Deere 755

[LostDeere59]

I'm looking for a smaller tractor to do some grading and fencing (post holes) on my small residential property. I already have a mower, so cutting grass will not be on the list of this tractor's chores. I have a limited budget (less than 10K).

I found this at a dealer about an hour away:

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I would prefer turf tires, but other than the hours this unit has what I'm looking for - Loader, 4WD, Hydro, P/S, 3 point, independent PTO. I'm a mechanical guy (ex auto tech) and not afraid of maintenance, but the 2700 hours seems like a ton.

Any opinions/input would be much appreciated. Options in this price range are very limited, and while newer/prettier might be nice, older/simpler makes more sense. I hope to resell it in a couple of years to recoup my investment - after some love of course.

Gregg

 

[WinterDeere]

Note the 855 MFWD in my avatar, that was my prior tractor. These x55's were all introduced ca.1986, made by Yanmar for Deere. They were good little CUT's for their time, great even, but they've been out of production for more than 30 years now. Deere does a great job of making parts available, but at an enormously high cost for anything this old, as sitting on slowly-moving stock gets awful expensive for them.

So, I guess it comes down to how often you think you'll be needing that parts counter, as to the cost of maintaining such an old machine.

Assuming it's very similar to the 855, there's really nothing inherently wrong with the design. On mine, the loader controls were all worn out, but with a handful of new parts it was made 90% better. The seat had very little in the way of suspension, and was overall not very comfortable, but not terrible. The accessibility on/off was better than my new tractor, as was visibility and overall ergonomics. It also ran much cooler than anything with DPF, which was nice in summer, but they're a little less forgiving of cold starts in winter.

 

[TCowner]

I must respectfully disagree with the statement that the 55 series compact tractors were built by Yanmar for Deere. These tractors were initially built in Horicon Wisconsin by John Deere. Of course they had a Yanmar engine and I am sure some other outsourced assemblies. I had the good fortune of touring this plant when I got my 955 in the fall of 1989. I saw the tractors being assembled from the frame all of the way through completion.

Sometime, later in the production run, assembly was moved to Augusta Georgia.

 

[stucknutz]

Great tractors. From the 455 clear up to 955 I would still purchase one today and not think twice about it. As long as they were taken care of they will last a lifetime.

 

[WinterDeere]

I must respectfully disagree with the statement that the 55 series compact tractors were built by Yanmar for Deere.

You may be right. I also owned a 1978'ish Deere 750, before the 1986 Deere 855, and I know for a fact that was made by Yanmar. It's possible all these years later, that my mind conflated the two. These are all very old machines, and I don't own any of them anymore, ancient history.

 

[TCowner]

Yes those 50 series compact tractors were Yanmar all the way through. I think they had a pretty good reputation for being tough, albeit a little less refined. I am actually looking for a nice 650 or 750 to add to my arsenal.

 

[gstrom99]

+1 on the positive reviews of the x55 series tractors. I have an 855 with 2100 hours. Strong tractor, not many issues. Assuming good maint history, the price seems about right. I'm not sure about running a post hole auger - I've never tried one.

 

[WinterDeere]

Yes those 50 series compact tractors were Yanmar all the way through. I think they had a pretty good reputation for being tough, albeit a little less refined. I am actually looking for a nice 650 or 750 to add to my arsenal.

Never seen a 650, but the 750 was solid. I got rid of it because it was a 4wd machine with a relatively heavy loader, and lacked power steering, which was really hard on my elbows and shoulders. The non-removable loader was also a hassle, when using it for aerating or fertilizing the lawn.

The other down side to the 750 was the manual transmission, versus HST on the 855. Not a huge problem for me, but HST is nicer for most of what I do. If I recall, getting on/off the 750 was a PITA (maybe worse than my 3033R), whereas the 855 was easy on/off.

 

[unimog_jason]

I've owned a 755 for about 15 years now, 1993 vintage. Solid machine, Deere has always had the parts I've needed in the past, but as stated above, it's an old platform and things will start getting scarce and expensive.

My mower deck is showing it's age, it's getting pretty soft in a lot of spots. There are no surplus decks in inventory and no alternative part numbers. My only option is to either retire the deck, cut out the rot and weld in new metal or look for an equally old deck that will likely have similar issues in a couple years.

If I were to buy another one, I would be looking for a clean machine that hasn't been abused. You'll probably still get many years of good service out of it.

 

[gstrom99]

Check out a used Kubota BX2380

I've noticed there's always a TON of used BX's for sale, all over. I wonder why? I've always thought they (and the 1 series JD's) were too small to do any useful work, besides mowing.