I recently purchased a 3032e, and love it. I looked at CaseIH, Kubota, NewHolland and John Deere. I agree, the quality of all the tractors I looked at was a matter of personal opinion to pick one over another. I grew up on a farm and we always had either a Case or a CaseIH, one 8n Ford, and my uncle had David Brown and an Oliver. All of them were great tractors and were used and abused for the most part.
I liked the feel of the controls on the 3032e. I personally prefered the plastic hood and metal side panels on the JD over the solid hood (prone to rust and dents, and probably more expensive to replace) on the Kubotas.
I read many posts on here. I searched each individual tractor in each manuf. forum.
I tend to stay away from the comparison and quetion posts of brand vs another, as each individaul owner sees the one he owns as the best. I wanted honest opinions on performance and reliability from owners, not a used car salesmen pitch ( which I have saw my fair share of from one inparticular Kubota guy on here).
After doing this research, I went out and sat in the seats, and talked with dealers. In my area, the CaseIH and Kubota dealers must have thought thier tractors were lined with gold, had very poor attitudes, and showed little to no help. This was a MAJOR turn off for me. I am most certain it does not reflect the attitude of all of thier dealers. The JD dealer I went too was simply great. Helpful, answered all my questions, didnt not look down his nose at me, treat me like I should have a money tree in my back yard, and worked with me on every single issue or question. They were truly second to none. Thats just a good way to do business in my book. I actually went there to look at a used Ford they had, and ended up buying a new JD off of them.
I loved the tractor from the time I sat in the seat and ran it on their lot.
It may not have been what I wanted, as I would of loved a nicely restored IH1466 or 1066, but I can assure you, it was and is exactly the tractor I needed with a quality dealer to boot !!!
Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, so put some seat time in several different brands, and leave your options open if a dealer of the brand you want isnt worth a hoot.
I love my 3032e so far. Even my son loves it, and its simple enough for him to learn to run !!!
So make the best of your buying experience, and have fun. It certainly is nothing to stress about :thumbsup: