What are people paying for D's lately?

[Rolando]

I was talking to my dealer Friday and he gave me a quickie estimate on the cost I might be looking at for D-series. I was interested in the 3-pt hitch model, but he's telling me it's six to eight months away still.

Here are the options he quoted:

1. Oversize turf tires
2. Suspension seat
3. Power Bob-tach
4. High-flow
5. Rear work lights
6. Radio/CD with Aux input
8. 68 inch bucket
7. Cab/AC

It doesn't include the keyless start system like I have now, because I'm not sure if that option includes any additional diagnostics. At about $900, it's not worth it to me just to avoid needing a key or programing different codes for different users and keeping track of separate hours. I wouldn't use those features. But if there were other benefits, I might consider it, but my dealer couldn't find any detailed description of this option.

He said as optioned this unit would retail for $45,800 (roughly, working from memory) and would sell it to me for about $41,000. Does a 10% discount sound reasonable?

 

[CEI]

Where are you located? My dealer in Pittsburgh quoted me over $50,000

 

[Rolando]

I'm in north central Florida, about 50 miles southwest of Jacksonville. Is your price for an apples for apples comparison? Did it include any attachments? The retail price should be the same even if your dealer didn't offer you any discount. I don't know if you have any other dealers not too much farther away to compare to.

 

[JWB53]

5600 d turbo
cab heat air
hi flo
deluxe road package
hose guard kit
attach kit
62 inch bucket
90 inch mower deck
49,400
with 1,500 mfg discount
47,900
what do you think

 

[Rolando]

Trying to get to apples-to-apples, the 90" mower costs about $4,500 (that's the right size to get, by the way, don't let anyone talk you into the 72"), and the Road kit I think is $1,500. That would reduce your price to $43,400. But taking out the suspension seat (~$800), the rear lights(~$90), the radio (~$350), the wide turfs (~$300?) and the power-tach (~$900) from my package would bring my list price down to $43,360.

I don't know what the cost of the hose guard kit and the attach kit are, but it looks like he may be quoting you list prices. Is the attach kit the electrical set up to add additional controls with the rocker switches? What's the hose guard kit? I asked my dealer to tell me all the options and I don't remember him mentioning that.

 

[JWB53]

hose guard kit 29.00
attach kit 175.00
dealer told me this price is best they will do
thanks

 

[Rolando]

hose guard kit 29.00
attach kit 175.00
dealer told me this price is best they will do
thanks

Are there any other dealers in your area to compare to?

Can you describe what the hose guard kit looks like, have you seen it? Also, what is the attach kit?

 

[mouse]

good question rolando - i was out pushing a bit of fallen timber in long grass and hooked a low pressure (presumably return) line underneath the tcat.

my c series has these bloody hoses that are held on using spring style hose clamps which is a bit of a pita - the hoses in question are just aft of the belly pan.

a stick hooked one clean off the t piece fitting. i guess the upside is the hose was undamaged...

net result was i lost all motion and at a guess about 2 gallons of oil. i hooked the hose back up and restarted, no motion but a bit of lever movement and then the sucker seemed to bleed itself.

some stage this week once i've got the gd mower hydro pump rebuild off the hoist i'll put the tcat up and see what i need to do to stop it happening again. might even knock up an extended belly pan for it - the local importer doesn't bother with bringing in the options so i believe.