Cat 259d or 289d Deere 323e

[cptotr]

I have owned a deere 323d for several years. Overall it has been a comfortable machine, but it has had a few electrical issues along the way and I'm ready to upgrade to another machine.

A little background on us. We build houses and do a lot of concrete work on our own stuff as well as subcontracting work for other people. We do all of our own dirt work, so wanting a machine that doesn't struggle too much when back filling and moving dirt. Sometimes there's a lot of travel involved, so like to have a machine that can travel in hi speed with a full load of dirt without losing too much power.

My biggest complaints with the deere were breakout force with both the boom and the bucket seemed to be lacking. Also would not work as well as I liked in hi speed travel.

Cat and Deere are really the only two I'm considering mainly because of dealer support. All the other dealers are 1.5-2 hours away. Deere and cat are within 15 minutes.

After reading through the forum, I can't find much information on the 323e. From the specs they did seem to improve on my main two complaints by quite a bit. Boom breakout is up 600 lbs and bucket breakout is up 1400 lbs. So deere did address some of my main concerns, but for some reason or another I just don't feel like the Deere is as solid as the Cat.

When I purchased last machine I was basically buying on price. CAT Just couldn't get down close enough to what I could buy the deere for mainly because the Deere was in rental and had 200 hours on it. I did however like the Cat a little better at the time. One thing that really stood out to me was that the Cat could still maintain power in hi speed, whereas the deere drastically fell off when trying to turn or climb a hill.

Just looking for some feedback from guys who have switched from deere d series to e series and their thoughts as well as guys who have demoed or owned both 259d and 289d and what they thought about the differences in those two machines. They seem to have same engine hp, but spec out quute differently. Haven't priced the cat yet, but Deere is constantly trying to sell me on their new stuff, so I know where they're at. I'm ready to set some demos up, just wanted to get you guys' feedback first.

I really appreciate your responses.

 

[cptotr]

With the 259 vs 289, I'm just unsure if the 259 will do everything I want it to do. I'd sure like for it to because I'm sure there is a considerable price difference in the two, but also don't want to be disappointed in my final decision. If you've ran both let me know what you think between the two. A while back I ran a 259b? maybe and it was terrible. Really lacked power and cab was incredibly cramped vs a 279c that was also on the jobsite. I don't want a radial machine, but those are my only other experiences with cat.

 

[Digdeep]

Deere has always had good static lifting capability, but I always found them to be meh when lifting and curling while driving into a pile. I've only spent a short time in a 259D, but I thought it had pretty good power for a 66" wide machine, great visibility down to the tracks and the camera saves the visibility out the back. I think the speed sensitive ride control they have would be helpful for the type of distances your talking about traveling with dirt in the bucket.

I've also seen a video of a 259D lifting a 4200lb block off of a loading dock all the way to full height. I wouldn't have wanted to do that myself, but I think it was a good representation of its ability to lift. Good luck with your search.

 

[cptotr]

That has been my thoughts exactly with the deere. I have to go into a pile of dirt twice to get a full bucket. If it ever stops raining I'm going to try some of these out. Also, we move our material around on the jobsite quite a bit when our telehandler is somewhere else and the deere 323d will not pick up a full bundle of advantech (3510lbs). We have to remove 4-5 sheets off the bundles before we can move them. I'm just curious if the 259d will do everything I want or if it's worth going to the 289d. I obviously don't want to spend more than I have to in order to get a machine to handle the work I do. For most of the concrete work, I'm sure the 259d will be fine, but the dirt work gets old when you have to go into a pile twice everytime to get a full bucket and feel like that 289d might be more suited for that. Has anyone used both cat machines?

 

[KSSS]

It sounds to me like you should be in the next class size up in machines. I don't see a 259 being strong enough for what your wanting to get done. The 289D might give you the lift but they are only 75 hp. Perhaps that is enough, the machine will be heavier which should help with tractive effort digging into a pile. I demoed a 299D2 (not the XHP), I was unimpressed by the power compared to my current track loader. The 75 hp of the 289 is not a lot when you lugging a 10K pound machine and trying to multifunction the hydraulics, but it would be worth demoing one to see. It would save you money over a 299D which in my demo was around 90K. It was not worth that in my view, but the XHP for a couple K more might be.

