Trade L4300 gear towards L440 HST?

[sixdogs]

I have a four year old gear drive L4300 4wd with gear drive, draft control and one two-spool hydraulic valve. Has 200 hours, ag tires, always in nice barn and never even been wet. Looks mint. I only use to do light farm/yard work.
I am getting older and really like the HST transmission so am thinking of trading towards an L4400, ag tires, 4wd with draft control and one two-spool valve. The deals on new Kubotas right now are great and that is my motivation. I am motivated by price. I would not put a loader on this tractor.
I know a dealer that would be eager to trade but i have not brought it up. Figured to wait until the exact moment of the deal, if any, to make the transaction easier. I don't have to trade but am thinking about this swap..
Any ideas on the net difference on something like this?

[Bob_Young]

Sixdogs, that sounds a lot like my '04 L4300....'cept mine has a loader; no loader on yours, right?

I happen to think the L4300 was/is a sweet little tractor and just the right size for most work on a small place, but the 8x2 transmission is less than convenient and kind of a throwback to the '70s. The high-range reverse is so fast it's virtually useless. Even the gear L4400 would be a significant improvement.

The desire for HST is easy to understand. It would make a huge difference on a tiller and make a 3PH snowblower possible. It would be alot more convenient in tight quarters as well.

Just guessing, but I'd expect the upgrade to a similar L4400 (same options except HST) to run you around $5000 to $6000. At least $1000 for the HST option plus 4 or 5K for 'everything else new' and the hassle of reselling the L4300. Seems like a lot on the surface when the trade-in is nearly new; but the dealer has pretty much the same work regardless of the age of the trade-in. You might look in Tractorhouse.com, see what similar L4300s are going for and then try a private sale. A clean deal for the new tractor will probably work to your advantage.

I'll be watching this thread. Would like to know myself. If you pull this off for under $3K, I'll be doing some thinking.
Bob

[sixdogs]

Bob--no loader ever.
I hear you can geat almost 20% off on a new L4400 on a cash clean sale. I can do that but my dealer loves to trade. He likes to sell new stuff but loves to trade even more and will give a good deal. It may take a few weeks but I am going to ask him for a price both ways and will advise.
I'd sure like to get more comments on this about this.

By the way, I dated a woman form Horseheads, NY back in the the mid 60's and saw the Fingerlakes region first-hand. What a beautiful area.