case 450 crawler/loader vs JD 450 C/L

Problem is now - they all have high hours on them. Even if a trans was recently "rebuilt" who knows how many parts that still worked - were reused not renewed.

We had a Case industrial dealer across the road from our Deere dealership. When the Case place went under (burnt down), we hired two of their "anti John Deere" mechanics. After a few years - both the guys felt the Deere and Case 450s were pretty much equal in regard to how rugged they were. That's saying a lot considering how they felt at first.

I worked for Deere at three dealerships for a span 35 years. At present, I own one Deere crawler, three Allis Chalmers crawlers, one Oliver-Cletrac, one almost-Case Terratrac, one Case crawler and two Case backhoes. With farm tractors - I have 8 Cases, 2 IHs, and one Deere. So, guess I'm not very brand-loyal to Deere.

The 450 series Deeres were all very rugged, and from the 450B turbo and newer, very powerful. The big downside is the HL-R transmission and the expense of fixing one. Considering the age of them, it's something to think about. I've seen quite a few 450s get scrapped out for parts once the trans goes bad. They can cost over $6000 to get fixed if in bad shape.

In regard to parts support, seems to be excellent with both makes. My neighbor uses two Case 450 dozers at his saw mill. He's had them since new and tells me he's never had a problem getting any part he wants.

Deere still sort of sells 450s "new" - so I guess they must have all the parts. Deere buys them back, completely refurbishes and updates them, and sticks on a new serial # tag under the "Certified Relife Program."