John Deere x720 for 5.5 acres

[nrbocke]

Hi everyone-
I have found a 2009 John Deere x720 with 400 hours. It has the 54'' deck, PTO, and 3 point installed with new tires (guy trades every 3 years and swaps the new tires out for his bar tires). They told me they would do it for $6300 without a trade in. I guess the first question is what does everyone think of this deal?

I am going to be putting in about 1500 sq. ft yard (well I'm not just paying the bill) this August. The rest of the 5.5 acres is native brome along with some weeds and sunflowers where dirt had been disturbed building our house. The house sets on a pretty steep hill and there is another draw between to steep hills on our land. I have about a 200ft crushed rock driveway. Would this model be a good choice for me? I would like one thing that can handle mowing and possibly snow removal.

I haven't negotiated on the price or test drove since all my cash is tied up in my upcoming yard install. But if this is a good deal I can come up with something. I also may be able to have someone hay out my brome and get a smaller mower to just mow the grass.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[jenkinsph]

I must be missing something:confused2: 1500 sq ft of lawn is tiny and the cost for this should be less than $100. I have an x749 with pto and rear hitch and am well satisfied with it. You would also need to add attachments to make this beneficial to you. Can you elaborate a little more?

 

[paulemar]

The house sets on a pretty steep hill and there is another draw between to steep hills on our land. I have about a 200ft crushed rock driveway. Would this model be a good choice for me? I would like one thing that can handle mowing and possibly snow removal.

I think the X720 is only a 2 wheel drive??? From your property description, I'd be looking for a 4X4 if I'm remembering correctly. Tractordata.com should have all the info on this model. ------------I just checked tractordata.com and it is 2WD. Check it out under lawn tractors to see if it will suit your needs.

 

[nrbocke]

I must be missing something:confused2: 1500 sq ft of lawn is tiny and the cost for this should be less than $100. I have an x749 with pto and rear hitch and am well satisfied with it. You would also need to add attachments to make this beneficial to you. Can you elaborate a little more?

Sorry...missed a 0. 15000 sq ft of lawn. I'm also having all the stone edging, rock, plants, sprinklers, and drip system installed. Also dirt has to be brought in since I live on sand. I haven't finalized it yet but the best bid I received was around $14000. I was looking at this model since (from what I was told at the dealership) it would do a nice job on the lawn and also be able to mow the other 5 acres.

I probably wouldn't buy any other attachments this year. It would just be used for mowing.

 

[nrbocke]

I think the X720 is only a 2 wheel drive??? From your property description, I'd be looking for a 4X4 if I'm remembering correctly. Tractordata.com should have all the info on this model. ------------I just checked tractordata.com and it is 2WD. Check it out under lawn tractors to see if it will suit your needs.

I actually was looking for a 4X4 and may still go that way. I haven't seen any used ones yet and a new one is out of the question any time soon.
The dealer told me with the rear diff. locked the X720 should do OK on large hills. But he told me I could take it home and try it before I made a decision.

 

[nrbocke]

You can handle some pretty steep grades going uphill in 2WD, even without using the differential lock. You might want to use some wheel weights though, and a lot would depend on the way in which you can cut the lawn. If you need 4WD all the time, maybe you shouldn't be on those grades. 4WD is used for getting unstuck or preventing being stuck. It really isn't meant to make your machine a mountain goat. I certainly would give the machine a tryout if you have that option. My concern would be the deck size. If you plan on mowing your total acreage, I'd want at least a 60" deck.

Thanks for your input on the 4WD uphills. That is a good way to look at it. The dealer also mentioned the 4wd is just something else to maintain over the 2wd. If I was buying new or had my choice I would go 60'' also. Right now all I have is my house and 1 tree on the whole 5 acres so not a lot of obstacles. Anything new could be planed around the 60'' deck.

