Buying Advice Finally giving up on the Massey. New or used John Deere?

[JHurt]

The MF3635 that I bought a few years ago has been nothing but a PIA. It's been in the shop more often than not, and cost me 15k in repairs. Now the tach has quit and the PTO won't engage, so I've decided to cut my losses (I should have done it before now), and am looking for a different tractor now. I've decided that it's either going to be a Deere, or a Kubota. I have numerous dealers of both brands around me. So far I have I have found a couple of Deere that I am interested in and would like some opinions on.

I have found a 2014 5100E with 1100 hours that perks my interest. I have only seen pictures but it looks like a super clean machine. It has most of the features that I am looking for in a tractor. A couple of things that I don't like about it are; it has a Euro/Global bucket, and although it has third function, it uses one of the two sets of hydraulics to run it. I have already inquired and WR Long can provide me with a third function kit that has joystick controls for a little over $900. I already have a tree puller that is SSQA so I would have to decide to convert the tractor to SSQA and buy an additional bucket, or convert the trees puller to Euro/Global style. Price for the tractor is $39,900 on the website.

The second tractor that I have found is a new 5075E. This tractor can be built with all the things that I want (joystick control third function, and SSQA bucket) for $40,000.

Both tractors are open station MFWD tractors. My biggest concern with the 5075E is horsepower. The main thing that I do with the tractor is brush cut our 20 acres, and pull trees. I bought an 8ft twin spindle Bush Hog brush cutter last year, and I'm concerned that the 5075E may not have what it takes to pull it. Although this year has been an anomaly because of all the rain we received, the mowing was slow going because of how tall and thick the grass was. My 3635 and the 5075E are almost identical in horsepower, and the 5100E is about 20 more. Would I even be able to feel the difference in 20 HP?

I haven't given up on the idea of a Kubota either, I just found these two right away and haven't looked for one yet. I look forward to everyone's opinions, and thoughts.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have nothing to back up my notions, but I don't think the 5000 series is a solid tractor. I believe them to be problematic. Certainly, some years and models are better or worse than others. Too many of them on the market with few hours, make me suspicious. I would go with Kubota instead.

 

[dusty3030]

You will find a ton of low hour used 5E series tractors for sale at most any John Deere dealer.
If you are looking to avoid repairs / problems, then do your homework on them.

For the Kubota line if you are satisfied with the heft and power of your Massey look at the M5-091. The smaller M7060 might have enough horses for you, but would be lighter than you are used to.

 

[JHurt]

You will find a ton of low hour used 5E series tractors for sale at most any John Deere dealer.
If you are looking to avoid repairs / problems, then do your homework on them.

For the Kubota line if you are satisfied with the heft and power of your Massey look at the M5-091. The smaller M7060 might have enough horses for you, but would be lighter than you are used to.

I see a lot of negativity concerning the 5E series on here when I search, and that does concern me, because I am hard on a tractor. I recently hired a new parts guy that has worked at a couple of John Deere dealerships, and all he can do is praise them. Says they sold a ton of them, and rarely saw any issues. He says that they actually had more 5M series in the shop than anything else. I'll take a look at the Kubota models you mentioned. Thanks.

 

[DerbyRunner]

We have found the 5075E is a good machine. Seems an 8 foot twin spindle would be no problem.

 

[CobyRupert]

I run a 7', single spindle on a 5075E.
Never found it to lack power.
Have found it to be a good machine.

 

[Cat_Driver]

Go Kubota these things are bullet proof

 

[Tractorable]

Ask yourself if you’d rather own a machine made in India or Japan.

 

[yanmars]

In those size tractors 20 extra horsepower IMO would be a noticeable difference.

 

[daugen]

Ask yourself if you’d rather own a machine made in India or Japan.

I've owned an Indian MF and it was an outstanding tractor, utterly bulletproof. But it was all manual, just like any second/third world tractor.
The quality was there, but the engineering spec was very different. Kubota's, which I also have owned, are sophisticated and highly engineered tractors.
And one costs a lot more than the other. For a manual utility tractor, hard to beat an Indian tractor, which is why JD has been making their 5 series there for a long time. Wouldn't surprise me that 5M has more problems, much more complicated tractor, more electronics.

And now I own a very good tractor built in China by Agco. Because the 5M with identical specs was $25k more than new Massey.
I follow the local dealer anyway, not a mechanic, tied to service of dealer. A good local dealer makes everything work, usually.

 

[Diggin It]

While you're ticking away the moments that make up the dull day, you could fritter and waste some time to look at these:

Utility Tractor - XP884CPS-85HP | LS Tractor

And the bigger brother:

Utility Tractor - XP811CPS-11HP | LS Tractor

 

[daugen]

JD, New Holland, Case IH, (CNH) Massey Ferguson, Kubota are pretty much your top tier makers here in US, right?...
What is interesting is I think LS has watched their fellow countrymen like Kioti falter at times, figured out how to improve on what they
had and have become highly competitive, backed up by a service network known to be good. If you have an LS dealer near you, likely you should go
give it a look unless you are brand loyal. And that's fine too, clearly something works for you. Whatever color it is. Could be a Mahindra. Some folks like basic tractors, others like every available feature and wouldn't think of buying a new tractor without a joystick control.

