Shady Lane
Well-known member
Let me preface my comments by first mentioning that I am a Sales Consultant for a rather large conglomerate of John Deere dealers.
Further to that, let me mention that I have essentially no direct experience with the Kioti brand, they are most definitely not a major "threat" or competitor in my trade area so I do not know that particular product inside and out by any means.
That said I will throw in my $0.02 since I do have a little bit of experience in the tractor business. So call my oppinion biased if you like, but I really don't have a horse in this race, just experience in the business with a few different manufactures. Like I said I presently sell for Deere but previously sold the New Holland product so am familliar with the CNH offering as well. Prior to that I was involved somewhat with the Agco company primarily through the Loral and Willmar lines of application equipment.
Obviously people have a varried oppinion when it comes to tractor brands, if that weren't the case their would only be one brand of tractor on the market.
Frankly I believe that there are a lot of very good products being offered by the different manufacturers these days.
However I think the thing to keep in mind is really what factors are driving your purchase decision? Why are you drawn to the Kioti brand?
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the #1 factor pushing you towards Kioti is price? If it weren't for price wouldyou still be buying a Kioti? As we all know the initial purchase price when buying a piece of equipment is only one factor that equates to the "total cost of ownership" over the life span of a piece of equipment. How long do you plan on owning this piece for and how much use will it get per year?
While there may be a lot of similarities in products when comparing tractor to tracto, trust me when I say that not every tractor COMPANY is created equal and neither is every tractor dealership.
Where was the Kioti brand in your area 5 years ago? 10 years ago? What is their track record for holding their resale value? What about the dealersip? How long have they been in business? What is the parts availabillity and turnaround time? What is the track record with that dealership in terms of warranty claims and product support?
If you can't tell, my point is that you would likely be much better off to purchase a used tractor from a well known brand then to buy an "off-brand" tractor that may be new even though you could be talking about similar dollars.
An older mainstream tractor would likely depreciate very little over the period of ownership (particularily a Deeere) compared to the Kioti or something similar.
There is a reason Deeer has been in business well over 100 years and remains to be the only independant tractor company of it's kind and has remained so for generations.
We are in a time when we are seeing a CONTRACTION in the equipment market place, I would hazzard a guess that we will see fewer manufactures tha will produce MORE equipment while some of the small manufactures will drop off the map. LIkewise with equipment dealers, more dealers are amalgamating and getting bigger while the smaller dealerships are being absorbed.
So where do you see Kioti in 5 years? 10 years? What about your local Kioti dealer?
John Deere typically accounts for approximately 60% of the market share in the AG sector while every other manufacturer fights for the remaining 40%. I think it would be a pretty safe bet that Deere will still be in business 10 years down the road and that alone will protect your investment SUBSTANTIALLY.
We could argue all day about who produces the best tractor and like I said, I believe there are a lot of products on the market with merit, but if you want my oppinion Deere is the best tractor COMPANY out there and this is how they have gotten into the position they are in and why they will remain that way.
Food for thought.
Further to that, let me mention that I have essentially no direct experience with the Kioti brand, they are most definitely not a major "threat" or competitor in my trade area so I do not know that particular product inside and out by any means.
That said I will throw in my $0.02 since I do have a little bit of experience in the tractor business. So call my oppinion biased if you like, but I really don't have a horse in this race, just experience in the business with a few different manufactures. Like I said I presently sell for Deere but previously sold the New Holland product so am familliar with the CNH offering as well. Prior to that I was involved somewhat with the Agco company primarily through the Loral and Willmar lines of application equipment.
Obviously people have a varried oppinion when it comes to tractor brands, if that weren't the case their would only be one brand of tractor on the market.
Frankly I believe that there are a lot of very good products being offered by the different manufacturers these days.
However I think the thing to keep in mind is really what factors are driving your purchase decision? Why are you drawn to the Kioti brand?
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the #1 factor pushing you towards Kioti is price? If it weren't for price wouldyou still be buying a Kioti? As we all know the initial purchase price when buying a piece of equipment is only one factor that equates to the "total cost of ownership" over the life span of a piece of equipment. How long do you plan on owning this piece for and how much use will it get per year?
While there may be a lot of similarities in products when comparing tractor to tracto, trust me when I say that not every tractor COMPANY is created equal and neither is every tractor dealership.
Where was the Kioti brand in your area 5 years ago? 10 years ago? What is their track record for holding their resale value? What about the dealersip? How long have they been in business? What is the parts availabillity and turnaround time? What is the track record with that dealership in terms of warranty claims and product support?
If you can't tell, my point is that you would likely be much better off to purchase a used tractor from a well known brand then to buy an "off-brand" tractor that may be new even though you could be talking about similar dollars.
An older mainstream tractor would likely depreciate very little over the period of ownership (particularily a Deeere) compared to the Kioti or something similar.
There is a reason Deeer has been in business well over 100 years and remains to be the only independant tractor company of it's kind and has remained so for generations.
We are in a time when we are seeing a CONTRACTION in the equipment market place, I would hazzard a guess that we will see fewer manufactures tha will produce MORE equipment while some of the small manufactures will drop off the map. LIkewise with equipment dealers, more dealers are amalgamating and getting bigger while the smaller dealerships are being absorbed.
So where do you see Kioti in 5 years? 10 years? What about your local Kioti dealer?
John Deere typically accounts for approximately 60% of the market share in the AG sector while every other manufacturer fights for the remaining 40%. I think it would be a pretty safe bet that Deere will still be in business 10 years down the road and that alone will protect your investment SUBSTANTIALLY.
We could argue all day about who produces the best tractor and like I said, I believe there are a lot of products on the market with merit, but if you want my oppinion Deere is the best tractor COMPANY out there and this is how they have gotten into the position they are in and why they will remain that way.
Food for thought.
