Buying Advice Kioti CK 3510 - reliable?

[Luke009]

Hi all!
I'm close to buying my first real tractor and I think I'm settling for a Kioti CK 3510 with loader and 72" rear mower. I have this big concern giving me pause, and it applies to all tractors: the high cost of having it hauled to the dealer for repairs/maintenance, under warranty or not. For me, that would be $300+ round trip. It is amazing how the manufacturers put this on the customer and don't stand fully behind their tractors. Does anyone know what kind of issues I should expect from a new Kioti tractor?
Many thanks.

 

[coobie]

Hi all!
I'm close to buying my first real tractor and I think I'm settling for a Kioti CK 3510 with loader and 72" rear mower. I have this big concern giving me pause, and it applies to all tractors: the high cost of having it hauled to the dealer for repairs/maintenance, under warranty or not. For me, that would be $300+ round trip. It is amazing how the manufacturers put this on the customer and don't stand fully behind their tractors. Does anyone know what kind of issues I should expect from a new Kioti tractor?
Many thanks.

Scan down to the Kioti section and read all about them.As far as Manufacturers fully standing behind there products most do.If your worried about the $300 bucks round trip look for another brand tractor located closer to your location.Please remember a tractor dealer has to pay for the cost of a truck/trailer,fuel and employee to pickup and delivery.Another option for you would be to purchase your own truck and trailer.They are very handy.

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

I understand your concern... it's a big purchase. As coobie advises, scan the Kioti section. On the other hand, I've had both of my tractors since 2013 and they both have never needed to be returned to my dealership for anything... and that's a 4 hour round trip for me.

Most tractor dealerships have mobile mechanics/service vehicles that come to you for repairs that don't require a 'shop'.

She'll be right, Mate. Enjoy the site.

 

[jeff9366]

I own my third tractor, second new Kubota. Kubota is a fine brand but the primary reason I purchased two new Kubotas in succession is the Kubota dealer is six miles from my home. Even after eight years of tractoring averaging 250 hours per year, having the dealer readily accessible adds to tractor value.

Tractor reliability is proportional to the prudence and experience of the operator.
If you are new to operating and maintaining tractors you are going to break, bend and lose parts during your first 200 hours of operation, that an experienced, prudent operator would not lose, break or bend. That is an integral part of gaining experience.

I recommend buying a tractor from a dealer within twenty miles of your property.

You are begging for bitter frustration if you buy from a distant dealer.

Your first service comes at 50 engine hours; changing all the fluids and filters.

 

[MESSMAKER]

Just because the dealer is close. does not make them worthy of your business. Both of my local dealers have been is business for years, but always put the big guys in the front of the line. I know of several times people have waited over a month for a repair.

 

[747driver]

I like my CK27 ( 2013 model ). Has been reliable and does what i want it to do. The dealer is 1.5 hrs away. I do have a 16ft trailer i use to haul it if needed. How big of a place to do have ? If you have acreage you will find a need for a trailer once you get the new tractor home and understand how much more you can do. Most dealers have as stated above a 'mobile 'mechanic who will come to your place to fix the problem unless it requires a shop visit to fix.

I had warranty work done on my tractor and Kioti stood behind it and paid for the required work !

I actually bought my tractor from a dealer that was 6 hrs away. It was what i wanted at a great price. I do my own maintenance unless it gets to complicated for me to handle. I didn't buy the tractor based on dealership.....so far the CK27 has been a great machine.

Buy the tractor....thats what you want ! The rest will take care of itself. Just make a complete walk around at the dealer and make sure everything is working before delivery. This is a great website and everybody here is always willing to help answer questions.

Good Luck !

 

[ericm979]

You have to be hauling the tractor often to justify buying a trailer for it. $3000-5000 pays for a lot of trailer rentals or dealer pickups. I do my own routine service. If I had a vehicle that had to go back to the dealer 10 times during my ownership I'd consider it a complete failure. It's up to the dealer to decide if they provide free pickup/dropoff and how far they go. They include that cost in the tractor price.