Having grown up on a JD B, there is something to be said for being able to see what is going on and having a fair chance of fixing it.
That's out the window with most of today's tractor electronics.
Until a few years ago Kubota didn't do heavy row crop, nothing to pick up a big planter or VT tool. Now they do. I'd love there to be a thread
here showing current sales for the majors, even if its only last year's published totals that someone deciphers. I personally follow car and truck sales every month
mostly out of curiosity to see what people are buying. Same curiosity with tractors but no where to go easily for that.

As long as you don't have to cross much of your lawn, yes to a heavier tractor with more hp,
100hp sounds good, as long as tractor is maneuverable around your terrain comfortably for you.

 

[daugen]

when comparing tractors, at least new, I compared first by tractor weight, HP, then FEL lift capacity, then 3 point capacity, all other cab features the same.
When comparing used, repair history sure is helpful, trust but verify...

I looked at 100hp LS in those links. Looks similar to my new Massey but more rounded sleek cab, LS is a little lighter weight, but has more FEL capacity, which
is always nice. I think the Quicke loader on mine that MF rebrands is not what I would consider heavy duty. It will get the job done, but even the bucket
steel seems thin.

 

[JHurt]

While you're ticking away the moments that make up the dull day, you could fritter and waste some time to look at these:

Utility Tractor - XP884CPS-85HP | LS Tractor

And the bigger brother:

Utility Tractor - XP811CPS-11HP | LS Tractor

Well played on the use of that lyric!

The major draw to a John Deere at this point is that I have two dealers within 20 miles of me. One of the dealers is a couple of blocks from where I work, and I have several friends that work there. It's a small community as well, so those guys buy parts from me, and vehicles from our dealership too. I like/need to return that business. When I bought the 3635 that I have now, I told myself that I wasn't going to pay that premium just for the color of the paint. I immediately regretted it! Now I'm not saying if they were an LS dealer, and there were tons of LS running around the community that I wouldn't feel the exact same way, but the truth is that the MF has made me realize that there is something to be said about dealer support. I'll be totally honest, if I had my preference I would prefer a Kubota, and I actually have a dealer with 40 miles of home, but I don't know those guys as well, and I'm not for sure if I would get the same level of service that I could from the local JD dealer. I suppose thats why I'm not quite as concerned about all the issues that everyone says the 5E series have. While I hope that I don't have any issues, I just feel like they will be taken care of appropriately.

 

[Diggin It]

I maintain that a good machine should never need to see the dealer after delivery.

But I can relate to the one hand washing the others bit too.

 

[shooterdon]

JHurt,

In your shoes, I would likely go with JD...even though I went with the LS on my new machine.

The LS is a lot of tractor for the money but what clinched it for me was the dealer. (My JD dealer is not very good) In your case, the JD dealer seems a better choice.

I disagree with Diggin It. Dealer support is an important factor unless someone is capable and willing to fix things. These are machines and they will break eventually.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Too Bad Tractor manufacturers don't have a five year satisfaction guarantee. We have our Princess Auto (Like HF) here, and they have a moto, "No Sale Is Final". I have brought back a five year old Recon. elect. Chain Saw. Said it was a POS and I didn't like it. No problem, money refunded.

I would have returned our JD 6200 for the inoperative manual transmission.

I wish manufacturers would focus more on perfecting what they have, rather than new gimmicks, models and lines! People it seems would rather buy fancy new garbage than something mildly dated, that's proven itself. Kind of my feeling how Kubota used to be anyway.

 

[coobie]

Go Kubota these things are bullet proof

Have to say NOT all of the time.Own a few of there products

 

[JHurt]

Well I went and sat on a 5075E last night for the first time. Seems small to me. Much smaller than the current MF3635. Weird thing is according to Tractor Data they are almost the same wheelbase, but the JD is 10" shorter overall. Surprisingly, it says the JD also outweighs the MF by a couple hundred pounds. The JD didn't have a loader on it, and the tires/wheels are set all the way in, so that might be messing with my perception a bit. I absolutely hate the size of tires on the JD though. 9.5-24 on the front and 16.9-28 on the rear. The front concerns me more than the rears. I can upgrade to an 11.2R24 and 16.9R30 for $2900, but then the tractor has to specially built and I will have to wait until mid September for delivery. So many decisions.

 

[daugen]

my experience with relatively small front R4's on a Kubota 5740 was some serious imprinting on my lawn whenever I had any weight in the bucket,
unless we were really dry. So yes, if you can get bigger tires, do so and I wouldn't be in a rush. I should have waited for different tires on my new Massey and regret
that I didn't.