Happy Guy

[brewerbob]

I'm just reporting in about my JD4300 HST. I'm at 45.5 hours and couldn't be happier. I've had time to use all the attachments I've bought, FEL, back blade, cutter, and everything worked better than expected. No leaks, no scuffing, lots of power, and surprising fuel economy. Haven't made a post in a while because I've been on the tractor, or outside getting ready to be on the tractor. I think I've found a real asset.
Bob

 

[gtg]

hi guys, just got back from some time off that i ended up wasting doing nothing, wanting to get back to my new found career of the wannabe farmer. i've been to a few dealers that have suggested a JD4300, hst, folding rops, w/430 loader. i question though if to buy new or used; the dealers, of course, suggest new! on the other hand they did inform me that used can be just as good at times, saying that JD has made over 300 design changes since inception, JD will not forget the owners in the past with problems, regardless of warranties.. what do ya think??? thanks

 

[dmccarty]

gtg,

When I was looking to buy a tractor last year, FINDING a used tractor was danged hard much less the one I wanted. I NEVER found the used tractors in which I was interested but the prices on relatively new JD's vs off the lot JDs where such that I bought new. JD's seem to hold their value. This seems to be what other people are finding but it might be a local thing as well. Look at the price of the used equipment vs new and decide.

So far my dealer and JD has been very helpful. I have not had any real problems just one setup problem that the dealer handled to my complete satisfaction and one nit that they gave me the part to fix. I have not installed the part yet since I'm not using the implement that causes the problem. I did have a concern with the procedure to make sure the slip clutch was not rusted togather on my MX6 rotary cutter. I sent a note to JD and had the answer within the week. The information was not in the MX6 manual and I was the first person to say something. The regional field rep found the answer, sent it to the dealer who gave it to me. Supposedly the updated page is being sent to all MX6 owners.

Seems pretty danged reasonable and responsible to me.....

Later...
Dan McCarty

 

[mlmartin]

<font color=blue>i question though if to buy new or used;</font color=blue>

I wrestled with this for quite a while. The cost of what I thought I needed was pretty staggering when bought new. I boiled it down to a minimum tractor purchase and put off other implements until later. That made searching for a used tractor much easier. I decided that I wanted a TLB with enough power to run a 72" rotary cutter.

I was searching over the winter and found what I wanted pretty quickly. I bought a JD 870 with a 440 loader and an 8B backhoe from a Deere dealer just outside of Toronto. The tractor had 534 hours and was in good shape. The dealer found a new, 68 inch wide Meteor 3ph snowblower and delivered the whole package to me in central Massachusetts for a bit more than $16,000.

I figure that I can do _a lot_ of repairs for the difference in price when compared to a new TLB. So far I've put nearly 100 more hours on the tractor and have had nothing to repair that wasn't my fault/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Matthew