My college friend is in the process of buying a mini-horse farm near Clemson, SC. He is very interested in buying a new Kioti tractor and asked me to ask if anyone on the forum was familiar with them. When compared to similar Kubotas, they do seem to be about 2/3rds the price.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), July 26, 2001

Answers

I've seen a few around and seem OK,the problem these days buying "off brand" type tractor is how long parts will be available. For some of these tractors once they get a few years old parts are hard to come by.I farm with 40 and 50 year old tractors because of the parts are being made by alot of aftermarket companies for folks restoring them. Its a crazy world sometimes!

-- Gary (burnett_gary@msn.com), July 26, 2001.

I suspect your friends is in love with a brouchure about the tractors. Tell him to analize his application, then look for the right tractor. Purchase price is only one part of the value formula. There are loads of "experienced" tractors that can be had for that kind of money.

Rickstir

-- Rickstir (rpowell@email.ccis.edu), July 26, 2001.

The Koti are nice tractors, they will do the job. The big issues is support and parts down the road. It might or might not be available. If he does buy one, get a service manual, parts manaul and operators manual (make sure its in english!!!) for the tractor.

If it Remember right the Koti is an India made tractor and is based off a Massey Furgison design. Some of the older koti designs are from dies bought when the Massey plant retooled.

If you go into the deal for the koti tractor, figure it will be unusable in 5 years. Not that it will be, but from a budget planning perspective figure it that way. If you treat it as a comodity item instead of a long term asset you cant go wrong.

If cost is the big factor then look at some used tractors. I recently purchased a Yanmar greymarket tractor. Nice 20hp unit. I was able to get a used 20hp diesel tractor, used tiller, new field mower, new finish mower, new carry all, and new front end loader for less than the entry level john deer compact with no mower or attachments. Parts for yanmar are available, Both from yanmar dealers, marine yanmar dealers and some parts match over to John Deer motors (made by yanmar) Yanmar is the largest engine builder in the world. There is also a large following on the internet (yahoo groups and yahoo clubs) and a wealth of support.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), July 27, 2001.

Kioti is made by Daedong which is in korea. The tractors are suppose to be a very high quality. Dealerships are around 400 in USA and growing. John Deere and Boomer equals of a Kioti LB1914 run about 1000-3000 dollars more and the kioti weighs about 700 lbs more.I looked at them all and am strongly leaning towards the kioti. Warranty for all is 12 months 1000 hours so after that your on your own anyway. Dave

-- Dave (Bulldogger_99@yahoo.com), August 27, 2001.

I have the Kioti DK35 and so far so good. I haven't had the need for major parts yet. All of the commonly used consumables, like filters, are readily available. The DK35 runs like a champion. Plenty of power, smooth, quiet and easy to operate. I purchased the Kioti brand loader (KL1450) and the Kioti backhoe (KB1550) as well. If you should decide to purchase a Kioti, let me save you some time. Go straight to www.riverasmachinery.com and purchase the tractor from Alan Rivera. I shopped over ten retailers who sold the Kioti and Rivera's was the best deal by a large margin. With the money I saved buying the Kioti vs. the Deere or Kubota, I was able to afford a 20' trailer, canopy, am/fm stereo, a box blade, R4 tires and an additional 10 horse power. In addition, the literature doesn't really play up the fact that there is a creeper gear, 2nd mid PTO and draft control on this model. Don’t let the fact that Rivera’s location is the southern most tip of Texas stop you from getting a quote from them. You may think that shipping will eat your savings and keep you from purchasing the Kioti from Rivera’s. I had mine shipped to me via a business associate of Rivera’s machinery who frequents my state of Missouri. It was very reasonably priced (under $500). Another point of interest is the 5 year – 3000 hour warranty that Rivera’s Machinery offered. Theses features are an additional cost on the other major brand tractors. I have no relationship, nor did I know of Rivera’s Machinery prior to my purchase of the Kioti DK35. Rivera's service has been exceptional and all of our transactions and communications took place via the web and e-mail. They, Rivera's Machinery, seem to be very computer savvy. I would recommend purchasing a value priced Kioti. I also would recommend Deere, Kubota, New Holland if money is no object.

