LS TRACTORS QUALITY AND SERVICE

[Berlin1926]

First time poster...

i was looking at Mahindra, john deere and massey for my 20 acre hobby farm. Need a FEL, have some access to attachments owned by friends/family with a few miles of here. Came across a web site in TX that carries LS and i gotta say, i'm pretty impressed. Ths would be my first tractor purchase. I'm looking at the J2030H (and similar sized models in the other brands). Price is clearly a concern but quality and reliability are also very important. For service, the other companies all have dealers within 15 to 25 miles from us. What do you all think about LS for a customer like me? Thanks in advance.

 

[Sublifer]

Welcome to TBN! We have some guys on here with some of the smaller models and they seem to really love them. Personally I don't think anyone could go wrong with getting an LS unless they have a horrible dealer but that can happen with any brand. If I recall correctly, LS' US headquarters is over there in NC.

I'd look up dealers for you but it seems I can't find a Wilbourne, NC

Best advice is to check out the dealers, for all brands you're looking at, and ask for sales references as well as service references.

 

[bp fick]

The LS subcompacts don't get an awful lot of words here on TBN. But, the J series falls into the crack, imho, between small compact and subcompact. Somewhat akin to the new Mahindra Max.

I think the LS J series is not nearly as polished as the Max, nor certainly as polished as the new JD 1000 series. Some might argue it isn't as polished as Kubota's BX or Massey GC series. But I honestly feel the better comparison in Kubota would be the B2320, the smallest of the B series Kubotas.

This is really simple. Despite all the fact sheets, spec sheets and all the rest, the only way to buy a tractor is to go sit on them and drive them a bit. A tractor is more than stats. It needs to fit you and you it. The dealer vibe is critical as well.

Sometimes, the price between any of your choices is merely a few hundred dollars. When financed, we're talking maybe a $20 a month difference, so check them all out. See what you think. You won't necessarily get some dealer's best price on the first asking either, which can skew your comparisons. You gotta push some dealers. I'd have that J series LS as one of the competitors for sure. Just don't get tunnel vision until you've evaluated them all.

 

[bruceatlam]

Here's my opinion ---- I have 20 hours on a new LS tractor. I'm still impressed with this tractor. So, far no issues with mine. No loose bolts; no leaks; no drips ---- no funny behavior. So far, couldn't be more pleased.

My closest dealer is 100 miles away. I bought the tractor from them but, I plan to do most, if not all, of my own maintenance --- fluid changes and any other repair required. If that's your plan, then how close the dealer is doesn't really matter a lot. If you need someone else to do all your maintenance, then a good dealer needs to be fairly close.

 

[buggieart]

I just talked to the ls dealer 3hrs away. priced me a g3033 w/fel, and loaded rear tires for $15500 out the door. inc tax. priced a boomer 30 with fel for $15767 w/o tax or loaded tires. are these the same tractor

 

[bp fick]

I just talked to the ls dealer 3hrs away. priced me a g3033 w/fel, and loaded rear tires for $15500 out the door. inc tax. priced a boomer 30 with fel for $15767 w/o tax or loaded tires. are these the same tractor

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/new-holland-buying-pricing/179930-new-ls-new-hollands-around.html

Someone in the know will correct this if it is wrong, but it would seem so.

 

[Rainbody]

I'm on 55 acre hobby farm myself. Got my U5030 from dealer an hour away in Austin then the another dealer outside temple started carrying LS 10 min away. So dealer stuff is fluid.
Tractor stuff is like car shopping. Got to test drive and compare stuff directly. Engine, weight, ect.
Good luck on your purchase and I hope your happy with which ever brand you pick.

 

[Sublifer]

I just talked to the ls dealer 3hrs away. priced me a g3033 w/fel, and loaded rear tires for $15500 out the door. inc tax. priced a boomer 30 with fel for $15767 w/o tax or loaded tires. are these the same tractor

I posted a model to model match somewhere on TBN. That may be the correct match, but one thing to check if you're serious about these models is all the features. NH strips off a lot of what comes standard on the LS models and then tries to charge extra to put them back on. So check how many rear remotes come with each as well as any other feature you like. Also ask about the warranty. LS is 5 year but I think NH may only be 3yr.

If that has all the goodies then that isn't too bad a price on the NH. I'd still probably get the LS personally as NH is one of those companies that thinks they're better than the others and their dealers are usually snobbish about it. But it all comes down to the particular dealer. As I suggested above and always, get references for sales and service.

 

[buggieart]

yea I went to chatt tractor and equipment and was going to pull the trigger on a mahindra (they are 1 of 3 plants in the us). salesman told me 6-8 weeks. told him not waiting that long he said he might be able to get a nh faster plyed with a boomer 30 for 30min or so asked him how long to geta shuttle he started to hemhaw around said he had to check stock and see if the other del would le go of it and shipping it in yadayadayada. Ticked me off so ileft and called the ls dealer. thinking real hard about that one:confused2:

 

[Gary Fowler]

yea I went to chatt tractor and equipment and was going to pull the trigger on a mahindra (they are 1 of 3 plants in the us). salesman told me 6-8 weeks. told him not waiting that long he said he might be able to get a nh faster plyed with a boomer 30 for 30min or so asked him how long to geta shuttle he started to hemhaw around said he had to check stock and see if the other del would le go of it and shipping it in yadayadayada. Ticked me off so ileft and called the ls dealer. thinking real hard about that one:confused2:

By plants in the US, do they build or just assemble them from India or Chinese made parts. I had heard the Mahindra has a deal with the Chinese now to make some of their tractors. I guess Chinese labor is even cheaper than Indian labor (who would have thought it) I guess everyone knows why Kubota & Toyota moved some plants here, US labor is much cheaper than Japanese labor along with the materials to build both the tractors and the manufacturing plants themselves.