Anyone have or operated an SVL75? Thinking about buying one. I kept hearing many ah'bad thing about the Deere 323e I was looking at so..... Any news or reviews much appreciated fellers.
I have an SVL90-2 and love it. Pushes good, grades well, and lifts a lot. It does have some weird things in the cab, like the HVAC vents are all on the left side, not sure why, seems to heat and cool ok but i do have a right hand that enjoys the heat just as much as my left hand does. The wiper switch is under the left lap bar when you pull it down, again, not sure why, really doesn't bother me but some people seem very irritated about this. It performs very well for what I do, that's what counts for me. I would not hesitate to look a Takeuchi either, I have a friend that runs them and loves them as well. In the end whatever dealer has the best support in your area is the one I would lean toward, good luck!
Just sold my 2011 svl75 with 3k hours. It never gave me any problems. Parts were a little higher than some other brands and the long bottom buckets that you have to run to see the bucket edge were a weak point. I did not go back with Kubota because I just didn't feel like my dealer would be able to handle problems that might come up with the emissions on the new machines. Overal very pleased with the machine.
Honestly Kubota is a great competitor to all other machines. We were deciding which machine we were going to buy. We were looking at the Kubota SVL90-2 for like 65k. I then made the trip to Cat. The salesman told me his 299 was 125k, which I still think is a mistake. I then asked him what brands are competitive to him, he said the only one "close" was the Kubota. He submitted our ticket to purchase a Kubota. 65k vs 125k? Now I understand there are some differences in the machine. Cats seem to have a better layout, etc. I can tell you at 6'7'' the Kubota's cab is very comfortable. The only complaint I have is the A/c pack seems to be undersize and only on one side. I live in Texas, but I guess thats what I get for sitting in a all glass cab. Needless to say we had the windows tinted pretty heavy. Also I'm not sure about other machines but, the Kubota will almost float on water. I did a "job" for my father in law and was rubbing the belly pan, and it still just went through like a tank.
I have a friend who does commercial excavation and he tried both the 75 and 90 Kubotas for a couple of years and has had good success with them. Only issue was a cracked muffler which the dealer took care of. He trades up every two years or so, and says he will replace them with Kubotas. He was a Takeuchi user before the Kubotas, and a Bobcat user before the Taks. I've run his machines and enjoy them, though I did find my head bobbing towards the door to see the bucket corner clearance.
I have been look to update my fleet and I have been looking at a Kubota svl75 and a Cat 259d .I of the main things I am looking for is comfort as I spend a lot of time behind the controls. I have had a day on a Cat 259d and got to say I love it, just a all round great machine with the d cab just new best seat I've every seat in. I had a bit of a shock when I got the price over 100k in Australia so I was very keen to look at the Kubota as it is quite new here and they are selling the for 65k. I ran a new svl 75 for the day that my neighbour has just purchased. Things I like the machine it pushes really well and has great visibility of both the front cutting edge and the back of the bucket. The cabin has heaps of room And the seat was comfortable. Thing I don't like out way the thing I do. I found it slow compared to my machine ( I have a Terex pt50) and a new Cat 259d I tested a few weeks ago. I find it losses power it turns even not under load I think it is it power management system . It's rough with no suspension even though the seat is great. I much rather the cat and my machine with suspension. I found the tracks to narrow so it did float over loss fill like the cat and my machine. And later in the day after some rain it just got bogged everywhere where my Terex just went through the bog. We even had to use my Terex a few times to pull it out. So I think it's Cat for me a lot more money but I spend all day every day in it and I think the Kubota would drive me nuts