John Deere Over-Rated?

[Whitey]

WOW!I have only owned JD so I have a one sided opinion..... I am considering a change in color and find this thread interesting. I am going to start a new thread right now

 

[LBrown59]

IMO yes to both questions.

I agree.
It's much the same as the Toyota pick up is better than the Nissan pick up hype.
BTW I have Both Brands and will put the Nissan up as matching the Toyota any day.

 

[Cocre]

One other thing about Green. They have an online parts system that is phenomenal. I have never used it to purchase a thing, but it has detailed assembly drawings, along with part numbers, pricing, and dealer availability of every component on almost everything they have made in the last 25 years or so. It is free and you do not have to own a JD product to use the system, just sign up. Also their technical manuals (PDFs or print) are available at a cost that makes for good bedtime reading and can tell you how to repair just about anything that breaks.

Others may do the same, but I was surprised at how well they provide data for their products. They seem to be light years ahead of the auto industry.

 

[nunyabinis]

Many of the brands make quality products and in reality the prices aren't that different when comparing apples to apples.

The deciding factor for me buying a Deere was AFTER the sale. My experience is that NO ONE does after-sale better than JD. It does me no good if I get a low price on a machine and then have service issues that the dealer can't or more likely doesn't care to solve.


Another thing is that Deere dominates this area. If one dealer gives me grief I can go to three more within easy driving distance. Not so with other brands around here. Also, the Deere dealers around here have been in business it seems FOREVER. Not so some of the other brands. They come. They go. They come. They go.


Would I be "happy" with a New Holland, Kubota, etc...? HECK YES!!! I ain't never met a tractor I didn't like.

 

[Gittyup]

I own several Deere's as well as a several "non Deere's". I'm ANYTHING BUT "color blind". I've noticed MANY of those voicing anti-Deere sentiment have no real evidence or experience to call upon to base their remarks on. Quite simply, it's the old "I own orange/blue/red, so green isn't all it's cracked up to be".

I see NO evidence to say Deere is dramatically BETTER, nor do I see any real evidence to say they're any worse in ANY segment of their product line or consumer product speaking in general terms. They are leaps and bounds above EVERYONE in marketing.

As a whole, most Deere owners tend to over state their devotion to the brand. That's NOT Deere, but I'm quite certain "Mother Deere" doesn't want to discourage that line of thinking. In fact Deere has taken that aspect and ran with it. I suspect this heavily subsidized by the price paid for new equipment too.

Deere sells a quality product. So does several other brands. Where Deere has a leg up on the competition is AFTER the sale. Parts and service.......NO ONE puts as much effort into that end of the business. NO ONE. In THAT regard, they earn their laurals. How MUCH better? Well, that is a very subjective matter indeed.

In general, Deere is also a few steps ahead of the game in product developement and planning for their success in the future markets. They're quite often first, and almost never last to break into new product areas, or with new product developement.

Do they deserve to be "rated" higher than other brands in broad general terms? Probably so. Are they light years ahead of all others in all areas? Probably not. But like 'em or not, there's good reason for their success and the length of that success.

FWJ is right on (as usual). It's the "new" engineered features and inferred promise to stand behind their products years down the road that allow (and cause) Deere to charge what they do. I doubt that they are really making a significantly larger margin than other brands, when all costs are considered.
It's not cheap to maintain inventories of so many machines going back 50 years or more. Yeah, it's painful when that custom cast part costs 4 times what it should. It's equally as painful for JD to buy that inventory and tie up all the money for many many years never knowing if or when you'll sell enough to justify the costs. So, that pricey part costs exactly what it has to cost if you want it when you want it. I suspect the costs are also heavily subsidized by the price of new equipment.

Same for new features. Everyone loves to watch the "feature leader" put forth innovative products. But, they cost a lot of money to design, test, and deploy. For everyone that makes it to the market there are many others that die in the development cycle. And most of what JD puts out is extremely well engineered.

 

[MikeInEburg]

Another thing is that Deere dominates this area. If one dealer gives me grief I can go to three more within easy driving distance. Not so with other brands around here. Also, the Deere dealers around here have been in business it seems FOREVER. Not so some of the other brands. They come. They go. They come. They go.

At least in these parts, there are no longer any "single store" Deere dealers. Word is that the single-store dealers were "highly encouraged" to merge with other locals - or they simply lost the franchise. So, for us, it's a bit more difficult to go to a different dealer down the road...

Aside from that, I think that Deere provides a consistent, high quality product. Although I suspect Harley Davidson leads the way in getting folks to pay for the privilege of wearing advertising, Deere does a mighty fine job of it.

Mike

 

[rustedduck]

When I started looking for my first tractor, JD was in contention.

