Scaper, You are right about price of this machine, it does seem alittle too much!! However, I have 4 pieces of Kubota equipment and love the stuff. You always know when you buy Kubota you will be paying top dollar.
I have several prices at this point in time and my local dealer is giving me the best price, however, not by much, only $150.00. I also have priced several Laser Z machines and my local dealer is also giving me a great price of $6900.00 for a 60" 23HP liquid cooled Kawasaki. I have been told by several people that this is a great price for the Laser. However, I am waiting for the Kubota ZD21 to arrive at my local dealer to take a closer look at the Kubota before I buy.
I have been told by several dealers and the technical support people at Exmark that the new Kubota ZD21 will never match the cut of the Exmark. Their reason is that the Exmark blades are being driven by a belt and the Kubota blades are shaft driven which they claim can never match the blade speed of the Exmark using a shaft drive.
I quess I will wait and see the results for myself. I am willing to pay more for the ZD21, however, I have not decided how much more it is worth too me. I am so glad that my local dealer finally gave me a good price without a big hassle. I prefer too always buy at my local dealer if price is close (even slightly more), however, I can not fund his early retirement or his winter cruise to the Bahamas. The last price my dealer gave me for the ZD21 was $8850.00. Have you gotten any prices?