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South Eastern ,ILL | Looking at a 2009 - MT645C with CVT transmission MFD
1200 hrs. I'm mostly a CaseIH, some JD. I have a Massey
dealer very close, I assume this is the same as a Massey.
Anyone with any experience, should I stay with CIH.
It would be a side dress tractor & have mowing duties,
spread fertilizer, drill wheat. The price seems to be
less than the majors, & I'm sure the resale in the future
will be less also. But are they dependable? Thanks |
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Eastern central Michigan | My dad always had John Deere growing up on the farm, when my brother took over he sold/traded all but one Deer in on Challengers. My honest opinion, the Challenger/agco makes one heck of a tractor, he/we have ran them for the last 7 years with no major issues. The Cvt trans is smooth and is ideal for side dressing, spreading fertilizer, mowing hay, all around use. The pto system is 540/540e/.1000 all at a touch of a button. They sip the fuel. Personally after running the Challenger tractors I would rather use a Challenger then a John Deere. I would not hesitate buying a Challenger, not one bit. Like I said no major issues, not many minor issues either out of 4 tractors. Is the cvt a go fast or just cvt? |
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SE IL Mt.Erie, IL | Good cheaper tractors on the used market. A/c is its main downfall. Not too cold and loud. This is on a 655D.
You have mail |
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NW Iowa | I just purchased a 2011 645C with 6000+ hours. Supposedly came off a big dairy. Looks great but didn't have the best of upkeep. Here's what I have learned. Check out the lights carefully. The lighting module tends to be a higher kill item and is around $500. Is it AutoGuide ready? If it is, engage the TruTrak steering. As you adjust the potentiometer, you should see a difference in how the wheels respond when you turn the steering wheel. If you don't, there is a problem with the electronic parts on the steering motor. Also seems to be a high kill item. Really not an issue if you never intend to install guidance. If it has a suspended cab, see if that works. The sensors in the suspension cylinders are also a higher kill item. You can't just replace the sensors. They are an integral part of the cylinders. The cylinders are over $1100 apiece. Start the tractor and unlock the 3 point and the hydraulic valves. Make sure all the fingertip controllers are in neutral. The LED on EACH hydraulic outlet should glow green. Orange indicates a problem. Because a lot of the electronics talks to each other through a CAN connection, it's difficult to troubleshoot even with the service manuals. Some of the things I'm dealing with could be software based. Although they share almost all the same parts as the Masseys, my Massey dealer says their computer can't talk to a Challenger. Maybe he's just blowing smoke, but I don't really want to spend several hundred dollars to find out he's right. I've had better luck with my Massey service people pointing me in the right direction than Challenger but that could be a "here" thing. On a positive note, the Sisu engine and the cvt tranny are bulletproof. I bought mine right and am pretty good at troubleshooting once I get the manuals, so at this point I'm not complaining. I just hope that once I get it back in shape, it's a while before I have to work on it again. |
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| What kind of money are these tractors worth? |
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South Eastern ,ILL | MT 645C with 1200 hrs its a 2009 asking 115,000$ . |
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NCOhio | We just bought a MT665C with 2200hrs on AuctionTime for $92100. I hope it turns out OK. |
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Wi | If its an 09 make sure everything is updated that can be. Check the cab suspension to see if it works, if the cab settles a lot, clicking the button 5 times will reset it, it will top out then bottom out or maybe its the other way, cant remember. Light modules do go bad a lot also but no way around it really. The hydraulic couplers also go bad a lot, it may have the latest and greatest update on it, not sure how they turned out but all of the latest and greatest before it weren't any better.
As mentioned the A/C is poor and loud. If its much of an issue tint the windows.
They have their quirks, but if you can buy them right they aren't the worst tractor to run depending on what you are used to and many think they are comfortable. They are smoother than some others. The Fendt CVT/Rear is great as is the Sisu motor. Very efficient, quiet and smooth. Just the agco stuff around it that can be a pain. |
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South Eastern ,ILL | Well thanks for all the advice. I believe I'll just stick with an
older CIH MX 200 or 210 or 215 I Have had these in the past with
hardly ever an issue. My tolerance level for little "quirks"
is very low. Sounds like Challenger need some more R & D. |
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Wi | It'll be light years ahead of those in efficiency.
Keep in mind most of the little quirks are just annoying, not many of them actually shut you down and leave you stranded. They've made them a lot better over the years so just make sure it's gotten the updates. |
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Wi | How you plan to use it matters too. Judging by your location this would be doing row crop work and less than 500hrs a year or so? They do great in that environment. We were trying to run over 1k hrs and with a variety of tasks they just weren't suited well for. |
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Challenger MT645C any good?
