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| AGCO corporate guy I know trying to convince me that Fendt is the best tractor in the world - hands down according to him. Tells a pretty good story and the specs/documentation I've looked at are impressive, but to be honest never driven one and to my knowledge no dealer within shooting distance for us. Still I am intrigued and looking for opinions on Fendt. So pretty basic open-ended question for anyone with experience or a view - is Fendt really all that? One reason I am skeptical is if Fendt is so great why don't they have more dealers in U.S.A.? No good answer from corporate guy... |
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SW MN | Globally the Fendt is considered #1 for quality and customer satisfaction. I have spent only limited time in them, but did have a very positive experience in those few days. The areas that have a Fendt dealer have a loyal following - manure haulers as an example are very fond of this tractor.
As to why we don't have more dealers in North America... I am unsure. It may be something as simple as AGCO wanting to promote the products built in NA? |
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S.E. South Dakota | How do they compare in price to other brands? |
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NE Iowa | 25 years ago everyone thought Deutz was going to take over American ag. Hard to find them now. |
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| One thing to keep in mind is that a Fendt isn't a row crop tractor. Can't set the rear tires at 60" c/c. That alone is a major limiting factor for most of the North American market. Fendt is strong in dairy areas where a versatile tractor is needed (lots of transport work, mowing, some tillage) |
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West Central,WI | Well I just traded a case ih magnum 340 for a Fendt 933 for this coming spring so I will find out. I did get to use one this fall and was very impressed with the performance of the Fendt especially the ride and the transmission. I'm thinking I will be very happy with my choice. I also have very good dealer support in my area for Fendt. |
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West Central Alberta Coldest, wettest edge | Fendt is very popular around here. One of the local AGCO dealers really pushes them, and there are lots of recent Dutch and German immigrant farmers here who think they are the best thing ever. A MF tractor is half Fendt as well, so I guess AGCO doesn't need to push one over the other? |
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Ontario, Canada | I would say its the cadillac of tractors for sure. Its hard to say exactly why, its many things rolled into the whole package. Very user friendly, with lots of integrated technology. I know that's the norm for most new tractors. In our area its rare to see a used one under 100k at a dealer. Haven't seen many private sales so not sure on that. But like anything you have to run one to get a handle on weather you think its that much better. So much of opinion is just personal preference for one reason or another. |
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| I like mine. I would love to have a few more. They are hard to find used. I would say run one for a while and learn the features. A Massey is NOT a Fendt. |
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Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot | I was at a demo day down south last year where they had one. Only time I'd ever sat in one. Very impressive, never been in a tractor that rode that nice, pulled like you wouldn't believe.
But I've also never seen anything so complex. Yes, I'm sure I could figure it out and enjoy all of the features it has. The screens all seemed user friendly to me. But I think it would be mostly impossible to teach someone, especially someone who doesn't speak English well, how to run the thing. No thank you. How much of a market are they going to have if you can't easily stick a guy in it? If I was buying a new tractor I'd certainly want to buy one I didn't have to run myself. |
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Peace River, AB, Canada | You're not quite right, deutz is rebounding right now. They have up to 440hp mfwd tractors coming soon.
They are lookin good! Deutz is still going strong in Europe, just not a super strong dealernetwork in north America yet.
FENDT is top of the line, no other fifty shades of green can touch them.
If you have driven one for longer than a test drive, you know........... |
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West Central Alberta Coldest, wettest edge | A Massey is not a Fendt, but the transmission is, amongst some other components.
Fendt developed the continuously variable transmission (CVT), calling it Vario. It is also used in JCB Fastrac, and the other AGCO tractor brands Challenger, Massey Ferguson, andValtra. AGCO also uses the transmission technology in its TerraGator brand of application equipment. |
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NE WI | Neighbor had a Fendt. Used it for mowing and stuff. I have never seen a tractor being hauled south so much to get fixed than this Fendt. Maybe it was high houred or just a Friday afternoon/Monday morning tractor. |
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| Alberta Farmer - 12/23/2013 22:49
A Massey is not a Fendt, but the transmission is, amongst some other components.
Same transmission but the way it is controlled by the computer is different. That's what the rep at Louisville told us. |
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| Agco guys works for Agco so yeah they are GREAT tractors! They are a whole different setup and work good- over there- the funniest comment ive heard all year- 25 YEARS AGO EVERYONE THOUGHT DEUTZ WAS TAKING OVER THE NA AG MARKET =WTH, where did that come from? Thats hilarious |
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Eastern Iowa | All tractors should be able to perform the job they are designed for, All tractors break down. what it comes down to is how often they break down, How quickly can the tractor be repaired and for how much money. The thought of importing a part to repair a tractor sends a chill up my spine. |
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| I there any duetz dealers in north america yet, I thought they all pulled out. |
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Illinois | Deutz had everything they needed to succeed in NA in 1985 when they bought A-C, including a full line of equipment and dealer network, and they screwed that up something fierce. |
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Iowa | deere6810 - 12/24/2013 05:35
I there any duetz dealers in north america yet, I thought they all pulled out.
