How good are Zetor large tractors in the USA? Looked at P100.

[Sid Post]

The P100 Zetor locally is ~$70K new with loader and cab. Overall it looked like a really good tractor without most of the electronics on CNH and AGCO tractors in a similar size.

Does anyone have experience with the large Zetor tractors that can compare and contrast them with a similar size Massey, CaseIH, or Kubota tractor? I'm looking to use it in a hay field and around cattle mainly.

Thanks!

 

[5030]

I guess my only concern would be the dealer and if they are good or not. Never seen one around here actually though I see Same tractors are making an appearance as there is a dealer north and west of here.

 

[Hay Dude]

No experience, but like you, I am very interested. Valtra also an interesting brand.
If you are trying to save some $, look at McCormick and Deutz. Well built tractors at a cheaper price, but less dealer support.

I had a McCormick and liked it.

 

[oosik]

No experience. Many years ago I saw one. Out in a wheat field about 100 miles west of me here. Our closest dealers are in eastern and central Oregon. Over 150 mile from here.

 

[EddieWalker]

The dealer in Tyler is just a few miles from my place and I bought my first tractor from him, a Century 2535, and then a few years later a 16 foot trailer. I doubt anybody will beat him on pricing for what he has in stock. If it's on the yard, it's for sale and he really wants to sell it. When I brought my tractor in to have an issue fixed, he kept it for about a month and then said that they couldn't find the problem. I started it up and in five seconds, I showed him the problem. I don't believe they ever looked at it, they just let it sit there until I needed it. I never brought it back and I fixed it myself every time after that. They have been good at suggesting after market parts to fix things like the fuel pump. But if I needed something from them, they would order it and tell me it would be there on Thursday. When I got there on Friday, it was going to be there next Thursday. This went on and on until it did eventually arrive. When I talk to other people that have dealt with them, the Thursday joke is something that we all share.

My neighbor has had several Zetor tractors and he's a big fan of them.

When I was shopping for a new tractor, I considered Zetor because I like how little electronics they have, but when I looked at them at J&K Sales, I was very disappointed in how quickly they aged. A few where beat up from years and years of abuse, and that was obvious, but several only had a few hundred hours on them and they also looked beat up and worn out.

While I was looking, my neighbor was hiring people to mow his place because his Zetor was in the shop. It shouldn't of been a huge deal, but it seamed that the dealer was losing parts, forgetting to order parts, and never having time to put it back together. This went on for a few months and it really ended all interest that I might of had in Zetor.

 

[Sid Post]

Yep, I want to the Zetor dealer on 271 on the edge of Tyler, Tx.

The Zetor looked like an old-school tractor with some modern features. A few mixed feelings at the moment with Zetor tractors but, they certainly look like solid machines.

 

[5030]

They are all good until they break Sid...

 

[Sid Post]

Well, it looks like for broader dealer support, the Zetor isn't a good option. Some of their smaller tractors look like dead ringers for TYM. Same for the McCormick SCUT/CUT.

Looks like I need to rethink my option with TYM. TYM seems to have much broader dealer support as well so less risk of a single dealer going out of business and leaving me high and dry with a tractor breakdown.

 

[Hay Dude]

Well, it looks like for broader dealer support, the Zetor isn't a good option. Some of their smaller tractors look like dead ringers for TYM. Same for the McCormick SCUT/CUT.

Looks like I need to rethink my option with TYM. TYM seems to have much broader dealer support as well so less risk of a single dealer going out of business and leaving me high and dry with a tractor breakdown.

That’s not uncommon. Deere subs with Yanmar, NH with Shibaura, etc.

I have no problem with anyone buying a TYM, I do think (speaking for myself) it would be helpful if you listed your specific tasks so more of us could give more specific input.

 

[Sid Post]

Ended up getting a Massey 6711D! A little more spendy but, WOW! What a tractor. Brake-N-Go and the cab suspension combined with the Dyna transmission should make this tractor a real joy to use for years to come.

 

[Hay Dude]

Ended up getting a Massey 6711D! A little more spendy but, WOW! What a tractor. Brake-N-Go and the cab suspension combined with the Dyna transmission should make this tractor a real joy to use for years to come.

