freewookie
Silver Member
This is a pretty interesting thread. I have had similar bad experiences at car dealerships in my area, The local Chevy dealer only employs lying crack weasels for salesman as far as I can see. But when shopping for tractors I found none of that. Every salesroom of every brand was staffed with polite, attentive and for the most part knowledgeable people who had time to work with me. The tractors themselves made my decision for me and the dealer that knew how to hook up and deliver a third function loader without Goggling it got the nod over the other dealers of the same brand.
As to your choices I have to ask how much more would a 5045E be over the 5045D you have looked at? I can't imagine a 5045E with a 553 loader not being completely satisfactory for your needs and be worth almost as much when you are done with it as you paid for it.
Looking at the MSRP it's about a $6k difference between the D and E. Only difference I see is 2wd vs 4wd. I don't think I need 4wd so I think I may give the D another look.