tractor made for the overseas market i can still get anything from a wheel to tires to starter and glow plugs rebuild kits etc from hoye overnight if i want to. YOu can also get them from a us dealer if you want to pay the higher prices at yanmar usa (just dont tell them its the grey model) tell them its the american one. Also some of the JD compacts from the 80s are almost exact copies of the yanmar and share parts like keys filters, hydro pump, lines etc (meaning you could go to JD for some parts if you knew what interchangerd, but i bet my hydro pump from hoye tractor to be a hundred or so dollars less than JD's!). Some parts folks have found are the same on yanmars as 70's era Datsuns as the japs used what was already invented, meaning you can get like the cooling sensor and alt, and starter and voltage regulator from autozone if you know what your doing.

You just need to reasearch your particular brand your interested in and find which model has good parts support. You can even look at say a Jimina tractor you are interested in and a JD or something and just look up parts for the 2 of them. Look up a water pump on both see the prices, a radiator, the filters, seals etc see how easy they are to find and how the prices?

 

[rocknrod]

Well thank you all for your input and very good information.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

but wouldn't it be sweet if JD or IH for example would build a tractor factory here in the states, totally modern with robots and labor saving devices, and hired Americans to build these great named pieces of machinery?.

Kubota does. Its called KMA (Kubota Manufacturing of America). 1800 people work there.

 

[IslandTractor]

Kubota does. Its called KMA (Kubota Manufacturing of America). 1800 people work there.

Do they build engines and frames or just assemble components?

 

[Ford tractor]

Yes, your neighbor is correct. In the areas where his statement apply.

Since you would have to get a mid '80's or older tractor to have one made in the USA, you would have to find a made elsewhere tractor of the same vintage and compare prices. Parts for an old Ford 4000, Ford 860 or 8N are relatively cheap for things like clutch, brakes, etc. I would guess that parts for a Japanese tractor of the same vintage would be difficult to obtain and higher priced.


But, since about the mid '80's there have been more chicken teeth than American made CUT's, so you can't really make the comparison.

 

[TGF]

Grey market tractors are basically tractors imported from countries not made for the US standard tractor market, so their PTO might operate at 300 RPM, and their implements may require it spin a different direction, or a different type of hitch their hydro QC's maybe different, screws my be threaded the wrong direction etc... Buying one of these would be silly.