Buying Advice Has anyone bought a tractor thru alibaba?

[roujesky]

I know these are Chinese tractors and parts may be dificult. But has anyone bought one and assembled it? For instance:
4wd 55hp Compact Tractor For Sale With Backhoe And Loader - Buy Compact Tractor,55hp Compact Tractor,Compact Tractor For Sale Product on Alibaba.com

 

[fried1765]

I know these are Chinese tractors and parts may be dificult. But has anyone bought one and assembled it? For instance:
4wd 55hp Compact Tractor For Sale With Backhoe And Loader - Buy Compact Tractor,55hp Compact Tractor,Compact Tractor For Sale Product on Alibaba.com

The attachment advertisement indicates that tractors are sold in a 40' container, with 4 to each container.
4 x $9000 = $36,000 USD.
That would be a rather heavy bet to place on an unknown/unsupported Chinese tractor...... 4 tractors .... actually!
I doubt that there will be many takers for such an offer.

 

[fried1765]

I know these are Chinese tractors and parts may be dificult. But has anyone bought one and assembled it? For instance:
4wd 55hp Compact Tractor For Sale With Backhoe And Loader - Buy Compact Tractor,55hp Compact Tractor,Compact Tractor For Sale Product on Alibaba.com

The attachment advertisement indicates that tractors are sold in a 40' container, with 4 to each container.
4 x $9000 = $36,000 USD.
That would be a rather heavy bet to place on an unknown/unsupported Chinese tractor...... 4 tractors .... actually!
I doubt that there will be many takers for such an offer.

 

[LD1]

Lack of specs, pics dont match the description (for example....it says 11-28 and 7.5-16 tires but that is WAY too small for a 55hp 4wd, and AINT whats pictured), no pics of the loader and backhoe......

Id pass all day long

 

[imnukensc]

I wouldn't buy a light bulb from alibaba, much less a tractor.

 

[newbury]

My cousin-in-law, a very successful dentist, had a John Deere 6' tiller. He broke it. Cost to repair was quoted as "might get by for $1,000" but might be more. Apparently he bent the shaft. A new JD was above $3K, even a cheap 6' one is about $2K. So he bought a chinese tiller direct from china for $800. After a month or so it got here, nicely crated.

By then one of his drinking buddies had come by and fixed his 6' JD for about the same cost, $800 for parts. My CIL never even unboxed the chinese tiller and sold it to someone for cost.

Last I heard it worked well. But looking at it the welds looked like something I might have done, the paint looked like a poor spray can job.

But like my Jinma chipper it was definitely worth the $$.

As far as the OP's link - Does it pass EPA regs?

Or does he plan on using it out of the country?

 

[Tractorable]

The whole idea of buying a cheap unknown tractor from china with limited details and no dealer support makes my spidey senses go off big time.

No way would I ever do that.

 

[Oldpath05]

Boy that it a great price on a tractor, temping, funny we buy everything else from China, tools, laptops, cellphone, cloths.....but when it comes to tractors and cars, we all become skittish. Probably the only way for Chinese tractors to become popular in the USA is to buy now pay later like after a 5 year use of the machine and they pay for the parts and repairs if needed, THEN if satisfied buy, if not they come and get what's left of it, with duct tape holding it together, sign me up I'll take one to go.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Chinese tractors were quietly selling well in the US until the latest round of EPA regulations. If you attempt to import an engine that does not meet EPA specs it will be impounded and destroyed and the owner (you) is out their money and out of luck.

I believe the only Chinese tractors that can legally be imported today are those with Perkins Tier IV engines, which are in some Jinmas and Fotons. These are being sold by Northern Tool under the NorTrac brand and by Affordable Tractor Company under their own brand names. Those are the only two brands I would look at. As a Jinma owner I'll say that Foton seems to have a slightly higher reputation for fit and finish, particularly in the more powerful models.

Almost everyone who sells on Alibaba is a broker. I think a lot of those guys don't even know the stuff they're selling, they just go through manufacturers' websites and pull stuff off and list it.

About ten years ago it was pretty common to import directly. Do a Google search for "crate tractor" to see some stories. A lot of those were poorly assembled by their owners and have problems. I think that Jinma and Foton have stopped doing direct sales and now sell only through dealers.

Chinese tractors are simple but powerful. A lot of owners compare them to American tractors of the 50's and 60's. They are simple to work on, which is good because you're probably not going to have a local dealer. Parts are readily available. Jinma is owned by Mahindra, the worlds largest tractor company. In India and China -- where a quarter of the world lives --
they are the market leader.

 

[roujesky]

The attachment advertisement indicates that tractors are sold in a 40' container, with 4 to each container.
4 x $9000 = $36,000 USD.
That would be a rather heavy bet to place on an unknown/unsupported Chinese tractor...... 4 tractors .... actually!
I doubt that there will be many takers for such an offer.

yeah, I saw that. I haven't contacted them for more information. Kinda conflicting information. It looks like you can buy 1 at a time, but shipping is 4 to a container. Not sure how far I want to pursue this...