My tractor search is over. In the last 3 months and a considerable amount of time last year, I researched many different tractor brands and models. I've always been partial to John Deeres and wanted to find a 2003 to 2007 7220. I gave up finding one. I did get a look at a 7200 2wd and did not like the cab. It looked cheap with lots of plastic in a weird color. I figured the 7220 would have been the same. Of the newer tractors, I ruled out the D and E series John Deeres because they were not built strong enough in a lot of areas and were cheapened in several others. The drawbar bracket was cast iron. Pto clutch was dry instead of wet. The brakes were manual. I liked the manual transmission it had but that was about it. The R series, the fancy JD with all the bells and whistles, I just didn't like. The engine was loud and rough sounding, clutch and reverser pretty abrupt, not smooth enough. The JD all share the same 4 cylinder 4.5 liter engine. D and E from Mexico, R from Germany.
Case IH was in the running too. I was pretty high on a used Maxxum 115 but it had a strange knocking noise at idle and no warranty. Same day I drove the Maxxum 115, I drove a Kubota 110X. I liked it but it had the small displacement 3.8 liter engine that turns 2600 rpm to get rated hp. That got me looking at new models and I discovered the M6-131 that has a 6.1 liter 4 cylinder that produces 125 to 131 hp at 2200 rpm. This tractor has a 2 year bumper to bumper warranty with 3 years on the powertrain. It has all the bells and whistles of the JD R series but is much less money. Then I found a dealer that had one is stock and he gave me a good price for my two trades. I pulled the trigger Wednesday and it was delivered Friday morning. It remains to be seen if it will turn out to be a good decision or not but for me it was the right one. It compares favorably to the JD 6125M and R and the Maxxum 125. Now if I can just get used to the color!
