Buying Advice Kubota compared to John Deere

DAY · May 27, 2011

I can't speak to the JD dealerships in Colorado, but here in eastern PA the Deere dealerships have been around since the first Jethro Tull was famous. And they sold farm equipment to farmers. CUTs are a new phenomenon, and they aren't always comfortable with the machines OR the potential buyers.

If your heart is set on a John Deere, then you look for the dealer who will treat you with respect. If you want the best 'deal', you look at Bobcat/Kubota/JD/Whatever, and try to get past the personal failings of the dealer.

When shopping for a tractor the first person to talk to is the Service Manager, not a salesman, because you will be dealing with him, long after the salesman has moved on to selling jet skis or timeshares in Florida.

beppington · May 27, 2011

DAY said:
I can't speak to the JD dealerships in Colorado, but here in eastern PA the Deere dealerships have been around since the first Jethro Tull was famous. And they sold farm equipment to farmers. CUTs are a new phenomenon, and they aren't always comfortable with the machines OR the potential buyers.

If your heart is set on a John Deere, then you look for the dealer who will treat you with respect. If you want the best 'deal', you look at Bobcat/Kubota/JD/Whatever, and try to get past the personal failings of the dealer.

When shopping for a tractor the first person to talk to is the Service Manager, not a salesman, because you will be dealing with him, long after the salesman has moved on to selling jet skis or timeshares in Florida.

I'm confused. In your previous post you wrote: "You can buy a good tractor from either place, so focus on the "deal" rather than the "dealer".

IMO the dealer definitely matters. My JD dealer didn't impress me at all, & my Kubota dealer did a lot. And look who got my $

DAY · May 27, 2011

When i wrote "You can buy a good tractor from either place, so focus on the "deal" rather than the "dealer". I was talking about a John Deere OR a Kubota- both good tractors. And the 'deal' is mostly price (and that CAN include free delivery/pickup, 50 hour service, etc).

You wrote: "My JD dealer didn't impress me at all, & my Kubota dealer did a lot."

If you are talking about the entire place- inventory, sales, and service, then, yes, that makes a difference. But a lousy salesman at a world class dealership is not a good reason to walk away.

i recently looked at Bobcats, and the salesman did not impress me at all. Stared at a computer screen for a long time, printed out a price, and basically said, 'here's the deal.'
However, the tractor did impress me, and I plan to see what another 'cat dealer has to offer, both in price, and knowledge of the machine.

It is not too different from car shopping.

skspurling · May 27, 2011

ham said:
I can't get over this silliness of Kubota being cheaper....its not. i had a great Kubota that I wanted to trade in, but the new Kubota had the same seat I had 8 years ago, still has a poor hood/get at things ratio, and was quite a bit more than the JD which actually was a size bigger....a lot of baloney on these kind of threads. Face it either you don't like the dealer or you just prefer a color

I needed a rear finish mower for my B2620, and another dealer had the mower brand new, but 5 years old... Apparently 60" mowers aren't in demand around here.

While I was buying the mower, I told the guy I had looked at the Yanmar Cubs they had, but that they were too pricey. He was confused. I guess the point is, Kubota IS CHEAPER, when you aren't looking for a yuppie tractor. You add all the stuff I would have gotten with the Yanmar Cub would have pushed me to a B2630, which may be up to $1000 more than the other CUT's with the same HP and attachments. I didn't want a B2630, I wanted the B2620. So, mine was cheaper than what I would have spent on a NH or Cub. And the NH dealer, who also sells Mihandra and McCormick never returned my calls. I would have liked to have seen the MF tractors, but the dealer is further away than I was comfortable with.

I have noticed that the pricing between brands that every body harps on is within $3k of each other at most. Normally JD at the top, and every body else mixed in below that. Most of the tractors are the same, except Kubota and JD who make their own. It also depends on the dealer and how eager he is to do business. A good Kubota dealer can undercut a so so <Pick your yanmar or LS clone> dealer.

