RL tractor question

[Princeguardian]

I work for a state park and we are discussing a new tractor 100hp range. More than likely it will be a kubota, cheapest price, however therr is a Mihandra dealer close by. Has anyone driven one of these or have any input on them?

[ErwinR55]

I never heard of Mihandra before, but Kubota is for sure a good brand for the price it offers it for.

But I know one thing for sure, a good dealership is worth alot aswell. So if you think the Mihandra dealer is worthy and because it's close by, it might be worth a shot.
Atleast get a price indication from them to see what they offer.

[Smith Modding]

My dad is looking at Mihiandra, NH, Kubota, and JF tractors for work around the yard/woods/driveway. From what he's told me, get what you like. They're all pretty similar, with just minor feature differences, just try them out and see what you like best. Also, the dealership matters. Make sure you try them out before you buy and see if you like it

[FordFarmer97]

I'd ditch both brands and buy an NH T4 2WD

[Deadeye]

Actually, my family own a Mahindra, although not for much longer. We own about 150 acres or so give or take, and we have 5 goats and about 30 chickens. My dad and I are also avid outdoorsmen, so we spend a fair amount of time maintaining the land for hunting. We bought our Mahindra 2 years ago, it was an Emax25 I believe. It had a hydrostatic transmission and we bought a loader and bucket with it, and a mid mount mower deck for our yard. Within the first 60 hours on the tractor we threw a fan belt(This was partly our fault). It overheated a couple times on us, which is a big issue, because there is no temperature gauge , just a light that comes on AFTER it has already overheated. The tachometer never worked from day one, an issue which has only came to our attention with the most recent episode. Fast forward to this last spring..We had had problems with the original dealer we bought the tractor from, so we sent it to a new dealer for some service work before the warranty ran out. This included attempting to fix the tachometer for the SECOND time. With it being spring time, we were going to be needing it all summer for mowing the lawn, brush hogging, and just odds and ends jobs around our home. The tractor was in the shop for 28 days. The shop needed a part that Mahindra didn't even have in the country. We had to order a generic part that matched, and the shop put it in. So then we bring the tractor home, and we run it for about 10 hours. One night we park it, and the next day, we go out, and there is a puddle of oil underneath the tractor. Turns out, there was a seal in the transmission that went bad. It was leaking about a pint of oil a day. We sent it back up to the shop to be repaired, and it has been well over a month now, and we still have not seen the tractor since. As a matter of fact, the guy from the shop called my dad a week or two ago and said that they fixed the original leak, but that one was so bad that they didn't realize there was ANOTHER leak in the transmission. Keeping in mind that these problems have all occurred within the past 2 years. My dad is also a very mechanically inclined person, so working on these things isn't usually an issue with him. He bought this tractor two years ago because they offered the best warranty of any dealer around, and their parts weren't out of this world like Kubota parts. However, the warranty is only as good as the company providing it, and in this case, it is not good. As i'm finishing writing this, my dad is making plans to pick the tractor up from the shop tomorrow after over a month in the shop, and will be getting rid of it to buy another brand. I am no expert, but this is just our experience with Mahindra tractors. Possibly someone else has had a different, more positive experience.

[Showdizzle]

It is red and runs like a Deere. Straight to the shop.

[BigC92]

Actually, my family own a Mahindra, although not for much longer. We own about 150 acres or so give or take, and we have 5 goats and about 30 chickens. My dad and I are also avid outdoorsmen, so we spend a fair amount of time maintaining the land for hunting. We bought our Mahindra 2 years ago, it was an Emax25 I believe. It had a hydrostatic transmission and we bought a loader and bucket with it, and a mid mount mower deck for our yard. Within the first 60 hours on the tractor we threw a fan belt(This was partly our fault). It overheated a couple times on us, which is a big issue, because there is no temperature gauge , just a light that comes on AFTER it has already overheated. The tachometer never worked from day one, an issue which has only came to our attention with the most recent episode. Fast forward to this last spring..We had had problems with the original dealer we bought the tractor from, so we sent it to a new dealer for some service work before the warranty ran out. This included attempting to fix the tachometer for the SECOND time. With it being spring time, we were going to be needing it all summer for mowing the lawn, brush hogging, and just odds and ends jobs around our home. The tractor was in the shop for 28 days. The shop needed a part that Mahindra didn't even have in the country. We had to order a generic part that matched, and the shop put it in. So then we bring the tractor home, and we run it for about 10 hours. One night we park it, and the next day, we go out, and there is a puddle of oil underneath the tractor. Turns out, there was a seal in the transmission that went bad. It was leaking about a pint of oil a day. We sent it back up to the shop to be repaired, and it has been well over a month now, and we still have not seen the tractor since. As a matter of fact, the guy from the shop called my dad a week or two ago and said that they fixed the original leak, but that one was so bad that they didn't realize there was ANOTHER leak in the transmission. Keeping in mind that these problems have all occurred within the past 2 years. My dad is also a very mechanically inclined person, so working on these things isn't usually an issue with him. He bought this tractor two years ago because they offered the best warranty of any dealer around, and their parts weren't out of this world like Kubota parts. However, the warranty is only as good as the company providing it, and in this case, it is not good. As i'm finishing writing this, my dad is making plans to pick the tractor up from the shop tomorrow after over a month in the shop, and will be getting rid of it to buy another brand. I am no expert, but this is just our experience with Mahindra tractors. Possibly someone else has had a different, more positive experience.

