Safety features and fresh paint don't add 3-4k to our tractors....more like...oh.... $700-800, mostly for the safety features (the paint job is not costly), which we think is money well spent... Some folks disagree, and that's fine. But, the ROPS are expensive because they're engineered, tested to failure, and manufactured in the good ole US of A. Believe me, I wish they were cheaper too, but the development cost for each individual ROPS model was >$10,000, and samples of each tractor model had to be shipped to MN for testing. If you want to bend and weld some tubing and bolt it onto your tractor, you might be able to do it for $75, and it might hold up if you...say.... flip the tractor off the side of your flatbed....it might....Then again, it might not...who knows. But a dealer wanting to sell safe used tractors to his customers, and stay in business, can't rely on "might"...and I don't think tractor owners should either. That's why we use ROPS that have been designed, tested, and built by professionals... $700 sounds like a lot of money, until your tractor is upside down on top of you.
Unfortunately the days of ordering up a container of cheap YM2000's, 2310's, 2210's, & whatnot....and unloading, changing fluids, and having mostly good usable machines that can be sold with minimal investment of labor and parts are pretty much gone. This is not a conspiracy of greedy dealers raking people over the coals for massive profits. Anybody who doesn't believe me....I'll send you a copy of my tax return...I'll bet you $20 you made more than I did last year. Anyway, it's just the current day reality that the available machines are older, and rougher, and there's more competition for good units from buyers all over the world....not just the US. There was a time a few years ago when we just had to say goodbye to some very desirable small 4x4 models because they were all getting sold to Australia for more profit.
UTDA membership and tractor quality are really separate issues. The UTDA just makes demands on its member dealers to equip the Yanmars they sell with safety equipment, perform safety inspections for other Yanmar owners, and to offer parts & service to any UTDA tractor owner. The UTDA says nothing about warranty, reconditioning, or anything else. Somebody selling used, as is, no warranty Yanmars straight out of the container could become a UTDA dealer, it's not that hard, and their prices would be affected by the cost of the safety equipment only. The VN reconditioners could join the UTDA too, but none of them have. The fact that many of the current UTDA membership is selling highly reconditioned tractors that aren't at the bottom of the price pile is just a... I don't want to use the word coincidence...... They're people who want to offer a product that's at the top of its market in terms of quality, safety, appearance...and so joining the UTDA makes sense. Other folks operate on a business model of low price low price low price above all other considerations.... that's fine.... that's their choice and that's what some buyers are looking for... the beauty of capitalism, you know.... but don't think for a second that if you go that way you're going to be getting the same quality of tractor.
While UTDA membership and tractor quality are separate issues, tractor quality and price are not of course. Cleaner, lower hour machines cost more in Japan than raggedy high hour ones do. Mechanics in the US get paid more than those in Vietnam. A tractor (like most of ours) that has NEW: radiator, water pump, belts, hoses, battery, tires, exhaust, steering wheel, seat, UTDA safety equipment, and a rebuilt and dyno tested engine with new pistons, rings, sleeves, bearings, and gaskets costs more than those that haven't had these things done..... no conspiracy.... just the unavoidable economics. Don't get me wrong, I salute the guys that find that cheap diamond in the rough, and then do all those repairs themselves and end up with a great tractor that they know inside and out... I think that's AWESOME....and those are some of the same guys who have so much valuable wisdom to share here with others.
If it were still a viable business for folks to import containers and sell them as is with minimal parts and labor input, there would be more people doing it....that beauty of capitalism thing again.... because thats WAY EASIER and WAY CHEAPER than the process ours go through. But those relatively clean 15 year old Yanmars you could get back in the day are now 30 year old Yanmars, good ones are more scarce and therefore more costly, and they require more investment to be what most folks (in my opinion) would consider a "good used tractor".