Another thing about JD is all the plastic. UV ages plastic and makes it brittle. My FIL's JD looks horrible because of all the plastic breaking up. It's a very real issue with their CUT's, despite some saying it isn't because they go easy on their stuff. If you are one of those people who are hard on stuff, JD may not be for you just because of the plastic. If you don't believe me, check ebay and notice all the plastic hoods up for sale. If it weren't an issue, there wouldn't be such a large market.

SO, I have no Idea where you come up with this Kubota is more expensive than every body else silliness!

beppington · May 27, 2011

skspurling said:
Another thing about JD is all the plastic. UV ages plastic and makes it brittle. My FIL's JD looks horrible because of all the plastic breaking up. It's a very real issue with their CUT's, despite some saying it isn't because they go easy on their stuff. If you are one of those people who are hard on stuff, JD may not be for you just because of the plastic. If you don't believe me, check ebay and notice all the plastic hoods up for sale. If it weren't an issue, there wouldn't be such a large market.

Interesting. When I searched eBay for "deere hood" I got 741 results. When I searched eBay for "kubota hood" I got 34 results.

(I used no other search parameters that might reduce results in any way, like price range, year range, or anything like that)

I prefer metal body parts to plastic, although I've never quite been sure why or whether I could really defend that, but those eBay search results seem telling.

Tdcw4 · May 27, 2011

Kubota builds their own tractors a john deere is a high priced yanmar just my opinion

maximus1277 · May 27, 2011

I could not be happier with my kubota tractor. The only thing I wish is to have a diesel pickup with a kubota quality. I would not care if it had to be orange. These things are bullet proof, dependable, built right and never disappointing when properly matched for their purpose.

Combustix · May 27, 2011

Had 3 dealers in my area at the time Kubota, JD, NH looked at all their cuts in the 20-30 hp range, got quotes from all three, JD most expensive and NH the least. A year later I walked into the same dealerships with the quotes they gave me. JD and NH would not honor the number as they claimed their prices had gone up, on the same model and year

The Kubota dealer honored the price he quoted me even though he looked at me kinda funny. CUT the check so to speak and have enjoyed every minute of seat time since. :thumbsup:

MHarryE · May 27, 2011

Very interesting thread. Back in 2002 I was looking for a small tractor like a Kubota B series, but was only looking at JD. A friend suggested I look at Kubota. I dropped in looked at the B series and came away with a L3710. In the 8 years I owned it the only parts I needed were filters and fluid. Come time to trade a different dealer called me personally, heard the rumor I was looking, asked me to come to lunch and talk about it, and now I have a new L5740. So the real purchase criteria - buy me lunch and I am easy.

johnrex62 · May 27, 2011

When I bought my first tractor, not only was I color blind but I fully expected to buy either used or some generic or discount unbranded type of tractor. I had very little cash to spend and limited credit. I went to the dealerships to educate myself on what tractors were and how to determine what was quality and what was crap.

I was unsurprised by the reception I got at the Deere dealership, but was less than thrilled either. I learned little and got no help from anyone at the shop. They nodded hi and forgot I existed. I browsed the machines and climbed up into the seat of a couple, but still did not have a clue as to what I needed.

I was stunned by the Kubota dealer who actually got up from his desk and talked to me in depth about my property and what I wanted to do with it. He suggested a range of tractor sizes and explained why some were too much and some were too little based on my specific problems. I learned a lot about CUTS during my visit and was blown away by the dealer impression.

I shopped several other dealers in the central Texas area and still did not expect to buy anything too expensive. I did not find any dealerships that I was as comfortable with as I was with Taylor Kubota.

I was not having much luck finding anything used at a discount, it seemed that the used CUTS were almost the same as the new machines, sometimes even higher when less than 800 hours on them.

Bottom line for me came when the Mahindra was my cheapest option, but only by $560 and the Deere was over 4K higher than the Kubota. Kubota offered 0 down and 0% for 60. Mahindra needed 6% and Deere never got to the point of trying to sell to me, only got a quote online as the dealer was too busy to respond.

I liked the feel of the L3700SU better than the Mahindra 3016. Just seemed more "professionally" put together....more refined so to speak. The Deere that was comparable to the L3700SU was not on the Deere lot, so I never got to see it in person, but the other Deere products seemed similar in fit and finish to the Kubota. I did not think the 3038E would be different enough to justify the 4K price differential.

