[Doberman]

Hello! New guy here again. My 1025R should arrive by the end of this month and I am chomping at the bit...
What made you choose a John Deere 1025R/1023 over other brands? Me after many searches, I narrowed my choice to the two main brands, John Deere and Kubota. Mainly for built quality and the warranty these companies will still be there in the future, compare to lesser known brands. I am new to the tractor world, I am more acquainted with the world of photography. In this world there are also two main brands competing for supremacy; Canon and Nikon. There are several lesser brands and even if they are very good they are more likely to fade away in the future. This coming from a guy who had heavily invested in Pentax gears to find out Pentax is now only a shadow of its former self.

In my case the dealership for John Deere is only at 13 km from me, as the Kubota's dealer is at over 25 km. Also after looking at many reviews, especially the comparison between Kubota and John Deere videos made by TTWT. For me it was the auto connect mower and the ease with which it could be removed and re-installed compared to the fact you had to wrestle on your back with the Kubota,s mower, that was the deal breaker for me. Also the John Deere seems to be a stronger machine as far as lift capacity goes. what was your deal breaker?

 

[fatback]

Here are my top three for the 1025r:
1. Oil cooler for the hydraulics on the 1025r vs fan on the kubota
2. Auto connect drive over deck, what a pain it was to remove the deck on my old x495. That plus the deck really needs to be removed for loader work.
3. Position control on the 3 point hitch. If you plan to run a box blade or land plane you'll know why.

I guess my 4th option would be the dealer network. There is only one Kubota dealer in a 35 mile range from where I live. There are five JD dealers in my area.

 

[Scoutx]

1. Local dealer been in business longer than I've been alive
2. Resale (even though I'll probably never sell it)
3. Tractor time with Tim

 

[ClydeLogan]

Deere was the only dealership that responded to me from among the big 5 compact tractor dealers in my area. Kubota, Mahindra, New Holland, and Massey Ferguson weren't interested in selling tractors, I suppose. I had my heart set on a Kubota at the time, but things have worked out OK with the Deere.

For the same reason I own a GMC truck. I was ready to buy a 3/4 ton truck, any brand, and did the build and price quote thing with Ram, Chevy, GMC, and Ford, but only a single GMC dealership made an effort to respond.

 

[Rule292]

Ease of removal of attachments was #1. Dealer network was #2. Deere won both by a mile for me. Price was the decisive factor. For me, the TLB was thousands cheaper this year so I bought it.

I don't dislike the Kubota "treadle pedal" and I think Kubota's component quality (more in-house and less supplier sourced) is probably better than Deere's but this is just by observing the supplier tags on visible components of both tractors. Again, this is just my opinion.

Since the two Kubota dealers are between 45 minutes and an hour away that was out.

Other than that I looked at Kioti as the dealer is close by. I think Korean automotive and mechanical technology is strong and continues to improve but the tractor was priced at almost what the 1025r would be. I wasn't interested in Manhindra or any of its clones.

So far I'm happy with my Deere though having a brand new battery leaking all over was a bit disconcerting.

Only time will tell how it will hold up.

 

[JimR]

What made you choose a John Deere 1025R/1023 over other brands?

Are there other brands that make a 1025R or 1023E?

 

[2mtrucks]

Deere’s 7 iron deck is more robust than Kubota’s deck and of course the treadle pedal vs. 1series F/R pedals.

 

[Jimmy Walker]

I chose mine based on comfort.
Most uncomfortable machine was the Kubota BX.
Next was RK24.
The 1025R fit right. Nothing cramped up. The seat has nice suspension. My legs don't get rubbed by the steering wheel.
It's a nice machine. I just wish I had a good dealer to work with. I will travel or purchase things I need anywhere else but the one closest to me.............
I'm not picky on brands. Having back and neck injuries made comfort the deciding factor.

 

[Spartazoo]

In no particular order:

• Drive over deck
• Quick attach bucket
• bucket control knob on fender
• No treadle peddle

 

[robwheeler]

Previous John Deere tractor X585 and service is local.

rob

 

[Ritz]

1. Dealer experience. Both orange and green dealers are within a 3-4 min drive of my house. Orange sales experience was not good.
2. TTWT comparison on youtube sealed the deal.

Best,

 

[Sundancer268]

Dealer is less than 5 miles and I had bought my 445 from them in 94 and I could use all my 445 front attachments on the 1026R. Other dealers are all over 40 miles away and besides I have always liked the color green since i was a toddler and before knew what a tractor was.

 

[Mainerd]

Deer was the only one who seemed interested in making a sale that day, the other dealers - well I felt like I was in a big box store looking for someone to assist.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

The drive over deck is worlds better than the kubota. That was one of main reasons along with the pedal thing. Kubota dealer was a dick too. We have LS tractors but I never considered one. We have Massey too but it’s kinda far away.

 

[jdforever]

I owned an 1986 JD430 for 28 years before passing it on to my son. That tractor, nicknamed "the beast", and for a reason, was in for warranty work only one time in all those years. John Deere has served me well.

 

[erg144]

I plan on keeping the tractor in about 5 years then selling it. To me - resale value was the key. BUT have to say, not disappointed with my 1025

 

[KeyboardJungle]

Are there other brands that make a 1025R or 1023E?

haha-subtle humor - love it!

 

[Rule292]

Deere’s 7 iron deck is more robust than Kubota’s deck

Deere's deep decks are king of the hill but they do come with one tradeoff - the taller the deck the less ground clearance and less clearance between the top of the deck and the frame.

I didn't plan on a deck on my 1025r but the same adage goes for the x738 I own - the tall deck is great for grass cut quality but the tradeoff is less height and less clearance when it's up.

 

[csnyder750]

I went and sat on or test drove several competitors. I was looking at LS as I thought it would be easier to justify the costs. A coworker had an LS and was considering selling it. I started looking at the price and thought it wasn't bad. Test drove one and it was actually pretty comfortable.

Sat on Rural Kings tractor for 15 seconds and said nope not even entertaining this. Sat on the next step up RK tractor and said god who owns this junk.

Looked at and sat on a couple kubotas and was actually very heavily looking at kubota if the LS didn't work out. but then one day I stopped at a deere dealership and sat on a 1 and 2 series tractor and was instantly hooked at how much nicer things felt and how much nicer things were laid out.

I started researching them and doing my "dream builds" to see what price things would be. You can not beat the autoconnect and the ease of swapping implements like bucks and forks. My father was a lawn mower mechanic his entire career and worked at a JD dealership for a good many of his last years. He wasn't a fan of JD as he was a wheel horse man. He came over the other day to help me sharpen the blades on the MMM and as he watched me swap the forks and drop the MMM and lift it up and get right to the blades. He was amazed at the load and goes as he retired before they came out.

For a guy who isn't a green tractor fan, he was actually quite impressed many times at what my lil tractor does or has done.

0% interest for 84 months was my ultimate deciding factor. That and the JD dealer I ended up going with couldn't have been nicer to deal with. It was hours away and I bought it out of state because that dealer gave me the best deal I could find at the time. 1000s less than the dealer 8 miles away from home...

 

[Huzrjim]

I looked at several sub compact tractors before buying my 1025r, but for reasons mentioned above - drive over deck, quick attach bucket, forward/reverse pedals and financing deals at the time convinced me. I also like to buy American, even though I know most of the parts on this tractor are not made in America. Finally, I look good in a green hat...