As usual, I'm late to the party.
I think I've had almost as many tractors as I've had fishing poles. Tractors were a major hobby for many years.
About 15 years ago I got real interested in small Japanese 4-WD/AWD tractors after I bought one very cheap at an auction. Over a few years I bought several more that looked like real beaters. I got them at pretty low prices because of their appearance. Once I got them home, I found that the problems were mostly cosmetic. New seats, new paint and decals, some repairs like bearings and glow plugs, made me enough to buy a brand new tractor with cash.
One thing I learned was that most of the smaller diesel tractors sold in the US for the last 30 years were from overseas, mostly Japan. Like most of the 40-hp to 50-h and smaller, diesel John Deeres from the 1970s to about 10 years ago were made by Yanmar of Japan. My Masseys and Allis-Chalmers were made by Hinomoto of Japan.
The South Korean and Japanese small diesel tractors are nearly all excellent. Many are multi-country.
I bought a new Mahindra about six years ago with front-end loader and a frame-mounted hydraulic backhoe. It is truly multicultural. It was assembled in Trumbull, TX. The diesel engine and very heavy duty drive train were made by Mitsubishi. It is all heavy metal, except for the dashboard, seat cover, knobs, and some minor parts. The tires, wheels, and basic parts are from the US. The front-end loader and backhoe were designed and manufactured in Kansas by Kansas Machine Works.
I never got to use the 3-year front-to-back warranty. I did lose some hitch/clip pins and minor parts, like the fuel cap. My local dealer replaced them for free.
It now has about 600 trouble free hours. I've put about 40 hours plowing snow and grading my 1/2 mile of driveway this season.
Yes, I like my Mahindra. To the best of my knowledge, Mahindra is now the world's largest-selling under 50-hp tractor manufacturer -- out selling even John Deere and Kubota. We havehave a number of great dealers in this area who have been selling them for at least 10 years. Parts, for what few I've needed, are easy to obtain.
But, I could be happy with any number of other Japanese/South Korean made compact or utility tractors, if it was locally well supported and been manufactured for a number of years.
IMHO, I'd just stay away from Chinese or Eastern European tractors. Quality is somehat of an issue, but parts support can be a major issue.
