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 | Paladin
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 81 Eastern Pennsylvania 
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2005-01-28 105148
I posted about this a while ago. Here is an update on my experience with my used L3010.
First, Art White is one smart guy. He was kind enough to exchange some private emails with me and he basically told me that you can't know it all until you get the tractor in the shop. He was right.
Second, I did save a bunch of money on the deal and there is nothing wrong at all mechanically with the tractor. It has 325 hours on it and I anticipate putting on only 25-50 hours/year until I get plowed under myself.
Third, somebody told me to value the aftermarket Great Bend FEL at zero, just because it was an aftermarket loader. WRONG! It is a beautiful unit and more ruggedly built than Kubota's own FEL. I have the Great Bend 280 (now the Bushhog 280), which was the top of the line with hardened pins and all. It will last me a lifetime. And, it has the skidsteer bucket mount so buying pallet or bale forks will be easy.
BTW - check out Ameriquip's website. They make loaders and hoes but sell only OEM. I wonder whose tractors are actually running around with Ameriquip implements on them? Kubota? JD? NH? They must be selling them to someone.
Fourth, if you are fussy about your tractor don't buy used unless you are handy mechanically. I wound up replacing a taillight lens ($50) and straightening the bracket which is hard to get at and straighten with a hammer. I am allowing another $10 for touch up paint. Next, the battery had a bad cell and it had been allowed to bubble over and spit acid. This was another all day project to take the old battery out, flush out the compartment with a whole box of bicarbonate, replace one corroded clamp, and put in a new battery. I bought a blemished battery at the battery factory down the road, but the cost was still $50 for all. As a benefit, I found a pair of vise grips under the old battery. The bug screen for the HST tranny had also been corroded, so there was another $60. Last, some fool had attempted to pull out a stump or something with the three point hitch stabilizer brackets, bending one and breaking the other. Getting them unbolted from the axle was a b***h as Kubota really torques them on. Another day of aggravation and a trip to the welding shop and $65 including gray touch up paint. New brackets would have been $100.
Last, my tires are frozen because it gets colder in PA than down south where the tractor came from, and someone down there must have filled them with water. I am still trying to figure this one out. Fortunately, I don't really need the tractor until spring.
Well, my overall savings were in the thousands, including the finish mower, bushhog and PHD, so I can't really complain. Still, it would be nice to be in warranty and just expect the dealer to fix everything.
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| JimP
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 58 NY
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2005-01-29 105164
Amerequip's website used to explicitly state that they OEMed/made backhoes for Great Bend, Bush Hog and John Deere in the OEM section. It now just states "Amerequip currently works with major OEM companies." Guess some corporate types did like the fact that they weren't making the equipment being sold on their machines exposed out there... Not sure if those 3 still OEM from Amerequip or not, but the backhoe designs look remarkably similar.
....
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| Paladin
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 81 Eastern Pennsylvania
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2005-01-29 105167
I believe that the hoes on one or more of the Korean built tractors now coming into the USA are built by Ameriquip also. If I am not mistaken, the hoe on the Zetor/Century tractor is one of theirs.
Nothing wrong with OEM. In fact, I think it is either Porsche or BMW that has announced that they are going to have a new lower priced bottom of the line car that they are introducing OEM'd at a factory in Austria. ....
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| JimP
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 58 NY
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2005-01-29 105169
Not saying there is anything wrong with an OEM hoe... My comment was directed more towards the removal of the names that they OEM for is probably more an image/brand issue. I might be going out on a limb here, but I would fathom a guess that most JD backhoe owners would not know that their backhoe isn't made by Deere unless they followed forums like this or did the research.
Getting it cheaper thru the OEM manufacturer (if they sell to the public) is probably also another concern, as I have seen several examples of this on this board with NH owners being able to get the same exact hoe cheaper thru Rhino directly. ....
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