Best Tractors

[Jim Wolf]

This is a follow-up on a question I asked. I wanted opinions on the best new tractors with regard to frequency of repair and availability of parts. Responses generally favored John Deere.
I was talking to a friend who is a tractor mechanic and he agreed that Deere is excellent in the large tractor market but not as much in the mid-range. I am looking for a tractor in the 40-50 hp range. He favors Kubota, Yanmar and Kioti. Any thoughts?
 

[rbhuntn]

[W_B]

[DGinVT]

I would go with Kubota. A good rugged machine and the dealer will make house calls
 

[RustyS]

Around here the Kubota up to 75 hp has the best support. I still prefer New Holland but our dealer went broke. I haven't dealt with the new dealer yet. I dont like the thin front tires Kubota uses. Seems to make it a rougher ride on the road.
 

[TrucknLoaded]

I'd recommend Kubota too
 

[Bird Cupps]

[sotxbill]

I am told that mahindra sells the most tractors in the world currently. Thats gotta say something. ALthough they dont really sell big tractors at all... so up to 70 80 hp??, they are the highest seller world wide. Dosent mean I would buy one, but I would sure look carefully at mahindra and kubota...

Mahindra came from the old 4 cyl international Farmall plant in India as its starting point.
 

[DR. EVIL]

[Tom in Mo.]

Agree with all. Mixed in with the Fords, I have 35hp and 65 hp Kubotas and they are trouble free. Avoid the Kioti.
 

[RobCons]

Kubota us number one hands down. Everybody else is trying to be number two. We have a large stabile LS dealer nearby and LS has a pretty good reputation around here. I've operated a couple and they are nice.
 

[Pete76NYPa]

my opinion based upon 30 plus years of sales, use, and buying in the mentioned market;

get Kubota if going new, tech is s good as Deere's, generally beefier, all Kubota tractors in this HP class are assembled in the US, most proprietary implements for them are built in the US or Canada. Kubota has BY FAR the BIGGEST investment in both the US and N America in the under 80 HP market.

IF, and that is a BIG if, you have a good, committed, long term Kioti dealer near you I would look at them as the alternative, they are catching up to Kubota and Deere from a technology standpoint but are built heavier for the most part than Deere. they will however not give you nearly the resale/trade value that Deere or Kubota will if you don't plan to make it a long term purchase.

Deere has excellent dealer support, ans well as resale/trade value, and is generally speaking equal to Kubota from a tech standpoint, but are not (againg generally speaking) built quite as ruggedly as Kubota, Kiota, or CNH. any under 80 HP Deere is a Yanmar and they are assembled in various places world wide.

CNH units are very sturdily built but the tech lags a tad and the resale/trade value is not on par with Kubota/Deere. they have an excellent dealer network.

massey, or any AGCO brand are well built with good dealer support also.

Yanmar is EXACTLY the same tractor as the corresponding Deere model, built on the same assembly line with different paint/sheetmetal/plastics, but the dealers are far and few between and Deere does it's best to ensure that it is next to impossible to cross reference part numbers, and Deere dealers often will not repair them.

the Mahindra units built in India are usually strong and dependable and a tad clunky, but dealer support is always an issue. Mahindra dealers pop up and disappear quicker than dandelions.

One thing to keep in mind; no matter what brand you opt for, if it is over 23-24 HP any new tractor will come equipped with algore emissions systems; which are almost guaranteed to cause you more problems than all the other systems combined. if looking in this HP class I would personally look for a used pre emissions unit; the Kubota Grand L Series are a particular favorite, there are alot around, they are fairly bulletproof and there are 3 different transmission options available, you can get one and spend a little freshening up money and spend less than a similar new unit without the emissions hassles.

if looking used, the 50 series Deeres were excellent tractors, although only available in DT (standard transmission) my 1050 is a particular favorite, that turbocharged engine NEVER runs out of power, and other than replacing the starter fairly regularly, completely bullet proof if maintained.

again; you cannot go wrong with a Kubota