Used John Deere or New Mahindra

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

The John Deere tractor is for sale by an individual, not a dealer. The business he was in failed, he just wants the payoff. I have spoken with the dealer he purchased the unit from and they performed all the scheduled maintenance. The dealer told me the guy didn't hurt the tractor. It looks close to new. The BH stills has the stickers on the bucket.

I do have a concern about how to see that the lean against the tractor is paid off. I spoke with John Deere financing and they said they expect to be paid (of course). Perhaps I could write a check to them for the payoff.

A couple of nice features on the Deere keep me looking back at it. It sits great; the brakes are at the left foot, the direction pedals at the right. You can stand on a single break pedal and mash the forward pedal and spin the tractor on a dime. I could not live without this ability on my 8N. Maybe I don't need it on the Deere. No clutch on the Deere. Put the e-Hydro transmission lever in the range you want and press go. A seat side joystick controls the FEL instead of this hose filled piece of channel to the right of the dash. Many tractors add a FEL as an afterthought, this is not so on the 3320. The thing is ergonomically correct.

If it makes any difference to you, the joystick on the Mahindra loader will adjust back to a more comfortable position, for you.

 

[Cocre]

Is a bothersome buzz (almost painful to the foot) in the HST pedal and a good deal of hydraulic whine normal for the Mahindra 2615 HST when the pedal is pressed mid-way? I felt none of this and heard very little whine in the John Deere.

The Mahindra runs well otherwise. The FEL and BH look to be very easy to mount/un-mount. It sits OK and the FEL joystick is positioned well. But it is not near as comfortable as the JD.

 

[Wombat125]

A lot of this is redundant from previous posts, but here is my criteria in *my* order of importance from most to least:

1. Dealer integrity/location

A solid dealer that is near by is most important for me. You already said this was a tie though.

2. Machine quality

I doubt there is an appreciable quality difference between the two tractors. The Mahindra gets the edge for full warranty. The only possible advantage for the Deere is that in 185 hours, any significant production bugs would have been exposed and resolved.

3. User ergonomics

How does the machine fit you? How does the machine fit you after eight hours in the saddle?

4. Resale

If you're going to run this tractor for the next forty years, there is no difference. If you will run the tractor for a couple years and then sell/trade it, the Deere will probably bring you more dollars.

I'm inclined to think the first two criteria are a tie for these tractors. In my mind, #3 is your first decision making criterion. If they're both comfy for you, then figure out if #4 resale is important to you. If you're buying a 40 year tractor, then just pick your favorite color.

This is the fun part about buying a tractor. The unfun part is realizing how many implements you didn't realize you needed.

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

Is a bothersome buzz (almost painful to the foot) in the HST pedal and a good deal of hydraulic whine normal for the Mahindra 2615 HST when the pedal is pressed mid-way? I felt none of this and heard very little whine in the John Deere.

The Mahindra runs well otherwise. The FEL and BH look to be very easy to mount/un-mount. It sits OK and the FEL joystick is positioned well. But it is not near as comfortable as the JD.

The whine on the 2615 transmission is normal, but can be eleviated some by keeping the RPMs in the 1500 plus range. If that is really bothersome to you, check out the 3215 or 3316 model, as they have a different transmission where the whine has been aleviated. The 3215 or 3316 models are also more comfortable than the 2615 model and more of a comparable match the the John Deere you are looking at. As for the 2615, if you can live with the whine, it is a very tried and true transmission.

 

[Dutch445]

One way to look at is that you are able to
buy the Deere at a fairly attractive price.
that unit new is approaching 30K, and I would
think that the 3320 will hold it's value for years
to come, with your usage. The previous owner is
eating the depreciation. With the Mahindra, you
will be the one to take the hit on the depreciation,
regardless of brand here, any new unit drops in value
once it's used.
(personally I think the 21K is underpriced for the 3320)
but drive them both as much as you can to make sure
you like what you get.
have you been able to remove the loader/backhoe from
each unit and see how that process goes?

 

[EV59]

Remember your buying a tractor and a Investment......Buy the Deere......
Resale value and ease of getting parts and service will be very important.

EV59

 

[Cocre]

If all goes as planned I will pick the Deere up Wednesday. More details later.

 

[Cocre]

I am now the proud owner of a 2006 John Deere 3320. I have spent most of the day today putting it through the paces and I am thus far well pleased. More important the wife is overjoyed, I never imagined it.

After spending much time learning about the Mahindra 2615 HST I came to accept it as a best in class machine, what pushed me to the Deere wound up being mostly the local Mahindra dealership. In one last visit, the sales person did not know what a specific knob was for on the 2615, plus the battery was dead on the unit. I was willing to overlook those (mostly), but when I asked how firm his original quote was ($21,100) he said he thought it was pretty firm, and that he would call me if the figure was any different. I never heard from him one way or the other.

On the other hand I made an offer on the personally owned John Deere (less than the Mahindra quote), and the offer was accepted. I got a great deal on a great tractor. The owner had it sitting at a dealer's lot, and I must say the dealer went out of his way to assist in the sale of the machine. He answered any question I had and even showed me how to take the backhoe off, even though he knew that he would not be the servicing dealer. He is 70 miles away from me.

Thus the story ends and a new one begins.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

 

[Dutch445]

congrats on the new purchase,
and don't forget to put up some pics!

enjoy

 

[Cocre]

I spent a good part of the day digging out an old stump. It was in a sandy area near the septic tank drain field. It had a very, very deep root system. I finally got it broke loose but I can't pick it up. I guess I will dig out one wall and slide it out.

The old 8N is in the backgound on a couple of pics.