[DingoDamLong]

I was right where you are about 6 months ago. I have 3.7 acres of mostly wooded land. The house is on about .5 an acre of lawn and the rest of it is mostly oak trees. I bought a used x590 (for $4,900) when I moved in and loved using it to mow and pull the yard cart but I wanted a front loader for various chores around the property. I thought about buying a 7 series and probably would have if the dealers didn't turn me off. In the end, I couldn't justify spending that much money for what was essentially a "Cadillac" lawn mower. I wanted/needed a tractor. A real tractor. The x590 made a fantastic garden tractor and there was no need to move up to the x7 series from the x5 series because there wasn't a justifiable gain for the $$.

My advice honestly would be, get into the new property and see what needs you have. One more year on that awesome machine you built will give you a good direction on what to get next. You might want a front loader and in that case, the 7 series won't be heavy enough to do anything real and the price tag on the X7 vs. a SCUT is a joke. I think you can get the JD 1023 for about what a comparable x7 series would cost fitted with a cat 1 hitch in the back and then you're left with an expensive garden tractor with no loader.

A SCUT may be the move is all I'm saying. I bought mine for $16k including a front loader and a 54" deck. I think the 7 series is in the neighborhood of like $14k base? Pretty insane. Whatever you buy, I wouldn't do it without moving first to see what you need depending on your terrain.

P.S. just my two cents and good luck with whatever you get and please let us know.

 

[BigBlue]

For the blower (regardless of auto connect) the front PTO kit comes with a frame latch to hold the draft arm assembly up out of the way. The auto connect kit comes with a wire hook to hold the coupler of the auto connect driveshaft when you use the blower. No need to remove anything.

This is correct. The autoconnect setup is fully compatible with the snowblower mid PTO shaft with nothing to remove seasonally (other than pulling the autoconnect PTO shaft collar to disengage it and store that shaft in the hanger so the mid PTO shaft can be snapped into place. But no tools involved and nothing leaves the tractor.

Rob

 

[BigBlue]

If I was a wealthy man I would have one X700 series with a plow, one with a blower, and one with a mower. Leave everything on all year long.

It's so easy to change implements that I don't see the point there. Far easier to swap implements than to do maintenance on 3 tractors, IMO. But to each their own.

Rob

 

[Poppa58]

Thank you everyone for all the input and relevant info to make an informed decision. I rang my closes dealer and got a package put together to get some numbers rolling. He was most helpful and did not pressure me in any way, not even into a series 1 lol

The base model is indeed $14k but that is with the auto connect 54'' deck which is also how JD shows it on their web site. With the 3 point ($675 + $150 lab install) 47'' blower (older chain style, did not know/find the new enclose chain design, the 2021 models may have it) which I think was about $3500 and quick hitch, arm rest and front fenders all ready to go was $18884.50 after tax or $315 a month. That is with the $700 discount which expired today , so add another $700 or $10 a month(or whatever it works out to) He did say the 0% down 0 interest happens constantly and who know about the cash discount, that last one was just for a month.

I think I will wait and see what the new sales pitch JD comes up with next and go from there but I am definitely getting one. I do not mind sharing these financial figures as it is no state secret and hopefully informs others thinking about doing a purchase.

 

[Sergeant]

Somewhere in these model number changes, was a small lengthening of the frame to allow the use of the 60" 7 Iron deck. And I am not sure that all the models of that given year could make use of it. The AWS may not have had clearance. Or that was just another reason for the smaller tire sizes on some of the AWS. At least that is what I had read somewhere. Have we got a WIKI of models, years, changes?

The 45 loader frame does not fit the AWS models, at least not without modifications. The aftermarket loaders are available for the AWS models.

The AWS models certainly can steer quickly, which might make it easier to do something "stupid". But, using a loader it is already fairly easy to do "stupid" things.

Many people say that Deere didn't make a loader for the AWS models because they were concerned about stability. @Sergeant has said that the real reason was the numbers didn't work out (not enough likely sales to justify the extra cost of special brackets for the AWS models). Most people (not the people who visit here) don't need/want a loader for their mower. It they really need a loader, Deere would be much happier to sell them a 1 series. The X700 series is about mowing first, with the ability to do some real tractor tasks in a limited fashion.

I have a "real" tractor. It is great. But, it is too big for some tasks that I have. So, I want a baby tractor. A SCUT is only slightly smaller than my CUT, but significantly less capable and only marginally more agile. An AWS/AWD X700 seems like it would be great as a "baby" tractor. It is smaller, much lower center of gravity, much small turning circle, which is what I want. Of course, it has much less capability for heavy work. That is a reasonable trade-off, for when I need precision, but would be very bad when I need "grunt" work done.

The Loader Frame actually does fit the AWS X465 thru X749 The Brackets that secure the Loader sub frame to the Frame is what needs to be Modified and the tip of the AWS Bracket needs to be cut off or UN-Bolted till You get the sub frame on for the 45 Loader sub frame to fit John Deere 45 FEL and AWS

Depends On Your Point of View if a CUT is a real Tractors when You Look at a CUT( 4R size) next to a JD 6M Thru 8R series they look like a Garden tractor and the Farm Operators I Know Call My CUT a Toy

Here's a Older Picture with My X748 with 45 loader & former 1025R TLB Now Have a 2025R TLB But I use the X748 with Loader More

 

[Sergeant]

This is correct. The autoconnect setup is fully compatible with the snowblower mid PTO shaft with nothing to remove seasonally (other than pulling the autoconnect PTO shaft collar to disengage it and store that shaft in the hanger so the mid PTO shaft can be snapped into place. But no tools involved and nothing leaves the tractor.

