I like mahindras..lot of people around here are buyin them and love them..the one i use is a 1528 and its knockin on 200hrs with nary an issue

I have a john deere 4400 and it's a great little tractor. But when something breaks you are gonna pay bigly even if you do it yourself. Kubota's are everywhere and almost every tractor place services / repairs them. If I had a do over I'd go with a Kubota.

I had a JD 3032e, loader 4x4 - which I think is a pretty standard config for this model. I sold it to my neighbor in order to get something bigger. The day after I sold it, I was wishing I still had it - even though I knew I also needed something bigger. It was a great tractor, hydrostatic made it easy to do whatever you needed in small/tight areas. It handled 5ft implements with no problem. The only downside was the lifting capacity of the loader - which for most scenarios, that could be worked around.

I ended up buying a JD 5055e which has been a great tractor, but there's still times I wish I had that smaller one to just hop on and go do the things I needed.

In the JD 3xxxe series line - 3025, 3032 and 3038 - pretty sure the actual tractors are all the same size - just different horsepower. From what you described, I'd look for a used 3038e. You can usually find someone selling doing like what I was - upgrading and selling with a few implements for a really good deal.

Kubota for sure. I don't have a tractor but just bought a zero turn.

If I were buying a compact tractor, 30ish HP , it would be orange. I'd suggest a belly mower, over a bush hog or finishing mower. You can do better work with them and don't have to look back all the time so you don't take the corner off the house or bark off trees. I'll also add you need a landscape/rock rake to grade a gravel drive, put angle in , make a couple laps pulling outside gravel back in, then put it back straight and pull down the center. Makes it look like you put down fresh gravel each time.

I got the 3032e for around the house and the 5055e for the farm. Both are great tractors, but I couldn't ise the 5055 around the house. It would tear everything up!

The brand needs to be determined to a large degree by the best local dealer. I have Kubota because I have 5 dealers within 60 miles. One has decent service, another has great prices.

Hydrostatic transmission is a must. If it hasn't already been said.

Go to the GONE FARMING Mecum Tractor Auction in Davenport Iowa in November and get you a tractor cheap. Spent the last 3 Saturday mornings watching last years Auction and its crazy what 3-5K will buy. Buddy is working in Iowa spraying and he said every barn has 5-10 tractors getting restored. Nothing else to do in winter. ALDEER ROADTRIP!

https://www.mecum.com/auctions/davenport-november-tractor-2019/

I miss RFD TV for that reason. Lots of fine machines at those auctions.

If you’re gonna use a loader, no matter the brand, upsize a tad on the tractor. We had a 4x4 JD 790 with a loader. After busting 3 front knuckles, one under warranty and two without, we traded up a little in size and went with Kubota. This one is a 3901 and is twice the machine the 790 was. My mechanic buddy at JD told me the front ends on the smaller tractors get trashed because the loader will pick up more weight than should actually be carried with it. He also told me lifting heavy while reversing was the worst. After two years, no complaints at all about the Kubota.

I have a Mahindra 2538 and couldn’t be more pleased.

38hp, hydrostatic, 4x4 and a FEL

it’s big enough to handle 6’ implements and yet light enough to pull with a 1/2 ton truck.

For your use I’d make sure it’s 4x4, hydrostatic and has a FEL.

And make sure you don’t get Ag tires, they will destroy a yard.

Sounds expensive. Unfortunately for your granddiddy.... he didn't have 4x4 or a loader..... but he got along just fine.

Would he have liked to have had it... yea. That's a given. But he didn't have to have it.

Ford 3600 for the money. Plenty of loaders around Craigslist for those as well. Cheap. Or a Massey 135. Something like that is all you really "need" for a few acres. Everything else is bells, whistles and money.

I’ve been eyeballing a 2012 New Holland TC33da with 303hrs on it. No loader, 4x4, hydrostatic, belly mower, 5ft bush hog & 5ft disc. Really clean machine. NH dealer here close where I live. Also stored inside a barn

If all I needed was a compact tractor i could probably get by with out a tracror.

I should have just asked what truck I should buy...

Seriously... thanks for all the input so far.

To be honest, most brands are good tractors. Has a lot to do with how you treat them. Our farm tractors are tools and they have a job to do and they have to do it in some not so favorable conditions sometimes. Most tractors in our area have a short life span. As far as my 2 kubotas they have a good life here at the house. Just a little bush hogging and garden work. They have a shed to stay in and get cleaned often. They should have a long life here. Whatever you decide on,if you keep it maintained and don’t beat the hell out of it you should be ok. One thing to remember about all these new tractors almost everything is ran by computer and has lots of electronics which means it will have to go to the dealership for service. Most important tool on these new tractors is their laptop computers.
I would take my time and find that older gentleman who bought a tractor about 10-15yrs ago and used it about once a month and has it put up in a barn with hardly any hours on it and has decided to sell it for half the price of a new one. Just my opinion.

A warranty is a good reason to buy a new one as well. I don't know how long other manufactures warranties are, I know mahindra is 7 years. I would think they are all about the same in that regard.

Anything new now over 25 hp is going to have the new emissions on it. Speaking as a mechanic who works on equipment I will never own one that has the emissions on it.

Here is a used low hours 33 hp 4x4 with loader $15k. https://bham.craigslist.org/grd/d/birmingham-2015-kubota-l3301-4wd-tractor/6956618925.html

add a grapple to that and you got something to do most anything with.

I was about to suggest this one. I've seen it and I know David has it in top notch shape.