Massey 1635 (Iseki) vs Kubota L3800?

[Elkins45]

I think I have narrowed down my tractor upgrade to either a Massey Ferguson 1635 (shuttle) or Kubota L3800 (gear) both with loaders. They have relatively the same HP, but the Massey has less at the PTO but has a more user friendly transmission and more loader capacity. The Massey is also about 500 pounds heavier. My final decision may well come down to total price and/or availability of the discontinued 1635, plus maybe the fact there are a lot more Kubota dealers nearby than Massey dealers.

I might add a New Holland to my short list to consider, but I don't want to pay the 2-3K extra rebranding fee for a Korean tractor when LS doesn't have a dealer within 200 miles of me.

Any strong arguments for or against either?

 

[Elkins45]

Guess this isn't a popular comparison

Maybe I should rephrase the question: why isn't the Massey a better deal?

 

[murphy1244]

Guess this isn't a popular comparison

Maybe I should rephrase the question: why isn't the Massey a better deal?

The Massey won't have Jerky Hitch..

 

[eagle107]

The Kubota is a nice tractor, but a L3800 against the Massey 1635, I would go with the Massey. I would not go with the New Holland at this point because I believe NH will be introducing the new compact tractor line later in the fall and I am not sure if NH will stick with the LS brand tractors and introduce the new line of NH banded LS XR series tractors or go fully back to the Shibaura tractors.

 

[AdamCanterbury]

Based on the research that I have done, the MF1635 is more tractor than the KB that you are speaking of. The Kubota loaders are weak at best. If the loader lift capacity is not an important part of a tractor then it is no issue. Look at the Kioti KL401 loader specs and compare it to all of the others of that same size and or HP. Also, The MF1635 only has a two year warranty. Food for thought. I have been considering a purchase of the 1635 for a while now. I like the size and the Power Shuttle transmission. I keep going back to the Kioti DK series mainly because of the quality of the tractor and the loader lift capacity.

 

[Elkins45]

I think it's becoming a moot question because there doesn't seem to be a 1635 on a dealer's lot within 200 miles of me.

 

[GManBart]

I might add a New Holland to my short list to consider, but I don't want to pay the 2-3K extra rebranding fee for a Korean tractor when LS doesn't have a dealer within 200 miles of me.

I forgot to mention this previously, but the NH Boomer 35/40/50 will typically run more like $8-10k more than the LS version.