Korean tractor dilemma

[IndyIan]

I prefer buying S Korean over Japanese. The S Koreans never bombed Pearl Harbor. The S Korean industrial machine is blossoming, while the Japanese industrial machine is dying. The Japanese workforce is aging, and the new generation of workers is inferior in every metric.

I wouldn't bet on Kubota declining or disappearing anytime soon, they have a good thing going for themselves!
I just liked the S. Korea design philosophy of lots of weight and capability in a CUT size, and include lots of features in the base tractor. When I looked, the equivalent size/weight Kubota was more money to start, then once you equipped it the same as the DK SE tractors, the price got way way up there... Maybe worth it if you do 5-600 hours a year for a living? I'm closer to 60-80hrs it seems, so I'm glad I kept my $10-12k working for me for the last 13 years and repairs have been a positive battery lead... The local Kioti dealer was the best of any of the colors for buying a CUT which made it an easy decision.

 

[paulsharvey]

Wow, hold a grudge long? That was 83 years ago; everyone is dead. We still mad at Range Rover over the English burning the White House?

 

[tradosaurus]

I prefer buying S Korean over Japanese. The S Koreans never bombed Pearl Harbor. The S Korean industrial machine is blossoming, while the Japanese industrial machine is dying. The Japanese workforce is aging, and the new generation of workers is inferior in every metric.

I remember my Dad, WW2 vet, wouldn't buy anything made by Japanese. I can sympathize especially when you include the nanjing massacres

 

[Mud2Money]

Sucks on the parts. Everyone’s a parts pusher now. What happened to real mechanics. I’ve rebuilt the “ un serviceable “ many of times. Hydrostatic pumps are fairly simple actually. I did a little machine work for my friends jd skid pump. Supposed to be a total pump replacement according to jd. We pulled the numbers from the pump , got the pump mfg. Got all the parts from them for around $1200 vs the $5800 complete pump. Couple hours later the other machinist friend had it back together.

Now I have heard of people having better luck getting a hold of ls corporate side over here about warranty /time issues.

 

[caleb90]

Ls corporate has been easy to get ahold of. Tym was a night mare. That said 3 weeks and tractor still hasnt been looked at

 

[mulespb]

So im 2 for 2 on korea tractors being lemons. Tym first and had issues right at 9hr, wanted a bigger tractor and the tym put a bad taste in my mouth. So i went with ls the second time around, this one made it 49hr before going back to the dealer. The ls will have to be split and i expect for it to be gone 3 months at the least as it needs a new hst pump. I could keep it, but im the type of person that when a piece of equipment or vehicle fails that bad or needs that much work. I would never trust it and would continue to have resentment over it. So that being said i will most likly sell when i get it back and buy new. I really like how the korean tractors get you more for the money, and they really do out pace kubota john deere and massey in the loader department. But im really getting tired of messing with them due to subpar quality. Do i try for lucky #3 and get a kioti to replace the ls , or do i buy a used kubota or massey and live with the weaker loaders and deal with the crappy loader joy stick location?

Don't buy Kioti! Too many problems to list.....but I'll post a picture of broken welds on the stabilizer bars of my RX6010 Cab. Resail is terrible and there's a reason why. Stick with Kubota or Deere.
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[Mud2Money]

It’s all been a gamble. Neighbors had his deer 3e series at the dealer for a few hydraulics problems. We had a old Kioti from 89 that lived a insanely hard life up until about 3 years ago it got a low compression cylinder. My LS mt5 has almost 400 hours now of heavy use with a 7’ hd tiller , 3-4 bottom trailer plow , 10’ disc. It’s only had one issue and that was a crank sensor.

 

[arrow]

Don’t go by brand.
I deal with Mahindras but experience industry wide situations.
In my experience, Kubota is the best built tractor but incrementally.
They have a problem in my mind with the use of smaller ring gears in their home owner models and have a penchant of placing their tie rods in front of their axles on these as well as a threadle hydro pedal engagement l dislike but other than that, l like most everything else.
Their dealers can be uppity and arrogant which leads me to what in my mind is the most important issue….the dealer.
Check on their service department. Are they overwhelmed because of lack of help? Bad attitude because of low pay?
How is the moral there? Is the place bustling with customers?
Do they have a successful history and have been established? Are they close by?
I don’t care what the brand, when something goes wrong, you want excellent service and support and if a dealer has been ther awhile, that is a good telltale you’ll receive the same.
If we know a fix is going to need extended time, we offer the customer a loaner tractor.
If you’re going to switch, switch a dealer and not necessarily a brand even though the two may go hand and hand.

 

[arrow]

I prefer buying S Korean over Japanese. The S Koreans never bombed Pearl Harbor. The S Korean industrial machine is blossoming, while the Japanese industrial machine is dying. The Japanese workforce is aging, and the new generation of workers is inferior in every metric.

