When I think of a large purchase like a tractor, I want something that will last the long haul. I bought my tractor with the intentions on having it until I die. So with that said, I wanted something that I knew parts support would still be there decades down the road. I did a LOT of research. I spoke to tractor mechanics, I spoke to service centers, and I spoke to owners. What I learned from the service centers and mechanics at independent shops was that brands like TYM, Kioti, Branson etc., they had a LOT of issues with parts support. One service center said they had Kioti's sitting in the back lot waiting months on parts. I also seen some of these off-brand tractor dealers open shop and then close down within a few years. So I had no faith in these little dealers selling the Korean tractors. The one thing I heard over and over was if you wanted a long term reliability, then you needed to look at Deere and Kubota. They sell more tractors than anyone else, for every 1 Korean tractor, there were 500 JD or Kubota tractors sold. So years down the road, chances are you'll find a part for these tractors before you'll find one for the lesser known tractors. That was important to me. Another isse I had with the Korean tractors was I felt they used inferior steel in their construction. I see far more steel related issues in these tractors than what I do in JD or Kubota. The parts support is getting better with the Korean tractors but I am not just talking about today's parts supply, but also the parts supply for them 30 years from now. While there will be ten's of thousands of old used JD's and Kubotas around, there won't be near as many of the off-brand Korean tractors out there.
I also wanted no part of the whole emissions world they put on these tractors. I have dealt with the emission issues on my diesel trucks and it was costly. So with my tractor, I wanted a bare bones, no emissions, all mechanical tractor that didn't need all of these sensors to run properly.
I chose a Kubota L2502 and it's an awesome tractor that does everything I could ask for on my 20 acres. And as many of these that are sold, I should be able to find parts for it even 30 years from now.
We all have different opinions and this one is mine...
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for every 1 Korean tractor, there were 500 JD or Kubota tractors sold"
That is not even close to correct, not anymore anyway.
Neil from Messack's did a Youtube video not too long ago where he let slip a bombshell statistic that between JD and Kubota combined, they only hold 65-75% of the US market share (in the up to 50 hp market). You may think that is huge, but it used to be MUCH greater, 80-90% just a few decades prior. So the "big guys" are losing market share at a fairly significant rate.
He also stated in this video, that there are now 10 times more small tractors (up to 50 hp) sold new in the market than there are large Ag tractors. So the CUT/SCUT market is pretty big in general.
I personally think that drop in market share will continue at the same rate, as the "Big 2" are just ripe for the taking. At least around here, their dealers act like they are too big to fail and that customers are lucky to have them and owe them their allegiance. Much like IH's market attitude in the 60's and 70's.
Much of your concern about dealer and service support is quite valid. Some brands and dealers come and go like a fart in a skillet. Some get bought out (Branson's parent company, Kukje, was bought by TYM and their product line was folded into the TYM product line, for example). And some disappear entirely. In my case, my dealer is long gone. There are still TYM dealers (some are former Branson dealers, and some are not) around, but the only one in my state now is over 4 hrs away, which may as well be on the moon to be any good to me. TYM is trying to get more market share and open more dealers around the country, but it seems a slow process.
But it would take a company with the long term fortitude to survive and make deep inroads into the US market to really penetrate well. Think of what Kubota went through in the 60's and 70's in order to penetrate the US market. Once derided and vilified by the "Big 2" of the day (JD and IH), they are now firmly entrenched as a market mainstay.
Maybe another company will come along and do the same? Maybe TYM (with a ton of money to spend), but maybe not. It will take a long term philosophy to weather that storm that most corp's (especially US ones) no longer have. A "Day Trader" investment attitude will never get it there. It would take a major investment and the fortitude to weather the losses for a decade or more to make something like that happen.
