Romania used to build cheap tractors and sell it to many countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The quality was not great, but as the buyers said: a 14

Romania used to build cheap tractors and sell it to many countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The quality was not great, but as the buyers said: a 14 year kid can fix this on the side of the road. The problem with John Deere is that you cannot fix almost anything without a very expensive trip to a dealer or authorized workshop. Their explanation is that this is the only way to ensure quality (read: "rip off") repair. I don't know in detail what can be user replaceable, but probably not a lot more than the tires. Compared to auto repairs where most shops can fix almost any car, John Deere has a monopoly on repairing their tractors; not a good one. Think about a PC with all custom parts that only the manufacturer can build and sell. You would not buy such a thing, unless that would be the most common one you can find, over 50% of the market.