The advice from the TBN old timers ( I mean this lovingly ) is to go with
a great dealer. In my humble opinion ( and "you know what opinions are like..." ) they're correct. First TBN advice is to look at how many posts a contributor has accumulated. Over a thousand posts is like a
4-star general, anything less are sergeants, privates, shoe-shiners, etc.
I'm 7 stripes beneath shoe-shiner, so continue cautiously!
ALPHA NEWBIE !!!
Back on planet earth, go with the 4120. I was initially suspicious and downright annoyed by all the cheerleading for the green team, but now we are painting our house green, the dogs, the kids, we're crop-dusting our entire village in green waterbase paint in an aging Kamov Ka-26 whirlybird, because we are John Flipping Deere converts ! The man was born in our Green Mountains, so we gotta remain loyal, right? If you see a guy with a huge grin and he's arm in arm with his gorgeous wife, we're both tattooed green scalp to sole, that'd be we.
Such a sight was my wife astride our 4120 in that Walpole, NH parking lot. She logged more demo-time than I did! I'm downright jealous... Those guys are so great. Remember I told ya'll about the guy who claimed the hp boost was a no-brainer, well he walked us through the 448hoe removal and reinstallation. Same for the 400x. If this machine doesn't evoke patriotism I can't imagine what might.
THIS TRACTOR PUTS VIAGRA TO SHAME!
( Enough said on that subject. ) ( Don't want bible-beater hate mail )
The blue dealer is about 40 miles away. When I got up to whiz this morning, I could see the unfortunate glow of Keene. Lights of commerce, strip malls, too many auto dealers, too many homes, too many buildings, lights aglow at 2:45 in the morning, illuminate the horizon to the east like a fakey Disneyland aurora borealis display.
The green dealer, YAYYY, is also about 40 miles away ( give or take 20 miles ). No glow from their tiny hamlet. Most of their land is still in corn and cattle. Only other reason to visit Walpole would be to visit the orange competition ( They're straight-shooters too ). Oh, one other reason - visit Burdick's for lunch and dinner. Just tell them dougfrank sent you. This goes a long, although expensive way, towards your marriage. Burdick's is an aphrodesiac! Really guys, you just dropped a sack of coins on a new (or used ) tractor, isn't cause for celebration! Remember, life is not a practice session!
Right now I'm listening to an old John Prine tune, "Big Old Goofy World." If you quit reading this and downloaded the song, you wouldn't need to continue reading.
When I finally pried my sweetie off the seat, I raced into a huge pile of loam in high gear, using load match (thanks eHydro!, whoever you are) and hoisted up an impressive load. I hadn't used a loader since 83-87 when I drove a giant yellow Cat loader with a homemade welded chisel point designed to uproot cassia trees, St.Croix's pesky tire-flattening shrub. (If anyone wants to know how never to have a front flat again, write me) We went from four a week, to none ever again, but this is the wrong forum for that topic...
The salesman suggested several pcs. of used equipment, so we we're heading home with more than we'd anticipated.
'05 4120 eHydro
400x Loader with heavy duty bucket, hooks
448 Hoe with stock bucket
Land Pride post-hole digger with 12" auger
Orange rock rake (nice one, with casters )
Provost snowblower
Forged pallet forks
Linked rear chains
empty 55 gallon drum for fuel
hand pump
All in for $612/month (60 mos.), $5000 down.
No pre-payment penalty.
Free 5-day no-obligation trial at home.
Free delivery to nearby NH (That's New Hampshire, not New Holland) villages.
Free delivery to and from dealer during 2 yr. warranty.
Trade in. If after a year you want to upgrade, you lose no more than $1500 tops on your trade in.
The luxuries of dealing with a Gold Plus dealership. The salesman work on salary, not commission. Friendly, knowledgeable folks. They've been there quite a while!
This weekend we drive it home like in that film "The Straight Story.)
(See my previous post in the 4120 section)
Wishing you all the best. Time to go back to bed.
dougfrank /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif