Only one memory from back in the day. in 1975 I bought a duplex, to fix up and resell while we lived there. (Worked as planned, bought $45k sold for $75k in three years). One improvement was to grade the neglected, too-steep backyards into lawns on terraces.
I rented tiny tractors that could go through a 4 ft wide opening where I removed a fence panel. First weekend a tiny 4x4 Kubota with scraper box and loader, I think a 6000 or 6100. I hauled the excess dirt through that fence opening using the loader and used it for fill to level the front yard. Next weekend the Kubota was already rented so I got a tiny Yanmar. This one was 2 wheel drive.
I liked the Yanmar better. It steered easier, pulled its scraper box just as well, more suitable gear ratios, the loader worked more naturally. Overall a nicer experience. After this direct comparison I decided I liked the Yanmar better.
Then near 30 years later when I took over this orchard and looked for a small tractor, Ebay was full of gray market Yanmars so I started reading about them. For even less than a 'reconditioned' gray I found a (US) YM240, a nice tractor aside from its appearance that showed it had been left outdoors for years. My cost over the following 14 years has been less than if I had bought the alternatives available at that time, a 'reconditioned' Gray or a $5,000 Jinma. I'm a Yanmar enthusiast.
