Very Dissapointed in John Deere 5410.
Model Year: 2000
When I saw the new John Deere 5410 brochure touting 3 hydraulic circuits in the center and 2 hydraulic circuits at the rear I thought I had finally found the tractor I had been looking for to give me the same grapple handling convenience I had become accustomed to on my John Deere 270 skid steer loader. When I went to the dealer in Athens, GA (now extinct), he said the John Deere did not make such a tractor, even though I had the brochure in my hand. The dealer called the factory just outside of Augusta, GA and confirmed he was correct, still not satisfied. The dealer arranged for me to visit the factory for confirmation. On my visit to the factory, management there confirmed they had printed the brochure in error and had no definite plans to build a 3-center circuit tractor in the foreseeable future. I returned to the dealer who convinced me to buy an aftermarket split-circuit device to switch 1 hydraulic circuit from one function to another. The switch worked perfectly, but it was clumsy and I used it very little, preferring to use the loader instead of the tractor when I needed this sort of work. At the SunBelt Expo, I purchased a high quality and highly rated backhoe but upon installing it on the JD-5410 tractor, I discovered this most advanced hydraulic tractor made by John Deere could not operate the backhoe even with the full complement of hydraulics from the factory. The Ag-Pro dealer in Dacula, GA told me I had to add a "Power-Beyond Control Valve" to the tractor for ~$300 but by the time they finished the job it was closer to $2,000! Upon getting the tractor home, the hydraulics locked up upon first use. Considering how the Ag-Pro dealer treated me, I called the John Deere field representative to come verify what the dealer had done to my tractor. The JD rep insisted that I have the dealer pick up the tractor (at my cost) and take it to the dealer where he would determine if the dealer properly fixed the tractor. The tractor was in my barn with the front end loader over my trailer and backhoe mounted and no way to move either because the hydraulics did not work. I lived only a few miles away from the Ag-Pro John Deere dealer yet the field representative refused to come to my home to verify my problem. My position was why would I invest another penny with either the dealer or John Deere much less put my property in their hands should they choose to further abuse me by paying them to get my tractor back. I will NEVER buy another John Deere product or use ANY Ag-Pro dealer in the area. There is not another service organization for John Deere near Atlanta. John Deere's service organization all around Atlanta is a Ag-Pro monopoly. For that reason alone, I would never buy a John Deere again. Evidently John Deere has squeezed out all the small tractor dealerships in a large region around me. I will never trust John Deere or Ag-Pro again.
Pros: None.
Cons: Everything.