Dealer Buying a tractor in Dothan, AL

[espacef1fan]

I’m looking at some tractors in my area (Dothan,AL) and I’m trying to narrow down/eliminate some brands or more importantly dealers.

I’m hoping you all might be able to share some experiences you’ve had with dealers in my area.

I’m especially worried about future parts availability and customer service as I intend to keep this tractor for a few decades.

I’m very mechanically incluned(aircraft mechanic for 10 years with a hot rodding addiction) so I’m not so concerned with maintenance service but warranty service of big items.

I really liked the Mahindras at Dowling in Enterprise. No one asked if we needed help after 20 minutes in the lot. We left

We also thought the Bransons at Dixie Horse and Mule company were decent. We do question the longevity of the brand and parts going forward.

We liked the Kioti dealer in Elba but they are pretty far away( makes swinging by to pickup parts after work difficult) and the Kiotis weren’t great ergonomically.

Again I’m interested in dealer experiences and parts availability experiences for these brands as well.


EDIT: I should add I’m mostly shopping for a tractor only because my jd 1120 is hard/impossible to find a loader for that works with my aftermarket powersteering.

 

[K5lwq]

Although I don't know about the dealers in your area I do have both a Kioti and Branson. Both are well made and you should not have issues with either one. Parts is not a problem for either however dealers for both come and go. My Kioti is from before emission issues and is a simple machine.

I chose Branson as my new tractor because of it's simple design. I have never liked the idea of a lot of electronic gizmos on something that stays in a dusty or wet environment it's whole life. After a few mods the Branson is a old school tractor that performs extremely well. For me, the simpler the better. Less to give issues.

Good luck and enjoy tractor hunting!

 

[Cruiserdog]

Consider a McCormick X1 (same as 20 series Branson) if there’s a decent dealer or Zetor. I bought a Zetor from a dealer down that way many years ago ( can’t recall the dealer name), but it too was a great machine at a very good price.

 

[fried1765]

I’m looking at some tractors in my area (Dothan,AL) and I’m trying to narrow down/eliminate some brands or more importantly dealers.

I’m hoping you all might be able to share some experiences you’ve had with dealers in my area.

I’m especially worried about future parts availability and customer service as I intend to keep this tractor for a few decades.

I’m very mechanically incluned(aircraft mechanic for 10 years with a hot rodding addiction) so I’m not so concerned with maintenance service but warranty service of big items.

I really liked the Mahindras at Dowling in Enterprise. No one asked if we needed help after 20 minutes in the lot. We left

We also thought the Bransons at Dixie Horse and Mule company were decent. We do question the longevity of the brand and parts going forward.

We liked the Kioti dealer in Elba but they are pretty far away( makes swinging by to pickup parts after work difficult) and the Kiotis weren’t great ergonomically.

Again I’m interested in dealer experiences and parts availability experiences for these brands as well.


EDIT: I should add I’m mostly shopping for a tractor only because my jd 1120 is hard/impossible to find a loader for that works with my aftermarket powersteering.

Long term keep = Kubota!

 

[espacef1fan]

Long term keep = Kubota!

We looked at the Kubotas.

We didn’t like the hydro pedal size and how the brake pedal was co located.

 

[ptsg]

I totally agree with K5lwq and I'll add, even though Branson is a simpler tractor, it still comes standard full of features that others either won't even offer or will ask lots of money for it. It has little to no electronics, which is always a good thing and have a very robust and heavy duty construction like the old school tractors. No plastic fenders and hood on these. It also weights more and lifts more than the competition.

Both Kioti and Branson are very good machines and will last long time. Either one, will make you very well served.

 

[TractorGuy]

I personally think the Green Tax is worth paying. I just don't trust the stability of the foreign made brands. Kubota is probably a safe bet but the machines made in India, Italy, and S. Korea would concern me.

 

[fried1765]

We looked at the Kubotas.

We didn’t like the hydro pedal size and how the brake pedal was co located.

Fair enough.....that is a matter of personal preference.
Next in line maybe should be the Branson or Kioti, as suggested in post #6

 

[fried1765]

I personally think the Green Tax is worth paying. I just don't trust the stability of the foreign made brands. Kubota is probably a safe bet but the machines made in India, Italy, and S. Korea would concern me.

Green compact tractor parts, and pieces are manufactured in the USA?

 

[ptsg]

I personally think the Green Tax is worth paying. I just don't trust the stability of the foreign made brands. Kubota is probably a safe bet but the machines made in India, Italy, and S. Korea would concern me.

Interesting post to say the least.

Besides that post showing pure lack of knowledge, I'll just say, JD doesn't even sell tractors smaller that the 5 series here. The only compact they sold over the years, were a Goldoni tractor painted with the expensive green and yellow. And you know the best part? Those Goldoni tractors sold under JD name, were made in Italy and were some very nice machines with little to no problems.

Also, Kukje (Branson) in South Korea builds lots of tractors for JD as well. Now the Indian made JDs on the other hand, are prone to issues.