I then called my brother-in-law, who has been in the tractor repair
business for 30+ years, and asked him for his professional recomendation.
He stated there was only 3 choices i should consider (under 50hp).

1. Kubota
2. Ford
3. All the rest !

Take it for what is worth. I have had no problems with by Bota.

 

[two_bit_score]

Always Liked John Deere, But Is The Name Over-Rated & Over -Priced?

IMO, absolutely not.

 

[tjkadar]

FWJ pretty much summed it up. Its nice when someone does all the hard work for you!

 

[budlite]

I had owned a JD lawn tractor for over twenty years, so when I finally decided I needed a "real" tractor, I talked to a couple of farmers I know, and asked about JD specifically. Both said "That green paint is sure expensive". Nonetheless, that's what I ended up buying. For some folks, I think its the reputation or brand loyalty. Deere has tried, in my opinion, to pattern their marketing along the lines of Harley-Davidson - the "American" brand. (Yeah I know its not really). Like some other posters have said, they have a widespread dealer network and I think that's a comfort factor for some folks. In my case, it just so happened I have a friend with in-laws who operate a small, family-run JD dealership and I got what I thought to be a good deal. About 4K less than the Regional Deere dealer quotes from 3 of their dealerships. Have been a faithful Harley owner, and Chrysler too, but it appears that's about to come to an end.

 

[greenmule]

No doubt both deere and kubota make good tractors,but for both you are paying x amount[thousands] for the name,guess they got a good enough rep,they can get buy with it[for a while longer],but I bought a kioti and got just as good[or better] 30 hp tractor than either one was offering and saved those thousands.

 

[LBrown59]

Why is that ?

Have been a faithful Harley owner, and Chrysler too, but it appears that's about to come to an end.

 

[wolc123]

We didnt have any brand new tractors on my farm between 1951 and 2004. Back in 50, grandad bought a JD M over a Ford 8n because it was considerably less expensive. We never regretted that decision, and that tractor runs well to this day. When I was shopping in 2005, I found a new 43 hp Deere that outspec'd comparable tractors from NH and Kubota for equal or less money. Instead of just believing the hype about expensive green paint, I would encourage folks to go and check for themselves. You cant always believe what you hear and read. The 2005, American-engined Deere has also not let us down and I dont expect it to over the next half century or so. JD might be the widley acnowledged leader in over 100 hp, but my own experience has shown they were not too bad in the 20 hp category back in the day, and in the 40 hp category today. I think many of the owners of those foreign jobs tend to be a little envious of those of us who go with the last remaining US tractor company and, as a result, like to make stuff up about expensive green paint and such. Kind of like the Toyota/Honda folks do to us Ford and Chevy guys. There never even was a "quality gap" with the tractors like there may have been with autos, but most of these compact guys are a lot more familiar with cars than tractors so I understand how they get confused. 60 years of usage on this farm has proven JD quality to me, and a trip to (3) local dealers has proven that the price is competitive. I certainly am not color blind, and the main reason I went with JD was because it was the best spec'd tractor by a considerable margin, tied for best price with NH, and considerably less expensive than Kubota. To be fair, these are the only three brands I looked at because there were no other dealers in the area. I will not take anything away from Mahindra or Koiti as those brands might actually offer a price advantage over JD. Threads like these bring out a lot of opinions and hearsay, but I like to stick to the facts, and I appreciate the posts of those few others, like FWJ, who do so also.

 

[RichZ]

I've used vintage tractors for years, but when I finally decided that I need at least one new tractor, I was interested in Deere, Kubota, New Holland and Massey Ferguson. I went to all dealers within a 50 mile radius. If all things were equal, I would have perfered a Deere, only becasue it is the only American owned company, though I wanted a tractor around 50 hp, and I know those Deeres are imported just like the rest. In my area, I found the Deere dealers were the least likely to negotiate. In fact one, said, "It's a Deere. it's the best, we don't negotiate" I didn't even respond, I just walked out the door. I ended up with a Kubota, because the dealer was very motivated to sell, and gave me the best price. He also was relatively local, and has an outstanding service department. I've been very happy with my Kubota, but I suspect I would have been equally happy with any of the other 3 brands I was looking at. I am especialy happy with the service that my dealer has given me. When I had questions, they happily answered them, once they sent out a service truck to show me how to do something, and didn't even charge me!!! Anohter time, I had an issue with a fuse that kept blowing. I went into the delaership and asked what I could do to correct it. They told me that they had a service truck heading to my area the next week, and they would fix it for free. It was still under warranty, but I never expected them to come out for such a minor issue. And when I need parts (so far only filters) they have them in stock, and give me an agricultural discount, as I am a farmer. The dealer is the most important aspect in buying a tractor, at least in my opinion.

