Well, I spent about 4 hours at the Massey dealer Saturday. The first thing I learned was the advantage of having larger diameter wheels in snow. The compacts looked like white mounds with a bit of red peeking through when I got there. After the dealer got the GC2300 cleaned off, it fired right up, and he started driving it up to the parking lot, which was slightly uphill from where the tractor had been parked. The GC had no problem moving through about a foot and a half of dense snow, but there was a snowbank to punch through before the dealer could get it on the hard, and the GC didn't have the ground clearance to do it. The 1428v hydro parked next to it had no problem, however. The dealer drove through the snowbank a couple times with the 1428, then the GC was able to follow the tracks out. Now, I can think of no reason why anyone with a CUT would want to drive through a snowbank instead of moving it with the loader/snowblower/blade, but it was still something to see.
Anyway, I got prices on two different tractors, a 1423 hydro with a MF 1462 FEL for $14,450 (which is realistically all the tractor I'll probably need), and a 1428v hydro with MF1446 FEL for $17,300 (which I pretty much fell in love with). Both include free delivery & pickup for warranty work, and tires filled with Rim Guard. Are these good prices ?
I'm no longer considering the GC. Its a sweetheart of a tractor, I had the chance to operate it a bit and can't think of a reason it wouldn't suit me to a T. I just want a bigger tractor, because....ummm....
I just want a bigger tractor.
BTW, the Massey website is a little out of date. Almost all the 1400 series tractors are available as hydrostatic. Only the 1429 and the 1455 aren't. The 0% financing deal has been extended as well.