John Deere Dealers

[tinytot]

Good day all..

Well time has come to try and buy a tractor..!!! Yes i am wanting to buy a John Deere if i can find a dealer in Surin area, There is Kubota dealers their but i would like to see how much difference in price and quality there is betwween the 2 of them.. If anyone knows of a dealer in Surin Province as we have 50 rai in Thatoom Issan area.. Hope to get some comments... Thanks...tinytot

[gotlost]

John Deere dealer in front of the train station in Surin. Can not miss it.

[Maizefarmer]

tinytot

Let me share some info with you on the subject of "which tractor - JD or Kubota?".

Yes - JD was (and remains) the Rolls Royce of tractors (if you exclude Fendt), but the gap has narrowed over the last few years and there is little between them and Kubota today. You also have to keep in mind that if you are buying new, not all JD's are availible in Thailand if purchased through the dealer network. The Thai franchise holder only imports a "basic" range of JD models - models produced specifically for the developing world. They come into Thailand as partial-ckd kits (complete knock down kits) from Argentina, and assembled by the franchise holder in their workshop at km 12 Bang Na (ironicaly it's Siam Hitachi).

The relivance of all this revolves around 2 points:

1) purchase cost - compared with Kubota (or Ford)

2) service - logistics, availibility & distribution

Cost wise - JD tractors have always been at the top end of the market - they are a premium brandname, even if the models availible in Thailand are "basic" models that do not have electro-shift, air con'd cabins, fancy diff options. This is deliberate so as to be able to market the product competitively.

Service wise - Thailand's pool of mechanics, espeicaly in remote areas, is limited both in terms of quantity and skill level, so the less complicated a tractor is, the easier it is to establish a network of qualified and capable mehcanics, and secondly, it costs money to both import and stock parts for machines like tractors, so the less complicated the machine is the less parts have to be stocked.

The net result of all this (in respect of the Thai market for JD) is a range of models that are no more sophisticated and complicated than Kubota's range of models which are avalible in Thailand, but which none-the-less carry a premium of around 35% - 55%!

You can of course by a used model - there are a few around Thailand, and if you go to Laos or Cambodia, there are even more - they are even more popular there because they tend to be the state forrestry depts first choice historically (and allmost all those JD's are assembled in Thailand by Siam Hitachi). But buying and older/used JD model in the hope that some money can be saved is almost always a false economy - the parts bill will be a shocker, made worse buy the fact that if anything does go wrong the chances are fairly good that you will have a machine that can't be used untill the part gets imported from Australia (the closest JD hub for classic model parts) - and god knows what the cost will be. Classic parts are not cheap, and then you have the delivery cost, on top of which will be import duties - should that ever happen.

Kubota suffers from none of the above issues - distribution is universally good throughout Thailand, parts are at worst 2 days away, and in most cases same day or next day, the dealer network is well established and well organised. I have just one issue with Kubota: their consumer financing. Most ex-pats who buy a Kubota do so on Kubota finance. - and that ties them into a service contract that is one of the most expensive of all tractor suppliers in Thailand.

Your best option - by very far - has to be Ford (now New Holland): massive dealer infrastructure throughout Thailand - bigger than all the other brandnames put together, universally valued by farmers, making it easy to sell on afterwards, easy to work on (yourself), parts are cheap and almost always availible same day from one of the many sources all over the country, a good range of tools made speficially to work with Fords ........ it is not without good reason the most popular tractor brand name in Thailand.

Yes JD is a nice machine, but in the Thai market it will offer you no advantage, will cost a lot to buy and a lot lot more to maintain. Kubota too are good, but their service costs will make you blink, and their depreciation value is something to be avoided. Ford, mechanically, are no worse than JD or Kubota, will cost a lot less to maintain, parts will always be avalible when you need them and your tractor will keep its value. I strongly advice you to give some thought to these issues before committing yourself.

Edited November 28, 2009 by Maizefarmer

[tinytot]

tinytot

Let me share some info with you on the subject of "which tractor - JD or Kubota?".

