cadet vs deere

[Tractor Rep]

Before went independent I worked for a dealership that sold both Deere and Cub.. Of course we had to register a couple different biz names to get it done,,, But in the course of my 2 years with the company I saw alot less Cubs coming in for repairs then Deere. albeit,, the one thing I noted was that the Cub parts often were more expensive. But the owners needed alot less of them and they were 20% to 30% heavier then the comparable Deere Part.

I attribute the heartiness of the Cubs to the service-ability factor. Their parts are heavier, but they also are greasable. So heat and wear are not nearly as big of issues as they were on the Deere's. Which is great for a guy that actually will use his grease gun,,, maybe not so good for someone who won't because those parts really can get expensive.

Plus, we also found that Deere tractors (the working guts part), minus the pretty sheetmetal were also available in several other names. Significantly cheaper too. Don't know if it still the same way, but to me it really drove home the fact that Deere is not the company they used to be. In terms of small stuff, they are just a name and a paint scheme. I know lots of outfits outsource their componants too and just put their names on it.

But darn,,,, for that much money! I rather have something I can take care of to prevent it from wearing out or breaking down rather then having to wait for it to happen and usually at a really inconvenient time...... I'm a perfect example,,, I got a great deal on a Craftsman,,, It's not serviceable, and now it also runs like crap........ and has issues that are going to cost a small fortune to fix,,, if I only could have greased my deck pulley bearings I could have cut my repair cost in half simply from only having to manage my engine problems.

PS,, 42 inch deck takes me almost a hour to mow my 6500 Sq foot lawn, with only one section of slope,,,, about 20 feet long, 4 foot of grade drop and 30 wide, other wise I'm pretty much flat and weekly cutting.

For the money, I'd get a 6 foot finish mower for the back of the tractor and learn how to back in as needed and manuever around the house. They free float on their own LGP wheels so they don't have the control problems that a brush cutter has on the back of a tractor while working on slopes,, When set up correctly they actually improve your tractors feeling of stablility on slopes.

 

[LBrown59]

Cub Cadet is Shaft drive to trans and mower .

.

The x500 is belt drive to trans and mower rite!

 

[LBrown59]

Ok so a cub 2544 is back in consideration. does it matter that the 2544 doesn't have a differential lock?

NOT as much as you might think.
By the time you get to that stage yer probably in so bad all the differential lock does is give you 2 wheels spinninng round and round in the mud going no where instead of 1.
My 42 Year old Bolens tractor has A differential lock?
Bet I hain't used it a half dozzen times during that entire forty two years.

 

[Revelation]

Before went independent I worked for a dealership that sold both Deere and Cub.. Of course we had to register a couple different biz names to get it done,,, But in the course of my 2 years with the company I saw alot less Cubs coming in for repairs then Deere. albeit,, the one thing I noted was that the Cub parts often were more expensive. But the owners needed alot less of them and they were 20% to 30% heavier then the comparable Deere Part.

I attribute the heartiness of the Cubs to the service-ability factor. Their parts are heavier, but they also are greasable. So heat and wear are not nearly as big of issues as they were on the Deere's. Which is great for a guy that actually will use his grease gun,,, maybe not so good for someone who won't because those parts really can get expensive.

Plus, we also found that Deere tractors (the working guts part), minus the pretty sheetmetal were also available in several other names. Significantly cheaper too. Don't know if it still the same way, but to me it really drove home the fact that Deere is not the company they used to be. In terms of small stuff, they are just a name and a paint scheme. I know lots of outfits outsource their componants too and just put their names on it.

But darn,,,, for that much money! I rather have something I can take care of to prevent it from wearing out or breaking down rather then having to wait for it to happen and usually at a really inconvenient time...... I'm a perfect example,,, I got a great deal on a Craftsman,,, It's not serviceable, and now it also runs like crap........ and has issues that are going to cost a small fortune to fix,,, if I only could have greased my deck pulley bearings I could have cut my repair cost in half simply from only having to manage my engine problems.

PS,, 42 inch deck takes me almost a hour to mow my 6500 Sq foot lawn, with only one section of slope,,,, about 20 feet long, 4 foot of grade drop and 30 wide, other wise I'm pretty much flat and weekly cutting.

