fendt favorit 700 vario

[[e-mail]]

would it be worth swapping our 2001 massey ferguson 6280 for a fendt 700 vario? the massey is an excellent tractor but we always were interested in fendts but were a bit pricey. how much extra would we have to pay after the trade in?

[Richard_S]

Robert,

We have been looking at changing our 2001 JD 6510 50k with 1500hrs and Quicke loader.

The first quote was for a JD 6620 with JD 661 loader.

Then I priced a Fendt 712 with Fendt 3S70 loader. It is about £7k more than the JD, but looks much better value considering the spec.

The JD dealer came back, I told him I was looking at a Fendt, he instantly reduced the price by £500 AND threw in Cab suspension, free!

I'm going to see if I can do any better tomorrow, I reckon they both still have room to move.

Had a drive on a 716 last week, impressive!!

Are you from the UK, Robert?

[leemsutton]

Guys,

We were quoted for a 926 vario last year. Fully speced up the dealer wanted £58,000. The Deere 8410 was £60,000.

Neither dealers would move on those prices so we ended up buying a MX270 for £48,000.

The fendt was by far the best but unfortunately we could not stretch to the £58 mark. Never mind I will get one one day.

A friend of mine has a 716 and loves it. That cost him under £50,000.

Lee

[[e-mail]]

yeah, im from the uk. j.d are good at knocking off prices but salesman said that all our faults were true and it would be a waste of money to buy it at that time of year(may). he must have ment --20 series. we didnt like the bad access for my brother in laws dad, passengers knees hit front window, not very manouverable and didnt like s***e brown interior.

i'm from armagh, n. ireland.

the massey is a super tractor and wouldnt have been bought if the j.d salesman didnt knock so much off.

[[e-mail]]

Give me 50 pounds (sterling) and I'll shift the massey for you - It should only take a couple of years to find a punter for it!

How you find the money for the Fendt I don't know!

[[e-mail]]

The Case and the Deere have enough torque, so they don't need a Vario transmission ;D

The Vario is full of electronic shit. How far is your dealer???

I'd rather keep going with my old Zetor for 1/3 of the price of a Fendt and same fuel consumption.
www.zetorworld.com

[paddyland]

If interested in a fendt then look at tractorpool.de there are a number of used machines there with loaders and full spec with bugger all hours. But i know someone who has a 515 with a fendt loader and the hydraulics could do with being a bit more lively

[Si]

Robert, to be truthfull I'm a CIH salesman, but taking my sales hat off, if your happy with the massey, why change? Havong sold both Fendt and Massey, I know what they are like and unless you want the vario transmission don't buy the 700. If you do, look at the JD or CIH, their Tranny is more advanced (it talks to the engine) so is easier to use. To repeat if you like the MF why change? (against me they are quoting £29,500 for a 6290 with 3 year warranty so they are very cheap)
Cheers
Simon

[Richard_S]

Si,

Whats wrong with the 700 Series?

I have a 716 on Demo now and I think its fantastic.

However, I would like your opinion (and anybody else's) before making a choice.

Thanks.

[Si]

Richard nothing is wrong with the 700 series, they have had a few problems with the Tranny, I have phoned a mate who runs one, he is on his second transmission, but this was swapped under warranty, and all seems well now, The tractor is very advanced in some ways, hydraulic control for instance, but when you have the JD, and CIH tractors, where the transmission talks to the engine setting the engine revs in conjunction with the gearbox, they, in my opinion, are more advanced.
In all cases I feel that unless you need the infinately variable gearbox (destoning, harvesting suds etc.) it is an expensive luxury.
Cheers
Simon

[Richard_S]

Thanks for the info, Si.

Worst features of the Fendt as I see it are the Pick up hitch, Whining noises on the road (I wonder if this stops when they are run in??), very long travel brake pedal and poor cab access/space.

As far as operation goes, they are way ahead of anything else, ride and steering on the road is great also.

As for the JD autopowr, yes it can talk to the engine but it's far worse in my opinion, you have no control over it like the Fendt, you can't  move anywhere without flooring the accelerator, the oil gets terribly hot (20 series have better cooling) and the tranny makes lots of funny noises.

Also I had a very worrying experience with one on a wet road with heavy trailer behind.  On a sharp corner I took my foot off the throttle, the rear wheels slowed down way too much and the outfit jacknifed. By the way the speed was only about 15mph, but the weight of the trailer and the rear wheels trying to slow down too much caused the problem.

Also, as Lee with whom I share a surname has pointed out many times before, if you try to spec a JD to anything like Fendt standard spec, the JD becomes more expensive!!

Cheers,  Richard.

[Classlexion]

What is wrong with the hitch on the 700 is it not made by Bennet eng of Horton anymore. We have three fendts with there hitchs on and cant fault them.
Two of them are lift arm operated and the other has its own rams. As for the tractor there is nothing in the same league so you cant compare it with anything.
Thats my opinion anyway. Oh yes the brakes are not very clever on the smaller fendts and if you pull high speed trailers you must have air brakes ,or if you complain to the fendt boys  they will just take one look and say ah 50km no air brakes goodbye. The brakes on the 515s were bad with out a trailer on .

[Woodbeef]

Till down in Oz  has one he uses in his contracting business. Last time I was talking to him he had about 2500 hours on it.  Just loves it,traded up from a Deere. He did have the tranny trouble though,but they fixed it under warranty. He figures it has saved him 20%+ in fuel,and has done around 25% more work vs. the Deere. He really likes it on the road too,but says you have to understand how to use it correctly to get the best out of it.

Richard if you want I'll dig up his email addy for you?

[Richard_S]

Sorry for the late reply but I've been busy and am very tired.

Anyway, the Fendt broke down on the third day of demo!!  It was 'only' the level sensor for the front axle, but it caused the suspension to lock up and a loud beeping noise in the cab. They fixed it quick, though.

Since then I've had a JD 6920S autopowr, 50k, command arm, cab suspension, younameitanditsgotit, on trial and I can tell you that it is not in the same league as the Fendt.  Worst points are poor visiblility, fuel consumption, steering on road and long/high/wide bonnet.

I told the JD dealer I was going to get a Fendt, but now the have given me 12 months extended warranty on my present JD.  So I'll keep it 12 more months, and then get a Fendt....

Lexion, the hitch is by Bennets, it is strong, but I hate the swing out design.

Woodbeef, if you could find the addy I would be grateful as I would like as many opinions as possible before making a decision.

Also, dous anyone know anything about Fendt tractors having a 5 year 'unwritten' warranty?