What Is A Grey Market Yanmar?

There is a lot of myths and confusion on this topic so we thought it was a great time to help set the record straight. 

Yanmar manufactures tractors for many countries around the world. They sell tractors new in Japan, Europe, Middle East, USA, and many other countries. The most simple explanation of a grey market tractor is a tractor that is located in a country where it was not originally intended by the manufacturer. In the case with Yanmar, a grey market tractor is simply a tractor located in the USA that was originally manufactured for sale in Japan. 

These tractors were sold new by Yanmar to customers in Japan. The customers used the tractors for many years on their small farms until the tax credits issued by the Japanese government made it economically favorable to trade in their old tractor to buy a new one. These used tractors do not have much value in Japan (due to the tax incentive to buy new) so they are often exported to other countries.

These tractors are completely legal and not mechanically inferior to the Yanmar tractors that were sold new in the USA. The only major differences are that the grey market throttle levers are typically backwards (forward = slower), the grey market models usually have multiple PTO speeds, and most grey market models were not offered with a ROPS (Roll Over Protection Structure) though very few USA model Yanmars were equipped with them either, and the decals were partially printed in Japanese (though there is a lot of English on them also). Some grey market models were also not equipped with clutch safety switches or overrunning PTO devices. All of these safety items should, absolutely, be added to your Yanmar in order to make your tractor safer. 

How do you spot a grey market Yanmar? Gray market models usually have 4 numbers like YM1500, YM2000D, or YM3110. They can also start with F like F20, FX32, F215. The USA models typically had 3 number models like YM155, YM240D or YM336. There are also some new 2022 and newer Yanmar models that start with YM so that adds some extra confusion. 

So why all the bad press on these grey market tractors? At the height of the importing craze there were several companies that were shipping very poor quality tractors off to Vietnam where they were very cheaply fixed and repainted to look like new. The hour meters were set back to zero hours and they were sold with a very limited warranty. These machines were frequently sold as new by a few unscrupulous used equipment dealers in the USA. This caught hundreds of buyers off guard after their 'new' tractor ended up with major problems and the dealers that sold them disappeared. Yanmar has mostly eliminated those dealers through a wave of lawsuits but, occasionally, I will see these 'new' 40 year old Yanmars pop up on eBay or an internet ad. Yanmar also prohibits most of their licensed dealers from working on or selling parts for grey market models which, if you are not aware of when you buy, might make for an unhappy service experience.  

If you are in doubt on what to buy please contact us. We are always happy to help and we never charge for our advice.