JD 5103 vs JD 1070

[martyb]

I thank those of you who replied to my request for info on the '96 4x4 JD 1070 for $13,500. Today a friend told me that his uncle had a 5103 that is only a couple of years old and has less than 200 hrs. It has a front end loader and is said to be in excellent shape. He has a box blade and post hole digger that go with it for $15K or I can buy the tractor only for $14K. This sounds like a pretty good deal to me. I know you can buy a new one with 512 loader and LX6 Cutter for $18,499 at a local dealer. I don't know exactly what the cutter is worth but I assume that if you bought it by itself, it would be somewhere in the $1500 range. That puts the tractor/loader at around $17K. Now, which is the better deal... the new one with full warranty for $3K more or save the $3K for the used one? I would really like the 4WD that the 1070 offers but with a bigger, heavier tractor with more HP, is it really necessary? I know these are loaded questions and really just a matter of preference but I'd sure like to get some opinions based on experience with both of these machines. I'm not as excited about the 1070 at $13,500 after learning about the 5103. I've read many of the reviews at this site but as things usually go when you're researching a product, the more you research and learn, the more confusing it gets! Any replies and recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks..

 

[CWP37]

I've been looking at the 5103s and I'd go new. You can get a 5103 w/ loader, 6' box blade, 6' shredder, post hole digger (which would break quickly in Kerrville), and trailer for around at $20k.

Personally, I'd rather have new than slightly used for the same price.

 

[martyb]

I appreciate your reply. I went ahead and "pulled the trigger" today on the 5103. It is an '04 still in warranty with 512 FEL, 170 hrs., extra remotes in the back, fiberglass top, 6' box blade, post hole digger, straight blade, and 5' shredder for $14K and in excellent condition. I may have been able to look around a little more and beat this deal but then maybe not. I'm needing a tractor NOW and felt like this was a pretty good deal. Thanks again for your reply and advice.

 

[CWP37]

Sounds like you got a good deal. Make sure to keep us informed of how you like it and, more importantly, how you don't. Congrats.

 

[LeadPoison]

That's a great deal! A reallllllyyyy good deal.

 

[martyb]

Well, I've spent enough time on the 5103 now to reply to your reply about likes and don't likes. I picked it up Friday morning and was out of town until Sunday afternoon and then we had a good rain....so I didn't get to play with it until yesterday. The first thing I needed to do was work up my roping arena. It was still considerably wet, but I wanted to get everything turned up so that it would dry better. I ripped it up real good with the teeth on the box blade first and then ran a 7 1/2 foot Hayking disc over it twice....then after it dried thru this afternoon, I made two more passes with the disc. It has more than enough power for anything that I put it through and was plenty comfortable and easy to operate. Pretty much "worm proof". Since yesterday, I've put 6 hours on it and I'm already getting pretty used to it...it's a pretty simple machine to operate. At first the non-syncronized gears were a little bit bothersome with a lot of reverse to forward use in my arena...but within an hour or so, I was getting comfortable enough with it that it was no problem to work the foot throttle to rev the rpms and pop it in and out of gear without any problem(no grinding at all)...even while still slightly rolling. So that's no longer an issue with me. Everything else seems to be up to the standard that I expected. I've welded hooks onto the bucket and unloaded all of the equipment that came with it and moved it around several times...I've moved some dirt around in my arena to fill and level several places. All in all, I think it's a real nice machine and I'm very pleased with it....especially for the price! Thanks again for your comments.

 

[martyb]

Well, I've spent enough time on the 5103 now to reply to your reply about likes and don't likes. I picked it up Friday morning and was out of town until Sunday afternoon and then we had a good rain....so I didn't get to play with it until yesterday. The first thing I needed to do was work up my roping arena. It was still considerably wet, but I wanted to get everything turned up so that it would dry better. I ripped it up real good with the teeth on the box blade first and then ran a 7 1/2 foot Hayking disc over it twice....then after it dried thru this afternoon, I made two more passes with the disc. It has more than enough power for anything that I put it through and was plenty comfortable and easy to operate. Pretty much "worm proof". Since yesterday, I've put 6 hours on it and I'm already getting pretty used to it...it's a pretty simple machine to operate. At first the non-syncronized gears were a little bit bothersome with a lot of reverse to forward use in my arena...but within an hour or so, I was getting comfortable enough with it that it was no problem to work the foot throttle to rev the rpms and pop it in and out of gear without any problem(no grinding at all)...even while still slightly rolling. So that's no longer an issue with me. Everything else seems to be up to the standard that I expected. I've welded hooks onto the bucket and unloaded all of the equipment that came with it and moved it around several times...I've moved some dirt around in my arena to fill and level several places. All in all, I think it's a real nice machine and I'm very pleased with it....especially for the price! Thanks again for your comments.