 

[pafarmer]

I own both the 289D and the 259D .....both are high flow machine.....Both have the same motor and the same break horsower for all practical purposes. The 289 D is heavier than the 259 D. Both are very capable machines with the ability to do most Jobs equally. the 259D is smaller and lighter therefore less capable of lifting the same weigh as the 289 D but not much less. I think the 259D would serve just find and cost you less money in the long run. If it were me and could only afford one I would buy the 259D. It's a really machine machine and highly capable of all the tasks the 289d can do. Now if you really want big HP and capability get the 299XHP. Nothing out there today on the market compares to the big CAT. I own a half dozen of the 299XHP full forestry package , steel tracked machines. My 259D also has the full forestry package with no steel trackers ... Hope that helps...

 

[cptotr]

That actually helps a lot. I was hoping that was the case. Just went down to my Cat dealer to see what inventory they had in stock. Looked like they only had the 289d in stock.They did have a nice looking low hour kubota 90-2 though. I have no idea on prices since they're closed. How much cheaper is the 259 than the 289? Also, is the cab the same size between the two?

 

[pafarmer]

The cabs are the same. Identical....as far as price goes, what I pay can't be used by you as a benchmark. I buy allot of new equipment each year from my Cat so I get a better deal than most and certainly over a guy that only buys one machine. I have a 289D for sale now if you have an interest. Very low hour machine that I bought for personal farm use that I never have time to do. It's loaded and I can give details if you have an interest , simply PM me and I can provide those to you. I really love the 259D unit , great machine with plenty of power and lifting capacity....I think 15 K diff. between the two machines would be a fair number to give you... My 259D runs an Advanced Forestry head specifically made for a hi flow 259D CAT machine and it's a little powerhouse across the board....the full forestry package on the 259D is a very cool setup...hoping to get steel tracks on it this coming Spring ...

 

[cptotr]

pm sent

 

[pafarmer]

pm sent

PM replied too....

 

[cptotr]

I pm'ed you back pafarmer but it wouldn't let me send. Said your inbox was full.

 

[cptotr]

Alright, I went to the Cat dealer today just to get a feel for the machines they had. I liked the 289d with the exception of a couple things after being in my deere for a couple years. First thing I noticed was that the cab was kind of awkward getting into. Not sure why exactly, but definitely not as easy to get in and out of as the deere. Other thing I didn't like was the leg room of the cab. Seemed very cramped and would be difficult to use the foot throttle. On the deere the foot throttle is forward towards the front of the cab whereas on the cat, it is placed real close to the seat. You have to move your foot back and puts your ankle at a weird angle to use the foot throttle. I don't use it all the time, but I do use it occasionally.

Other than that I really liked machine. I really liked the feel of the hydraulics and the responsiveness over my deere.

Also on a side note, they just took trade of a kubota 90-2 in on a 299d. I wasn't able to run it because it was in the service bay getting checked out, but I crawled around on it and really liked the comfort of that cab. I think I like the option of the excavator style front door. It might be a pain to open and close all the time, but sure would be nice on those days you're in and out and want to leave the door open. He quoted me a fair price I thought. He said $42k for a 2014 with 575 hours. How does that sound to you kubota guys? Also what do you guys think of the kubota? What does it do well and what are its shortcomings?

 

[pafarmer]

I pm'ed you back pafarmer but it wouldn't let me send. Said your inbox was full.

Cleaned out now, or maybe I should say I think it's cleared out now...

 

[KSSS]

The cab on the CAT is a little odd. I found for me that the door didn't open far enough, and the floor height was too high for me to be really comfortable. My knees were up too high and there is not a lot of leg room to stretch out.

 

[cptotr]

The kubota sold, so that machine is out of the picture now.