Fantastic! I like my AGCOs. Built for the farmer!

 

[Sid Post]

Fantastic! I like my AGCOs. Built for the farmer!

Yes, I think the AGCO options right now are a solid choice for "real" farmers and ranchers looking for solid tractors to do things like hay bailing and rotary cutter mowing in pastures.

LS MT7 series and TYM T574 with its Deutz engine were tempting at ~50% of the cost but, the additional tractor weight and loader capacity of the Massey made the extra initial cost worthwhile to me. Doing loader work with my Kubota L-4600 in my pastures lead to too many near roll-overs so, I am pretty biased toward better tractor stability, and it simply had too much loader capacity for its weight even with loaded tires, wheel weights, and ballast on the 3-pt. Heck, my L-4600 won't pull out some T-posts from a rusty fence row without tetter-totting on the front axle!

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I had a new smaller series in 1992 that was strong but very heavy. The current war would give me pause today. Back then I thought they had a lot of German influence.

 

[Sid Post]

The Czech Zetor tractors are really solid and a little old school. I could see a classic influence from days gone by in this part of the world with the Soviet and German influences.

Overall, the Zetor tractors seem pretty consistent with what I remember from my days on a German dairy a long time ago. Definitely not a Mercedes ~55HP articulated tractor with suspension at all four corners but, a really solid tractor overall that would be easy to live with in a less high-tech world (i.e. not much in terms of electronics or emissions controls).

A really different experience from the Massey 5711D with all its tech-aided functions.

 

[EddieWalker]

Did you buy the Massey from PR?

 

[Sid Post]

Jarvis out of Lufkin since Cunningham in Paris was $20K more on the new Massey invoice.

For larger Massey's, Jarvis and Cunningham are both better options IMHO. The other two dealers specialize in smaller tractors so, big tractors are not as well supported.

For a SCUT or CUT, Kelley in Tyler would be a good option.

I'm reasonably close to Tyler, Longview, Mt. Pleasant, Sulphur Springs, and Paris so, those were all primary shopping points for me. Turns out I stumbled into a Jarvis ad online and had an awesome customer experience on the phone followed up by one in person which earned my business on a tractor in inventory since January at Jarvis, though I was close to a similar tractor at Cunningham in Paris but, it was committed to someone else when I called to follow up.

February was a 6% cost increase and March was 10% so, a January tractor is significantly less expensive. I got a factory invoice from an identical tractor delivered in March to the one I'm buying and it was slightly over $20K more expensive!

A tractor with a replacement loader is expected to arrive the middle of next week so, once that happens I should be set to ink the deal.

 

[EddieWalker]

Appreciate the info. I would scratch Kelly from your recommendation, I went there to look at a 4707 he had in stock and he refused to budge on his price, and I really felt like I wasn't welcome when I was there. I know 3 people that bought from them and they told me that I made the right decision.

 

[Sid Post]

My Quote from them was a bit on the high side as well but, it was for a tractor not on their lot. I didn't price anything on their lot at the time.

Regarding the dealer experience, it wasn't particularly good or bad for me. It did sort of have the new car dealer feel though which isn't a compliment. For SCUT and CUT tractors, my experience on pricing during COVID and now has been a "take it or leave it" proposition.

If you think Kelley is subpar, don't go to RJ Power. That place makes Kelley look really good!

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the heads up on RJ. I'm gonna buy an equipment trailer one of these days, and they have a good selection, but I've never been there or talked them.

 

[Sid Post]

BigTex has really good trailers. They also don't cut corners in the places you can't see based on personal experience. They won't be the cheapest trailer out there but, my BigTex trailer has been used and abused well beyond my friend's trailer, if fact he has to use mine today and for the past couple of years because of issues with his trailer which is out of service.

Pay a little extra for a better-built trailer so you don't have issues down the road. I replaced my first wheel studs on a friend's trailer when it failed on me. Sitting on the side of the road with a hammer and punch with my tractor off the trailer is not where I wanted to spend my afternoon that day and cost me a day in a motel in a random town along the way!