Compact or sub compact tractor?

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Tractor brand recomendation

  • Kubota

    Votes: 39 57.4%
  • John Deere

    Votes: 10 14.7%
  • New Holland

    Votes: 7 10.3%
  • Ls

    Votes: 2 2.9%
  • Other

    Votes: 10 14.7%

  • Total voters
    68
So to do it right I need multiple tractors lol.
Well at least a tractor and a mower.
Most times when we try to make a piece of equipment do the job another piece of equipment should we end up disappointed.
You really need to get on the tractor forums and find someone who has the machines your looking at and try them out to get the best feel for what will work for you.
If you go with the mowing tractor don't forget to get a 3pt mounted backhoe :laugh:, this is a joke, don't do that!
 
The zero percent offers are not limited to the MSRP in any way. None of the tractor brands were selling the tractors at MSRP, there was always a discount. The offers can be used in conjunction with the implement offers and can include multiple implements or accessories. The deals seem to be limited to OEM branded implements in some cases but not all. Not all of the brands/dealers had branded implements or much variety of type in some cases.

The BX 2380 is a great mower. I would not expect it to pull much tree out of the woods, especially on hills as it is a fairly light front end.

With the Kubota branded 4’ box blade mounted to the 3 point on the 2380 without a FEL the front end will barely float. The box blade weighs 385 pounds, I do not remember the recommended front weight. The recommended front weight for the grass catcher is 110 pounds.

The Kubota implements are now made by Landpride, painted orange with Kubotas name and a Landpride sticker.
 
I'm so confused at this point. I'm going to the county fair in a month or so and I'll sit on all of the John deeres and get a feel for the size I want. Then I have to find a price I like. The sub compact would be fine but it makes me feel like less of a man.
 
I spent a loooong time looking at tractors before making the choice. Highly recommend physically getting on and off of them a couple of times before deciding.
 
I shouldn't say it's impossible but it's not common. It'd have to be a deal.

I saw a spotless one owner bx go for $6500. Babied, bucket looked new, turfs, with an extra set of ags already mounted on a set of wheels, new as well, manuals, etc..... Sold in a day or two.

That's a deal price. $9k, high hours, lots of wear, bald tires. That's the going rate I see.

Just using the subcompact as an example.

Below are the listings straight from Fredrick's web site. Add $4K for their recommended Koyker loader. All prices are for 4wd. I've found better prices in the used market over the years, but Fredricks serves as a good reference point for freshly rebuilt machines, and the cost is less than $15K. Far enough below $15K to buy a used commercial grade ZTR mower with what's left over. A ZTR will mow your yard in less than half the time of any "tractor" even if its wide open with nothing to mow around. There's only 2 things that will keep up or out mow them. One is a bat wing (which requires a larger tractor) and the other is a Kubota F series mower which cost as much as a new tractor, but WOW can they mow! Tractorhouse.com is another place I've gone to look over the years, but craigslist seems to have always produced the most results. Just have to watch out for the scams.

F20 $6,999.00, 24 hp, 3 cylinder diesel, gear transmission with ROPS (roll over protective structure). Built in 1984 and 1985. Also available in powershift transmission (FX20 and FX20D). Uses a Koyker 80 loader.

YM2420 $7,999.00, 29 hp, 3 cylinder diesel, powershift transmission with ROPS (roll over protective structure). Built in 1982 and 1983. Available in 2WD and 4WD drive. Uses a Koyker 125 loader.

YM2000B $6,599.00, 24 hp, 2 cylinder diesel, gear transmission, with roll over protective structure. Built in 1979. Available in 2WD and 4WD. The 4WD model uses a Koyker 80 or 120 loader.

YM2210
$6,699.00, 26 hp, 2 cylinder diesel, powershift transmission, with roll over protective structure. Built in 1977 and 1978. Available in 2WD and 4WD. The 4WD model uses a Koyker 120 loader.

YM2000 $6,399.00, 24 hp, 2 cylinder diesel, gear transmission, with roll over protective structure. Built in 1977 and 1978. Available in 2WD and 4WD. The 4WD model uses a Koyker 80 or 120 loader.
 
I'm not looking to set speed records mowing I just want a bigger deck and a more reliable mower than any junk I have bought at a box store. I am looking at like new stuff now as well as new. After looking around I think I'm lowering my budget to around 15k.
 
I own a ZRT mower and no way on gods green earth I will ever go back to a tractor be it a lawn, garden, sub compact or compact tractor.
I like mowing lawns I make a bit of Jingle mowing about 30 acres a week. so it isn't a speed record I am trying to set but have time to make more jingle per day.
I don't spend a bunch of time going around objects like flower beds and trees and don't spend much time trimming with a string trimmer. A zrt will maneuver around that stuff.

I also would not want to use my ZRT to skid wood out of thick places to cut up and haul to thre house. I haver about 22 or 23 tractors to do that with.
Every one seems to think you need one of ther new compact or sub compacts to do jobs Farmers did for years with reagular full sized tractors. You can still buy those old style tractors today and work on them with a crecent wrench screw driver and not much more. Yoiu won't be having a berry brier bending a brake rod either on the old ones like the new stuff.


:D Al
 
I get it and I had an old tractor but never used it. I dont think I need a real tractor for doing tractor tasks but I need a machine to maintain my 5 acres. Small scale loader work grass cutting and light duty pulling and hauling of stuff. The ability to get into spaces around the house and accomplish my tasks is more important than raw tractor power. That was the problem with my big tractor. 2wd was not fun with the loader either.
 
