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.

 

[Jhiphop72]

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

The boomer 30 is a closer match to the LS S3010. They both use mitsu 4 cylinder engines. The G series use the same frame sizes as the boomers and R3039. The R3039 also has a mitsu 4cyl. which closely matches the boomer 40. The boomers though have options that increase the price that are included on the LS lines. Price wise I have been quoted higher and lower than your G3033 quote. The boomer quote though seems good for a NH quote, but thats still about 1500 higher than I have been quoted for the S3010.

 

[buggieart]

I quess I misworded. Its a distribution center all the tractors come in and this is where the tires and loaders get put on.

 

[Guesseral]

Arn't all of the boomers equal to the R series LS? I didn't think the S or G series were the same?

 

[vwnotrunning]

FWIW - I purchase an LS I3040H. Completely happy and impressed with it!

The 3040 is the previous model of the R3039. The dealer I purchased from went out of business. New dealer is closer! I did have an issue with the loader valve. New dealer fixed it up - replaced while they loaded the rear tires - made a big difference.

So far no regrets or misgivings. Just put on a HF Quickhitch.

 

[Kernopelli]

A buddy at work and I were talking last night. He has an '06 Montana 5740 (LS made machine) that is juuust shy of turning 5000hrs and is experiencing it's first problem....a leaking oil pan gasket. He, his brothers, father and uncle use this as their go to chore tractor for daily cattle feeding and it has been used extensively for all aspects of farming, haying and cattle operations. PLUS, they own a small gravel pit AND sell top soil and fill dirt and use it as their primary loader for both. Even at 28 buckets of rock per 10 wheeler they use it exclusively to fill the "small" dump drucks that come in for gravel or dirt. He did say the bucket pins are getting a little sloppy......wonder why? :thumbsup: They also cut their own wood ( for milling and heat) so it is used for skidding hardwood logs a LOT. I don't know about you but I think any brand would love to hear of their sub 60hp machines holding up so well to multiple operators and regular hard (ab)use. I think it speaks volumes for their ability to build a quality machine.

 

[bruceatlam]

A buddy at work and I were talking last night. He has an '06 Montana 5740 (LS made machine) that is juuust shy of turning 5000hrs and is experiencing it's first problem....a leaking oil pan gasket. He, his brothers, father and uncle use this as their go to chore tractor for daily cattle feeding and it has been used extensively for all aspects of farming, haying and cattle operations. PLUS, they own a small gravel pit AND sell top soil and fill dirt and use it as their primary loader for both. Even at 28 buckets of rock per 10 wheeler they use it exclusively to fill the "small" dump drucks that come in for gravel or dirt. He did say the bucket pins are getting a little sloppy......wonder why? :thumbsup: They also cut their own wood ( for milling and heat) so it is used for skidding hardwood logs a LOT. I don't know about you but I think any brand would love to hear of their sub 60hp machines holding up so well to multiple operators and regular hard (ab)use. I think it speaks volumes for their ability to build a quality machine.

Nice post ---- Lots of data. Thanks

 

[Sublifer]

Nice post ---- Lots of data. Thanks

+1 :thumbsup:

Agreed.

I wonder if that is the model they designed the U5030 after...

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think there needs to be some rewording there. I dont think LS designed anything "after" a Montana. Montana rebadged some of the LS models and sold them under a different name, just like NH, Case etc etc are doing now. These other companies most time strip them of "luxury" item that LS sells as standard then charges the buyer more because it is a "xxxxxxname your brand". I do see now that LS dealers are more in line on their prices with major brands so I guess the days of cheap tractors with all the frills are over. Now you are just getting all the frill for same price as stripped model which may have came from their factory also but got a different badge on the hood and different colored paint in the paint shop. Hope they never make a Mahindra since they would have to really downgrade their paint to get it to fade to pink in a couple of years.

 

[buggieart]

I was going to pull trigger on a boomer 30. was $1500 more than g3033. but dealer was local not 3 hrs away. all the standard equipment on the g3033 was on the boomer. so i am not sure there is any striping going on there.

 

[Guesseral]

I was going to pull trigger on a boomer 30. was $1500 more than g3033. but dealer was local not 3 hrs away. all the standard equipment on the g3033 was on the boomer. so i am not sure there is any striping going on there.

I am not sure that the G3033 and the boomer 30 are the same, I think the R3039 would be the same as the boomer 30. I could be wrong I have been wrong on many occasions but if you compare the two set of spec's. The boomer 30 is 4 cylander right well the G3033 is only 3 cylander the R3039 is 4 cylander, just sayin.