 

[N2DFire]

Hi all!
I'm close to buying my first real tractor and I think I'm settling for a Kioti CK 3510 with loader and 72" rear mower. I have this big concern giving me pause, and it applies to all tractors: the high cost of having it hauled to the dealer for repairs/maintenance, under warranty or not. For me, that would be $300+ round trip. It is amazing how the manufacturers put this on the customer and don't stand fully behind their tractors. Does anyone know what kind of issues I should expect from a new Kioti tractor?
Many thanks.

Welcome to TBN. As has already been stated - go down to the Kioti specific section and read / ask questions there also.

What issues should you *expect* on a new tractor - None.
You should expect it to be perfect. What you will get, however, is directly proportional to your dealer / mechanic and your own prudence on delivery. Again - the Kioti forums will have some typical "check behinds" for dealer assembly as well as things you should check / tighten after a little break-in.

Routine maintenance is subjective based on your knowledge & abilities. If you can / do change your own oil in your car then you should be able to handle pretty much all the routine service work - you just might need some bigger wrenches. Whether or not you want to do it is another question. If you're more inclined to let the dealer do that for you then distance & the hauling fees could be an issue but you also have to account for your expected usage.

Ex - Our Kioti was delivered in Oct '15. We're just now hitting the 150 hour service mark so that would roughly be a once a year trip. If you're looking to put 200 hours and 2-4 trips to the dealer a year that's a bigger issue.

Tractor reliability is proportional to the prudence and experience of the operator.

This I would agree with 100% - the "learning curve" comes at a cost, however now that you know about TBN you can ask & learn here rather than find out the hard way.

You are begging for bitter frustration if you buy from a distant dealer.

This I disagree with. Too many variables to make this kind of blanket statement (Dealer capabilities and attitude, Owners ability and experience, etc.)

I'm 45, Dad is 70. We both grew up around tractors & heavy equipment and Dad made his living running & working on heavy equipment for years. Our Dealer is over 100 miles away (one way) and we haven't seen him since he delivered the tractor (answers his phone when I call & e-mails answered promptly though).

The closest thing to frustration we had is a different (closer/larger) dealer sold us the wrong hydraulic filter when we did the 50 hour service - didn't notice till we had the old one off, system drained, and went to put the new one on. Had to stop & drive about 90 miles (round trip) to take it back & get the right one. Lesson Learned.



My opinion - regardless of brand - a tractor purchase is a 3 way split between Dealer, Buyer, and Equipment. Great equipment & experienced buyer can't make up for a bad dealer and a great dealer & experienced buyer can't make up for crappy equipment. You have to find the combination that's the right fit for you.

I'm obviously biased toward Kioti (seeing as how I pass JD, MF, New Holland, Kubota, and Branson dealers twice a day every day going & coming from work) and have no reservations in recommending them to you, but if you're not happy / comfortable with your dealer then I'd suggest finding a dealer/brand you are happy with. That will make more difference in the long run than how far or near they are.

Best of luck & Safe tractoring.

 

[jeff9366]

For me, the cost of having it hauled to the dealer for repairs/maintenancewould be $300+ round trip.

Picking up the tractor for service requires one round trip for the dealer. Returning tractor after service requires a second round trip for the dealer.

Let me illustrate using 60 miles as an example. We will use $35/hour for mechanic/driver in CT, dealer's all up labor cost.

60 X 4 (two round trips) = 240 miles X $1.50 per mile for HD truck, HD trailer and commercial insurance for truck, driver and load = $360.
Mechanic/driver five hours driving plus 1-1/2 hours loading and unloading = $227.50
Cost for dealer to pick up and return tractor after service = $587.50 at cost or near cost.

And you believe transportation should be "free"?:confused3:

 

[Tigershark]

I have a Kioti CK4010 and really like it. Wish I had gotten more HP and rear remotes but outside of that it's been a great tractor. My dealer is about 45-50 miles away and when I did the 50 hr service they picked up and delivered it back for $75.00. My dealer is a good ways away but they are very good. I have a Kubota dealer 5 miles from the farm but they wanted way too much for a comparable tractor and their pickup and delivery was a lot more. After driving both tractors I felt the Kioti was quicker and easier to operate the FEL. For me that was the deciding factor along with the price.