Italy and South Korea make some very nice machines that can easily par up with both JD and Kubota, being these two kinda overrated.

 

[duffer]

I won't speak to other brands, but I will put a vote in for the Mahindra. I've had mine for 3½ years, 1150 hours, and not a lick of trouble. Still runs as good as the day they delivered it.

Re the dealer's lack of attention. One thing I've adopted lately is to call the dealership (car, tractor, truck, equipment, or otherwise) and ask to speak to the sales mgr. I tell them at this point in my life I only deal with principals. I don't deal with salesmen. If they want to sell me a (fill in the blank) I'd like to talk to him specifically. He can assign the sales commission to anyone he wants. If those terms aren't acceptable, that's fine. It's his business and he can run it anyway he wants. But it's my money, and I can spend it anywhere I want.

Only parts I've needed were maintenance filters. Got all of them on Amazon. Since you're mechanically inclined, I think you'll appreciate the heavier weight of the tractor/hp than some of the others. Let's you pull more, lift more (in some cases) and usually comes with a larger capacity bucket than some in the same hp class. I also like the ergonomics better. But I haven't sat on every brand out there.

Good luck on your decision! Let us know what you got.

 

[TractorGuy]

My point is most of the production is performed in the USA. Just because they had a few foreign endeavors doesn't mean they can't produce components here if needed.

Watch a few of the tour videos and you might be surprised how much they do in the US.

john deere factory augusta georgia - YouTube

 

[espacef1fan]

I want to add to my initial post. I realize I didn’t include model numbers.

We liked the following models in this order(all with FEL):

Mahindra 3650 PST(would want a HST but PST is all they had on the lot)

Branson 3520H (hard to stand and operate compared to aMahindra)

Kioti CK3510HST(build quality seemed lower and less ergonomic than the other two)

Looked at JD 3 series. They inexplicably seemed “cheap” compared to others in regard to features and more surprisingly build quality.

NEw Hollands were not sized well/built well compared to what we looked at

Kubotas has the dumb HST pedal/brake pedal layout I previously mentioned.

 

[fried1765]

I want to add to my initial post. I realize I didn’t include model numbers.

We liked the following models in this order(all with FEL):

Mahindra 3650 PST(would want a HST but PST is all they had on the lot)

Branson 3520H (hard to stand and operate compared to aMahindra)

Kioti CK3510HST(build quality seemed lower and less ergonomic than the other two)

Looked at JD 3 series. They inexplicably seemed “cheap” compared to others in regard to features and more surprisingly build quality.

NEw Hollands were not sized well/built well compared to what we looked at

Kubotas has the dumb HST pedal/brake pedal layout I previously mentioned.

Seems like Mahindra will be your choice.

 

[3gunr]

im a mahindra guy also but i would give Ls a look as well.

 

[mred2]

I looked at a lot of them. I grew up on Deere, own an old gray market tractor, my son has a Mahindra and I purchased a new LS XR4150. Most all of the tractors have pluses and minuses.
The Deere that I looked at were just too high of price, but a great tractor and they do great on parts being on hand, but a higher price.
The Mahindra I looked at just did not fit me. I test drove it and did not like it. You should test drive all that you can.
The Massey dealer just did not show me what I wanted to see. Low inventory.
The Branson dealer was far away, not interested in selling anything that he did not have. But I think it is a good tractor, still a bit concerned about the future of dealers, parts.
The LS that I purchased, I test drove and love it. It was equipped the way I wanted it. The price was good and the options on it was good. Dealer added filling the tires, 3rd function. I have not been back for any service, only filters.
The dealer will make a big difference if you have warranty work, but not for a whole lot more. Most tractors today are made overseas. On most of them, made in america, means they put the wheels on here.
There is an LS dealer south of you in Altha, Fl, about 50 miles. I know nothing about him. My guy is south of Birmingham.
Good luck and test drive, think, test drive, price, think, and think again. This may be with you for some time. There are a lot of good tractors. Get the one the you can set on all day. They can help with a lot of work, but can be fun too.

 

[Contango]

Go back to Dowling and talk to Warren sales manager. He was great to work with and can answer any questions you have. A little over a year and 80 hours with no problems other than a small hydro leak easily tightened. They also had the best price, I shopped around. I also researched for two years before the purchase.

 

[espacef1fan]

Go back to Dowling and talk to Warren sales manager. He was great to work with and can answer any questions you have. A little over a year and 80 hours with no problems other than a small hydro leak easily tightened. They also had the best price, I shopped around. I also researched for two years before the purchase.

What did you buy?

 

[fried1765]

What did you buy?

Looks to me like he bought a Mahindra 2638

 

[jjp8182]

We looked at the Kubotas.

We didn稚 like the hydro pedal size and how the brake pedal was co located.

Which models? the standard/economy lines have a different pedal than the Grand L's. It's different enough that if the pedal on the standard L's/MX's had been on the Grand L's I may have bought a different tractor.

One of those things that Kubota seems to do as a cost saver on their brand that makes me selective about which Kubota's I'd consider buying ....even as someone who already owns a Kubota.