I had a 289 delivered today for a demo. Didn't have much time to run it, but the short time I did there was some things that felt really good about it. I loved the feel of the controls. MUCH better than my deere. Very responsive with no lag. Also, the ride was the best I've experienced. It was very smooth and quiet in both low and high speed. I was mostly doing some fine grading for yard work and spreading some top soil, so I didn't get much opportunity to really see what the machine can do, but I will be doing some backfilling on another job tomorrow so I'll get a little bit better feel for the power. So far the only negatives are the entry into the cab and the fact that you can't hardly see to change out attachments. Other than that I was pleased. I was wanting them to bring a 259 too so I could see the difference, but they didn't have one in right now. I definitely don't want to buy a 289 if a 259 will do the job.

 

[cptotr]

Does anybody else feel the 289 cannot pull it's own weight? Is it the 74hp trying to lug around 10500 lbs? Or is there something wrong with this machine?

Bobcat brought out a t770 today. It's absolutely terrible. Loud. Rough ride, machine shakes horribly from the vibration of the engine. It dies when you go into a pile of dirt and try to get a full load. Not really sure how they've sold many of these.

 

[Tags]

I own both the 289D and the 259D .....both are high flow machine.....Both have the same motor and the same break horsower for all practical purposes. The 289 D is heavier than the 259 D. Both are very capable machines with the ability to do most Jobs equally. the 259D is smaller and lighter therefore less capable of lifting the same weigh as the 289 D but not much less. I think the 259D would serve just find and cost you less money in the long run. If it were me and could only afford one I would buy the 259D. It's a really machine machine and highly capable of all the tasks the 289d can do. Now if you really want big HP and capability get the 299XHP. Nothing out there today on the market compares to the big CAT. I own a half dozen of the 299XHP full forestry package , steel tracked machines. My 259D also has the full forestry package with no steel trackers ... Hope that helps...

To the OP.....I think Pafarmer has told you his opinion of both and from being around here for a while I feel he knows what he's talking about from actual seat time. Now that's not to say you'll feel different about what he has to say but he pretty much said exactly what you're feeling about the 289.....

 

[cptotr]

Except for the fact that the 289 I am demoing doesn't have enough power to pull itself up a small incline. I'm wondering if that's normal. On flat ground it's fine, any type of hill it pulls itself all the way down to 16-1700 rpm's. I just want to know if this is normal or not. The cat salesman is of little help. His suggestion is "let's get out a 299 for you to try."

 

[KSSS]

Except for the fact that the 289 I am demoing doesn't have enough power to pull itself up a small incline. I'm wondering if that's normal. On flat ground it's fine, any type of hill it pulls itself all the way down to 16-1700 rpm's. I just want to know if this is normal or not. The cat salesman is of little help. His suggestion is "let's get out a 299 for you to try."

I predicted this. The 289 is big, heavy machine with only 75 hp. If your doing primarily lift and carry type work it would be fine. I demoed a 299 and thought it was under powered. It also struggled carrying bucket loads of material up an incline. PaFarmer suggests going right to the 299XHP. I think I would suggest the same to you. I have not had a chance to demo one yet but I will in the Spring.

 

[pafarmer]

I predicted this. The 289 is big, heavy machine with only 75 hp. If your doing primarily lift and carry type work it would be fine. I demoed a 299 and thought it was under powered. It also struggled carrying bucket loads of material up an incline. PaFarmer suggests going right to the 299XHP. I think I would suggest the same to you. I have not had a chance to demo one yet but I will in the Spring.

My advise is go with the 259D, less weight, smaller chassis, same 74 HP or jump to the 299XHP.....it's the biggest and baddest on the market with a price tag to match...XHP .....Xtra high Price....insane hydro power and pushing power on par with a D5 with steel under carriage....more HP than any other skid steer currently on the market...I like the little 259D for the money it's a fantastic machine and very capable. Add the weighs , it out performs the published specs.....I love my 299XHP units but for the everyday man doing everyday type jobs I feels the 259 D is a very capable unit....

My .02
Farmer