Yes - JD was (and remains) the Rolls Royce of tractors (if you exclude Fendt), but the gap has narrowed over the last few years and there is little between them and Kubota today. You also have to keep in mind that if you are buying new, not all JD's are availible in Thailand if purchased through the dealer network. The Thai franchise holder only imports a "basic" range of JD models - models produced specifically for the developing world. They come into Thailand as partial-ckd kits (complete knock down kits) from Argentina, and assembled by the franchise holder in their workshop at km 12 Bang Na (ironicaly it's Siam Hitachi).

The relivance of all this revolves around 2 points:

1) purchase cost - compared with Kubota (or Ford)

2) service - logistics, availibility & distribution

Cost wise - JD tractors have always been at the top end of the market - they are a premium brandname, even if the models availible in Thailand are "basic" models that do not have electro-shift, air con'd cabins, fancy diff options. This is deliberate so as to be able to market the product competitively.

Service wise - Thailand's pool of mechanics, espeicaly in remote areas, is limited both in terms of quantity and skill level, so the less complicated a tractor is, the easier it is to establish a network of qualified and capable mehcanics, and secondly, it costs money to both import and stock parts for machines like tractors, so the less complicated the machine is the less parts have to be stocked.

The net result of all this (in respect of the Thai market for JD) is a range of models that are no more sophisticated and complicated than Kubota's range of models which are avalible in Thailand, but which none-the-less carry a premium of around 35% - 55%!

You can of course by a used model - there are a few around Thailand, and if you go to Laos or Cambodia, there are even more - they are even more popular there because they tend to be the state forrestry depts first choice historically (and allmost all those JD's are assembled in Thailand by Siam Hitachi). But buying and older/used JD model in the hope that some money can be saved is almost always a false economy - the parts bill will be a shocker, made worse buy the fact that if anything does go wrong the chances are fairly good that you will have a machine that can't be used untill the part gets imported from Australia (the closest JD hub for classic model parts) - and god knows what the cost will be. Classic parts are not cheap, and then you have the delivery cost, on top of which will be import duties - should that ever happen.

Kubota suffers from none of the above issues - distribution is universally good throughout Thailand, parts are at worst 2 days away, and in most cases same day or next day, the dealer network is well established and well organised. I have just one issue with Kubota: their consumer financing. Most ex-pats who buy a Kubota do so on Kubota finance. - and that ties them into a service contract that is one of the most expensive of all tractor suppliers in Thailand.

Your best option - by very far - has to be Ford (now New Holland): massive dealer infrastructure throughout Thailand - bigger than all the other brandnames put together, universally valued by farmers, making it easy to sell on afterwards, easy to work on (yourself), parts are cheap and almost always availible same day from one of the many sources all over the country, a good range of tools made speficially to work with Fords ........ it is not without good reason the most popular tractor brand name in Thailand.

Yes JD is a nice machine, but in the Thai market it will offer you no advantage, will cost a lot to buy and a lot lot more to maintain. Kubota too are good, but their service costs will make you blink, and their depreciation value is something to be avoided. Ford, mechanically, are no worse than JD or Kubota, will cost a lot less to maintain, parts will always be avalible when you need them and your tractor will keep its value. I strongly advice you to give some thought to these issues before committing yourself.

Thanks for your input as it has given us a better idea, In your note you said expats buy kubota on kubota finance, As i am not expat but have thai wife how would i go about the finance situation if i wanted to buy it on finance? Also is there any new holland dealers in area of Surin? Let us know all info greatly appreciated.. Maybe if i can get finance for Kubota that would be great, But not being a expat i am not sure what i have to do...tinytot

[Maizefarmer]

TT

Just what is your status in Thailand (pm me if you prefer)?

NH - is franchised out by Anglo Thai and I would reccomend you buy directly from Anglo Thai in Thailand, but to answer you question, I am a NH dealer (yes - I am, but truth be told I only sell parts and used machines - I haven't the time to get tied into the terms & conditions of been a NH new product retailer) - and I'm nowhere near Surin. I think your dealer in Surin is a company called Mathawee Tractors - ask around, and go check them out - they could be no more than a parts delear operating from a small shop, and with little facilties to offer maintencne and service backup.