 

[IslandTractor]

I've had two Kioti tractors over the past 13 years. Neither has ever needed to go back to the dealership. A couple of minor warranty issues like broken seat belt retractor and cracked fuel bowl that where handled by a phone call and the UPS guy.

 

[Garrett Wiggins]

Just because the dealer is close. does not make them worthy of your business. Both of my local dealers have been is business for years, but always put the big guys in the front of the line. I know of several times people have waited over a month for a repair.

Tractors do get put ahead of other tractors. I see this more often when you buy a tractor from another location and take it to your local guy to have something fix under warranty. The dealer will always take care of "their" customers first. That's just how it is.

 

[IslandTractor]

Tractors do get put ahead of other tractors. I see this more often when you buy a tractor from another location and take it to your local guy to have something fix under warranty. The dealer will always take care of "their" customers first. That's just how it is.

Fair enough but the risk that A) you'll need service and B) that there is a substantial line in front of you, are both pretty small. Might make a difference for a general contractor who depends on his Bobcat or a commercial farmer but for most of us a delay, if it does happen, will just be an inconvenience. The $$$ you can save by taking the best offered deal however is real and immediate.

 

[Garrett Wiggins]

Fair enough but the risk that A) you'll need service and B) that there is a substantial line in front of you, are both pretty small. Might make a difference for a general contractor who depends on his Bobcat or a commercial farmer but for most of us a delay, if it does happen, will just be an inconvenience. The $$$ you can save by taking the best offered deal however is real and immediate.

I agree 100 percent depends on how much "risk" you are willing to take. Ever heard of a Hay Baler breaking down when you didn't need it? They always break down when a storm is headed your way after the hay is raked up. Everyone has different ways that they "consider" saving. Some people place that on a dollar amount; some like the assurance of the local helping them along. Nothing like seeing your salesman in the grocery store and exchanging a few words like friends. If you ever had a stupid question to ask, sometimes it hard to describe something over the phone, you have to show them; its nice to able to walk in and get someone to help you and you don't get the " your a burden" look on their face. Back in the day this was called "trading" cause you always traded business.

 

[slwelch]

Hi all!
I'm close to buying my first real tractor and I think I'm settling for a Kioti CK 3510 with loader and 72" rear mower. I have this big concern giving me pause, and it applies to all tractors: the high cost of having it hauled to the dealer for repairs/maintenance, under warranty or not. For me, that would be $300+ round trip. It is amazing how the manufacturers put this on the customer and don't stand fully behind their tractors. Does anyone know what kind of issues I should expect from a new Kioti tractor?
Many thanks.

The only problem I have had with my CK3510 that I just got new in January, is the cold weather, fuel gelling and the new emissions they put on them in 2016 mine went into a burn and wouldn't come out of it, it had to go back and have a valve adjusted on the computer, the dealer didn't charge me anything to come and get it, fix it and bring it back, that's 50 mile one way, talk to your dealer make sure they go over it before they deliver. You shouldn't have any trouble this time of year. I love mine I had a Deere 3230 before this one, this is twice the tractor. If I didn't buy this one I was going with the LS tractor. And make sure you get your tires loaded it's worth the money

 

[Luke009]

Thank you all for the responses. This is a great forum. To answer to some of your comments:
1. My two Kioti dealer options are one 20 miles away and another (out of state) 50 miles away. The latter sounds more responsive, has a better price, and both charge the same for tractor service transportation.
2. I debated hard about getting a trailer, for this and other purposes, and it doesn't make sense for me. I'm just a homeowner with 3 acres of land, lawn to mow and driveway to plow. Occasional landscaping and small construction projects. Rough grade to level currently, after deforestation.
3. I pressed this question on CT dealers (Kubota, Mahindra, Kioti) and they would not send a mechanic over for any issue, big or small. They want the tractor brought to them. I wish I could find an independent, professional mechanic willing to come to my house as needed but that's a hard find.
4. I'd love to have the time to do maintenance on my cars and tractor but I just don't have it. Given the prospect of having to pay $$$ to haul it to the dealer, I might have to get into tractor maintenance.
If I knew that the risk is minimal to have anything happen with the tractor if used "prudently" and maintained well (and if such maintenance is not demanding) I would have an easier time to take the plunge here. But dealers admit that they get a number of tractors back under warranty for various glitches, which would add thousands in transportation costs. Perhaps I just need to think of the price that way.