For the money, I'd get a 6 foot finish mower for the back of the tractor and learn how to back in as needed and manuever around the house. They free float on their own LGP wheels so they don't have the control problems that a brush cutter has on the back of a tractor while working on slopes,, When set up correctly they actually improve your tractors feeling of stablility on slopes.

I am not as familar with Cadet and based on your experience they appear to be pretty good. A couple of things though that could reflect why there were more JD repairs
1. How many JD were sold compared to Cadet.
2. Were the service issues because the owners failed to maintain their equipment, or was is due to JD quality not being as good as Cadet.

Though Cadet may be as good or better than JD, Consumer Report still rates JD #1 in several price catagory's. Not sure how much weight that really has, but it is an interesting fact.

 

[LBrown59]

1*Consumer Report still rates JD #1 in several price catagory's.
2*Not sure how much weight that really has, but it is an interesting fact.
****************

1*CR is incorrect / incomplete in many of their opinions.
2*Not much when you consider the folks on this Board are far more informed and experienced with more models and brands than CR will ever hope to be.

I see you are a new member .
Usually it's the new member who calls it wrong on CR.

 

[Tractor Rep]

I am not as familar with Cadet and based on your experience they appear to be pretty good. A couple of things though that could reflect why there were more JD repairs
1. How many JD were sold compared to Cadet. 2. Were the service issues because the owners failed to maintain their equipment, or was is due to JD quality not being as good as Cadet.

#1, They were pretty much on par as far as number sold, mostly because the green always sells. Could be the biggest piece of crap around and someone will buy it just because it's green and says Deere on the lable... It's a tradition and Deere has a nostalgic feel because of the premium reputation they had in past era's. It has an undeniable mystic.

But the sales staff where I was working really preferred to sell the yellows. So they stayed up there in numbers real well. You have to remember this was a small town that was booming, and guys don't like having to back peddle or him and haw about something they sold and then have to deal with seeing that unhappy customer at the grocery store or gas station in town. So they really pushed the real heavy build Cadets, and it was a mentality that worked. The two brands stayed pretty much neck and neck but those big heavy Cub riders really were tough and being that they could be greased and were built more like a tractor rather then a riding mower I think people maybe respected them more. Or they were scared to death to eventually have to get parts ! LOL,

# 2, It was a service ability issue more then anything. Most users that we sold to were locals. The terrain and wetness and over all environments were generally the same. Lots of tall damp grass, the occasional user taking them out in the side field and using it like a brush hog hacking away at the seasons black berry and scotch broom growth. Lots of lumpy yards from newly developed housing tracts that were put in. The Deere users did happen to be more of the penny pincher types that regardless of obvious build differences were going to buy the green versus the CC 4000 series,, the JD's were just flat cheaper.

Our CC 4000 series,,, I think it was the 4000 series,, Darn it's been a long time!,,, was actually our best seller and also our less problematic... but also the most expensive.(by far)

Our only competition in town happened to be the Dollar store with the real cheap chinese riders, so there was otherwise not alot of stuff to pick from if a guy wanted to buy from some one down the street and be able to get priority service and quick parts(by far)

Though Cadet may be as good or better than JD, Consumer Report still rates JD #1 in several price catagory's. Not sure how much weight that really has, but it is an interesting fact.

I often wonder if they don't just pay folks to print stuff like that?

 

[LBrown59]

My choices :
Cub cadet 2544 for 3,200
John deere x500 for 5,500

The CC is a 44'' Mower.
What Size is The JD Mower ????????????????????

 

[LBrown59]

Ok so a cub 2544 is back in consideration.
Does it matter that the 2544 doesn't have a differential lock?

I'd say getting a mower bigger than a 44 inch is more important than differential lock.

Get at least a 48'' mower better yet a 54'' mower.
A 44'' is pretty narrow for 3 acres.
My 46'' seemed to take for ever here on my 2.33 acres after using my CC54'' mower.

 

[LBrown59]

I often wonder if they don't just pay folks to print stuff like that?

I say more often than not it's due to them not having all the facts/information before voicing their opinion which is at that point distorted.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

I say more often than not it's due to them not having all the facts/information before voicing their opinion which is at that point distorted.

Thanks for clearing that up for me...I always wondered about that.