John Deere Over-Rated?

[Gittyup]

While trying to quantify as x% more failures is probably invalid. The disparity I do think is at least to some degree significant. My cut feel, owning both a deere and a Kioti, is that deere quality is a little better. Kioti and others are trying. But, I think they still have a small ways to go. But, the gap is narrowing fast and certainly isn't enough to justify the cost difference. Hence, why I own a Kioti. So, JD is not over rated; just more expensive. Some are willing to pay that difference. Some just can't afford to (like me).

 

[pitt_md]

I think it really comes down to peace of mind. If you think JD is a better product with better dealer network and parts availability then your money is well spent.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Interesting point but invalid conclusion. There is a selection bias in who posts. One might expect that JD and Kubota owners just take their machines to the local dealer as there are so many more convenient JD and Kubota dealers.

you could also say that you should be seeing many more problems in the JD/Kubota forums since they have a much larger market share and people with problems are much more likely to be getting online to fuss about them.

 

[DWCox]

I have owned several Deere and one Kubota tractor, as well as Takeuchi and Bobcat trackloaders and skidsteers over the years. I love the Yanmar powerplant in the lower end model Deere and Takeuchi. Smooth, reliable, bullet-proof. But in overall build quality, I am really impressed with Kubota--with the exception of some of their loader welds coming out of the Georgia plant.

The old-school JD designs have been proven over time. Kubota seems to reflect that quality in their latest offerings. JD has excellent parts availability, but the price of those parts is in some cases outrageous. Kubota seemed to take 2-3 days to get comparable parts (though that may have changed).

If I buy again, it will be a hard toss up between the two (we have dealers close by for both), but I think the nod would go to Kubota for me.

 

[GaryCrowell]

Is Deere overrated? No.

Are they overpriced? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

It all depends upon what your uses for the tractor are. Deere offers a complete line of farm equipment, it dwarfs kubota in it's size. Kubota made their name in compact tractors and they make great ones, but a 35 hp CUT doesn't do much good for a row crop farmer. Most guys on this board look at things from a CUT owners perspective, mow the grass, move a few rocks, till a garden, etc. None of which takes equipment that is geared toward the commercial end of the market. You'll see very few kubota's on a real farm, even though kubota makes great tractors. They just aren't in the market to make what a full time commercial farmer needs. Same with kioti, mahindra, and pretty much everyone except Deere, Agco, and CaseNH.

If I were in the market for a CUT then Deere might not be my first choice. When I bought my MF 471 a few years ago I looked at all the other major brands and decided that in the 70 HP range that MF had what I was looking for. The Kubota M7040 was nice, but physically much smaller than the massey with less all around capacity, the only thing equivalent was the HP, and the kubota was priced about $1500 more. The deere was similar in that it was priced higher but not quite as big and capable. Both the kubota and Deere had more bells and whistles, which I specifically DID NOT want because I was looking for a tractor that would still be running 40 years from now, I didn't want fancy electronics.

If I were a full time farmer who depended upon his equipment for his living then Deere would go to the top of the list. Deere's parts support is second to none and that extra $$$ for the green paint is well spent when you have a crop to get in and your off brand tractor is down waiting for parts to arrive from India. What farmers are paying for when they buy Deere is the peace of mind of knowing that if their equipment breaks then it will be fixed ASAP. It's the same reason that heavy equipment guys pay so much for caterpillar, it's not that the machines are that much better (though they're very good), it's that if they have a breakage they'll be back running in a matter of hours, not days or weeks. As noted by a previous poster, Deere is making big inroads in construction equipment because they have the same philosophy, a philosophy brought over from their farm equipment side.

Deere tractors are very good solid tractors. Maybe not that much better than the competition, but supply network IS much better than a lot of other brands and that's why the guys that rely upon their tractors for their living spend the extra money for Deere.

 

[DrFast1]

I agree with Messicks.

If JC and Kubota had issues there should be more complaints on here about them because they sell more product.

You have to put the number of complaints on a "per tractor sold" basis.

Ultimately, I feel like the people who have had problems will be much more likely to share their "bad" stories than those of us with good stories.

That tells me when I see more complaints for a brand selling MUCH less product than JD and Kubota I would be worried.

That being said, I grew up with JD, farmall, IH and Massey products. I would say the JD we had had 6 times as many hours as all the rest with the same level of repairs. Our 1968 gas 2510 is still going with >10,000 hours (One engine OH and two clutches)

 

[rcrcomputing]

Interesting point but invalid conclusion. There is a selection bias in who posts. One might expect that JD and Kubota owners just take their machines to the local dealer as there are so many more convenient JD and Kubota dealers. Kioti does not have nearly the dealer network so people who buy them are perhaps more willing (or forced) to do more work themselves. I don't think it unreasonble to thing that those who do work themselves are more likely to post for help on TBN than those who just call the dealer and ask them to pick up the machine.

I think we're just a bit more loud mouthed than other owners owners.. However, as of yet, our tractors don't "break in half", and our transmissions don't throw us out of the chair when we stop, and we have the nice, simple things that don't come standard on many tractors, like the steps on the side, rear remotes, etc.. hehe

 

[Wildmikey]

I'm going to weigh in here since I'm continuing my quest for a compact tractor. Is the JD overprice? It was when I went to the dealer. Thus part of the reason for my initial thread. I will say this, JD was the first dealer that I went to since I used my father-in-law's 4110 as the yard stick. When I talked with the sales guy, I told him I needed a clearance of <77" to fit in my utility shed. I think the ROPS on the JD 2305 measures in at ~ 80". The guy says, "You can always have someone cut it down and weld it so it would fit." Right! After I drop $16K on a tractor I going to do this and void the warranty. I posed this to the sales rep and all he could do was stammer and stutter. Thus why I haven't visited the JD guy again. I intend to write about my quest once I have reached the chalice. That should be within the next week or two.
I will say this though. This forum has been a wealth of information for anyone, regardless of brand, who are in the process of purchasing a tractor!

 

[tjkadar]

I'm going to weigh in here since I'm continuing my quest for a compact tractor. Is the JD overprice? It was when I went to the dealer. Thus part of the reason for my initial thread. I will say this, JD was the first dealer that I went to since I used my father-in-law's 4110 as the yard stick. When I talked with the sales guy, I told him I needed a clearance of <77" to fit in my utility shed. I think the ROPS on the JD 2305 measures in at ~ 80". The guy says, "You can always have someone cut it down and weld it so it would fit." Right! After I drop $16K on a tractor I going to do this and void the warranty. I posed this to the sales rep and all he could do was stammer and stutter. Thus why I haven't visited the JD guy again. I intend to write about my quest once I have reached the chalice. That should be within the next week or two.
I will say this though. This forum has been a wealth of information for anyone, regardless of brand, who are in the process of purchasing a tractor!

Sounds like a dealer problem, not a John Deere problem.

 

[Duffster]

Does modding the ROPS really void the warranty?