I think I would have liked the left side brakes more than the right side Kubota style, but it is inconsequential on the HST and I don't do a lot of plowing or anything that requires sharp 90 degree turns.

crazyal · May 27, 2011

I was planning on buying a NH. Around here they were the cheapest but the local dealer was kind of far away. I kind of got the impression that Deere was going to be too pricey and Kubota was most likely not going to be too much cheaper.

After spending one day driving and sitting on tractors or all brands and models I left with a couple impressions. Some models/ brands just felt more ergonomically right to me. Some of the lower end models, while not poorly finished didn't look as refined as the high end models. I then did a little on-line homework on the models and brands that felt right. Finally I did asked myself the question "how long do I plan on keeping the tractor"?

What's the point in buying a tractor that's close to what you wanted and now you have to live with it for 20 years or more? JD's plastic worried me, I've never had anything plastic last 20 years without fading and cracking. Also I use my tractor on really cold days, even on the coldest of days metal dents. So I made a choice and I have no regrets.

dkostiha · May 31, 2011

I have owned both brands. I prefer the JD for features, durability, dealer support and resale value. Kubota is not a bad tractor, but just not as good as a JD in my humble opinion. Drive both, check out your local dealers, sleep on it and pull the trigger. Life is too short to worry over two good brands.

beppington · May 31, 2011

dkostiha said:
I have owned both brands. I prefer the JD for features, durability, dealer support and resale value. Kubota is not a bad tractor, but just not as good as a JD in my humble opinion. Drive both, check out your local dealers, sleep on it and pull the trigger. Life is too short to worry over two good brands.

Or ... life is too long to be stuck with the "wrong" tractor

sbrown · Jun 1, 2011

I agree with all the other comments about the difference in dealers. I walked in to the JD dealer to look at an SCUT, the salesmen wouldn't even get up to talk to me. In contrast, the Kubota dealer spent a lot of time with me talking about options, what's needed on my property, etc. The entire sales experience was honest and straightforward. To me this shows that Kubota is the better company more interested in treating it's customers well, regardless of the technical merits of orange vs. green.

rScotty · Jun 1, 2011

sbrown said:
I agree with all the other comments about the difference in dealers. I walked in to the JD dealer to look at an SCUT, the salesmen wouldn't even get up to talk to me. In contrast, the Kubota dealer spent a lot of time with me talking about options, what's needed on my property, etc. The entire sales experience was honest and straightforward. To me this shows that Kubota is the better company more interested in treating it's customers well, regardless of the technical merits of orange vs. green.

I keep hearing the same thing: that it was JD's attention to the needs of their customers that made them into a respected world leader. Now I'm hearing more and more that JD has forgotten how they got to the top.....and their chief competitor just might overtake them by simply using the same old strategy.
rScotty

johnrex62 · Jun 1, 2011

I don't know that JD has forgotten their successful strategy. They simply apply it to the market demographic they deem more important. If you walk in to spend $150K they will find someone to work with you. If you only want to spend $25K you will have to wait until they can fit you in between the paying customers.

beppington · Jun 1, 2011

johnrex62 said:
I don't know that JD has forgotten their successful strategy. They simply apply it to the market demographic they deem more important. If you walk in to spend $150K they will find someone to work with you. If you only want to spend $25K you will have to wait until they can fit you in between the paying customers.

Or in between a thrilling game of solitaire.

johnrex62 · Jun 2, 2011

beppington said:
Or in between a thrilling game of solitaire.

Well, you know how much concentration solitaire takes. They probably did not even see you waving your arms or hear you blowing the airhorn to get their attention. I can understand that. Just be patient, you will get serviced someday. :thumbsup:

charleyfarmall · Jun 2, 2011

My experience was different. Three Deere dealers near me immediately came over and asked if I needed help. The Deere dealer near me in TN was also very good about customer attention. I had very good conversations with them about farming and tractor use. All three were probably a little more ag oriented.