GT 3200

[gkisageek]

All,

I have a 2008 JD X540 riding mower with a 54" deck and 3 bag PoweFlo bagging attachment. After 30 hours, I am ready to sell this for
something comparable from another manufacturer; currently the Cub Cadet GT 3200 is my leading contender. Are there any other models
in this price-range (about $7000) that I should be looking at ?

thank you, Greg

 

[JTKub]

If you want maximum iron, I'd go this route: Ingersoll Tractors - Quality  -  Dependability  -  Power High resale and reliability, this is another option: Kubota Tractor USA - Commercial and Residential Mowers and Accessories As much as I love Cubs, I wouldn't consider paying anywhere near $7K for a Cub garden tractor.

Joel

 

[LBrown59]

All,

I have a 2008 JD X540 riding mower with a 54" deck and 3 bag PoweFlo bagging attachment. After 30 hours, I am ready to sell this for
something comparable from another manufacturer; currently the Cub Cadet GT 3200 is my leading contender. Are there any other models
in this price-range (about $7000) that I should be looking at ?

thank you, Greg

Why in the heck would anybody prefer a Cub Cadet GT 3200 over a JD x540?????????

 

[Baucom]

I'm just curious...why are you ready to sell a 1 yr old mower with 30 hrs to replace it with something comparable? Problems? Dislikes?

Slightly OT, but when I was looking at CC mowers, I wanted to look at a 3100 or 3200 and no dealer around here even had 1 in stock.

 

[LBrown59]

I'm just curious...why are you ready to sell a 1 yr old mower with 30 hrs to replace it with something comparable? Problems? Dislikes?

Slightly OT, but when I was looking at CC mowers, I wanted to look at a 3100 or 3200 and no dealer around here even had 1 in stock.

I'd like to know the answer to that one two.

 

[gkisageek]

Previously I had a 1988-ish JD 345 tractor that I loved. It was good quality and easy to take care of. My X540 replaced it and I have seen that JD quality has gone far downhill, it is much harder to take the mower deck off, materials are of a lighter guage, and it is difficult to get to the fluid fillings and grease zerks. Putting all that aside, it has been back to the shop 4 times. The mower deck arrived badly out of level and scalped the grass. The unit stalls when I engage the PTO. The powerflo rear bagger repeatedly falls off it's hitch. And this weekend after cutting the grass, it just stalled after 2 hrs. Now I cant get it to run for more than a few seconds before it stalls. For the $8500 I have in it, Im not happy. I just want to hop on my tractor and cut my grass, so that's why im looking at alternative mowers.

 

[LBrown59]

Previously I had a 1988-ish JD 345 tractor that I loved. It was good quality and easy to take care of. My X540 replaced it and I have seen that JD quality has gone far downhill, it is much harder to take the mower deck off, materials are of a lighter guage, and it is difficult to get to the fluid fillings and grease zerks. Putting all that aside, it has been back to the shop 4 times. The mower deck arrived badly out of level and scalped the grass. The unit stalls when I engage the PTO. The powerflo rear bagger repeatedly falls off it's hitch. And this weekend after cutting the grass, it just stalled after 2 hrs. Now I cant get it to run for more than a few seconds before it stalls. For the $8500 I have in it, Im not happy. I just want to hop on my tractor and cut my grass, so that's why im looking at alternative mowers.

The CC GT 3200 is more comparable to the JD x700 series than it is to the JD x 500 series.

 

[CCinCT]

... it is much harder to take the mower deck off, materials are of a lighter guage, and it is difficult to get to the fluid fillings and grease zerks.

If you're looking for something without these issues, then you should examine some tractors in person to make sure things like this are configured in a way that you prefer. The Cub 3200 may or may not have a better setup than the X540. The only way to know for sure is to crawl around one, have the dealer show you how to remove the deck, where the zerks are, etc.

The mower deck arrived badly out of level and scalped the grass.

Dealer prep issue, can happen to any brand. This shouldn't be held against the tractor itself.

The unit stalls when I engage the PTO.

This can happen if the engine hasn't warmed up enough, or you're engaging the PTO at too low a throttle. Could also be that the deck has an issue causing it to be harder to turn than intended, like a bad spindle, no grease, etc. etc. In any case, your dealer should sort this out for you.

The powerflo rear bagger repeatedly falls off it's hitch.

Again, this is a dealer setup issue. Either he didn't install it properly, or something has since broken.

And this weekend after cutting the grass, it just stalled after 2 hrs. Now I cant get it to run for more than a few seconds before it stalls.

This could be something as simple as a clogged fuel filter or a clogged fuel tank vent (usually a hole in the gas cap). You should have the dealer figure this out for you before you give up on it. If it's simple debris in the tank vent, then he can show you what to look for so that you can check it periodically in the future.

For the $8500 I have in it, Im not happy. I just want to hop on my tractor and cut my grass, so that's why im looking at alternative mowers.

I hear you about the money. You spend a lot, you expect a lot. But you have to remember that these tractors aren't Toyota Camry's. Even on the best machines, things can go wrong. This is where the quality of a dealer really comes in to play. You should give your dealer a chance to fix the "bugs" in your X540 so that you can at least get a feel for whether these issues are systemic, or just one-offs.

 

[gkisageek]

No I hear you...part of my reaction is out of the frustration I am feeling over having to constantly fiddle with the new mower, when the old one was essentially trouble-free. And I do have an issue with the dealer, they have recently moved 30 miles further out, and are super backed-up and short handed, so repairs always take long.
On the scalping issue, everytime I remove the rear bagger, I have to adjust the deck hangar bolts to compensate for less weight on the right side. In fact I seem to have to tweak the leveling every other week.
I'll cool off some more and think this thru because I doubt if I'd be able to sell my $8500 JD setup for enough to get the CC 3200 anyway.
thanks for the feedback

 

[Baucom]

If I was going to spend as much as a CC 3200, I'd look very seriously at a Simplicity Prestige and Legacy also.

What is your history with this dealer? Is this your first purchase from them? If you have a history with your JD dealer and let him know that the problems with your X540 are causing you to think seriously about leaving the JD fold, then there's a pretty good chance that they'll work very hard to keep your business and do what it takes (within reason) to satisfy you. Good dealers don't like to lose repeat customers.