Khun Seri the MD at AT in Bangkok shakes his head when ex-pats want finance - unlike Kubota, he really enforces all the fine print and takes no hostages: I think he's had problems in the past and as he's already the market leader by far, he's not concerned about the fraction of a single percent the ex-pat market could offer his brandname. NH products carry a premium of around 30% over and above Kubota, so god only knows what it would cost to buy a new NH!

[mixedbreed]

My Thailand tractor experiences.

Just thought I would put out my experiences, I am not advocating these brands but trying to give you my experiences. I am a slow mover and some of these decisions have taken years to be decided.

My first tractor purchased in Thailand was the Ford 6610 (It came with new paint and tires) the rest of the machine is probably 30 years old. It is an incredible work horse. We have one operator for it, who treats it carefully, But there is generally one major problem each year, be it transmission, PTO, oil leak etc. Considering the huge amount of work it performs, it is not surprising. But as others have pointed out, due to parts availability and knowledge of the old Ford, the team generally repair it overnight and it is back operating next day.

The Ford is operated up till the time of the first rains and after that it is parked till next dry season. It gets stuck just looking at a puddle.

For general around the farm work we next purchased a Yanmar 28hp 4wd, it came with a small blade and front loader that could be switched out easily. Due to very limited experience at this time, we purchased a rotary for it that we felt would be fine, It was actually just 1 size too big, most of the time it would be no problem, but in some of the paddies it would bog down the engine and they would have to operate it with the rotary partially lifted to bring the rpm’s back up.

It was at this time Yanmar (Thailand) gave us a trial version 35hp 4wd tractor for 6 months to use. The rotary worked perfectly on this machine. It was when they came to take the tractor back, that we realized that probably we should go ahead and purchase a unit for ourselves, so that is how we ended up with the 2 yanmars. They operate extremely well, they do our 150 rai of paddies and also contract outside. With the 2 tractors and a 12 meter manila rope, they perform very well, if one should get stuck, a quick pull from the other and it is operating again in just a few minutes. We bought the extender steel wheels for both tractors, but never use them.

For the last 4 years, I have been looking for an alternative to the old Ford, I have visited the John Deere and New Holland dealers many times, looked at purchasing a second old (reconditioned) Ford 6610, as a back up, in my mind I just couldn’t justify the costs. In dealing with Kubota for the DC60 Rice harvester I became familiar with the M7040, so after 1 year of thinking about it, we have just gone ahead and purchased it. The tractor will get a solid work out in the next 3 months while it is still in warranty.

We now have an excavator for things like tree stumps, klong building etc.

Summary:

• Ford 6610, almost indestructible, we have managed to break ours, but it was doing work that should never have been attempted by a tractor. Now we have the proper equipment eg. Excavator, Front loader. I expect it to be much more trouble free. 2wd and only used in the dry season.

• Yanmar 28hp 4wd. With the front loader attached, this is the daily work horse for all the farm chores, with a small trailer attached it does everything, all year round. (hauling people, fence posts, pipes, concrete etc) We purchased a new smaller rotary for it and is excellent each year for use in the rice paddies.

• Yanmar 35hp 4wd. This machine is used for operating all the attached equipment, silage making, hay baler, post hole digger, rotary, brush cutter, virtually all the PTO equipment has been sized for this tractor. Used all year round.

• Kubota 70hp 4wd. I have big expectations for this tractor. The M series looks like a real tractor, as opposed to the smaller L and B series, (They probably are good machines, I just never had a good feeling about them). I will keep the Ford and share the annual load between both machines. During the last couple of weeks we have been using the Kubota for knocking down the rice paddy walls to get the harvesters in and also for pulling out the harvesters when they get stuck. It has been accomplishing this easily.

We have paid cash for these machines, buying just the basic machine and going outside for the attachments, blades, plows, etc. It involves waiting a bit while someone else fits the attachments but generally we are not in a hurry. With the new Kubota, we have purchased the blade from the dealer (Buri Ram), when he realized that we where serious about not purchasing the attachments he actually matched the price for the outside blade. He would not budge on the plow price. It appears he has some flexibility on the blade but is constricted on the plow.