Rob

Yeah wish Deere would Have don't That with the Deere SCUT and above Make a Hanger to Just have the auto connect shaft out of the way without removing the auto connect arms which You Have to do On the 1E thru 3R series

 

[Sergeant]

Thank you everyone for all the input and relevant info to make an informed decision. I rang my closes dealer and got a package put together to get some numbers rolling. He was most helpful and did not pressure me in any way, not even into a series 1 lol

The base model is indeed $14k but that is with the auto connect 54'' deck which is also how JD shows it on their web site. With the 3 point ($675 + $150 lab install) 47'' blower (older chain style, did not know/find the new enclose chain design, the 2021 models may have it) which I think was about $3500 and quick hitch, arm rest and front fenders all ready to go was $18884.50 after tax or $315 a month. That is with the $700 discount which expired today , so add another $700 or $10 a month(or whatever it works out to) He did say the 0% down 0 interest happens constantly and who know about the cash discount, that last one was just for a month.

I think I will wait and see what the new sales pitch JD comes up with next and go from there but I am definitely getting one. I do not mind sharing these financial figures as it is no state secret and hopefully informs others thinking about doing a purchase.

It Looks Like Your dealer is Just giving you the $700 discount ! When I Bought My X485(older Version of a X730) In 2003 I Got 14% or More off of MSRP for the whole package Plus what even deals and Incentives Deere Had at the time

 

[Frogmore]

Depends On Your Point of View if a CUT is a real Tractors when You Look at a CUT( 4R size) next to a JD 6M Thru 8R series they look like a Garden tractor and the Farm Operators I Know Call My CUT a Toy

This quote comes to mind.
The difference between men and boys it the price of their toys.

There are some seriously large tractors and some really small ones. Each has a place and they are all real tractors in my book. I also really like small ones. I am thinking about getting an RC model one to clean my roofs. Some of those cost more than a new X500 series machines. But, I don't think the roof would support even a 100 series and it would be really hard to get it up there if it could 😉

 

[Sergeant]

This quote comes to mind.
The difference between men and boys it the price of their toys.

There are some seriously large tractors and some really small ones. Each has a place and they are all real tractors in my book. I also really like small ones. I am thinking about getting an RC model one to clean my roofs. Some of those cost more than a new X500 series machines. But, I don't think the roof would support even a 100 series and it would be really hard to get it up there if it could 😉

The funniest thing was to see a Biggest Case IH Articulating wheeled Tractor Next to a BIG Bud 747 That Articulating tractor look's like a Toy

 

[Frogmore]

When I Bought My X485(older Version of a X730) In 2003 I Got 14% or More off of MSRP for the whole package Plus what even deals and Incentives Deere Had at the time

That is fairly region specific. With the move to greater consolidation in Deere dealerships, you are at the mercy of the policies of the one near you or have to travel quite a distance to deal with one that might have a different discount.

I priced an X739 last year and they were offering $700 off. There was no Deere discount at that time. In my looking for the last year and a half, I have seen Deere offer 0% for the X700 series almost always (and almost never for the X500 series, they do offer low rate regularly, just not 0% for 5 years). They typically have a pre-Spring sale and a fall sale and a BF sale. They also raised the price after the fall sale in 2019, not sure if they did last year or not. It was a few hundred dollars as I recall.

Deere does not have any real competition for the super garden tractor category. This is why the 1 series SCUT is cheaper (if you need/want a loader and 3PH). There is a LOT of competition in the SCUT market. The cheaper (1023e?) one series machine competes reasonably well on price. The 1025r competes really well on features/capability, but that comes at a price.

It is a tough decision for most people. Having many machines just isn't feasible/really desirable for most people, so finding the right one is hard. Which one is right varies with the tasks that are needed for each site. There is a lot of overlap in the capabilities, but usually significant differences in the easy of doing any particular task. So it comes down to an optimization problem. Which machine(s) can do the jobs that need to be done, for the best price/performance/(whatever else is important to you).

 

[Swazimoto]

Curious as to why. What don't you like about AWS and a loader?
I have a loader on a much bigger CUT. It works well, but there are times I wish it were more nimble. There are also times I wish it had more capability. (I had a 60+ foot high hemlock fall in the last storm. I use the loader with forks to raise it off the ground to make it easier to buck. It is really showing the limits of the loader. An X700 sized loader would be way under powered to even attempt this task.)

Nothing against it perse. The reason for my comment is that I don't need the nimbleness with loader operations. It is more cost for no added value. I also believe that you lose some stability when you have all four wheels turning. I am a take-your-time operator since this is only for my hobby and to save my back. Stability has never been a concern and I have tested it under safe and slow conditions but it just seemed like fixed rear wheels may eliminate some stability loss.

 

[x738]

0% APR fixed rate for 60 months1,2
on New John Deere X700 Signature Series Lawn Tractors

• 0% APR fixed rate for 60 months1,2
• Offer available 02 March 2021 through 03 May 2021

Other series have other 'offers'