Buying Advice John Deere 2305 Y or N?

[gmcman6000]

hi folks. new to this site. close to being a 1st time tractor owner. i'm a former heavy equipment operator, and with that said i've spend many hours on smaller tractors also.

what i will be doing is finish mowing a rough & steep 1 acre. i currently have an old school deere 285, which still cuts very well. but this new home isn't on flat ground. its giving the old deere the fits!!!

i have done a great deal of research, and stuck between kubota and jd. as much as i'd like to go all out on a brand new tractor, especially with 0% financing, i can't justify spending that much right now.

i didn't care for the kubotas travel pedal. i'm sure i could get used to it, but the twin pedals for the hydro deere seem much more comfortable.

upon extensive research on pricing using tractorhouse.com, i see several models i can afford

i've located a 2009 2305 with 257 hrs and a 54 belly mower. it's hydro & 4x4, but no loader or rear attachments. its at a deere dealer, and they claim to have checked it out, but not serviced it. i can land this tractor for less that $7000 out the door, before trading my old 285 in.

reading the post on the cracking rear pto housing, it seems a huge deal if it breaks. i'll most likely never hook a bush hog or tiller to it. if anything, just a 4" bush hog for lite cutting.

i WILL be moving dirt around with a box blade trying to level this place out.

looking at other 2305's pricing across the nation, seems as though this is a great price. so good if it was from an individual i'd say it was stolen or been run hot or something.

should i stay away from 2305's completely???? thanks for any input y'all might have

 

[KennyG]

Price does seem too low. Lack of loader is a big limitation which may make it harder to sell. For blade work, keep in mind this is a limited 3 point which means it doesn't have the full lift range a Cat I 3 point should have. This is because of the smaller tires. Some implements may not work. I think that's the biggest limitation with these models.

 

[jenkinsph]

If the 2305 is in good shape it would solve your mowing problems and handle your lawn maintenance jobs. I use an x748 and x758 for mowing and lawn maintenance and have had good results in steep terrain in the mountains.

For the box blade work I would use a larger tractor or landscape loader with hydraulics for the hitch. Rather than buy I recommend you rent one for this job. Get the lawn smoothed out with all dirt work done then use the small 4x4 mower to maintain it afterwards.

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Mate and welcome to TBN from Downunder.

I agree with KennyG, although I have no opinion on the price... very low hours for a 7 yo tractor but then we don't know what the previous owner used it for. The 'limited' Cat 1 is also bothersome.

However, you are only going to be working a 1 acre property... tough call, especially as I don't know where Mt Olive is (weather/snow wise).

Here's some additional Info on the rig you're looking at: TractorData.com John Deere 235 tractor information

Good luck and enjoy the site.

 

[varmint]

As a known Kubota-phile, at least on TbN, I'll just say that I didn't much like the small Deere's when I looked at them a couple of years ago- and the 2305 was maybe one I glanced at... The aluminum rear ends really put me off. Box blading would stress that, and there ya go.

On the other hand, the price is right, unless something major, like the rear end, breaks. That is certainly cheap enough, but adding a loader may be almost cost-prohibitive, unless you can find a used one? For me, having a loader is almost a given, just for moving stuff as needed.

 

[ovrszd]

6 years ago I bought a JD2210 with 62" mmm and 115hrs for $9500. Your price is very good.

Mine plays with my 62" mmm. I would prefer 62" rather than 54".

I use a 5' box blade. Also have a JD hydraulic angle front blade for snow. And a 3pt tote box to haul wood.

These are great tractors and will serve you very well.

Let us know what you decide.

 

[TripleR]

Based on our experience with our BX2200, BX2660 and 2305, we had far less trouble with the BXs, 2305 had a lot of over heating problems that finally resulted in a new Absent the problems on ours as it may well have been a lemon, we still preferred the operation of the BX over JD and overheating was never a problem as air is taken in from the operators platform rather from the front.

We traded the 2305 in on a new 1025R when a fuel tank fell on it and the 1025R is a much better machine.

This is just one person's experience, so don't rely too much on it.

 

[MESSMAKER]

Neighbor had one and liked it. Plenty of power. Pretty good mower. He used blade and bushog as well as mowed with it. I don't think he had any problem.

 

[mred]

I have owned a 2305 for years. I use it to mow, cleanup with the bucket, snow removal (54" snow blower) and mowing with a 4' rotary cutter. The 2305 fits my needs nicely. I have not found anything I can not due with it because of its size. It has never overheated and fits nicely in my Garage which is why I did not go with a larger machine.

 

[gmcman6000]

thanks for the input folks. as it turns out, john deere has left me hanging. i need to finance. they ran it on 48 months with approval thru john deere credit. with a pmt of close to 150 a month. i said in can get a new one for not much more. the sales guy was gonna run it thru at 60 months, never heard from him again. he called me first off an online inquiry, but as i called the next day he was super friendly. bout impossible to get in touch again. so i left the ball in his court. that was 2 weeks ago. this was at snead ag, a large, multi location dealer here in alabama.


so then, my wife pushed me to shop for new ones. deere has 0% for 84 months. thats a great deal. i chose a local dealer called tri green, and didnt like the 1023 or the 1025. i liked the 2025r for the price. boy did they get their mind right!!!! $15100 out the door for a 2025r with a 54" belly mower. which was within $1000 for what kubota wanted for a bx2670, loader valve for future, and a 54" belly mower. for less that a grand difference, the deere was a bigger tractor.

BUT!!!! as my luck would have it, went back to possible pull the trigger, they cant get belly mowers for the 2025r at this time!!! deere has a hold on them or something.

that wasnt mentioned on the 1st visit to deere . sales guy was gonna call deere to check, also,,,,,havent heard from him in over a week!!!!!

i was set on a deere. the dealer is 12 minutes away. great for parts, service, or anything i need. kubota dealer is 45 minutes away.
plus i really love my old school 285 mower.

but it looks like maybe its not meant for me to go green for my first compact tractor.

if kubota would offer 0% for 84 months like deere, id buy this week!!!