All of this is good to know. But fundamentally, you don't want to be running 100miles to a dealer. Having grown up on a farm, the basic rule of thumb is see what is popular local/close. Then seriously look at the most popular tractors. Compare features and prices. Then decide which tractor fits your needs. Keep in mind that each tractor brand will have avid followers. I live in Iowa, and the dominant tractor around here is green.... So there are plenty of JohnDeere, Kubota's, NH's (CaseIH). But that doesn't mean you can find some other lesser known brands. Massey's for instance while not in evidence close to where I live. They do have about 3 different dealers that are about 1-2hour drive from me. If they'd been closer it would have been an option.
Having just recently purchased a new compact tractor. One thing I noticed is that there are some brands like "Scorpion" that have Yanmar Engines, and Transaxles just like the JD's. So, if you had too they could be serviced at a Deere dealer. Likewise, many of the large tractors now have either a Cummins or Cat diesel engine... Its all part of the globalization of tractor makers. They want to make sure the typical purchaser of their product is comfortable with the servicability of the tractor they buy and use for the next umptine years.
Just my 2cents.
-Dave
BTW, I bought a Kubota
BX2230 because the features/quality/price met my needs for my 2 acres.
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I use both brands. Kubota is the dominant small tractor company in the North American market, they have roughly 60% of the market share in the US, not sure about Canada. New Holland is huge in the AG tractor market, but holds the #3 sales position in the compact tractors with a market share something near 15%. As for holding their value, would suspect that both of them do a very good job, I was recently offered 100% of the cost of my 2 year old NH as a trade in toward a new one by my dealer. I would say that is pretty darn good. Now compare that with some of the minor brands that many dealers will not even accept for trade in and that makes things look even better for the major brands. Resale value is probably pretty regional, but I would suggest that Kubota, Deere, Case/New Holland, and Massey Ferguson are probably the best brands to own if resale value is a consideration.
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