MF 2615

[Eugene Reynolds]

I am shopping for a utilty tractor in the 40 hp range and the MF 2615 looks like a very reasonable price machine. I cant bring myself to purchase anything made in China and dont feel much better about India, Pakistan and Korea either. I have heard that the engine in the 2615 is a Simpson. Is that good or bad?? I dont want to buy something that I wont get parts for in 10 years. Appreciate anyone"s thoughts on the subject. Thanks.
 

[Dean]

Simpson is an Indian company that has been making Perkins engines under license for many decades. The Simpson engines are Perkins designs but not Perkins manufactured.

I recently bought a 2635, which also has a Simpson engine. It's far too early to provide any useful feedback but I bought it for much the same reason that you are considering the 2615.

I wanted a basic, no-frills, 50-60 HP, open station tractor for mowing duty. NH did not offer quite what I was looking for so I shopped Kubota. The incentives that MF were offering allowed me to buy the 2635 highly optioned and with FEL for almost $5,000 less than a similarly equipped Kubota M7040. It's also nearly 1,000 lbs. heavier than the Kubota and rated PTO speed is only 1,790 engine RPM, which is a major advantage for my purposes. I do NOT like running my engines at 2,600-2,700 RPM in order to achieve 540 PTO RPM for mowing. Doing so wastes fuel and and racks up hours. The design of the MF allows me to cruise along at 1,750 RPM or so with plenty of governor and foot throttle left for the tough spots.

Note: The 2600 series is built in Brazil. There are known quality issues with the Brazilian plant.

Dean
 

[495man]

"known" issues with the plant?

I was casually looking at the 2600 series as well, 2625, 2635 etc. They seem to spec out heavier and better than Kubota, Deere or CNH.
 

[Dean]

Indeed they do, which was influential in my buying decision. The 2600 (not 2600HD) is MFs low cost line. It is old tech and not up to modern ergonomics standards but it appears to be rugged and it is certainly heavy vis a vis the competition. It is also less expensive. I compared NH and Kubota specs and prices. Really wanted a Kubota but could not justify the price difference for my purpose.

MF has had quality issues with the Brazilian plant and it is (was?) shut down for quality and supply issues. I ws told this by the service manager at my MF dealer so it comes from good authoruty.

I've had my 2635 only since September and have used it only once so cannot provide any useful feedback. I had a few glitches after delivery but none have been major and all were promptly addressed by my dealer.

The 2625 is no longer offered.

Dean
 

[Eugene Reynolds]

I appreciate the comments from all. I am still shopping and close to going for the 2615 because i am very impressed with the quality of the tractor with respect to size, construction and amount of steel in it. The problems with the Brazilian factory do worry me though and is the only thing causing me to have cold feet. Have to kick it around a litle longer. Thanks all.