Garden tractor- Honda vs. John Deere

[SaliMali]

I'm looking to get a garden tractor. I have around 8 acres. I plan to put a few sheep on around 5 acres and use the rest as a lawn surrounding the buildings. The land is fairly flat with one or two steep bits. I'd like the tractor to be able to cope with mowing the whole lot if needed over say a weekend.

The tractors I've got my eye on are:

Honda HF 2315SB £2297
Honda HF 2315HM £2612
John Deere X120 £2082
John Deere X130R £2673
John Deere X140 £2378

The local council uses John Deere tractors but I assume they are alot more than 2.5 grand. I like the Honda as they have a 5 year warranty and come with a grass collector which is an extra £300 with JD. I plan to collect the grass cut around the buildings and mulch the rest.

What one should I go for?

Any advice welcome.

Cheers

Andrew

[DavidY]

Had a John Deere for 9 years, no issues at all, cheap to service if you do it yourself, very easy to work on.

[foz01]

Also husqvarna to consider at that price..
Why don't you just mulch the while lot, it involves a fair number of changes iirc..

[RedLeicester]

Do not be fooled by the bodywork of lawn tractors - several of the brands come out of the same factory, just with different bodywork, and some of the more "serious" names are not made by their serious namesakes!

Decide what you need a machine to do, then go a-hunting for the one that fits the bill - and don't be afraid of second-hand either.

[RedLeicester]

Also, despite what their marketing would have you believe, a lot of lawn tractors cannot cope with anything remotely lumpy or coarser grasses, so beware something that'll die if asked to cut anything more than a pristine perfectly flat postage stamp lawn.

[Condi]

Kubota. Best you can buy at that size. Dont think you'll find one for £2k though - certainly not new.

[RedLeicester]

Condi said:

Kubota. Best you can buy at that size. Dont think you'll find one for £2k though - certainly not new.

The man has a point.... similarly Iseki, Etesia and the like, will be second hand, but very effective. A Kub G1900, or better still a 3060 would make short work of that grass.

[thinfourth2]

RedLeicester said:

Condi said:

Kubota. Best you can buy at that size. Dont think you'll find one for £2k though - certainly not new.

The man has a point.... similarly Iseki, Etesia and the like, will be second hand, but very effective. A Kub G1900, or better still a 3060 would make short work of that grass.

I got a reasonable condition kubota F1900 for £1750 with a mulching deck on a 53 plate




It don't look pretty but it is damn near unstoppable and it uses a about a tank of red diesel a year cutting just over an acre

But new they are yikes

[smifffymoto]

Have a look at Viking,part of Stihl.I've got a T6 with 23hp Briggs & Stratton v-twin.Not cheap but not a shared design so hence the price

[RedLeicester]

thinfourth2 said:

RedLeicester said:

Condi said:

Kubota. Best you can buy at that size. Dont think you'll find one for £2k though - certainly not new.

The man has a point.... similarly Iseki, Etesia and the like, will be second hand, but very effective. A Kub G1900, or better still a 3060 would make short work of that grass.

I got a reasonable condition kubota F1900 for £1750 with a mulching deck on a 53 plate




It don't look pretty but it is damn near unstoppable and it uses a about a tank of red diesel a year cutting just over an acre

But new they are yikes

Fab machines, as you say they're shockingly expensive new (the 3060s are £16k or so IIRC), but once contractors have finished with them, ridiculously cheap when compared to "home" lawn tractors. Lovely beast there

[Davel]

Bought a Honda almost 12 months back.

No issues apart from punctures - bloody Hawthorne cuttings.