I made my decision and bought the Green one. Several things weighed my decision. One was by a freak accident of fate I had to take a detour and drive several miles through the country to get to another highway. On the journey, I saw not one, not two but nine different tractors working or driving down the road that I had to pass. Guess how many of them were green? Eight. One was MF. Was it a hint? Made me think.
The other and main decision was that the John Deere's transmission was better in that I can shift while moving just using the clutch. The New Holland's tranny made you have to stop, change gears and then start off again. On the John Deere you can go forward and then reverse without stopping which will be good when using the bucket/loader. And I like the way the joystick was laid out on the JD. The NH looked like they stuck it up there as an afterthought.
I got the 5055E, with the 563 loader, the bucket, the MX6 med duty shredder, the fork lift package with 48" forks, the quick attach PTO implement changer over package, and a Knife blade for the bucket and a set of remotes on the back for $28,980.00. Oh, and five John Deer Tee Shirts and a cuzy. I told them the T-shirt thing was a deal breaker. Oh, and the stands for the loader.
All in all, I think I got a pretty good deal. It was the best one I could make. Almost the same price as the NH. Plus think of all the JD stuff I can buy at the tractor house. Key chains, Hats, knifes, baby booties, crib pillows, belt buckles, neckerchiefs, toys, little farms, little tiny tractors and backhoes for the grand kids, etc. You can't say that for the other color.
Thanks for all the input, although I really was looking for more. I really thought several people would have owned both of these, but maybe those are the ones who don't log onto sites like this.
I pick it up tomorrow after lunch. I get to play with it over the holidays. At least I got my Christmas present.
Thanks again,
Aranon