-- Jim D. (jdowns@unigroupinc.com), August 31, 2001.

I have owned 3 Kubota's in the past 5 years and I bought my first Kioti this past year. Two of my Kubota 's have had loaders and backhoes so I would say that I am a fair person to judge if the Kioti is anywhere near the tractor as the Kubota. In my honest opinion the kioti is equally as good and the price is the deciding factor. Don't listen to these guys who say that parts will be a problem, because they won't be any harder to get than kubota's. I have the 3054 with a loader with industrial tires and I paid $12500.00 I know that you couldn't find a 30hp kubota with industrial tires and shuttle transmission with loader for under $15000.00. I would also reccommend that you at least give your local Kioti dealer a shot at matching any other dealer's price and if he can't come down and match, so be it and go with the best deal, but if he gets within a $100.00 or so I would buy local for two reasons. 1. You should always support your community when possible and 2. If you do eventually need service you will be glad you did. Good luck

-- Brian Kerr (bpk@lion.crsd.k12.pa.us), September 17, 2001.

i sell about 120 Kioti tractors years, also about a 100 kubota tractors . and i have 10 mécanics working full time at my service département . so is kubota better than kioti? good question, deadong tractors have been arround since 1950`s and to tell you the true there's parts fitting on on another on EVERY models . i gest we call that MONDIALISATION (french) i do sell a lots of parts for my kubota's clients of my KIOTI inventery, simply because they are cheaper. (transmition cassings; bull gears; internal parts ect... ) so is kubota better than KIOTI???????? that is an interesting question!!!

-- steve turcotte (stevent@globetrotter.net), December 06, 2001.

I thank James Downs for his recommendation of my dealership and welcome him into the family of proud Kioti Tractor owners. I have read over some of the comments on Kioti and agree. Kioti is a well built tractor and a great value when you compare apples to apples with Deere,Kubota, and New Holland. All these manufactures build good tractors. The determining factor on buying your next compact tractor is really what you are getting for your dollar. What a person needs to look at is simply spec per spec comparisons and not rely on name alone. From what I have seen in the industry of major tractor manufacturers, you pay for more than what you are actually getting. Thats not true with Kioti. You get alot of features that are extras for other the other guy without paying that premium price. There are various Kioti dealers around the country and I ecourage any tractor buyer to take a good look at Kioti Tractors, shop for your best deal, and become a proud Kioti Tractor owner today!!!

-- Alan Rivera (kiotiusa1@aol.com), December 07, 2001.

have had a 30.5 hp KIOTI tractor fo about 4 years I thank it is one fine tractor, If i need a tractor i would buy Kioti again.

-- Ray Hardy (rhardy5@dfl.rr.com), January 05, 2002.

I wrote a post a while back about an Kioti LB 1914 I was considering buying. I bought the tractor about 5 months ago used it very hard for digging out an 80 x 6 foot long walkway, dug a pond pulled a few locust trees out of the ground, plowed snow with it etc.. It has just over 60 hours and hasn't missed a beat always starts right up even in 20 degree weather, I would highly recommend it and it was definetly the best bang for the buck. Dave

-- David (Bulldogger_99@yahoo.com), February 13, 2002.

we sell alot of kiotis. very very seldom have any problems. i have personnaly assemebled and test all models. its true they are made in korea. they resemble kubota and daedong. there is roper,whirlpool and kitchen aid. low middle and high end of the same machines. kioti is the top end of daedong, kubota and kioti. its a goof machine. parts and service are easy. parts are available in america usually 2 3 days ups. we stock most parts and are a warranty provider. it is a good tractor. need any questions answered call me at 540 337 1090. my name is steve ross. good luck to you.

-- steve ross (beveragetractor@hotmail.com), February 14, 2002.