Comparison New purchase down to two choices

[Nothern]

Hello all, I have been lurking and learning here for a while so I have all of you to thank for giving a novice a free education. Due to a variety of reasons it is crunch time and I am hoping to get a few opinions or insights before I make a decision. Because of what I have learned here and the proximity of the dealer I was set on a new (non-t4 compliant) Kioti DK40SE HST. Then a flash of green caught my eye - a local auto shop owner is selling his 2006 JD 4320 with 400cx FEL with bucket and fork and only 210 hrs for $23k. So much for well made plans! The Kioti with everything minus the fork will run just shy of 25k before tax. I will be using a rotary cutter on a couple acres, maintaining a 200yd driveway including snow removal (no blower required), but the biggest job will be trail maintenance and tree/brush removal on many acres of hilly forested terrain so I will probably purchase a grapple in the near future.

I know both are very capable machines that I will be happy to own. Unfortunately that isn't making the decision any easier! what I need is an owner's perspective so I thank you in advance for any insights or opinions.

 

[murphy1244]

:welcome: Any Remotes on the green?

 

[k0ua]

Well, a hard choice. The JD has more horsepower and is a full featured tractor. the Kioti has a 4 year warranty, and is a full featured tractor with a little less horsepower. The 210 hours is not of great concern, My Kioti has that many in a year and a half. I guess it boils down to how well the JD was maintained, how you like the dealers, and how important a warranty is to you. I can tell you the Kioti is a great tractor, but I believe that JD probably is too. Like I said, hard choices.

James K0UA

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I had a very similar decision. A member here was selling his gently used JD 4520, which was very nicely equipped. I narrowed down my other choices to the Kioti DK50SE. The 4520 and the Kioti were about the same price. Eventually, two things helped my decision.

First, the closest JD dealer is about 30 miles from me and I have no relationship with them. The Kioti dealer is less than 10 and I've shopped there before. Secondly, the JD had no warranty. The Kioti is new with a full 4 year warranty. I chose the Kioti.

The good news for you is that you probably can't make a "bad" decision here. Either tractor will probably be great. The JD has more power than the Kioti, but less weight. You generally run out of traction before power, so I don't know how much of that extra power would ever be realized in actual use. I suggest driving both of them as much as they will let you.

Also, figure out which JD dealer you would use for repair work and check on their reputation vs. the Kioti dealer's reputation.

 

[Nothern]

I would have to add one remote on the JD for the grapple.

James, good point and it is why I still may lean toward the Kioti since I have no relationship with the JD dealer and as a first time tractor owner might want the level of support a new purchase earns.

 

[Nothern]

Pappy, my thoughts exactly. Good to know about traction before power. That is the info I was looking for. So, not such a hard decision after all...unless someone from JD wants to make a bid. Now let's hope the test ride goes well. I will let you know what I decide.

 

[k0ua]

I would have to add one remote on the JD for the grapple.

James, good point and it is why I still may lean toward the Kioti since I have no relationship with the JD dealer and as a first time tractor owner might want the level of support a new purchase earns.

Well if you have to add a remote to the JD, it will be expensive. That will negate some of the savings.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Well if you have to add a remote to the JD, it will be expensive. That will negate some of the savings.

Good point. Nothern, if you want to use a grapple, you will have to either (a) add a 3rd function to the FEL, or (b) have a rear remote and run hydraulic lines from the rear remote to the front of the FEL. The Kioti comes with one set of remotes and you can have your dealer add a second set for only $500 - $600. (My dealer charged $600; others have reported paying $500.) I think adding one set of rear remotes to the JD is over $1,000, but I'm not certain.

If you buy the Kioti, I highly recommend getting a 2nd set of remotes. I did, and I'm already wishing I had gotten a 3rd set too. I use one set for the grapple, and will someday soon buy a hydraulic top link from a member here (MtViewRanch). I would be nice to have both of those and still have another set available.

 

[Bluegill2]

I like Orange, so give these two as a choice, I'd go with the Kioti.

 

[Nothern]

What are the situations where I would want a second set? if backhoe and grapple on at the same time?

 

[k0ua]

What are the situations where I would want a second set? if backhoe and grapple on at the same time?

If you do a lot of box bladeing, especially where you are cutting ditches you might want Top-n-Tilt. Sometimes called TNT. This allows one hydraulic cylinder to replace the top link jack screw and one to replace the side link jack screw. So you have the ability to change the angle of attack with the top link cylinder and the side tilt with the side cylinder. Other users are for an rear scrape blade that might have and angle adjustment as well as using the top link to adjust the angle of attack. Then there are things like hydraulic scarifiers that you can raise and lower from the seat instead of getting off, and adjusting the scarifiers one at a time manually. It is all about convenience and how serious you are about these things. I just have 1 remote I use for my grapple, but when back bladeing one day, I had to get on and off the tractor a bunch of times to adjust the top link to adjust the angle of attack of the blade, and my fat a** was thinking "boy a top link hydraulic adjustment sure would be nice". But I got the job done by the manual adjustments. So I say one remote is a must, 2 is better, and more could be useful depending on what you do.

James K0UA

 

[murphy1244]

I asked about the Remotes cause you mentioned a Grapple. I have Both Remotes, one for Grapple and one for Hydraulic Top Cylinder for grading.

 

[k0ua]

I asked about the Remotes cause you mentioned a Grapple. I have Both Remotes, one for Grapple and one for Hydraulic Top Cylinder for grading.

There you go... that would be the most common usage.

 

[TripleR]

Much easier and usually cheaper to get stuff added to an initial purchase than later. I once thought three remotes and TnT were not necessary, but guess what I got on my last tractor.

Kubota Top-n-Tilt Kit with Land Pride HR2572 Box Scraper - YouTube

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I asked about the Remotes cause you mentioned a Grapple. I have Both Remotes, one for Grapple and one for Hydraulic Top Cylinder for grading.

Yes, that!! And if I had a box blade with hydraulic scarifiers, then I'd need a third set unless I wanted to unhook the grapple remotes and plug in the scarifier cylinder.

 

[jenkinsph]

You should check to see what is involved in adding the third remote to the 4320. Some models have the third remote valve in place to start with and adding the option is a matter of adding the hard line set and lever linkage. That is a do it yourself project in about an hour.

Hard to know which is a better deal though, having a warranty is important if you were to need it but with 200+ hours and no problems the Deere should be good to go. From what I have read Kioti is a good machine and Deere is my favorite so far.

 

[GManBart]

I would actually be just a little bit concerned with only 210 hours on a 7 year old machine. That's only 30 hours a year, which means it may have sat for months at a time without being used?ot usually a good thing.

The only advantages I see for the Deere are a self-loading FEL, and the additional power, but it doesn't sound like you'll need the extra power. For the Kioti, having a warranty, and a positive relationship with the dealer based on the purchase, is a nice thing to have on your side.

 

[paulharvey]

I would actually favor green on this one. If for no other reason then if 5 years if you sell either on, I would expect more money from the JD. Say you put 100 hrs/yr on it, 700 hrs in a JD or 500 on the Kioti, chances are the JD will sell for more.

 

[Nothern]

Thanks all. This was great stuff. As I plan not to resell and feel good about the dealer I pulled the trigger on the Kioti and got the extra remotes for only 3 bills. Delivery next week!

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Congratulations! That's a great deal on the extra remotes. Of course, pics are required as soon as you get it.