Dan--having owned a Yanmar, two Kubotas and two JD compact diesels, I can only speak from my few experiences. I owned one Kubota (B8200HST) for ten years and during that time it was fully operational and dependable for 99.999+ percent of the time (a tachometer cable needed replacement once was its ONLY failing during those ten dependable years). I have owned my current JD 4400HST for a little more than a year and a half and in that length of time the PTO locked up and needed replacement, the brakes locked up and needed replacement, the hydrostatic transmission gave a lot of trouble and finally was replaced and the front end was replaced. At this point, I am still awaiting the last of the PIP upgrades to the linkages after months, the right rear axle seal is leaking transmission fluid and I never know when I let up on the forward pedal IF it is going to stay down a few extra seconds allowing the tractor to keep going another 5 to 10 feet before stopping. In addition, periodically in road gear, the RPMs will drop to the point that I have to stop the tractor and shift down and the mower deck leaves stripes of poorly mowed grass even with new blades. Perhaps my three acre yard is too tough on this tractor. The truth as I see it is that JD had poor engineering and even worse quality control on the 4200+ compact diesel tractors. Whereas my Kubota was functioning correctly over 99.99 percent of the time, this $20,000 JD marvel of poor engineering and undependability has only functioned fully correct about 10 percent of the time. Some owners were able to receive new tractors in lieu of JD spending $3500 on the front end replacement, but when I requested a new tractor when it went in for about $9000 worth of warranty work and even proposed kicking in some money, I was told that the JD area rep said no. Thank goodness that many other JD owners have had better experiences than I. Unfortunately, I am at the point of frustration in which I must consult my attorney in order to determine if any Missouri consumer protection laws have been violated and what course of action is available to me since I feel that 19 months is more than long enough to get my tractor fully functional since I have been wanting to trade it off on a Kubota and cannot do so until it is fully repaired. Mike S.

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