New Tractor Vs 2nd Hand. Kubota Vs Ford

[stament]

Hello,

I was just searching for threads on tractors and am interested in buying one for use in Lamphun/Chiang Mai. Being a total novice I've read a number of articles with pros and cons of Ford and Kubota.

Ford seems to be the undisputed best but is also more expensive. I was thinking of a new Kubota L4508 with 3 of the attachments (for rice farming and general land). However some posters said financing with Kubota is expensive and you are tied into the servicing. I looked at a Ford I think around the same spec which was about 60k baht more.

Ford parts do seem to be cheaper and more available which is another concern with buying a Kubota. I don't mind buying a second-hand ford if it's going to be better than the Kubota and depreciate less over time (this seems to be another problem with the Kubota judging from posts).

Is anyone able to offer any advice and more importantly where I can buy second-hand tractors (if that's the preferred option). My budget for the tractor is around 600k (without additions). I'd prefer to take financing if possible as it currently favours me (what with the strong Baht).

Many thanks

[IsaanAussie]

This should yield a lot of posts as this type of question always has. There are many expats here that have experienced all the pitfalls.

Ford 6610 tractors were about all there was ten years ago and can still be purchased 2nd hand here. Best option is to get one in Bangkok from the importer/rebuilders. They are imported CKD and then rebuilt using some local components such as wheels and tyres. About 400K finished, if you can build it yourself the kit cost was about 150K upwards.

I bought a preloved 28HP Iseki fitted with a front end loader, also bought a plough, rotary hoe and row maker. It's a 4WD which has proven invaluable here in Sisaket. The combination of muddy ground and light weight make smaller tractors (small wheels) a poor choice here. Often a small Kubotas here are fitted with paddle wheels on the rear wheels to avoid bogging and improve traction.

You mentioned being tied to Kubota service. Not such a bad idea if you have thai operators planned. Maintenance to most, means just keep going until something breaks.

As a side thought. With the numbers of tractors around now and the decrease in charge rates resulting from mounting competition, have you considered the relative cost of hiring a contractor instead of owning your own machine?

[pnustedt]

If you wanna go secondhand you may wish to try this auction co.: http://www.jssr.co.th/auction/?cat=5&lang=eng

[Foreverford]

This should yield a lot of posts as this type of question always has. There are many expats here that have experienced all the pitfalls.

Ford 6610 tractors were about all there was ten years ago and can still be purchased 2nd hand here. Best option is to get one in Bangkok from the importer/rebuilders. They are imported CKD and then rebuilt using some local components such as wheels and tyres. About 400K finished, if you can build it yourself the kit cost was about 150K upwards.

I bought a preloved 28HP Iseki fitted with a front end loader, also bought a plough, rotary hoe and row maker. It's a 4WD which has proven invaluable here in Sisaket. The combination of muddy ground and light weight make smaller tractors (small wheels) a poor choice here. Often a small Kubotas here are fitted with paddle wheels on the rear wheels to avoid bogging and improve traction.

You mentioned being tied to Kubota service. Not such a bad idea if you have thai operators planned. Maintenance to most, means just keep going until something breaks.

As a side thought. With the numbers of tractors around now and the decrease in charge rates resulting from mounting competition, have you considered the relative cost of hiring a contractor instead of owning your own machine?

"As a side thought. With the numbers of tractors around now and the decrease in charge rates resulting from mounting competition, have you considered the relative cost of hiring a contractor instead of owning your own machine?"

There's no need for anyone else to respond to this. Well said old buddy. Any novice will get returns in dollars for pennies to sit and watch different operators with the same and different tractors attempt their projects.

Yes we all know the thrill of having a "new" old tractor but if you haven't had hydraulic fluid hitting you in the eye with busted hydraulics in the middle of the night just after the fuse went then you haven't really gotten the full "thrill". I just finished renting two different excavators "thai backhoes" for two completely different jobs. One a giant monster, the other a rather large excavator, one job needed trucks the other didn't if I reversed the use of the excavators it would have taken 3-4 times as long to finish and cost that much more. Usually the biggest is the best for most jobs with equipment, or better said, you won't accomplish anything if you don't have a tractor big enough for the job. That said many times too big can be useless on a small job.

Where am I going with this?? Right back to my ol' buddy Issan Aussie. If you are a novice spend an entire year hiring people to do the kind of jobs with the kind of equipment you are thinking of purchasing. The rental costs will be less than what your repair bills would be if you try to do it without the right kind and size of equipment. Try spliting the same task in two and hire out two different types of tractor. If you buy Kubota you know you';ll end up paying a fortune in parts when needed. Just got everything to completely rebuild my large hydraulic power steering cylinder including both brand new ends for my Ford 6610 and it was just over a couple thousand baht. I consider that free as I burn that in diesel in one day. Realiability, dependability, resale, repair parts availability and Thai border-to-border knowledge of repairs makes it the reason the world has been fed by Ford tractors forever. Now unfortunately farmers are getting hoodwinked by inferior Kubotas, sorry to say.

If anyone finds any rain send some our way. Khap Choke Dee