 

[Grateful11]

We have an X720 I wouldn't buy another. For us it would be an X740 diesel. The X720 burns more fuel than our Kubota L3940. As for the 4wd, we haven't seen a need for it but if you're think about snow removal then yes I'd think about 4wd. I've seen the X720 go some places I never would thought it would go. It's even fun to ride around in 6-8" of snow with the deck off, of course. I wanted the diesel my wife didn't and we all know how that goes ;-) I couldn't figure it out especially when she drives diesel equipment virtually everyday, she said she didn't want smell it while mowing, go figure.

 

[nrbocke]

I guess after reading everyone's comments I have 2 questions. Do I need to go up to the x7xx series of John Deere for 5 acres? The main advantage I see is liquid cooled. Is the x5xx or even x3xx series OK? I can't plan my mowing on when it is cool. If it is hot and I am home it gets mowed. I mowed yesterday during the hottest part of the day (with my Torro push mower). I'll probably end up mowing the grass every 4 days and the rest of the acreage once a month. It's hard for me to justify over $6000 for a mower that is over 3 years old, no warranty, that has the same size deck as mowers I just looked at over at the Home Depot.

Also I am guessing this isn't a great deal or someone would have said so already. If this is just a normal deal I will just save up and buy next year. I don't even want to bring this one home and test if I'm not ready to buy. I'm not ready to buy unless this deal is worth jumping on.

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[jenkinsph]

Thanks for your input on the 4WD uphills. That is a good way to look at it. The dealer also mentioned the 4wd is just something else to maintain over the 2wd. If I was buying new or had my choice I would go 60'' also. Right now all I have is my house and 1 tree on the whole 5 acres so not a lot of obstacles. Anything new could be planed around the 60'' deck.

In your case I would recommend an x728 gas or x748 diesel with the 60" 7 iron deck both have the capability to add more attachments at a later date IF you need them. I would not recommend you buy a mower in this size without the 4x4 for a couple of reasons. The 4x4 option does increase the draft or pulling ability, better control going uphill and downhill, helps pull the tractor around turns with less scuffing and overall less likely to get stuck.

I have an x749 with 3PH, rear pto and lots of attachments but if you are hiring all the major work out it doesn't sound as if you need the 3PH or rear pto options. The x748 with the 7 iron deck would be a good choice for mowing the steep hills and larger acreage. It would have the best combination of add on attachments for snow removal and a fel too.

I would also suggest you mow the balance of the 5 acres frequently enough that it isn't difficult to mow, once a month when growing fast may take more time than twice a month.

 

[nrbocke]

In your case I would recommend an x728 gas or x748 diesel with the 60" 7 iron deck both have the capability to add more attachments at a later date IF you need them. I would not recommend you buy a mower in this size without the 4x4 for a couple of reasons. The 4x4 option does increase the draft or pulling ability, better control going uphill and downhill, helps pull the tractor around turns with less scuffing and overall less likely to get stuck.

I have an x749 with 3PH, rear pto and lots of attachments but if you are hiring all the major work out it doesn't sound as if you need the 3PH or rear pto options. The x748 with the 7 iron deck would be a good choice for mowing the steep hills and larger acreage. It would have the best combination of add on attachments for snow removal and a fel too.

I would also suggest you mow the balance of the 5 acres frequently enough that it isn't difficult to mow, once a month when growing fast may take more time than twice a month.

Thanks Steve. I originally was thinking 4wd but found this used x720 and kind of talked myself (the dealer helped) out of it. The only problem I see is if you get into the x728/48 you might as well go up to the 1000 series (again with the help of the dealer). Is there a benefit with staying in the x series and not going up to the 1000 or even the 2000 series if the money is similar?

Along those lines...talking to the guys at work they think the x720 I'm looking at is a total rip off!!! It wasn't a minute latter and they had tractor house up showing me diesel compact tractors for the same price or less. From what they are telling me I can get any of these as long as they have turf tires. Another guy just got a brand new Exmark 60'' deck 27hp motor for $6700. I guess this is like a $9000 mower but one of the other guys at work is a Exmark dealer. So half the guys are like buy a used compact tractor and the other half (and my grandpa!) are saying buy a big ZTR. So I'm more lost than I was when I started. I was hoping this deal on the x720 was so good it would make the decision easy