Just an update for anyone who cares. I talked to a local dealer and as mentioned the 0 financing is not true. They offered 5.99 percent for 84 months and told me that they could do 0 if you wanted to add the interest to the price of the tractor because that's what the real deal is. So I was thinking if I can't get true zero financing then y not look at slightly used. From what I'm seeing there's a 2011 john deere 2320 with all the options I want minus the turf tires for 12900 with 300 hours. That would save me at least 5 grand financed and 2 years of payments for a little less than 200 a month with my down payment. So I may be looking at slightly used. Going to another county fair Monday to look at more tractors. I sat on the bx and it felt like a lawn tractor. No thanks. The plan is to buy a compact tractor in the spring.
 
Just an update for anyone who cares. I talked to a local dealer and as mentioned the 0 financing is not true. They offered 5.99 percent for 84 months and told me that they could do 0 if you wanted to add the interest to the price of the tractor because that's what the real deal is. So I was thinking if I can't get true zero financing then y not look at slightly used. From what I'm seeing there's a 2011 john deere 2025 with all the options I want minus the turf tires for 12900 with 300 hours. That would save me at least 5 grand financed and 2 years of payments for a little less than 200 a month with my down payment. So I may be looking at slightly used. Going to another county fair Monday to look at more tractors. I sat on the bx and it felt like a lawn tractor. No thanks. The plan is to buy a compact tractor in the spring.

I do think you be happier with a compact. I would look for a used one on acreage sale or one on craigslist if you have a banker you can work with and stay away from the dealer mark up if you can. It will take some looking and going to sales but the right deal is out there. We are pretty much green folks as far as our farm equipment goes but about 10 years ago I was at a farm sale looking at a 200 HP green tractor and came home with a Agco compact that sold for below market. It had 200 hours on it with a belly mower I bought it thinking I would resell it. Ten years and a thousand more hours later I use it a lot around the farm lots of spot spraying in the summer months don't use it too much for mowing. It has only needed one battery and oil changes no other issues I get a lot of grief from folks about it's not green but I love this this little handy tractor. It's my Gator,four wheeler utility machine. Good luck on the hunt.
 
I'm not surprised about the zero percent, a bunch of us had that opinion earlier in this tread.

I'm currently looking into getting a new mower. I'm looking hard at the Gravely ZT HD52 with Kawasaki engine. Looks to be a high end residential/low end commercial unit. I'd look at a ZT for mowing and a used compact for the other tasks. You could prob get both and be way under your 15k budget. A good new ZT will run 4k-6k, and the decent used tractor, around the same, totaling only around 10k.
 
I have not read all the replies. I recently purchased a new Kubota B2601. I was straight forward and told the salesman I would be choosing the 0% financing. He supplied me with a quote. It was slightly higher than I wanted to spend. I started looking at LS tractors and made a deal on one and was in the middle of arranging financing and scheduling pickup. The Kubota salesman happened to email during this and asked if I was still interested. I made an offer 2500 under his quote, he quickly replied that they could make it work. I was truly shocked and somewhat disappointed because the quick acceptance of my offer made me feel like I left something on the table and could of got it for a little less.

Long story short even when choosing the financing there is room for negotiation.
 
I thought with more value in a new tractor they would give you a better rate like a car loan but I guess that's not the case. I'm also not a fan of 84 month financing that's a lot of interest.

I did notice that used compact Deeres seem to be cheaper than used subcompact deeres and that kabota seems to bring a higher used price.

I was calculating hours in my head and I guess 300 hours over 7 years is pretty minimal use and probably close to what I would use.
 
I have not read all the replies. I recently purchased a new Kubota B2601. I was straight forward and told the salesman I would be choosing the 0% financing. He supplied me with a quote. It was slightly higher than I wanted to spend. I started looking at LS tractors and made a deal on one and was in the middle of arranging financing and scheduling pickup. The Kubota salesman happened to email during this and asked if I was still interested. I made an offer 2500 under his quote, he quickly replied that they could make it work. I was truly shocked and somewhat disappointed because the quick acceptance of my offer made me feel like I left something on the table and could of got it for a little less.

Long story short even when choosing the financing there is room for negotiation.

I was talking to the ls dealer and the one thing I did not like was that he knows he sells tractors cheaper than everyone else. It was a nice tractor but it seemed like the price is the price.
 
I just bought an ls and I called 3 dealers 2 where exact same price the 3rd was 2000 cheaper n then dropped another 2900 exact same
Machine plus he added a few little things for me
 
Pretty much Kubota dropped the price close to what I was going to get a comparable LS. The deciding factor is the Kubota dealer is right here in town. I was going to drive to Arkansas to get the LS and then would not of had a local dealer for support.
 
My ls dealer had the xj2025h on cl last month for 13800 and his fair pricing was 14500 then 2200 for the mower deck. So add tax of 8 percent on to that and it's getting up there in price. So I was thinking I could get a new ls for a good price but I'm not sure. Maybe at the dealership they would come down a bit but he was telling me how he beats prices on new Holland and case any day. He seemed like that was his selling point you get the same tractor for 5k less.

At that price I'll see what john deere and kabota say when I ask about their financing.
 
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