JohnMacca
Bronze Member
Hi everyone!
I have just purchased a new Kioti CK35 HST after lot of net searching and reading threads on TBN.
I own around 300 acres of land, (half cleared, half bush) and have always made do with a quad bike and trailer, chainsaw and shovel to do all the fencing, firewood and general work. I also used to borrow the (late) father-in-law's old Case tractor (1940s?) to touch up the tracks when necessary
However a bushfire came through just before Christmas and took out all the fences and dropped trees everywhere. This left **** of a mess on the fence lines to be cleared before the new fences can go up.
I decided I wasn't getting any younger and began looking at what I could afford. I looked at the name brands and also Chinese and Korean brands available here in Oz and stumbled across the TBN. Prices ranged from way more than I could afford to just too cheap to be true!
It really stood out in the threads here that good local service was important - possibly even more than the brand. There are local (from 25 to 50 kms) dealers of the big guys, but the attractive cheap deals on Chinese were from dealers in Melbourne - the state capital and 280 kms away.
I had basically decided to take a chance on quality and service and go for a cheap one, when I realised I hadn't considered one small, local Kioti dealer. So almost as an afterthought, we paid them a visit.
The minute I (and the Chief Financial Officer, aka the missus) walked into the yard we started to get a good feeling about the place. It was a Saturday morning and they had a non stop stream of people coming in arranging servicing, buying parts, getting quotes etc. All were greeted on first name basis and some guys just seemed to be dropping in for a chat! But they were not too busy to sit us down, make us a coffee and ask us what we wanted to do with a tractor - not tell us what they wanted to sell. They roughly knew where we lived and about the fires in that area.
After taking a couple of models for a test drive in the vacant block next door and deciding the best package would be a 35 hp with FEL and 4 in 1 bucket, we were given prices on a manual and the HST with options for attachments. No pressure at all at any time. They explained their pre-delivery checklist, their on-site servicing procedure and after hours call out system.
Long story short - When we got home, we quickly decided that the couple of thousand dollars extra by buying local compared to other deals would be buying us real peace of mind.
I have only got 10 hours up but haven't had second thoughts yet. The Kioti looks well put together and I can't find a loose nut or bolt anywhere.
The only problems so far is that I keep bumping my knee on the key and I can't find enough free time to play - sorry, work
If that's as bad as it gets, I'll be one happy camper.
Thanks everyone for the great information and help given so far.
I have just purchased a new Kioti CK35 HST after lot of net searching and reading threads on TBN.
I own around 300 acres of land, (half cleared, half bush) and have always made do with a quad bike and trailer, chainsaw and shovel to do all the fencing, firewood and general work. I also used to borrow the (late) father-in-law's old Case tractor (1940s?) to touch up the tracks when necessary
However a bushfire came through just before Christmas and took out all the fences and dropped trees everywhere. This left **** of a mess on the fence lines to be cleared before the new fences can go up.
I decided I wasn't getting any younger and began looking at what I could afford. I looked at the name brands and also Chinese and Korean brands available here in Oz and stumbled across the TBN. Prices ranged from way more than I could afford to just too cheap to be true!
It really stood out in the threads here that good local service was important - possibly even more than the brand. There are local (from 25 to 50 kms) dealers of the big guys, but the attractive cheap deals on Chinese were from dealers in Melbourne - the state capital and 280 kms away.
I had basically decided to take a chance on quality and service and go for a cheap one, when I realised I hadn't considered one small, local Kioti dealer. So almost as an afterthought, we paid them a visit.
The minute I (and the Chief Financial Officer, aka the missus) walked into the yard we started to get a good feeling about the place. It was a Saturday morning and they had a non stop stream of people coming in arranging servicing, buying parts, getting quotes etc. All were greeted on first name basis and some guys just seemed to be dropping in for a chat! But they were not too busy to sit us down, make us a coffee and ask us what we wanted to do with a tractor - not tell us what they wanted to sell. They roughly knew where we lived and about the fires in that area.
After taking a couple of models for a test drive in the vacant block next door and deciding the best package would be a 35 hp with FEL and 4 in 1 bucket, we were given prices on a manual and the HST with options for attachments. No pressure at all at any time. They explained their pre-delivery checklist, their on-site servicing procedure and after hours call out system.
Long story short - When we got home, we quickly decided that the couple of thousand dollars extra by buying local compared to other deals would be buying us real peace of mind.
I have only got 10 hours up but haven't had second thoughts yet. The Kioti looks well put together and I can't find a loose nut or bolt anywhere.
The only problems so far is that I keep bumping my knee on the key and I can't find enough free time to play - sorry, work
If that's as bad as it gets, I'll be one happy camper.Thanks everyone for the great information and help given so far.
