Buying Advice John Deere or Branson?

[Fireman1317]

The 25 series is supposed to have the hydro max transmission. Could you tell any difference between that and 20 series? I drove a 25 hp Branson (4720 was not available) and was not impressed with hydro due to how loud it was.

Have not operated a 20 series, so can’t lend an opinion. When I test drove the 3725H, I don’t remember the hydro noise being anything excessive compared to other hydro tractors I have seen.

 

[ning]

The 25 series is supposed to have the hydro max transmission. Could you tell any difference between that and 20 series? I drove a 25 hp Branson (4720 was not available) and was not impressed with hydro due to how loud it was.

The HST on my 3520h (35hp 20-series) is only loud in High range, when I start from a stop or if I get to a hill. In Low or Medium range, I can barely hear the hydro.

 

[Aquamoose]

Congratulations! Late to the discussion but for anyone else considering, grapples and shuttle shift generally makes a bad combo. HST should always be the choice for grapple work due to the constant fwd/rev movements.

 

[buickanddeere]

In 5-10-20 years when time to trade or sell. Which will have retained more of it's original price ?

 

[Fireman1317]

In 5-10-20 years when time to trade or sell. Which will have retained more of it's original price ?

Not a good enough reason to pay more for a tractor that’s less equipped. My purchase needs to be able to get the job done today, not be looked at as investment. I wish JD would have worked out, but just couldn’t justify it.

 

[ning]

In 5-10-20 years when time to trade or sell. Which will have retained more of it's original price ?

I paid about $25k for a tractor that I could've bought an equivalent orange tractor for that cost $35k (real numbers).

Let's say (numbers pulled out of a hat for illustration) mine is worth 50% that in 10 years, and the orange one is worth 65% of its value in the same 10 years.

So, I'd get $12.5k for the red one, vs $22.75k for the orange one. Wow, the red one's value sucks, right?

The red one cost $1,250/year, the orange one $1,225/year; meanwhile I had $10k more to get implements with one than the other (or "invest" it do w/e you want, even at a lousy 2% that 10k is worth more than 12k after 10 years, so if you use that gain then the red tractor only cost a bit over $1k/year, but I'm buying implements, screw investing I have dirt to play with).

I'm just illustrating that "retaining more of its original value" doesn't necessarily mean much - YMMV, the numbers may be different, and you may be one of those lucky guys who "sold mah kobota fer more than I bought it!!1!One!!"

 

[rScotty]

I paid about $25k for a tractor that I could've bought an equivalent orange tractor for that cost $35k (real numbers).

Let's say (numbers pulled out of a hat for illustration) mine is worth 50% that in 10 years, and the orange one is worth 65% of its value in the same 10 years.

So, I'd get $12.5k for the red one, vs $22.75k for the orange one. Wow, the red one's value sucks, right?

The red one cost $1,250/year, the orange one $1,225/year; meanwhile I had $10k more to get implements with one than the other (or "invest" it do w/e you want, even at a lousy 2% that 10k is worth more than 12k after 10 years, so if you use that gain then the red tractor only cost a bit over $1k/year, but I'm buying implements, screw investing I have dirt to play with).

I'm just illustrating that "retaining more of its original value" doesn't necessarily mean much - YMMV, the numbers may be different, and you may be one of those lucky guys who "sold mah kobota fer more than I bought it!!1!One!!"

That's pretty much exactly the conclusion that I came to. I didn't care about resale or depreciation. My goal was simply to get the work done now. I was also willing to pay more for a tractor with a known record for dependability over one whose main virtue was that it cost less upfront. A lot of tractors looked interesting....but I just didn't know much about them.
Give those others a few more decades to build a reputation plus local dealerships and I might feel differently. I can remember when Kubota was the new kid on the block, too. I'll be watching.
rScotty

 

[claitner]

I have had three very good very good Deere tractors. All were purchased with low hours (150 to 250 hours) resulting in pricing more than competitive with other less popular brands. JD 5300, JD 4320, JD 4720 with cab. I continue to run the last two. Find a Deere with all the features you need with less than 500 hours or so and you will be a happy camper!

 

[cathy liebchen]

There are almost no Branson dealers around here so you never see them. You see Kubota and JD 90% of the time; an occasional Mahindra; some NH (f/ka/ Ford) in the bigger 50HP up; Never see Kioti or LS or Yanmar or the others that exist mostly on the forums

 

[cathy liebchen]

The HST on my 3520h (35hp 20-series) is only loud in High range, when I start from a stop or if I get to a hill. In Low or Medium range, I can barely hear the hydro.

we always wear hearing protection when running heavy equipment anyway, so noise is no issue