 

[wolc123]

A good dealer is important for sure. I bought my JD from a dealer at the county fair who offered me a real good price. His shop is about 50 mi from me. I have another at 5 mi, but he does not have that good of a reputation. I stopped at the closer one 2 or 3 times for filters and he has always stocked them. Maybe I am just lucky, but in (4) years of pretty hard use, that American-made, 43 hp, JD has not even needed so much as a fuse, just scheduled oil/filter changes. Incidentally, in 2005, 43 Hp was the smallest American-assembled tractor, with an American engine. Smaller than that were imported Yanmars. Now, I think they upped the HP rating on that model a little closer to 50 but still below I think, so you still can get an American JD under 50 hp. Trivia question for some folks who may feel the need to reply: What continent is Mexico part of?

 

[zzvyb6]

In my case, I bought a product, a dealership, and a web site having parts diagrams and part numbers on it. I got the perfect tractor for my needs (as suggested by the salesman), 4 dealerships within 15 miles of my ranch and access to all my Deere models and part numbers. I call the nearest dealer (who also sells Stihl, Toro and Kuhn products), request a part by number. If any of his 2 other outlets have it, they send it by next morning to the one nearest to me (or will even drop it off) or will have it UPSed to me at my choice of hot stamps.

I also have a lot of New Holland hay machinery. There's one dealer, 40 miles north of here. That's it. I can order the parts from them by number if I go there, not over the phone. They don't usually have the stuff in stock, so I wait 1 - 2 weeks for it.

I also know TSC inventory pretty well, and my Deere and NH hay replacement parts often come from there.

Even the Greene and Yellowe spray touchup paint seems to be better quality. It covers on the first splash and doesn't fade like all the other colors I need to have on hand: red, orange, white and blue.

 

[Gittyup]

Paint quality is one area where I believe that JD is superior. It is clearly thicker and more durable against scuffs, moisture, and sunlight.

 

[Slackdaddy]

I would not say they are over rated, except by the JD salesman.

They ARE over priced, just as the Kubota, NH, and MF are.


I bought a Kioti CK20S.
I shopped the local JD, NH, Kabota, MF dealers.

My main thing I wanted was, at least 1000 lift on the FEL, 2000# tractor, small size.

Local JD dealer was over 17K to fit that bill
MF dealer was 16.5K
Kubota was 18K
NH was 17K

Kioti/Bobcat 11K (current Bobcat CT122 price)

The quality of the Kioti is equal the the JD (and NH, Kubota, MF) in every way.

 

[wolc123]

Interesting numbers Slackdad, thanks for posting. Very sililar to what I found a few years ago at the 40-43 hp level with a loader. Back then, JD and NH were each $21k, and Kubota was $22k. There were no Koiti/bobcat or Mahindra dealers closeby then but now there is one of each. Again, if folks talk about a price advantage of foreign tractors, I may believe it with these two, but no way with Kubota or NH, as your experience and my own has clearly shown.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

In the past 2-1/2 years, I've bought 5 new tractors (for my business) All are below 100hp, and somewhat simular in options, excepting transmissions. 3 are Deere, 2 are Massey Ferguson. I shopped ALL the major brands before purchasing. I found several simularities and several glaring differences from brand to brand, dealer to dealer.

On simularly equipped base models, what I'd describe as "minimum spec" models, Deere wasn't in the hunt. There were a number of brands that were cheaper. THe Massey's I bought were almost $6000 cheaper than the best deal I could find on a simular Deere model. It's when the bells and whistles start showing up on the option list where Deere prices start to come in line with others. At a certain point, well equipped "deluxe models" from Deere start pricing out as CHEAPER than their competition's well adorn models.

As far as dealers go, I've ran across Deere deqalers I'd just as soon never speak with again. Same applies to a New Holland dealer I traded with for 30 years. They're out of the picture nowdays. To a certain extent, the parent corporation has some control over individual dealers, but should one decide to be a poor representative of the parent company, that's the breaks.....Pass over them and move on. That doesn't mean the parent company is a failure.

Like I said in an earlier post, I DO believe many Deere owners "over state" their loyalty and devotion to the brand. After all, it's ONLY a tractor. But painting with broad strokes, Deere Inc does have title as #1 in the industry. We aren't dealing with a small time operation that sells 10 tractors a year. They have MILLIONS of customers, MOST who are loyal fans of the leaping deere brand. That many people can't ALL be wrong.


Just for the record, I'd rate the pair of Massey Fergusons I bought last years as equals in reliability, ease of operation, economy of operation, and operator satisfaction to the 3 Deere's I've bought in the last 3 years. Point being? The difference between ALL the major brands is miniscule at best. Get a good deal with a brand and a dealer you're comfortable with, and it's a GOOD DEAL.....for you!