The next guy that claims "green (or orange) paint doubles the price"

[tjandrews]

To be clear, JD makes all their own tractors from the 1 series and larger. The smaller stuff uses Yanmar engines. As far as their mowers go, I don’t know where they are made. That’s another two statements I’m tired of hearing. Someone else makes JD tractors and they paint them green and smaller tractors are just glorified lawn mowers. I live on 3 acres, what I own is plenty of tractor.

Can't say about now, but it wasn't always so.

We have a 2002 4600, and the engine, at least, was built by Yanmar. We had to buy a new starter last February. Deere wanted around $400 for the part. We found an aftermarket one on Amazon for $100, and it is working just fine. But my point is, the Amazon listing also included Yanmar tractors as among those it would fit.

 

[dodge man]

It’s true, at one time Yanmar made the smaller tractors for JD, and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

 

[ovrszd]

"Farms" come in all sizes. Around here, they can be as small as a 10 acre vegetable operation to as big as a multi-thousand acre dairy. My farm, in the family for 74 years and still operating, is just short of 200 acres. We don't use "big" anything, because we don't need it.
Oh, and even the bigger operations around here, the ones that use the "big" tractors you mentioned, also own smaller equipment for the tasks that smaller stuff does better.

My farm,, in the family for 73 years is 151 acres and my biggest tractor is 95hp. I don't need anything bigger. Some days wish it had a cab....

 

[RB5]

I looked for several years at red, orange, blue, and green tractors. I had an old Ford 2000 that broke down every other time I tried to use it. I looked at features and cost. I actually did not see that much difference in cost in others vs green when I looked at features. I am not a big farmer. I have 61 acres and use mine to move hay bales, disk my garden, and maintain my road. It does everything I need easily. I have a Deere 4044M with power reverser. I love that feature when using the loader or bale spear. I had tried to find something less expensive, and almost went for a big package deal with a trailer and all. I decided the dealer was too far away, and there was something about the red tractor I did not quite like. It wasn't MF. Deere has multiple dealers within 30 to 45 minutes away, which is important to me. When I first sat on the Deere it just seemed right. It was comfortable. I kept looking for over a year and finally went back to my green tractor. I would purchase the same model again. I also bought a green bale spear after I looked at the cheap ones from Tractor Supply. Sometimes you spend a little more for heavier duty and quality.

 

[tjandrews]

My farm,, in the family for 73 years is 151 acres and my biggest tractor is 95hp. I don't need anything bigger. Some days wish it had a cab....

I hear ya, but... Our JD 4600 has a cab, nice this time of year, but there are days in July and August when I wish it didn't have one. (no AC)

 

[Hay Dude]

I hear ya, but... Our JD 4600 has a cab, nice this time of year, but there are days in July and August when I wish it didn't have one. (no AC)

A cab with no AC in summer is tough

 

[Yander]

I don't know buddy, you act like you have a real sore spot about JD, almost like a JD dealer stole your girl once, or twice.

@Torvy , I don't know buddy I feel like you have to laugh at that one, that's funny, I don't care who ya are!

 

[tjandrews]

A cab with no AC in summer is tough

We pull both doors right off in the summer so we can have some cross-ventilation. Fortunately, we are in the hills and almost always have a breeze.

 

[edrobyn]

I had an orange tractor a few years back that was 50 years old and it needed an engine rebuild, new front wheel and tire, and few other items. Between used, aftermarket, and still available OEM parts I didn’t have any issues.

By the way, that orange tractor, was a WD Allis Chalmers!!

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

Price is subjective based on needs, cost, availability, quality, and location among other things.

Why I did not buy Green (The following are conclusions I came up with based on my ignorance and research).

1. JDQA system seemed like implements would cost more and have fewer brand options

2. There is no Green dealer in my neck of the woods, I'd have to transport for servicing.

3. Initial cost was higher (Although I discovered later that one of my brothers in KofC owned a Green dealership)

I'll give Green Kudos for brand recognition, ask anyone to name a tractor brand and Green will most likely top the list.

And had there been a local Green dealership that might have tipped me in their direction.

Why I didn't buy Tomato Soup Red (Mahindra)

1. They seemed to be always changing the models in search of different parts to keep costs down
My opinion on that was determining and getting the correct part could be a nightmare.

2. My local dealer dealt with lawn equipment making me worry about servicing.

Why I didn't buy Orange.

1. The local dealer was too proud of his stock and not willing to deal.

2. I didn't care for the rocker pedal on the HST's he showed me.

3. Never cared for orange as a color (a stupid reason I know, although a bargain price could sway me)

Why I didn't buy any other color but Red.

1. I would have to go out of my way to find anyone other than New Holland to look at.

2. New Holland had no local presence (my home is over 100 miles from where I keep the tractor).

Did I make the right choice? Time will tell.

I did have an issue where I bent a hydraulic lift cylinder on the FEL and during my quest to find parts and information I discovered that Massey had increased the diameter of the rod. So obviously they were experiencing a number of these failing. But they still had the old part so I wasn't forced to replace both cylinders just the one rod. And, I'm sure I did something stupid to cause the failure in the first place..

And as was mentioned in a previous post about how folks don't respond to some brand-specific queries, I only got two (very knowledgeable) folks that responded to my post. I'd hoped something like a hydraulic cylinder would have been a generic enough subject. But I'll take the blame here for not wording the header better.