John Deere Taboo?

[Rodg]

I am curious, the town I live in has two different mower dealers. One is Walker, the other is John Deere. The next most significant dealer (in my opinion) is ExMark, which is 3 hours away from my front door. Here is my delima. The people who own the walker dealership are really great folks, but they also are a lawn care company (biggest in town). When my walker went down with a blown hydro this summer, I had to drive three hours to get it fixed because these folks where to overloaded with lawn care to work on it. This really bothered me. The John Deere dealer on the other hand, had a tractor of another lawn care company in town blow a side rod out the casing. They had this guy back on the lawns in 24 hours (wow!). I am currently looking at a JD 445 all wheel steer-is there anyone out there with an opinion about the performance of this tractor? I have ridden one and the thing turns on a dime. It will cut a circle only 6 inches in diameter, has a 22hp EFI liquid cooled Kawaski and a whole bunch of other goodies to numerous to mention, plus it is about $2,000.00 less than a comparable ExMark or $3,500 less than a 26HP Walker. How about some opinions? (Please be gentle?)

[Sammy]

I think that if you read your post you will have answered your own question. Go with the one that will give you good service.

[TLS]

Get the 455 it has a Yanmar Diesel. The 400 series are very nicely built TRACTORS. Lawn mowers they are not. They were designed to do multiple tasks, and any machine designed to do multiple tasks', usually lacks in one. I started out with a JD 318 50". Now looking back, I wonder where I'd be now if I would have went with a dedicated commercial mower. They are nice if you want to use a blade or blower, tiller, areator, loader, etc. If you are only mowing, there are better choices.

[MIDSOUTH]

you may want to look at john deere ztr

[Stinger]

JD has great finace and a good interest rate. That's what made the Z track look so good to me. Check out their website for more info at http://www.JohnDeere.com

[Mr.Ziffel]

I've been trying to get my hands on a JD ZTR M-series mower but none of the 4 JD dealers in reasonable distance have one or even think they'll see one until Jan. I don't think you can get better service, although there are many on this forum who think you can get a better machine. On paper, the JD M-series is not as beefy as the competition but I'd at least like to drive one before I buy--you can do a search and find some more comments on JD. Good luck, Will M.
PS: visited Carhenge a few years ago--pretty funny.

[awm]

My problem with JD locally is the charged
7.50 for a 5 inch bolt that i went to
lowes and picked up for 1.55.
Iwould be curious to know if that is a
local problem or everywhere.

[Rodg]

Thank you for the input so far. It is sometimes tough living in an isolated area-dealer access is limited. I would consider the JD ZTR, but it's collection system is (in my opinion) inferior to the walker. I really which the Exmark dealer was closer...Oh Well!

[Eric ELM]

I just talked to my local JD dealer today. I asked him why he doesn't carry the JD ZTR. He just laughed and said "No Thanks, when they start building them completely at JD, I might think about getting some in". I have never heard someone so negative about his own products.

I noticed you mentioned getting a 445. I have the 430 diesel, which the 455 replaced and it has a 60" deck. When I got my first Dixie Chopper, I cut my mowing time down to less than half the time it used to take. I had to get more accounts to make a full day. :) If you plan to use this machine for mowing, get a ZTR of some sort. The steering in a Tractor type mower is the first thing to get loose, can you imagine the steering in a 4 wheel steering, how loose it will get. Talk about crocked stripes, it will not be a pretty picture. If your going to use it for mostly mowing, from my experiance, get a dedicated mower.

[John DiMartino]

If Iwere you,I would get a ZTR,or a 3 wheeler.I have a 72" deck for my ford tractor ,its 32hp.I can mow my 7 acres faster with my 60" Dixie than on the tractor,and some of my passes are 1000ft long and the dixie is still a litle faster to finish.The dedicated mower will pay for itself in timed saved.

[bob]

I take everything (except Grasshoppers) to my local John Deere dealer. They usually drop what ever their doing and help me out. Once in a while I'll buy them all lunch, to show my appreciation.

[BCLawncare]

if you are going to buy a tractor get a 455 the extra
money for the diesel is well worth it.
I have one and love it. mine has a 3 pt.hitch and the
rear pto.the cut quality isnt as good as my chopper but
it still does a nice job and they are trouble free.
on the all wheel steer i have heard when they get worn
they wont mow strait.
if you buy a ztr get yourself a chopper.

[Smooth Operator]

Rodg I was recently considering a 445 or 455AWS as a mower and snowblower unit. The dealer couldn't tell me much about the AWS that I couln't read in the brochures, however as luck would have it I was digging a foundation for a new building at a local prison where they have several 455AWS units and was able to get a close up look at some that had been in service for a couple of years/600hrs. According to the maintainence man it's common for the rear tie rod ends to break by that point, but what really scared me off was the oil leaking from the rear steering wishbone pivot shaft oil seal under the rear end on every one of the tractors there. I went back to considering the two wheel steer but couldn't give up the manueverability so I went with an Exmark LC 60" and an Ariens 36" walk behind blower. So glad I found Lawnsite before making this purchase, so much great info here. Most everyone in my area run's Bobcat or Scag but the Exmark is definitely more well built and had the LC option. I wouldn't let the 3hr. drive dissuade me from the Exmark, stock up on filters etc. and for small parts there's always Fed-Ex. Good luck!

[morturf]

My only opinion on this is....

One of my customers owned a 455 and it took him 2.5 hrs to mow his yard. It is large yard. He is a very impatient man. After owning the 455 for 2 months he switched to a JD 665 ztr. The time is now 40 minutes. He is not a wildman, does a good job mowing. I also work for a college here that has a 430 with a yanmar. they beat the crap out of it and it keeps going. it is 14 years old with 8 or 9000 hrs on it. It has been worked on but no major repairs. hope this helps.

[Yardworks]

I have about 600 hours on JD 425 AWS and it has been 600 hours of absolutely no regrets. It doesn't cut as fast as my JD M653 ZTR but its not far behind. It is incredible for hill sides and steep slopes. The best part is you can do some much else with it. I use the blade and blower for snowremoval. Works great on sidewalks and small driveways. I have a power broom for it that I use for sweeping roads and gutters in construction areas. I just bought a collection system for it and that works good too. As for the John Deere Mid ZTR, I would wait until John Deere makes it on their own. It's got some bugs to work out. And for a final thought, you'll never go wrong with John Deere service..... My dealer will really go out of their way to make me happy.....Good luck.

[Rodg]

Thanks for the input folks! It was good to hear from some people that have owned JD 400 series. I am not big into using this machine for much besides mowing-so maybe its a good idea to go back to considering the Walker or the ExMark! I love this forum!

-Rodg