 

[IslandTractor]

I had never maintained a Diesel engine much less a HST or tractor before I bought my first Kioti CK20 twelve years ago. I didn't do my own car maintenance either. Neither the CK20 or DK40se has ever been back to the dealer and I have done all fluid changes and replaced a couple of minor parts. I'd guess I've spent maybe 60-90 minutes a year on average doing maintenance other than greasing.

With a cell phone, a maintenance manual, a UPS truck and a cooperative dealer, I have solved every issue so far and feel I know the tractor better than if someone else did the work.

Biggest hassle: getting HST filter off the first time. Factory puts it on too tight and paints over it. Solution was bigger filter wrench. Most difficult: diagnosing why 4wd suddenly quit. Answered while talking via cell to dealer mechanic while on my back under tractor when "we" found a simple electric connection uncoupled by brush. Fixed in five seconds.

I don't consider myself a shade tree mechanic by any means but necessity (tractor is on an island and would take a day and $$$ to get to and from a dealer) has made me learn and be comfortable with the basics. And, I shouldn't fail to mention how friends on TBN have answered numerous questions and given excellent advice. If you can hold a wrench, these guys will gently talk you through the steps necessary to use it effectively.

 

[ericm979]

Counting travel and waiting time (or time for someone to pick me up/drop me off) it takes more time to take a vehicle in for service than for me to do it myself, and I'm not hurrying when I do it.

In our area, where few land owners have tractors, there are independent mobile mechanics who work on tractors. Found out about them from other local tractor owners. There's probably some in your area.

 

[Luke009]

I had never maintained a Diesel engine much less a HST or tractor before I bought my first Kioti CK20 twelve years ago. I didn't do my own car maintenance either. Neither the CK20 or DK40se has ever been back to the dealer and I have done all fluid changes and replaced a couple of minor parts. I'd guess I've spent maybe 60-90 minutes a year on average doing maintenance other than greasing.

With a cell phone, a maintenance manual, a UPS truck and a cooperative dealer, I have solved every issue so far and feel I know the tractor better than if someone else did the work.

Biggest hassle: getting HST filter off the first time. Factory puts it on too tight and paints over it. Solution was bigger filter wrench. Most difficult: diagnosing why 4wd suddenly quit. Answered while talking via cell to dealer mechanic while on my back under tractor when "we" found a simple electric connection uncoupled by brush. Fixed in five seconds.

I don't consider myself a shade tree mechanic by any means but necessity (tractor is on an island and would take a day and $$$ to get to and from a dealer) has made me learn and be comfortable with the basics. And, I shouldn't fail to mention how friends on TBN have answered numerous questions and given excellent advice. If you can hold a wrench, these guys will gently talk you through the steps necessary to use it effectively.

Thank you. That was reassuring and it's my best case scenario. Which dealer did you use in RI?

 

[jeff9366]

3. I pressed this question on CT dealers (Kubota, Mahindra, Kioti) and they would not send a mechanic over for any issue, big or small. They want the tractor brought to them. I wish I could find an independent, professional mechanic willing to come to my house as needed but that's a hard find.

I am age 70. Tractors vibrate a lot when operating over rough ground. Tractor fittings are air-gunned on really tight. At age 70, I cannot loosen tractor fittings manually, even with a long wrench.
A mechanic would have to have both metric and sterling tool sets.
Then, if a part is needed, do you want your tractor partially disassembled for three weeks before the part arrives and the mechanic can schedule a return?
A circuit tractor mechanic would require many parts manuals, although some are accessible on the web.