Comparison Still too many questions...

[pinetree10]

For 10 years I looked hard at every kind of tractor that showed up at the state farm show, then when I finally had the financial means to actually buy one, I started stopping at the dealerships to do the same thing. Within an hour's drive are dealers for John Deere, Kubota, Case/IH, New Holland, and Cub Cadet (I also stopped at a Bobcat dealer a few years back but I guess they're done with tractors now), and those were the finalists. In the end I just liked the look and feel of the Deere the best, but they all looked good enough to me to buy and use for a lifetime. Worth noting is the fact that I shopped at the dealer 6 minutes from my house but disliked them so much that I went to their larger store 35 minutes away to spend all that money. Same company, different location, but I must have made my point because the next time I stopped at the nearby dealer the sales manager made a point of telling me that the salesman I talked to no longer worked for the company.

As far as the brand loyalty thing, I haven't been a tractor owner long enough to be loyal to a brand even though my father has owned a Deere for 30 years. I was always open to buying whatever I wanted regardless of color and I was actually set on a Case at first. Speaking from truck experience, I've always owned a Chevy or GMC truck but if their design, dealer network, prices, or durability went downhill, I would scrap their brand for another without hesitation. I'm sure that same line of thinking would apply if I were to be in the market for another tractor. That's why I hope the tractor dealers read some of these posts. They could learn a lot about what makes owners happy and make a lot of money if they actually listened to what we're saying. This site works best when posters remain objective, and most of us do in my opinion. Listen to what posters say but make your own decision by trying them out and buying what feels and looks right to you. Oh, and 0% interest doesn't hurt either. It sure helped me out.

 

[square1]

Uhm, I thought it was cute?

 

[HillStreet]

That's as good a reason as any.

I did not shop green. Shopped red and I liked it, shopped blue and I liked it more, then shopped orange and bought one.

 

[BuilderML]

I was looking for the most value for my money. Right now if i was doing it again i would see if any CCY and Bobcats were still left to be had. If you could find them i think they would be the most machine for the money. Some may say dealer. I could care less about who, what, when and where the dealer is. My 2 cents. Good luck Oh ya i still think the Black and Yellow is the best looking. I think the new ones are going red, Yuck enough red on the market.

 

[k0ua]

No brand loyalty at all. I chose the other orange one based on features for the money. If I was in the market right now, I would also look at LS. Right now they are offering a lot of tractor for the money, but I would keep my eyes open.

I have owned 1 Long (blue) 1 New Holland (different blue) 2 Kubota's (Orange) and now the Kioti (other orange)
A Red tractor would be my favorite color, but I haven't found one in red that I wanted.

 

[antlers125]

I purchased a BLUE one meaning an LS. Try to take a look at these tractors. You will see that you get a lot more tractor for $thousands less. LstractorUSA.COM.

 

[Baby Grand]

I have done a ton of research but am looking for actual real world feedback. I am in the market for a new scut. I am basically inquiring as to what made you all purchase the manufacturer that you did. I have looked at the green one, the red one, the orange one, the yellow one, the other red one and of course the other orange one.

Did you purchase based entirely on brand loyalty or was there something that you liked versus the other tractors?

Thank you,

Bee man

Welcome, Bee man. From your name do you have an apiary?
Back to the subject of your question:
I knew nothing about CUTS, other than I needed one badly for our new home & property.
Since I didn't know much and didn't know anyone to ask I started reading TBN.
Based on what I wanted to do, and the implements I needed to do it with, I determined that I needed a heavy frame 30 - 35 HP tractor.
I limited my search to Green & Orange, in that order.
The Green dealer was very kind and wrote up a bill of sale, based on my needs.
The Orange dealer did the same, but after the paper work, he insisted on putting me on a machine to see if it "felt right".
He also made some suggestions while writing up the bill of sale that cost him some potential sales revenue.
So I had the Orange one delivered. No regrets. Bought 3 more Orange ones - 2 of them very old and used. Can't bring myself to sell any of them.

