3203

[Branded]

Hi I,m new here and looking to buy a 3203 hydrastat with loader. Best price I've found is 15600.00 which includes the 500.00 rebate. What do ya'll think? Most of the work this tractor will be doing is maintaining a 400' gravel driveway and mowing 15 acres.

 

[Sweats62]

I bought my 3203 last December. So far it's logged a little over 160 hours of rough cutting, tilling, FEL (300X) work, hay production, blade work, etc. Weighing in at about 2700 lbs, this little machine is a straigt forward, no nonsense tool.

I'm sure your hear from a school of folks who will spin this tractor off as a waste of time and money. Depending on your application this may or may not be the machine for you. Feel free to drop me a line and I'll fill you in more on my 3203 experiences thus far

 

[Branded]

I'm hearing from the Kubota site that the 3203 is not built by John Deere. Can anyone enlighten me on this matter.

 

[Brimstone10x]

The 3203 has a yanmar engine. old style hydro trans ,linkage to control hydro unit insted of the newer Ehydro. the rest of the drive train is the same as a 3020 series. Its a no frills basic tractor. They arent very popular in my area , but seem to be a nice simple unit.

 

[RoyJackson]

I'm hearing from the Kubota site that the 3203 is not built by John Deere. Can anyone enlighten me on this matter.

I believe the whole tractor is built by Yanmar, as is most of the Deere CUTs (except for the 4000 series and bigger).
My biggest problem with this particular machine is the lack of offseat PTO operation. All the others and all older models have a switch under the seat and a procedure (in the manual) to run the PTO (with a chipper, splitter or as a stationary power unit) with the operator off the seat. That limits the usefullness of the machine, IMHO.

 

[canoetrpr]

Nothing to be shy of if the machine is built by Yanmar. They know how to build good tractors.

I'm with Roy (as I pointed out in the Kubota section) on the off seat PTO operation limitation. I don't have any clue why they would put it on there except to just limit function.

I think that the lack of a backhoe ability (has that changed??) is also a negative. I never thought I'd want anything to do with a backhoe - now there is a real possiblity of getting one.

I really do wish that Deere just got Yanmar to put a simple mechanical hydrostat on the 790. You know - not the eHydro but the old style that was on the 4300/4400. I think that they loose a lot of sales to the Kubota L2800/L3400 and the NH TC30 for these no frills workhorse tractors just because they don't offer a HST with the 790.

Dosen't make sense to me that they would go out and add a whole new machine to their line up when they have a perfectly good machine for the no frills market minus the hydo.

 

[JiminGa]

"Best price I've found is 15600.00 which includes the 500.00 rebate" really? that cheap? I've been thinking about trading my 2305 on a 2520, but if I can get a 3203 that cheap, maybe that's my next tractor...

 

[Branded]

Yep really that cheap! have two dealers one at $15,600 other $15,750.
I'm also looking at a L3400 Kubota but I like the quick detach FEL set up on the John Deere better.

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

I think that the lack of a backhoe ability (has that changed??) is also a negative. I never thought I'd want anything to do with a backhoe - now there is a real possiblity of getting one.

I've seen this comment several times regarding the BH and also not compatible with 300CX FEL

If really interested in 3203 suggest folow up with member JohnDeereDLR, based this comment in his post 2/24/2007 in thread "John Deere 3120 against Kubota"

Quote"
You can indeed put a 300X or CX on a 3203 tractor. I do it all the time at my dealership. The 3203 and the 3320 have the same pumps in them. You can even put the 447 hoe on this tractor.

JD DLR
End Quote"

 

[kennyd]

The main issue with the 3203 is that there is no mid-PTO available, and there are no factory options for extra hydraulic remotes or PowerBeyond. That's why you can't put a BH on it-at least not with JD parts.

 

[canoetrpr]

The main issue with the 3203 is that there is no mid-PTO available, and there are no factory options for extra hydraulic remotes or PowerBeyond. That's why you can't put a BH on it-at least not with JD parts.

mid-PTO is not available on the L3400 either. If factory options are the only reason you can't put a backhoe on then you can put a backhoe / remotes on I would say so long as the loader has a power beyond port (I'm assuming it does).

The JD site only lists the 300 (not X or CX) as loaders. If you can indeed put on one of the 300X or CX then loader capacity is not an issue vs the L3400.

I stil do thing that not having a way to run the PTO when off the seat is a silly restriction.

If you really like the JD 3xxx series design then I still do recommend you look at a 3120 instead. I highly doubt the price difference will be worth not going for the 3120 given the advantages.

