Al, I'm
not knocking Kioti. However, in the past, I proved over and over that I could buy a JD or Kubota for roughly the same price as a Kioti at my 'local' dealers. With that being the case along with the fact that I generally didn't used to keep a tractor more than 3-5 years and Kioti tractors basically had no resale value and I mostly made money when I sold my JD or Kubota tractors, it was a no brainer.
My point is that, even with a great reputation and a nice dealership, I really don't think the new Kioti dealer by me has much of a chance when his pricing is on par with the fiercely competitive local JD and Kubota dealers. I doubt I'll be in the market for a tractor anytime in the next 10 years or more. Also, in my personal experience, I really disliked the one cab tractor I had with a backhoe. For me, it was a real PIA to use the backhoe so I basically never used it. I found it easier and about the same cost to just buy a backhoe.
Lately, I've come to realize (sort of like how it took me actual experience to realize that a ZTR mower is far, far better for mowing than any tractor with a mower) that small rubber tracked excavators are much more productive at digging than a standard backhoe. I have a 100hp track loader
and a 92hp 4X4 tractor with 1 yard buckets on them, so I really don't need the bucket on a stand alone backhoe either. I just got this
Tak for my future digging duties. I just sold the JD 4310 that had a backhoe and will sell the Takeuchi TB145 excavator now that I bought a larger model with a factory cab.
Anyway, if anything, I've found that it is definitely a fact that Kioti pricing varies greatly within different areas. I just strongly feel that, in my area, with basically no Kioti tractors on the ground working, the new dealer will not be successful when he simply tries to 'match' John Deere and Kubota tractor prices when those two brands have two or three decades of presence in this area. Bob will certainly verify that I do not have any issues with Kioti tractors. However, given the above facts with pricing and resale, there are basically no Kioti owners in my area. IMHO, it's going to take this new dealer getting aggressive with his pricing to successfully break into this market.