You might think I'm brand loyal, but I'm really not. Each purchase has been based on my perceived value and local availability.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide!

-Jim

 

[craigbaill]

We looked at green, red and orange. Test drove them all and several at one dealer in particular, the orange one. They always had a good amount of BX in stock and the people on here gave good info about them. Research is key.

Dealer support? If I need it, its close by. I plan to do all my own maintenance as the dealer was ok to do business with but they do NOT have my best interest in mind. No phone call to see how the machine is working out for us after the sale. We got several from the last 4 cars we bought. Brand loyalty? Nope. Best machine for our situation is what helped us to make the decision. The dealers were all helpful but nobody called or emailed to see if we were interested in pursuing a sale.

We ended up going into the dealer where we drove 5 different models two weeks after buying our home. We walked in, told them what we wanted, and placed the order. The price was right.

I did like some of the options on the green but in the end, I dont remove the deck often enough to need the auto connect. I did not mind the treddle pedal set up since I know I would find myself trying to press the wrong one in the car.. I trained myself to use the treddle pedal and I dont give it a single thought now. The faster hydraulics on the red model? I just bump up the throttle...

Lots of "options" or gimmics on tractors of all colors but you have to figure out what works best for you. The 0 down, o% worked for us and in 5 years we own it free and clear. Some will say, " yeah but if you pay cash...blah,blah, blah..." Whatever. If it works for you, do it.

We bought what we thought would work for us, with the options we wanted and it has been great. The payments are fine, the tractor does all I need and more and it has that " grin factor" every time I use it.

No regrets at all..

 

[GManBart]

I have done a ton of research but am looking for actual real world feedback. I am in the market for a new scut. I am basically inquiring as to what made you all purchase the manufacturer that you did. I have looked at the green one, the red one, the orange one, the yellow one, the other red one and of course the other orange one.

Did you purchase based entirely on brand loyalty or was there something that you liked versus the other tractors?

I skipped SCUTs (although I could definitely use one) and started with CUTs, but I don't think the buying process is any different. I started out with three different brands in just a couple of years, so I didn't have any brand loyalty to work from.

People can debate all they want, but the reality is that tractors are fairly simple machines in the grand scheme of manufacturing today. Sure, there are some "advanced" features on them now, but that's really only in comparison to previous tractors, not the rest of the manufacturing world. Because of that, any decent company should be able to make a SCUT/CUT that works properly, and lasts for a long time.

Certainly, there will be differences, but mostly those differences are the kinds of things that only matter to some buyers. Maybe (hypothetical) you're planning to use the FEL a lot more than the next guy, so you want to ensure you get the strongest loader, with the highest lift....great, that should be a key factor in your decision, and could steer you towards a specific brand/model (at least it would for me), but that may not matter to someone else.

The biggest thing is to get seat time, and see if you can notice things that will be annoying down the road, like the placement of controls, the seat, etc. The one thing I think many people underestimate with SCUTs, or aren't aware of, is the difference between two and three-range hydrostatic transmissions. The smaller the engine, the more it needs the extra range, but that isn't how they build them, and it's not something you will likely notice running around the dealer's lot.

It's a pretty safe bet that you could buy a machine from a lot of different brands (Case, Deere, Kubota, Kioti, Mahindra, Massey, New Holland, Yanmar, LS, TYM, and a few others) and be totally happy. Personally, I wouldn't buy a Case or New Holland in that size range, because you can buy the same machine for thousands less from LS, but all the others would be in play if I was shopping again. As far as dealers, all I ask is that they're reasonably responsive, and aren't arrogant (you'd be surprised).

Good luck!

 

[Illini22]

I had the other orange (b7100), it was a great tractor. After 6 years, I finally upgraded to my final tractor, a Kioti ck35. That lasted until last month when I purchased my final tractor, dk40.
Telescoping links, ssqa for changing the bucket to forks, suspension seat, rear remotes are things I would never live without no matter which brand I bought.