Buying Advice John Deere or Branson?

[Fireman1317]

I'm in the market for my first tractor. Decided on the 40hp range, hydro transmission. Thought I narrowed it down to buying a Branson, then a friend of mine at a local John Deere dealership convinced me to give him a chance.


So here is where I'm at.

2018 Branson 4225H, FEL, 2 rear remotes, 3rd function valve, W.R. Long Open Bottom Grapple :$31,900. 0 down, 0% financing for 72

2018 John Deere 4044M, upgraded 440R FEL, 2 rear remotes, 3rd function valve, Frontier AC20H 60" root grapple: $33,999. Might be able to get a little more off this.


Branson dealer is 1 hour away, Selling Deere dealer is 30 mins away, but there is a local Deere dealer 10 mins from the house. Full disclosure, I have been a John Deere fan since growing up around John Deere Ag equipment as a kid, but I figured or told myself that John Deere was going to be out of my price range or I would lose features to keep the price down on a John Deere.

Any opinions? lol

 

[Overtaxed]

With nearly the same price, I would go with the Deere just because of parts availability and the ease of resale should you ever decide to size up/down you tractor.

However, that said, I'm not crazy about either of those prices. I paid about 5K more than that for my Kioti, which is 60HP, has a cab, FEL, 2 rear remotes and 3rd function. Not to dissuade you, perhaps those are good prices, I really don't know, but forgetting about the HP difference, if you gave me the choice cab/no cab for 5K, I'm taking the cab!

 

[Granthol]

I own a Branson, but if I知 looking at a comp Deere equally equipped and once I got the best price and there was only $2000 difference...I知 going Green.

 

[Fireman1317]

To be fair to the Branson, the Deere doesn't have:
Linked Pedal
Extendable links on 3 point
Fuel tank on Deere is mounted up behind seat.
Deere weighs 383lbs less
Deere uses proprietary quick attach for FEL, unless you get a adapter.

Not sure any of these are deal breakers, but then again this is my first tractor. Also, I find it odd that the Deere's lift capacity is less, despite the small difference in weight. This goes for both 3-point and FEL.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Green

 

[ning]

I'm in the market for my first tractor. Decided on the 40hp range, hydro transmission. Thought I narrowed it down to buying a Branson, then a friend of mine at a local John Deere dealership convinced me to give him a chance.


So here is where I'm at.

2018 Branson 4225H, FEL, 2 rear remotes, 3rd function valve, W.R. Long Open Bottom Grapple :$31,900. 0 down, 0% financing for 72

2018 John Deere 4044M, upgraded 440R FEL, 2 rear remotes, 3rd function valve, Frontier AC20H 60" root grapple: $33,999. Might be able to get a little more off this.


Branson dealer is 1 hour away, Selling Deere dealer is 30 mins away, but there is a local Deere dealer 10 mins from the house. Full disclosure, I have been a John Deere fan since growing up around John Deere Ag equipment as a kid, but I figured or told myself that John Deere was going to be out of my price range or I would lose features to keep the price down on a John Deere.

Any opinions? lol

I don't know much about the JD 4044M, but tractordata says the M is the "base model". The Branson 4225H has lots of typically-optional stuff on it; you'd have to compare side-by-side to see what matters to you and what doesn't; not everything will necessarily be something you can add on if it's missing (like economy PTO).
Looks like the B is 400#+ heavier; I can't find specifics about the JD loader you mention to see if they're rated the same or not.
You don't mention your budget or expected use of the tractor, nor how attractive 0/0/72 financing is vs what's not mentioned about financing for the JD.

If the rigs are really similar, I'd probably go with the JD because of closer dealer, long-term expectations. I suspect that the tractors aren't really that similar, and the price difference of a truly equivalent JD to the 4225H would probably be quite a bit more - so you'll have to decide if you'd rather have a well-featured pomegranate or a fancy-named but more common green apple...

 

[LouNY]

The Branson is quite a bit heavier, has larger tires, has more lift loader and 3 point, has 540 and 540E pto.
The Branson is a hydro if that's what you want,
the Deere M is a manual shuttle transmission.
It's your tractor your choice how much less is the Branson shuttle shift?

rather have a well-featured pomegranate or a fancy-named but more common green apple...

I don't care for pomegranate or green apples, I like a nice crispy red mac, :licking::drink:

 

[Fireman1317]

The JD loader has a lift capacity of 2,539lbs at the pivot, so a loss of 162 lbs compared to the Branson.

The John Deere is at the very top of the budget, but its still doable. Tractor will be used to clear and clean up our 10 acres to try to reclaim 4-5 acres of pasture, gravel driveway work, rotary cutter. I also want the ability to move round bales as our small farm grows.

John Deere dealer has told me that the last 3 guys got 0 down, but we wont know 100% until we run credit. I would expect that to be the same with the Branson financing.

To get a more comparable Deere model, but with actually more features, would be to go to the 4044R, adds almost $2500 to the price. Still doesnt give me extendable lower links or moves where the fuel tank is. Not sure how useful or important those things are anyway.

 

[Fireman1317]

The Branson is quite a bit heavier, has larger tires, has more lift loader and 3 point, has 540 and 540E pto.
The Branson is a hydro if that's what you want,
the Deere M is a manual shuttle transmission.
It's your tractor your choice how much less is the Branson shuttle shift?


I don't care for pomegranate or green apples, I like a nice crispy red mac, :licking::drink:

I didn't think 400lbs was considered quite a bit heavier, but maybe so in tractor terms? The Deere actually has larger tires and sits higher with a taller ground clearance as well. The Deere was also specd with Hydro as well.

I will agree with you on 3pt lift capacity, but Branson does not state where that weight comes from. At the end link or 24" out.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to make the case towards the Deere, just trying to make the comparison fair.

 

[metalbender]

Just to throw a curve ball into this. New tractor time led me to the Massey dealer. Like you, 40 hp range. Here being cold and snow country, a cab was a priority. Sat in a 1742 hydro, cab tractor, said yup, perfect. Didn't operate it at all. Just over 100 hrs on it now, loving it.