AKfish
Super Member
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2004
- Messages
- 5,417
- Location
- Alaska
- Tractor
- JD 5115M; JD 110 TLB; JD 4720; Ford 9N; JD X300R
Got a call from the dealer this afternoon advising that a new top for the cab is not available from John Deere and the loader is still a week away. Is it just me or is nothing simple anymore? He says that they want to have an autobody repairman come in and fix the cab. I'm not sure what I want to do now. This is a fairly sizable investment and I want this to be as right as possible. I have a friend who is a parts man at another dealership checking on the cab roof for me. I just don't know if they are telling the truth or they are trying to save money. I guess being a cop for 28 years has made me suspicious of everybody.
Wasn't it Ronald Reagan who said "Trust but verify"? How bad is the damage? Is the seal or integrity of the cab jeopardized?
A few years back, a local hay farmer rolled his 5425 onto it's side while feeding large round bales. Snow on top of ice... add in an angled slope - and there ya go! Nonetheless, I figured they'd have to replace the cab. Nope. Took it to a auto body shop and they fixed it like new. The window frames were the worst of it - but, a little bit of hydraulic pressure in the right spots, a bit of welding and cutting...
I drove that tractor this past Spring unloading 1-ton fertilizer bags. Cab was still solid and quiet. The rest of the tractor was a different story, though. Somebody had/has a difficult time using the clutch. It was nearly toast.
That said, I well understand your desire to have the tractor the way you want it. Look it over - very closely. If you don't like what you see and continue to harbor concerns that it won't turn out the way you want things to be... keep looking for another tractor.
It's that simple. You'd be surprised at the number of low hour, 95M, 105M and 115M's there are for sale in your part of the country. Take a peek at Tractorhouse and Machinefinder.
Best of luck.
AKfish