Just got off the horn on the 800 number for Deere. The non-technical staff over there have no idea why they made the switch.

Buy your X304 now, before it is too late. I can see no other reason than cost cutting. Did the price go down? From what I saw it looks like it stayed the same.

If use of the K-46 in the Â08 X-304s is factual, perhaps the JD engineers thought it was up to the task.

Many members of this forum seem to have a negative fixation on the K-46 without supporting data showing an excessive, or chronic failure rate.

--Mike

So you think the K46 is worth as much as the K58? JD didn't change the price, but put in a weaker tranny, that makes me think the '07 is a better deal (the '08 is a better deal for JD's bottom line though).

I agree with Metal. I would never have gone for the X304 were it not for the higher end tranny. In fact, I might have ended up w/ a Simplicity.

i called john deere. based on what i've read on this forum and this phone call, i am fairly confident that this customer service line is not for technical questions. the rep could only provide information from their website. why would i need that?

i asked her to confirm whether the 304 will be downgraded for 2008. she could not because she could only tell me what is on their website. all she could do was confirm that 2007 is K58 trans which is no news to anyone. she told me i should talk to the local dealer because the "usually get more information than we do". but she was able to tell me that 2008 line will be out by the end of october.

Ridonkulus, that's pretty much what I heard from them when I called as well.

You don't need to call them, it is on their website under X304 and Specifications. Choose the '07 and it says K58, choose the '08 and it says K46

Metal, I think he was looking to see if the spec sheet was a typo. That's how I took it anyway.

That makes sense then. It's never good to trust everything you read on the net, this site included : )

yeah, wanted to see if it was a typo. under the specs on the website, it says the x300 weighs the same as the x304. i don't understand how that could be possible.

i dont take things on this forum as fact. i gather the information here and on the web and make a decision i'm comfortable with.

hate to burst ya bubbles, but tis true...the 08's have k46 vs 07 k58...dealer had an 08 and tech verified it...get ya 07's while they last or ya gonna have to go to the 320/340 for the k58......$--t happens....wonder if that'll drive up the used 07's price...hmmmm..

glad i got in on the 07. i guess this shows that the x304 4ws does not need the bigger trans to run it.

I wonder what else was down-graded.

I've been saying all along the K58 wasn't needed to drive that AWS. Seeing as how the K58 is still in the X320 and what not, I'm glad to see its not a problem with K58 in particular.

Scoop those 07 X304s while you can !

I have the 07 as well...got a feelin the resale is goin to be better than expected when I upgrade to the 500....how much do ya'll figure I should make on the dealer...lol

The hats they give you probably went up in price thanks to the lower dollar. They had to make the additional cost up somewhere...

I can't wait until next year when the 07 X304 owners tell the 08 X304 owners that they don't have a real Deere.

* Posted by doopstr (My Page) on
Sun, Oct 21, 07 at 17:25

I can't wait until next year when the 07 X304 owners tell the 08 X304 owners that they don't have a real Deere.

**********

All we've (well at least for me) have been saying is that the X304 WAS the true value point in the JD X3xx line. The X300 is still a 'real' Deere. Nothing wrong with that machine; as with anything in life so long as you use it for what it was intended.

Posted by metal (My Page) on Thu, Oct 11, 07 at 11:17

Buy your X304 now, before it is too late. I can see no other reason than cost cutting. Did the price go down? From what I saw it looks like it stayed the same.

Just looked at one today and that is exactly what the salesman said. It was done to cut costs.