OT Sub compact

I am in the market for a subcompact tractor. (Overgrown Garden Tractor) The Mahindra Max series has caught my eye. On paper it looks like the most bang for my buck. Anyone have experience? The Mahindra dealer claims that theirs is the only true class 1 3pt hitch. He says that on all the other subs you need to turn the pins on the attachments to the inside of the implement as the geometry is narrower and shorter than a true class 1.
Kubota dealer told me that a class 1 is a class one no difference.

I have a Kubota B5100 and I do not change the pins to make it work. It is a nice little garden tractor. Thing I have noticed with these small tractors is they are so light it is really hard to get them to couple to the ground.

its my understanding a class one hitch is a class one regardless. what your dealer is likely telling you is that the tractor your looking at simply has a class one hitch and not a class 0 like most sub compacts. LOTS of equipment built can be used on the next size hitch. PULLING that equipment is another matter entirely. dealer is just using a marketing ploy. and what he is telling you may or may not be good.if in fact that tractor has a class 1 hitch,without the actual hp,weight,etc to use it,you could be in even worse shape,simply because youll either have to change pins in all your cat 0 equipment or bush your lift arms every time you hook up to it.simply put theres pros and cons to this. i think youll soon find that swapping pins ,keeping up with bushings etc gets old fast.most folks wind up having two sets of equipment which is what your dealer is working towards. IF your buying this tractor on this fact alone make sure it will actually pull your cat 1 equipment. normally the catagory of the hitch is determined by the hp class.you probably are looking at a tractor at the upper end of the cat0 range,which will make it walk and talk with cat0 equipment,but will be at the very bottom of the cat1 class.does little good to have the hitch without the tractor to operate it.as far as mahindra goes,ive personaly seen folks who swear by them ,and others curse them as trash. the ones ive been around gave good service but they were used with equipment made for that tractor.in this case,and my own opinion,if you use cat1 equipment it will be like any other tractor ,one working fully loaded all the time simply wont give the service life.

The Mahindra dealer is blowing smoke. Cat I is Cat I, it is an ASAE standard. The only ones I know that have the reverse pin deal are the ones that are cat O and cat I combined. I hate when a guy has to lie to try to make his product look good. Besides having a lying dealer the Mahindra tractors are some of the better cheap imports. I would really think hard on that "Bang for the buck" issue. If you never resale it then a cheap import may work fine but if you want to work your way up to a better or bigger compact later you need to think about resale.

When you take that into the picture then the Kubota, JD or Ford are not that high. Look at total value not just purchase price. Plus how are parts and service going to be in 10-20 years on that Mahindra??? We have one local guy that has been selling them now for 10-15 years (zero service department) but I can tell you of ten guys within a hundred miles that sold them and went broke in the first few years they started. So if your local dealer goes belly up how far is the next dealer???

(quoted from post at 08:51:24 08/14/12) The Mahindra dealer is blowing smoke. Cat I is Cat I, it is an ASAE standard. The only ones I know that have the reverse pin deal are the ones that are cat O and cat I combined. I hate when a guy has to lie to try to make his product look good. Besides having a lying dealer the Mahindra tractors are some of the better cheap imports. I would really think hard on that "Bang for the buck" issue. If you never resale it then a cheap import may work fine but if you want to work your way up to a better or bigger compact later you need to think about resale.

When you take that into the picture then the Kubota, JD or Ford are not that high. Look at total value not just purchase price. Plus how are parts and service going to be in 10-20 years on that Mahindra??? We have one local guy that has been selling them now for 10-15 years (zero service department) but I can tell you of ten guys within a hundred miles that sold them and went broke in the first few years they started. So if your local dealer goes belly up how far is the next dealer???

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Gee, hate to have to agree with a hard headed JD guy :shock: (ops don't read this JDseller....OH Hi there :lol: )but he is right. A couple of years ago I really looked at buying one , that is before I decided to restart the family farm and decided I didn't want the payment on one. #1 issue is service after the sale followed by long term value. I know that JD, Kubota and CaseIH/NewHolland have both service and good parts. I know JD and Kubota hold thier value pretty good. Never checked on Ford/NewHolland/CaseIH. I've heard horror stories on most of the other cheaper brands to include MF (dealer here is terrible). Around here those are your options anyway unless you want to drive 90 miles to buy one.

Rick

i own a "02 Mahindra 6000 and it been trouble free for the past 6 years that i"ve owned it...main selling point for me was the all metal construction and the weight...google bill"s tractor in san antone...largest mahindra dealer in the us ,last i heard...good folks and real helpful anytime i had a question.
still laffing about those "lying dealer" comments...like those green and yaller dealers are angels...wished i woulda wore hip waders when i was tractor shoppin 6 years ago.

I have a Kubota BX2200 and love it. nicest tractor to drive and can do most of what the bigger ones can do - just takes more time. I had mine for 6 or 7 years and the only thing I've done to it is change the oil, 2 new front tires and a battery.

The BX2200 has a limited catagory 1 hitch the same as the JD 2000 series, MF GC and New Holland Boomer. Simply the tractor isn't tall enough to lift some normal cat 1 equipment like a Ford 2 row cultivator.

King Kutter and a number of other brands have limited catagory 1 implements that fit right and match the size of the tractor. Try norther Tool and tractor supply

The Mahindra looks like it's the next step bigger than a subcompact so it's going to feel like a bigger tractor.

Again the Kubota is a pleasure to drive and the ergonomics are spot on.

Loader, mower, KK rototiller, 4ft bush hog, sub soiler, etc. all work great.

You have to remember what class your in - a subcompact will never have the traction of a heaver tractor with taller tires but then I don't want to mow my grass with a full size Farm tractor. Or manuver aroung my yard with something big.

Kubota is hard to beat - I think I'd match the next frame size larger Kubota with the Mahendra as it's a different class tractor

I never said he was lying,just using a marketing ploy.they all do it thats what a salesman does.bro in law had a little mahindra with a front loader,finish mower,etc for he made a ton of money with that thing doing yard work for folks, and it was as a reliable a tractor as youd ever want.another neighbor had one he tried to pull cat1 equipment with,that thing was broken more than it ran. nothing wrong with the machine,fellow he sold it to is still running it and loves it. just that it was running way overloaded all the time,and it couldnt hold up. most brands wouldnt for long. personaly if i were looking for one in that class today ,i would go to the kubota dealer and never look back. but thats my opinion and everybody has one.

You are overthinking the whole issue and it's going to get you into trouble.

First choice should be Kubota
Second-New Holland
Third-John Deere

If you buy anything else, you are just fooling yourself.

Your dealer is just blowing smoke. Get a kubota, Deere, or a New Holland/Case IH. Depending upon what dealer is in your area or who you like the best. You won't be sorry especially if you decide to trade up later on.

Your guy is right. All class one hitches are not created equal ! Implements are all over the place on pin width and height. I have had a JD4100 and some small Kubota"s and sometimes on some implements you have to monkey around to get them hooked up. I seem to remember one time could only hook one side at a time as the arms hit the tires if you went wide enough to do both at the same time.
Mahindra made tractors for Cub Cadet. I had one of those too. Was a good unit. Filters were expensive and hard to cross over.

Many compacts have a 'modified' Cat 1 hitch which in reality has the same specs as the large garden
tractor Cat 0 hitches except they use the Cat 1
pins.I have several pieces of equipment built for compacts that I use on my large garden tractors like the Simplicity 9020,there is even a changeover pin available that has the Cat 1 bolt hole size but has the Cat 0 pin size.

Wished all my equipment was like this. This is my Kuhn hay rake.