Micropilot.
I'd love to define how I determine quality.
Quality for me is not just one thing (ie breakdowns) but many.
For example: TOTAL cost of ownership (NOT just the initial price), ease and frequency of maintenance, parts availibility, resale value and ease of resale, ease of operation (ie loader taking off and putting on), attachment capability, dealer support, and so on.
Why did I form the groups I did? Glad you asked.
The first group is quite widely accepted as the big 3. Most common deler network, great parts avail, high in customer satisfaction, crisp fit and finish, common houshold name, awesome resale etc.
Group 2 is a group dedicated to long term success in the US market. They are all set up with growing or already strong delaers, dedicated US stocking locations, sales offices (corporate), and are working hard at bringing a competitive yet reliable unit to the show.
Group 3 consists of the companies trying to do it right but are still small. Not that small is bad. But history has shown us what often happens to small tractor companies. These are the companies that are trying to give good dealer support and parts but aren't at the distributership and marketing level to firmly compete with the big boys. At this point I somewhat question resale, but time will tell.
Group 4 is the ones I personally would stay away from at this point. If JINMA set up their own system like Kioti I may reevaluate my position, but right now anyone who can buy a container of tractors can be a dealer. Who is the distributer for them? Is is Farm Pro? Is it china best products, china depot, china importers, or perhaps china-tractors. I've conversed with all these guys. None of them are distributers.
I also hate how the 385 engine which most of them have needs to be eithered from day one in my climate in the winters. If you either them once you will either them for life.
Chinese factors such as Golden Horse will be happy to make tractors for anyone who puts enough orders in and have no real intentions of setting up their own dealers right now. Just go on some of the Chinese tractor message boards (like CTOA) and see what has happened to some of these poor guys who bought a Jinma or benya etc and had the dealer, (who sold out of his barn) sell all 6 of tractors and quit selling them becasue they were too much of a pain to get parts. Does that mean that those tractors will do nothing but breakdown? No, of course not. Are they well built? Maybe. But at some point every tractor breaks down.
But with that said quality is not ALL about breakdowns.