Holy stuff, this was a kind of situation with the shop and our expedition, we was at the parking space at the food store, i started her up, and i heard a weird noise from under the hood, i was like ok its making old man noises, so as i was backing out, i had no steering, so i pulled forward, popped the hood, the serpentine belt shredded, so my dad called and asked if the pulleys were good so i said yes, so the next day, put on a new belt, and babyed it home, so we took it to the shop, we knew the A/C pump was the problem, so they had to order tools, and new pipes and condenser, we bought the pump itself, anyways, so a couple days passed and they called saying it was done, we went, payed for it, so we fired her up, started fine, got fuel, started fine, got groceries, started fine, so my dad had a doctors appointment the next day, its started like it was winter time, very hard, so we went home, the idiots unplugged the alternator wire from the firewall, so needless to say, they lost our business.

[Deadeye]

Holy stuff, this was a kind of situation with the shop and our expedition, we was at the parking space at the food store, i started her up, and i heard a weird noise from under the hood, i was like ok its making old man noises, so as i was backing out, i had no steering, so i pulled forward, popped the hood, the serpentine belt shredded, so my dad called and asked if the pulleys were good so i said yes, so the next day, put on a new belt, and babyed it home, so we took it to the shop, we knew the A/C pump was the problem, so they had to order tools, and new pipes and condenser, we bought the pump itself, anyways, so a couple days passed and they called saying it was done, we went, payed for it, so we fired her up, started fine, got fuel, started fine, got groceries, started fine, so my dad had a doctors appointment the next day, its started like it was winter time, very hard, so we went home, the idiots unplugged the alternator wire from the firewall, so needless to say, they lost our business.

Yeah, we had issues with our original Mahindra dealer from the get-go..For the recent repair work we sent it to a dealer that is about twice as far away. They have been better, but the tractor itself isn't designed well, and Mahindra doesn't seem to honor their warranty.

[BigC92]

Like yourself and your old man, we do most of the repairs ourselves, stuff like changing the coil packs, brake changing, brake lines, we can do, but if its something worse then that, we take it to the doctors, we would have done it ourselves, but we would have to flush out the system, measure out the A/C compressor oil, and put Freon in it, but we didn't have all the tools to do so, But now to the other guys, like Erwin55 said, if you have a good dealership, with a good atmosphere, and give you a good deal, then your good to go, so excellent point Erwin55! Just like buying a vehicle, but your buying a tractor instead.

[gmfarmer420]

I would go Kubota my grandfather bought one about ten years ago and it was such a good tractor that when it was time to upsize a few years ago he bought another one. He used them for brushhoging and skiding logs for firewood.

[NateS]

Anyone try Kioti tractors? I think the biggest one is slightly over 100hp but they look like great little utility tractors.

[Deadeye]

I would strongly recommend Kubota or Kioti, even though they aren't necessarily the cheapest. A Kubota was actually my dad's first choice for a tractor, as we had had a smaller one before that ran for years, and was still going strong when we sold it to a friend who runs it frequently.(It's just a little diesel lawn mower tractor). However, parts for Kubotas are expensive, and my dad didn't like our Kubota dealer. So we opted for a different brand, Mahindra. Now that the Mahindra is on it's way out though, we are also looking into buying an LS. Their dealer is right up the road, and started selling those tractors about a month after we got our Mahindra. He spoke pretty highly of the tractor after looking at it. He didn't get to run it though. Most definitely check all of the dealers around, even if they are a little bit farther away. As said above a tractor can be the best tractor in the world, but you need a good dealer.

[jenna_q]

Avoid Mahindra like the plague their tractors are terrible. The electrical systems are beyond bad and the customer service is a joke. I bought my mom a small tractor for work around the yard and the garden and I thought I could save a little money by buying a Mahindra. Big mistake, it was nothing but problems. So I said to hell with it, returned the turd and just bought a New Holland. It was a whole lot more money but I know it will work and if we ever do have an issue the NH staff here is top notch.

[dunnjob]

This question is like asking what is better: Ford, Chevy, or Dodge. Everyone has their own opinions. Honestly there is not that much difference in the brands out there. The green ones do the same work as the orange ones and red ones and blue ones. In the 100hp range in the US I would go with Deere, CaseIH, New Holland, or Kubota. All 4 are great options. Look at the following:
1.) Ergonomics- Is the tractor comfortable and the controls laid out in a configuration that you like. Most will be similar but the devil is in the details.
2.) Sight lines - How good is the visibility from the seat. If buying one with a loader, this is even more important.
3.) Dealer network- What dealers are close to you? Anything mechanical will break down. Parts and service availability is important to minimize downtime.

One last thing. I am going to assume that working for a State agency that you will have to spec what you are looking for and receive bids from different vendors before you buy one. Most state bid laws require you to take the lowest bidder. So lets say that you REALLY want a Deere for example. Each machine will have its own special features the other brands do not. Whomever writes the bid specs can specify that particular type of equipment. Another way to get around most state bid laws is to LEASE the tractor for a year or two, then write bid specs for the tractor you already have. For example: 2016 or newer, less than 300 hours, 4x4, removable loader, cab with heat and air. Those specs are exactly what you have leased and it will be difficult for the competitors to find a machine that matches your exact specs. You will end up with the same machine you have been leasing.