"I purchased this tractor in 2010. When I purchased this, I ordered it with a front power take-off kit and various implements.
The tractor is (mechanically) built sturdy - heavy duty. There is a lack of room in the way the dash is wired, so hooking up an add-on from the manufacturer is cumbersome.
The tractor has too many "lock-outs," that is to say there are a lot of interlocks that need to be met if you wish to start the tractor, the obvious ones are low oil, main gear selector in gear, clutch disengaged, etc.
Since some of the wires are not on top of the frame (I will call the transmission housing and engine the frame) they are routed on the underside and not inside a skid plate. I was driving over light brush (mostly weeds and new saplings) and ripped out a cable. I was surprised by this when I tried to start it and was not able to, I had to troubleshoot it. The average person (homeowner) without a background in electronics would have not been able to, which brings me to the next point - service.
(Dealer name removed) has no real service and support. I ordered the front power take-off "kit" as they did not come to the US with them. The dealer did not know how to install it. After months of research, I was able to find engineering drawings of how the system is installed (more or less) and with my background in electro-mechanical systems, I installed the system. The power take-off system cannot engage until it is activated in the computer!
I found a dealer in North Carolina who would activate it for $1500, that is to say he was going to charge me $3000, send a programmer to me, I do the activation, and then send the tool back for a $1500 credit! This should have been activated when I ordered it!
After many calls with (dealer name removed), they had the service manager contact me, he promised to come out and activate it, we set up a date and I took the day off, he was a "no-show" so I called to see what happened, he was in Canada! No call, lost a day of work etc. To this day, it is not activated because I cannot get (dealer name removed) to activate it.
Pass on the Deutz tractors, get a John Deere or a Kubota, both tractor companies have stellar service and they are serious about customer satisfaction!"