I think you should try taking the loaders off both machines (the JD and the Kubota) if this is really important to you. I haven't taken the loader off my L3400 but sure does not look like that much effort to me.

 

[kennyd]

If factory options are the only reason you can't put a backhoe on then you can put a backhoe / remotes on I would say so long as the loader has a power beyond port (I'm assuming it does).

The loader valve on the JD's is not external. It is mounted directly to the transmissoin case and all the porting is internal.

 

[Sweats62]

I bought my 3203 with a 300X FEL. I've moved several (30ish) tons of clean 2" rock, dug/leveled a spot for a large fort for the kids, hauled logs, sunk fence posts, name it. I've had NO problems with this setup. Oh, and I can get the FEL on or off in about four minutes if I need to. More around six is the norm. I like my forward vision unobstructed so I take the FEL off when I'm not using it.

I'm seriously considering wiring a switch to override my operator presence system just to show it can be done. Rest assured if I decide to try it I'll post pics and a story regardless of the outcome There's an awful lot of talk about how much the lack of an override limits the tractor as a whole. The biggest reason I haven't installed an override yet is that I've absolutely no reason to. Besides, the system gives me peace of mind when my 17 and 15 year old girls are operating the tractor while I'm at work.

I'd like to take a moment and give my take on why one might buy a 3203 over a 3120. Price. Budget. Limitations. My budget suggested I buy a 790 (actually it suggested I buy a 28hp Mihindra). I was very close to buying a 790 when I learned of the 3203. Even though for my needs the 3203 was going to be able to substantially out-perform the 790, the price was daunting. I took a chance, stretched my budget and am now glad I did even though it has limited my subsequent purchasing ability. I can confidently say thought that if I'd have spent more money, regardless how much more bang I'd have gotten for my buck, the financial burden would have outweighed the machine's usefulness.

Good luck to you

 

[JiminGa]

I configured both a 3203 and 2520 on JD's site, the 3203 came to $20157 with 300 loader and a few extras. the 2520 came in about $1000 lower...so if I traded the little 2305 in, I'd either need a 2520 with 62"mmm which would bump the cost to about $21k or a 3203 and seperate mower/rfm for $22k total...dollar for dollar, it seems to me the 3203 is definately the way to go, however the previous mentioned quote of ~$15.5k for a 3203 with loader seems a little low, I'd like to talk to someone with real world pricing on these units.

 

[Branded]

however the previous mentioned quote of ~$15.5k for a 3203 with loader seems a little low, I'd like to talk to someone with real world pricing on these units.

The quote at $15.5 is with JD $500.00 rebate. Get out and beat the bushes and I'm sure you will find the same deal. This is not the price you will get when you walk in the door. It took several days of negotiating back and forth to get at this price. I can give you the dealers number if you really want to talk to someone with real world prices.

 

[JiminGa]

that's all right, Indiana is a bit far to drive for a tractor, besides, my dealer has been pretty good to me. I'll give him a call later this week. He sold me my 2305 for $8k, and I'm sure if he's got a 3203 he'll sell it at a deep discount too.

 

[Branded]

The figure my dealer has given me is $15,499 msrp, discount price on the tractor $13,500. The loader $3130. discounted $to 2600. Minus the $500.
JD rebate. Last time I talked with the dealer he gave me the impression that he may be able to drop anothe $100. if I buy tha tractor and loader.

 

[JiminGa]

wow, that really is a good sounding deal...I believe if I can work the same I may have to jump on it, just means buying a dedicated lawn mower and hearing the wife raise sand for a while cause I could have kept the old lt150...

 

[canoetrpr]

The reality is that no one is really going to go really wrong with either the JD3203 or a JD3120 or a JD790 or a Kubota L2800, L3400. They are all really good machines.

Personally I don't really like the silly limitations that JD has put on the 3203 like the lack of backhoe support (IF this is still true - it was when I was looking) and the PTO limitation. Yes I'm sure that you can override the PTO thing. It sounds like from kennyd's post that plumbing in a backhoe or remotes will be harder to override. These little things sound like a hassle to ME but depending on your dealer, your use etc. it might work out just fine.

When I priced the JD3203 (which was brand spanking new at that point) it wasn't that far off from the JD3120 - we are talking like $1500 to $2000. Not sure how this compares now. For the money the JD3120 seemed like a better choice in JD.

Again - you can't really go wrong with any of these IMHO. Just bear all the differences, limitations, quirks of each model in mind and make the choice that is right for YOU.

If you do have a choice on the JD3203, I would DEFINATELY go with the 300X loader.

 

[JDFANATIC]

There is also no position control on the 3PH, other than what's been pointed out, it is a sturdy no-frills machine.