...I would never look at another brand of tractor. Just not interested.
But... I understand. Half the population has been married more than once!
And the other half now owns all the former's toys!
JD earned their place in the hearts of farmers during the Great Depression when, as the market failed and prices died, farmers could no longer make their payments. The other brands repossessed tractors and implements by the thousands when payments fell behind.
JD very wisely understood that, as a mfr'r, the last thing they wanted was to own a bunch of used equipment while trying to make & sell new equip't.!!
They told their customers to KEEP their tractors, etc', and try to stay afloat thru the Depression...and to make payments
when they can!
Smart. Very smart. Those farmers
would never forget it! They bought JD ONLY after that, and JD sold and re-sold to them and their sons over and over again thru the decades.
Things are different now. JD (and MF, IH, Ford/NewHolland, etc.) has failed to keep up with innovation and production efficiencies (largely foreign-production low expenses) until the competition passed them by...and now are trying to play "catch-up". On top of that, they've treated customers snootily and outsourced mfr'g and parts supply. They now share a belief that their customers are the Millenium-kids and the subsidized-corporate farmers.
Kubota, Mahindra, LS, etc. have grabbed market-share and it's no longer the kindness of the Depression-Era that keeps JD in business... it's a mindset that "I'll never look at another brand" that keeps them in business... despite their snooty-dealers and snobbish factory attitudes. JD has forgotten it's own lesson and background.
Kubota simply has a very good product and an even better attitude toward it's customers and follows it up with service and polishes the deal with good financing. Mahindra makes products comparable to JD with better dealer attitudes and red paint.... but Kubota makes better designed products with more robust construction and follows it up with financing, service, and advertising and now.... reputation... which equates to re-sale value.
I just hope that as an owner of a 1996 M4700DT (heavy-gauge all-metal and no emissions controls) that long-term support and parts-supply will measure up and not fall into obsolescence. Kubota's penchant for multiple-models and frequent model-changes might be their Achilles heel.