There is one in Ft. Dodge, IA. |
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Seneca Kansas 66538 | There is one in central Kansas. |
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Macon, IL | I have never seen one anywhere except a farm show-never even driven by a dealer.
Pretty hard market to break into= a high dollar product that can't wait for parts.
I would like to see more competition for the big 2.5, but am pretty skeptical.
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WI | they are used mostly for manure hauling. Used to have a salesman from vanderloop imp. stop over twice a year. He always bragged them up knocking case & Deere. I told him I was not interested since they were not a row crop tractor. Then I mentioned a farmer in WI.I read about who owned one was pulling a tanker & the tractor split in half. He never stopped by since. I drove past the dealership in Marathon City 8 months ago. Looked like a ghost Town. |
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S.C. Wisconsin | It seems the people who don't have one know more about them than the people who own them! We are very happy with ours. They are not a tractor to buy if you have operators who are not the sharpest knife in the drawer. |
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NEIA | I wouldn't call them the Cadillac of tractors. More like the Mercedes of tractors. How many of those dealers do you go by. I don't have one, but would love to for tillage work. I thought my Massey was high priced until you find what they cost. |
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West Union, IOWA FLOLO Farm 52175 | Put them out on 90" or 120"...... See how they react to that? |
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Saronville NE | BIL had 2 of them for their manure hauling business, he says the breakdowns and downtime sucked, they traded and are running MX305s now, says he wont be going back to a Fendt anytime soon. IDK I rode with him a couple times and sat in them, I hated the controls, Ill take a 8000 JD anyday over them, JMO. Honestly I hate all the new controls AGCO uses, too small for my liking, I like the controls on the CIH and JD a lot better. |
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| Thanks for all the comments very helpful. Not being set up for row crops seems like a big issue and maybe explains why they haven't bet the ranch on dealerships. Wonder if AGCO will tell their genius German engineers to develop a row crop Fendt... |
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NCOH | I have a 712 with 18.4x42 set at 60" centers. The newer larger fendts have this issue. If all fendts could be set to 60" centers, they would have a larger market share. I quess you could buy a massey or challenger, but it's not the same tractor. |
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Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | Alberta Farmer - 12/23/2013 21:49
A Massey is not a Fendt, but the transmission is, amongst some other components.
Fendt developed the continuously variable transmission (CVT), calling it Vario. It is also used in JCB Fastrac, and the other AGCO tractor brands Challenger, Massey Ferguson, andValtra. AGCO also uses the transmission technology in its TerraGator brand of application equipment.
I went on a plant tour at Jackson Minnesota a couple of weeks ago. In the showroom they had various displays detailing the development of tracks from Holt, 3 points from Ferguson etc. There was an extensive exhibit detailing the evolution of the CVT which agrees with the above statements. |
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Good Ol' East Texas | Similar or cheaper if they are both spec the same. What people don't realize is you don't have many options with the Fendt. Everything that is standard on a Fendt that is an option on other brands. When they compare price and say Fendt is higher usually the other tractor is not spec the same. When we compared our 7280R to an 828 both spec the same the Fendt was 15k cheaper. |
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Nova Scotia | we have two Fendts now , 924 and a 930 , both have been very good , 3700 hours of use with the two of them so far , between the two of them they been to the shop 3 times, just for a few hours , then back to us, the service package 3 years 3000 hours for everything ! oil changes , the whole 9 yards EVERYTHING! YOU DON'T SPEND A CENT ON THEM FOR THE FIRST 3 YEARS! this service program was a real incentive for us. to change the oil in a big tractor is fast becoming a $1500 to $2000 job with the price of oil and filters these days.
The two 8*** series JD's they replaced burned so much more fuel than the fendts it isn't even really funny , kinda sad when you start to add it up over 5 years on two tractors.
i would have no problem saying for any tillage , planting , hauling , you would be way more happy with a fendt than any other color period, i feel the only place where a person would not be happy would be in the rows , spraying , top dressing , sidedressing ect, Fendt needs to get them on 60 inch centers on it's big boys , I hear the new 700 series Fendts will go 60 inch , they run up to 240 hp.
with our operation we use the two fendts as our tillage tractors , we have two 7200R JD's for planter , sprayer , sidedress , work , i think next time we look to replace our 7R's we will be giving the new 700 series Fendts a very hard look but there AMS systems in the Fendts need to catch up to JD's for planter , sprayer control , that may be the limiting factor to stay with JD on our row crop tractors. |
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Good Ol' East Texas | We have ran Case, Fendt, and John Deere tractors. The Fendt is far the best. We work our tractors hard and the Fendt out performs. I don't understand the people say that they don't like the controls. They are far easier to operate than Deere or Case. On the new Fendts you change to make any lever to control any hydraulic scv. We are currently running a Deere 7280R, Fendt 828, Fendt 718 and 2 mxu 125 pros. All of our hired hands first wanted to drive the Deere but after a few days in the Fendt they never wanted to drive the Deere again. I do not like driving the Deere and gripe about it the whole time I am running it. I do not like the ivt in the Deere. You do not have the control like you do in a Fendt. And in the Fendt unlike the Deere you can save up to ten implements in the computer. Deere only saves your headland function while Fendt saves everything and do not have to touch anything once you load the settings for that implement. The computer is a lot easier to figure out in a Fendt than the Deere.