What is your proof of the Japanese worker inferiority?

 

[Torvy]

Ls corporate has been easy to get ahold of. Tym was a night mare. That said 3 weeks and tractor still hasnt been looked at

Why would you need to contact the corporate offices of any OEM? Do you call Ford or Chevy when your car breaks down?

The dealer is your contact. If you have problems with the dealer, try another dealer and get the regional guy from the OEM.

 

[Saucymynx]

Perfectly happy with my LS MT3, which I guess in everyone’s opinion is a POS with low lift height.

I too am happy with my LS. MT 7101. It’s a beast. Pull a new Holland 575 baler like nobody’s business with a thrower wagon uphills. Blows snow all winter long with an 8 foot blower. And I’m talking real snow. Upper peninsula Michigan. Zero problems in 400 hours. I can’t complain about the loader lift height. I can fill the bucket with Haybale‘s and lift them up to my hayloft when I don’t feel like dragging out the elevator., But a good dealer close by and $20,000 less than green or orange sold me , haven’t regretted the decision for a second. I bought a no till drill with the savings.

 

[caleb90]

Why would you need to contact the corporate offices of any OEM? Do you call Ford or Chevy when your car breaks down?

The dealer is your contact. If you have problems with the dealer, try another dealer and get the regional guy from the OEM.

Because most dealers for these korean tractors are fly by night dealers. Who are here today gone tomorrow. Cant compare what you are trying to compare

 

[kenmac]

I thought about buying a Korean tractor, until I owned a Korean vehicle ..

 

[DK35vince]

I thought about buying a Korean tractor, until I owned a Korean vehicle ..

I did it the other way around.
I've had such great luck with my Korean tractor the past 23 years, we bought a Korean car 5 or 6 months ago.

 

[kenmac]

I did it the other way around.
I've had such great luck with my Korean tractor the past 23 years, we bought a Korean car 5 or 6 months ago.

good luck. I bought and owned my one and only... Never again 1 quart of oil every 800 miles was just too much and they said that was considered normal ! LOL

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Regarding John Deere. I have a customer that had purchased a new JD 5075e back in 2023 with all the goodies. Nothing but problems that were not resolved. The dealer gave him 100% credit towards a different tractor. So after a few months he traded the 5075e in for a 5090M.

The same thing, got it with all the goodies. The tractor was never right, lots of issues. Ended up replacing the tranny with a new unit from JD. This trans was even worse than the original one.

They wanted to split the tractor again and use parts from the removed transmission to fix the new replacement tranny. My customer said no and ended up going to JD corporate to get a 100% full refund in the neighborhood of $100K.

After he was able to convey to JD corporate all the issues that he had gone through, it was agreed to refund him all of his money. I believe that he received that payment in less than a month from the time that the refund agreement was made. Moral of the story, even the "BEST" have issues.

The customer ended up with a Kubota M6-111, he appears to be happy with this machine and it has been without issue since delivery.

 

[IndyIan]

Because most dealers for these korean tractors are fly by night dealers. Who are here today gone tomorrow. Cant compare what you are trying to compare

Well, if your local korean brand dealer is good then it doesn't matter what the other ones are like? I found the big NH and JD dealers didn't inspire me with confidence that they cared about any tractor under $75k, and they have salesmen, parts guy, the useless nephew on the payroll, $10,000,000+ inventory to pay for, all useless overhead that the customer pays for....
The big MF dealer was actually pretty good, but they were stuck on price(maybe due to overhead?), and they don't make their CUT's, so who knows about the part availability 30 years from now, for some on their CUT models that end up with a short run of model years.
My 2 closest Kioti dealers are 2-3 man businesses with the owners also being very experienced mechanics who went to Wendell NC to see their operation before they decided to carry Kioti, as they didn't want to deal with the headaches of selling and servicing junk, and they found Kioti wasn't selling junk. The dealership owner I bought my tractor from goes every couple years to Wendell for training with his full time mechanic on service and repair of the new models, and their shop is always clean and organized. They even have a couple spare tractors to loan out if customer breaks down during a critical time. Anyways, I got lucky that what I thought was the best tractor for me, was also sold by the best dealer for me, so it was an easy purchase decision.

 

[MarkMac]

Well, any manufacturer can have a problem, or 147K problems. Jay-Z would call this a B….!

John Deere recalls 147,900 tractors over risk of brake loss | Fox Business

Farm equipment company John Deere is recalling about 147,900 compact utility tractors in the U.S. due to the risk they could lose braking and crash.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

[Torvy]

I thought about buying a Korean tractor, until I owned a Korean vehicle ..

Night and day different...especially with TYM or Daedong.

Hyundai owns Kia, so there's really only one Korean mfg in the US auto business.

 

[caleb90]

Night and day different...especially with TYM or Daedong.

Hyundai owns Kia, so there's really only one Korean mfg in the US auto business.

All the same sub par junk