JD 4115 vs 4310

MattDinNY · Feb 12, 2005

I recently purchased a weekend (and future retirement) home in upstate NY on 20 acres, and I am looking to purchase a CUT for mowing, snow removal, maintenance, and building. The property borders a 12 acre lake with its outlet stream running through (which the local beavers have taken over). There's about 15 acres of mowing, half open and flat, the other half hilly and around trees. The driveway is 1000 ft and severely rutted. The house itself requires a new foundation, which will involve removing the old rubble wall. A couple of new structures are also planned. I am pretty much sold on JD due to its reputation and local service. My initial thought was a 4115 with the following (prices are from a local dealer):

4115 4WD Tractor with HST, R4, Dual Mid SCV, Power Beyond, Folding ROPS with Tall Kit - $16k
72 " Mid-Mount Mower - $3k
410 Loader with 49" bucket, ballast box - $2.5k
46 Backhoe with 13" bucket - $5.5k
JD discount - $200

The total of $26,800 before taxes is about 11 1/2% off MSRP. For the driveway work, the dealer recommended a York RS 5' rake with casters and a grader blade (about $1,300).

While this seems to be plenty of tractor for the mowing, I am having second thoughts for its other uses, and thought a 4310 may be more appropriate, with the following:

4310 4WD Tractor with eHydro (also Speed Match & Cruise), Mid PTO, R4, Dual Mid SCV, 3rd SCV, Power Beyond - $18.7k
72 " Mid-Mount Mower (7 iron) - $3k
300CX Loader with 61" HD bucket, ballast box - $3.5k
48 Backhoe with 14" HD bucket - $7k
JD discount - $700

The total of $31,500 before taxes is about 12 3/4% off. A York RS 6' rake with casters and blade would be $1,400.

This will be my first and hopefully last tractor purchase. For the extra $4,700, it appears that the 4130 is much more tractor than the 4115 in terms of power, weight and especially hydraulics. The dealer swears by the Yanmar engines in both (he did say that he is having some problems with the JD engines in the 4x20's), and believes the 4310 is more suited to the extra work. I understand that JD may be offering add'l incentives on the outgoing 42/43/4410's to make room for the 3x20's. Any comments on tractor and attachment selections and prices?

jcmseven · Feb 13, 2005

Matt,
There is no comparison between the 4115 and 4310, especially when you see how much more tractor you get for the money with the 4310. I would buy the 4310 and not look back.

John M.

sticky · Feb 13, 2005

If it means not getting the back hoe and going with the power reverse instead of ehydro, get the 4310. Its a hole nother leag.

RoyJackson · Feb 13, 2005

Definitely the 4310. I personally prefer the gear trannys.

Is this 15 acres of finished lawn? Or, is it field?

If it's all finished lawn, you might want to look at an 84" rear finishing mower instead of the Mid Mower. That 4310 has a good amount of lift on the 3PH, so you might even use a 96" mower. A rear finishing mower would be considerably less then the mid mower.

If it's field mowing, you might need a rotary cutter instead of a finishing mower. The 4310 can use a 72" cutter with no problem (assuming some common sense).

Implements driven off the rear PTO are, as mentioned, quite a bit cheaper then mid mounts. You could probably get both a rear finishing mower (84") and a 72" rotary cutter for about the same money you quoted for the 72" mid mower. Might not be Deere implements though, if that matters.

With a 1000' of drive, you need something to move snow. A front mount Deere blower costs around $3500. A rear blade is a lot cheaper. As long as you keep the blade slightly above the drive, you can do most of your plowing driving forward. Of course, a plow on a pickup might be a better way to go for snow.

Kyle_in_Tex · Feb 13, 2005

Definitely, the 4310. You won't regret the extra size and oomph.
Your pricing is a bit high. You could do better, but if you have allegiance to this dealer, maybe you could talk him down to a 15-17% discount.

dicker · Feb 13, 2005

Good morning

I purchased a 4310 with everything that you are pricing except for the mid pto and mid mower. I got the 430 loader instead of the 300CX.

I never did compare to the 4115. My comparisons were with the 790 and 990 which I felt were more suitable.

The 4310 has been great. It has done everything and more that I could have imagined. When I compare my pricing to yours, I would think that you are a bit high, factoring in that I bought at a 65 cent Canadian dollar and today it is around 80 cents.

Good luck

Richard

JDGREEN4ME · Feb 13, 2005

I have a 4115 and for my use it is a great fit. By the sounds of what you want to do the 4310 seems like the way to go. I agree that those prices seem a bit high. I paid 21K for my set up and the only difference is I did not get the mower. Maybe the prices have just shot up over the past few months...

ducati996 · Feb 13, 2005

I'm thinking you could save some good money on the Implements overall (rake plus another attachment) for the price you were quoted for the rake, casters and blade for rake...I think a rake with casters, and a seperate box scrapper will be less than the price you were quoted, and more functional.
You can look at the advertisers here (corriher and others)
to ge their pricing online.

Ducati

dmp437 · Feb 13, 2005

Based on what you've read here, obviously get the 4310. You'll be disappointed with anything less.
Pricing seems to be high, but hey, it's New York /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
My prices were as follows for a 2003 model:
4310 MFWD eHydro w/ R4's, dual mid SCV, mid PTO, 3rd SCV, auto style Cruise upgrade, PowerBeyond, spark arrester $15,800
430 Loader w/ 72" bucket with bucket level indicator, rear tires loaded with RimGuard $3,300
72" mid mount John Deere mower $2,400
Total (w/o backhoe) $21,500 before taxes.

To your package I would urge you to add the heaters, both transmission and engine coolant. Parts to do it are about $150 and using the heaters on cold mornings really makes a difference. You may also want to consider having the extra work lights put on it. They really make a difference for after dark work

MattDinNY · Feb 13, 2005

Thank you all for your comments

Regarding the mowing, the 15 acres is overgrown field (the property has not been maintained for years) but I plan to finish mow about 5 acres and leave the remaining 10 acres as well-maintained field. The wife will be doing most of the mowing (I'll be busy with the building), and the finish lawn area has many trees; hence the eHydro and MMM. I was hoping that the 72" MMM would handle both situations; however, speed is probably most important, so maybe a larger rear mower and cutter is a better idea.

The backhoe is a must for the building foundation work and to remove the beaver dams and reshape the waterways and drainage. I will definitely take the advice on heaters and lights.

For the rake with grader blade attachment, I was looking for something that will handle drive grading, maintenance and snow removal; the dealer recommended the York product. I will check the attachment forum for advice on this.

Price is an issue. I will need to go 50+ miles to find other JD dealers, which I will have to weigh against servicing / warranty convenience and local loyalty.