Until you run a Fendt you will understand why they are the best. The main thing is Fendt has against them is everybody thinks they are outrageously high but when compared apples to apples they are usually cheaper. Also Fendt tractors come standard with just about everything and with few options. |
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| 90" or 120" would be no issue on a Fendt 900. Many running in CTF fields downunder. Majority of North American farmers aren't quite ready for that yet... |
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| how on the ctf fields, do some fendts have the long axle option |
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alymer ontario | I kinda prefer to put the ppl that r not the smartest in a Fendt for hauling manure for example just set up the go end function, only thing they have to do is drove to Feild hit go then pto goes on cruise starts rpms go.up valve opens 4 we goes on, then only thing they do is drive along were needs to go tanks empty shuts down pto, closes, valve turns off 4wd, then they go back. Plus tms keeps fuel use same for everyone, what I noticed with massey between operators running dump trailers fuel use varied from 11-18 liters per hr (180 HP+40 cube Dumper), just my opinion though |
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EC IL | I dont care how "great" their tractors are......if you dont have several good dealers around with solid support and parts.....you have nothing. The next problem I see is resale. We had a Duetz dealer here locally, back in the day & the handful of guys that bought the tractors ended up either driving them forever or taking a hit at trade off time. I kno they have some really good points, but the last one I worked on in my shop, for a customer, WOW!!!!! you talk about a nightmare getn parts (or should I say...the RIGHT parts) |
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The Internet | Your internet handle says a lot. |
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| From a completely different farming perspective the Fendt Vineyard/Orchard 200 series are the gold standard in European vineyards. They do cost about $20K more than other brands in the cab models. For vineyards the Europeans make purpose built tractors and attachments that beat most other non-European built tractors and equipment. The unfortunate thing is that support can be an issue for most and speaking about Fendt specifically they do not import the vineyard models here. I have taken a hard look at the Deutz-Fahr vineyard models and while they are well made they are a bit cramped for me. Would love to see Fendt vineyard models imported here to compete with Deere, New Holland, & Kubota....Gary |
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alymer ontario | I've seen a Fendt vineyard tractor by st Catherines in Ontario last year it was a newer one no idea on number |
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Mid Michigan | In the United States Fendt is the Mercedes of the tractor world and John Deere, Case IH, and Agco are the Ford, Chevy, Chryslers. And you see a whole lot more Ford, Chevy, and Chryslers than you do Mercedes. Mercedes might be the better quality more expensive car but not everybody is going to pay for it or can pay for it or even have a dealer nearby to be exposed to it. As far as Fendt ever taking over the world it would take a whole lot of money and infastructure to even begin gaining market share. I would guess 90% of buyers are too brand loyal to change even if it would be better. You can't teach old dogs new tricks and the apple don't fall far from the tree when it comes to brand loyalty. |
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Waupun,wi | Kinda have to laugh at people thinking fendt's are to expensive. We can buy them for alot less than deere. |
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| 118" bar axles and drum spacers on the front axle (same concept as a Deere ILS) (photo from CTF Alberta Facebook page)
Edited by canadian farmer 12/24/2013 15:23
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ND | deereonly1 - 12/24/2013 11:33
I dont care how "great" their tractors are......if you dont have several good dealers around with solid support and parts.....you have nothing. The next problem I see is resale. We had a Duetz dealer here locally, back in the day & the handful of guys that bought the tractors ended up either driving them forever or taking a hit at trade off time. I kno they have some really good points, but the last one I worked on in my shop, for a customer, WOW!!!!! you talk about a nightmare getn parts (or should I say...the RIGHT parts)
Agree! |
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| Yep. They are available in Canada. I'm hoping success in the larger tractors in the US will convince the Fendt home base to come in and compete with others. This might be especially true if more vineyards move to higher density planting which is the trend......Gary |
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| I'm happy to see companies like Fendt push the envelope on tractor functionality and mechanicals. What works well will be embraced and adopted by others....takes time. A few others innovate like Fendt and I'm happy to see them compete with each other to give us better products. Most of us have a concern on parts and service availability for advanced designs. I nearly pulled the trigger on a Deutz-Fahr as I had agreement from the remote D-F dealer and my local JD dealer to have my local dealer to do warranty service with no issues. The only stumbling block for me was the inside cab dimensions.....Gary |
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Hungary | Will see when those Fendts going to have more than 10000 hour in them. That will give a real compare with the other brands.
People say here that the vario transmission will be worn out around 5000 hour if you use for heavy tillage.
If I look all the lovers here - almost all of them using them for hauling and some utility work - not too much heavy tillage. They are the market for Fendt and probably Fendt is the best fit for them.
Fendt is more expensive here than JD. For us in Eu the basic model has much less "standard" feature the for you guys in the US.
We have one Fendt in our operation and I wish we would bought a CIH or a JD instead. |
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Alberta, Canada | There's one in Alberta (south Central) as well.
Nice tractors, probably as good as a Fendt in many ways.
But the neighbors would laugh at me. |
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Is Fendt really the end-all/be-all?
