318 four $1900 or 455 for $3500

[JohnSinVA]

I would bet the guy with the 445 traded his tractor plus some cash for that 455. Either that or the dealer doesn't like having to mess with the l&g stuff. You should offer him $4500 for both the 445 and the 318 and see if he'll bite.

 

[LBrown59]

1*I would bet the guy with the 445 traded his tractor plus some cash for that 455.
2*Either that or the dealer doesn't like having to mess with the l&g stuff.
3*You should offer him $4500 for both the 445 and the 318 and see if he'll bite.

1*I thought maybe that's what the guy did too but the dealer said he got a new tractor and someone else bought the 455.
2*
3*Or offer 3000 for the 445.

 

[mike223]

I guess this is moot now, but I recently bought a 455 with 60" cutter and 593 hours for $4000 plus tax-$395- and $200 service on all fluids and flters. So $4600 total. I love the tractor. I've since put two new front tires on for $105 installed, and bought three missing belt and chute guards for $400. I wasn't going to do that until the exposed belt threw a chunk of limestone from my driveway into my arm and raised a pretty good welt. I've priced the PTO kit for the 455 at $490 from JD-they are proud of their parts-so I could do something similar to what Jeff is doing. Even adding all the extras, including the PTO kit, I'm still way less than something with comparable capabilities new. I think the deal you had was a steal, and it looks like someone else did too.

Hey Jeff, how hard was the PTO kit install, and what should I get to make it easier?

 

[LBrown59]

Not to start a paint war here, but your comment about the BX23 doing "twice as good" leads me to believe you've never worked with a 455. I tested a BX2300 when I bought my 455, and I am not sure I agree with you at all. At least as far as mowing goes, I think the 455 cuts faster and with equal or more power. Once you equip a 455 with 3pt hitch and PTO, 4wd is the only advantage the BX series has. If I had been buying new, I probably would have gone with a BX2300 (have hoe and loader on my CUT) over a new John Deere X5XX or X7XX, but finding a used 455 for less than half what I would have spent on the BX made it a "no-brainer".

Before I bought the CC2554 last Fall I had a price of $8500 on a new BX1500 with a front blade and a rear tiller.
What do you think a JD455 with the tiller and the front blade would run a person?

 

[mike223]

If you find a 455 for around $3500-4000, you can get a scoop/blade combo for $700 (new), or just a blade for around $200, and a tiller for around $1400-1600. Say $6000 total. Check out Jim's repair website:

Used Lawn and Garden Tractors - Mowers - Small Engines - Jim's Repair/Jim's Tractors

He has Bercomac tillers for $1400, and Bercomac blades for between $200 and $600 depending on whether you want snowblower or broom capabilities also. He also has Model 40 FEL's and buckets and all kinds of other parts. Between that website and

Weekend Freedom Machines

you'll find just about any info on parts/maintenance and capabilities for virtually any JD tractor still around,

 

[LBrown59]

*I could see a 455 with a 54 dual hydraulic blade on front and a 42 hydraulic tiller on the back as one lean mean landscaping machine.

*You said it!
My old 1966 Bolens 850 set up with a front blade and a tiller on the back was a pretty fair dirt mover.
By tilling then pushing the tilled up dirt away with the front blade I have moved a lot of dirt with that rig.
When I got the 1967 Bolens 850 back in 2005 I took the tiller of the 66 and put it on the 67.
Now I have the 66 with the front blade and the 67 with the rear tiller.
I would like to have a JD 455 or my CC 2554 with a front blade and rear tiller because lifting and lowering the tiller and blade is manual on the Bolens Tractors & they're manual shift.

 

[LBrown59]

If you find a 455 for around $3500-4000, you can get a scoop/blade combo for $700 (new), or just a blade for around $200, and a tiller for around $1400-1600. Say $6000 total. :

What I'd like to do is find a good 455 with a rear PTO and 3 point for about 4000 to 4500.
What would really be nice is to find a 455 with rear PTO and 3 point with the front blade and rear tiller for about 5000 to 5500.

 

[mike223]

Well, next time you see a decent 455 with low hours, buy it, then go to Deere and buy the PTO kit, it's in inventory for $492, and Jeff and others can help with the install. Then Ruegg has 3 pt hitches for the 455 and can actually upgrade to a Cat 1 hitch vice the Cat 0 that Deere has, allowing the use of cat 1 implements. The other implements are available through the websites that I mentioned in the previous post, or possibly used through your dealer or on eBay and sometimes Craigslist. I personally think that you'll be looking for awhile for a 455 with PTO and hitch already installed. Most people bought these as long term lawn machines. I initially bought mine with that intent, then after researching and listening to the knowledge base here and at the other websites mentioned, I've decided to upgrade my 455 into a super lawn machine that will allow me to get into a fenced garden area for work. Good luck in your search.
Mike

 

[jeffinsgf]

Well, next time you see a decent 455 with low hours, buy it, then go to Deere and buy the PTO kit, it's in inventory for $492, and Jeff and others can help with the install. Then Ruegg has 3 pt hitches for the 455 and can actually upgrade to a Cat 1 hitch vice the Cat 0 that Deere has, allowing the use of cat 1 implements. The other implements are available through the websites that I mentioned in the previous post, or possibly used through your dealer or on eBay and sometimes Craigslist. I personally think that you'll be looking for awhile for a 455 with PTO and hitch already installed. Most people bought these as long term lawn machines. I initially bought mine with that intent, then after researching and listening to the knowledge base here and at the other websites mentioned, I've decided to upgrade my 455 into a super lawn machine that will allow me to get into a fenced garden area for work. Good luck in your search.
Mike

Mike is right on finding a 455 with the PTO and hitch already installed. Once you spend that 800-900 to add them, you are quite committed to your machine. It's not that I don't think I could sell mine for what it is worth, I just don't think I could replace it for what I have put into it (in both investment and time spent). And, there's nothing on the market I would chose over it without it costing significantly more.

Kinda like Charleton Heston and his guns --- You can have my 455 when you pry my cold dead fingers off the steering wheel.

 

[LBrown59]

*Mike is right on finding a 455 with the PTO and hitch already installed.

Once you spend that 800-900 to add them, you are quite committed to your machine. It's not that I don't think I could sell mine for what it is worth, I just don't think I could replace it for what I have put into it (in both investment and time spent). And, there's nothing on the market I would chose over it without it costing significantly more.

Still it could happen . Ya never know when somebody may trade up or their situation changes and they need to get rid of it.