Trade in 790 for 3320? Opinions wanted

[dirt ditch]

Would like to hear your opinion on this. JD dealer has a late 2007 3320 hydro / 300cx loader that has 416 hours. It has been the dealers rental tractor since new. Would be trading in my late 2007 790 / 300 loader, six 60lb factory wheel weights and power beyond with 83 hours. I would keep my heavy duty 61" bucket. Salesman quoted me $18,500 for the 3320 and give me $12,000 for my 790. 3320 will have no warranty. 790 has 6 months of warranty left on it. Will have to refinance, but dealer is giving me more than I owe on the 790. Does this sound like a good deal?

[kennyd]

There are a couple key words that bother me:

Rental
No Warranty
Refinance

[dirt ditch]

Kenny, those 3 words have me wondering to.

I know the salesman and he is an honest man who has worked for this dealership for a very long time. He said the tractor has no known issues and the service intervals are up to date. It is a clean, good looking tractor with no obvious problems from just looking at it. I am going to bring it home later this week and see how it runs. Have to see what percentage rate will be but payments should not be any more than am paying now. Always pay off early anyway.

Keep opinions coming, still have not made up my mind.

[bxowner]

I used a 3203 a few years ago for brush hogging a pasture and found it incredibly irritating to not have cruise control. I mention this because if I were the property owner, I'd have opted for a 790 in a second. It struck me as a better built machine and having the gear drive would have meant that I'd have a consistent speed and would have been comfortable the whole time. Instead, I found myself bouncing around a rough pasture on a hydrostatic tractor that lacked cruise control - so, with each bump, my foot slid off the pedal and I would slow down, get back up to speed, hit a bump, slow down, get back up to speed, etc...

My point?

If I were doing a lot of loader work or mowing a yard, I'd say hydrostatic has the advantage. If I were mowing a pasture with a brush hog mower, I'd prefer gear drive. Of course, if money were no object, the 3320 does have cruise control... but I'd be leery of a 415 hour rental tractor.

Perhaps you could tell us what it is you tend to do with the tractor most often. Maybe the 3320 makes more sense, but given that it has only 5 more engine hp, I don't see any immediate advantages for the extra $6500.

[tbenn7362]

HI,
I used to have a 790. I sold mine to my brother and bought a 3520. I used brothers 790 this weekend and wow i forgot how much nicer the 3520 was. the 3320 only has few less hp than the 3520. If the (3) factors are good then this would be a great upgrade!

[jenkinsph]

I think a lot would depend on your needs, uses and property size. Your tractor has only 83 hrs and your looking to trade up 5 hp? If it were me I would think through this and consider something more like a 3720 or larger. Otherwise I would be happy with what I had and still have warranty, lower hours and closer to being paid off.


Steve

[dirt ditch]

bxowner, I love my 790 and enjoy mowing with it, but have found I do so much more loader work than I thought I would that shifting gears along with the lower lifting ability of the 300 loader are starting to be a burden. All my attachments will work well with a 3320. I really wanted a 3320 when I bought my 790 but could not afford one. This one will be within the range of my budget.

[LD1]

What is your reasoning for wanting to trade???

Most people find out that the tractor was too small for their need and bite the bullet and trade up in size.

But there isn't much size difference between the 790 and 3320.

If the 790 is a gear and you want a HST for the wife or whatever I could understand, so is the 790 HST or gear???

The 3320 definatally has more luxuries, but when it comes right down to it, the capabilities of both machines are similar, so what do you hope to gain by trading, other than a higher debt to income ratio???

[WilliamBos]

Originally Posted by kennyd

There are a couple key words that bother me:

Rental
No Warranty
Refinance

I agree totally. The first two scare me the most.

Good luck on your decision. Did you price a new 3320??

[Cocre]

I bought a 2006 open station 3320 eHydro a little less than a year ago with 300x loader, 61" HD bucket, and a 447 backhoe (24" bucket) with 185 hours on it for ~$21,000. The only thing I would change would be to put R1 tires on it rather than the R4s it has, and put a smaller bucket on the backhoe. I replaced the battery about a month ago, and both hoe stabilizer cylinders weep fluid ever so slightly. I have right at 340 hours on it now, and I am well pleased and would do it all again. Oh, and I bought it from an individual not a dealer, although it was on a dealers lot.

When I purchased the tractor the dealer and the seller told me I had whatever was left of the three year powertrain warranty, so I am surprised to hear that the tractor you are looking at has no warranty. Is it because the unit was a rental? I also believe that the fuel injection system components are warranted for longer, they are covered under pollution control devices I think.

As for price, I think I got a good deal. Except for the hours on the meter the tractor could have gone for brand new sitting on the lot. Having said that I would not necessarily say you are paying too much, but I will say I got a better deal in my opinion.