In all this, I see very little mention of the features that seemed big when I was shopping. The proximity and quality of the dealer are important, of course, but other factors that I tossed around before settling on the Case included:
Transmission controls -- Deere made a big deal over their 2 pedal HST versus the rocker pedal
Seat -- size, height, adjustability, angle, etc. Kubota seats made me feel like I was falling forward off the seat. Kioti made me feel like I was standing up. Deere had the highest back, good some of the time, bad other times as when looking behind the tractor. CNH had a good firm seat, tough cover, and it pivots.
Loader controls -- how far do you need to reach when operating the thing?
Overall height -- the Kubota and Deere ROPS in my size machine were sufficiently high that I would be constantly lowering them to get the tractor in the garage/shop door. With the Case, I had to crank a couple of extra turns into the spring to raise the door a little higher, but it fits.
Reachable service items -- fule filler, filters, dipsticks, radiator, etc. With and without the loader in place.
Vulnerabilty of hoses, wires, etc. on the belly of the machine. Several brands have the fuel filter hanging so low I just knew I would break it off on a log or rock running around in my woods. Ditto hydraulic hoses.
Know how and where you will use the tractor, then look it over for things that might be damaged during use. Sit the seats and reach for the controls you will use a lot. Measure the height and width of the openings you need to drive through. Prioritize your uses literally, on paper, giving a value to each. Then go sit, drive, talk, look, walk around the dealership, etc.
For me, it was pretty much up in the air between Kubota, Deere, CNH after eliminating several others for various reasons ranging from dealer location to perceived weakness of design for my use. I finally decided on a machine after visiting a dealer and being treated very graciously by a guy who sold 3 brands with no personal bias toward any of them. He told me the Kubota would be excellent, the Case maybe not quite so good, and the Cadet less so. Even with that, he owned and drove Case for his personal uses. I sat, measured, drove, and chose the Case. No complaints in 300 hours.
The Bobcat is a Kioti machine, same assembly line, different color, different loader. I am guessing Bobcat is using a different loader to not associate themselves with the issue that Kioti had with cracking loaders on the smaller machines, CK20-35, until they redesigned the loaders. The only item that needs to be addressed on my machine is the backhoe was used heavily and one of the hoses has some wear on it from rubbing on the boom where it goes inside the boom and I should replace it in the next few months. The Kioti does have some features as standard that are options on other machines, which helps to add value to the machine. The JD machines do have features that make adding/removing implements easier.. but at a large cost. I still check out other machines and I have not found one that I like better, or a better value than the Kioti. It fits ME well, it might not fit YOU. You do need to go try out as many different tractors as you can, even ones you have no interest in. You might find some feature that you really like, or dislike. That is where I found what machines fit me best and the ones that just didn't work for me ergonomically. You need to find which one you are comfortable with as YOU will be the one to spend lots of time in the seat.
