Olympus
Platinum Member
Alright guys, I thought I had my mind made up to buy this extremely clean 2014 JD 3032E with only 90 hours and still under warranty. The tractor literally looks brand new and the owner has never even used the front bucket. The bucket was removed and doesn't have a single scratch on it. The tractor is incredibly clean and the owner is trading it back to the dealer for a larger size machine. It's 4wd and has the D160 loader and the dealer said they'd take $15k cash with no trade-in. Sounded like a perfect deal for me and for what I need. Brush hogging my 3 acres around the house, putting in 2 acres of food plots, and assorted other jobs.
That being said, there's an ad on Craigslist for a 2013 Branson 3520R with 307 hours and the list price is $15,600. The Branson has a shuttle shift and I think I'd prefer the hydro on the Deere 3032E. The Branson has the skid steer QA bucket and removable loader while the JD only has a removable bucket and it's not skid steer QA. Not sure how important removing the loader frame is though. I had a removable loader frame on my last tractor and it was more trouble than it was worth to remove it and reattach it. The Branson has telescoping lower arms and telescoping stabilizers where the Deere doesn't have telescoping arms and uses turnbuckles for stabilizers. The Branson has a suspension seat and canopy also, but the canopy would be more in the way probably for me so no real benefit there. Here's a link to the Branson. It looks pretty clean too. 2 13 BRANSON 352 R W/ BL25R BRANSON LOADER 4X4 CANOPY - farm & garden - by dealer - sale
Looking at the spec sheets for both, it appears like the Branson is larger and heavier frame size than the JD, which would be a good thing. The Branson has a lot things going for it, but a few things I don't know if I would like. One being the shuttle shift tranny as opposed to the HST that I'm pretty sure I would prefer. My last tractor had the HST. No warranty on the Branson. And there is a Branson dealer about 40 miles away, but that's the closest dealer and the rest are several hours away. Whereas the Deere has factory warranty and I have to different Deere dealers within 20 to 30 miles that are both large conglomerate dealerships so I'd feel safe taking a tractor to either dealership for service and parts. The Deere has the Yanmar diesel which I absolutely love Yanmar engines. The Branson says it has a Kukje engine which I've heard/know absolutely nothing about.
Basically what I'm getting at is that I don't know if I should sacrifice what I know I like in the HST tranny and reputable dealer and brand with the Deere just to get a larger, heavier, and 3HP more machine but doesn't have the tranny I want and is a brand that doesn't have the dealer network in my area. What does everyone think about the two machines? Both have their pros and cons.
That being said, there's an ad on Craigslist for a 2013 Branson 3520R with 307 hours and the list price is $15,600. The Branson has a shuttle shift and I think I'd prefer the hydro on the Deere 3032E. The Branson has the skid steer QA bucket and removable loader while the JD only has a removable bucket and it's not skid steer QA. Not sure how important removing the loader frame is though. I had a removable loader frame on my last tractor and it was more trouble than it was worth to remove it and reattach it. The Branson has telescoping lower arms and telescoping stabilizers where the Deere doesn't have telescoping arms and uses turnbuckles for stabilizers. The Branson has a suspension seat and canopy also, but the canopy would be more in the way probably for me so no real benefit there. Here's a link to the Branson. It looks pretty clean too. 2 13 BRANSON 352 R W/ BL25R BRANSON LOADER 4X4 CANOPY - farm & garden - by dealer - sale
Looking at the spec sheets for both, it appears like the Branson is larger and heavier frame size than the JD, which would be a good thing. The Branson has a lot things going for it, but a few things I don't know if I would like. One being the shuttle shift tranny as opposed to the HST that I'm pretty sure I would prefer. My last tractor had the HST. No warranty on the Branson. And there is a Branson dealer about 40 miles away, but that's the closest dealer and the rest are several hours away. Whereas the Deere has factory warranty and I have to different Deere dealers within 20 to 30 miles that are both large conglomerate dealerships so I'd feel safe taking a tractor to either dealership for service and parts. The Deere has the Yanmar diesel which I absolutely love Yanmar engines. The Branson says it has a Kukje engine which I've heard/know absolutely nothing about.
Basically what I'm getting at is that I don't know if I should sacrifice what I know I like in the HST tranny and reputable dealer and brand with the Deere just to get a larger, heavier, and 3HP more machine but doesn't have the tranny I want and is a brand that doesn't have the dealer network in my area. What does everyone think about the two machines? Both have their pros and cons.