I bought, what I expect will be the last new tractor I will need, back in 2005. That was just the second new tractor purchased on this farm, since my great great great grandad homesteaded it before the Civil war. My grandad replaced his last team of horses with the first one, back in 1950.
That John Deere model M is showing a bit of wear now, but still ran well when my dad last fired it up to plow his garden a few years ago.
When I was tractor shopping, I looked at comparable models from JD, NH, and Kubota in 2005. There was not much difference in price. The JD slightly outspec’d the others in hydraulic flow and lift capacity, so that’s what I went with.
The fact that the JD had an American made engine and was assembled in the USA was an added bonus, especially because I still had some surviving family members who had served in the Pacific theater during WW II.
That JD has served me well these last 16 years, needing only one new battery, new front tires, and a new starter, all simple fixes I could do on my own. A JD dealer is the closest to me, about 4 miles away, but the only time I have needed to visited them is to pick up an oil filter every 100 hours.
So what made my brand better in order of importance was : 1) familiarity and proven performance 2) outspec’d competition at same price point 3) closest dealer 4)American made including power plant.
I don’t think #4 is still an option at the 40-60 hp level, in the post tier 4 days, so I am glad I got my last tractor while the getting was good.
.
