JNB I agree with some of your complaints on the new alpha design case units but with that said I feel you would be making a mistake by not even looking at the tier4B units which has addressed almost all the issues saw on the previous series. harness route different and more service friendly, completely re-designed track frame that are impressive , loader arm reinforcements, fuse block in different location and better sealing, joysticks harness electrical routed different, hydraulic tubes to replace the drive loop hoses, these are just some of the many changes Case made on the tier4b units and so far have been a really good machine. But case is also great at designing a new series machine and for the 1st couple of years they are plagued with issues xt's had there share of issue when 1st came out and the later versions where great same with the 400 series the 1st series where plagued with issue and the series 3 400 where a awesome machine. But this just is not shared by case and can find the same circumstances is any product you buy. Rule is that you never buy a 1st model of anything weather its case,bobcat,terex, ford,chevy,dodge what have ya. As far as dealer support goes if your using a agriculture dealership to service your construction unit youll never get the support that a dedicatd construction dealership can offer since it shear numbers, ag shops even tho can sell skidsteers don't see enough of them when compared to a construction dealership to be able to offer the support its the same if a farmer brought his combine to a construction shop to be repaired, could we do it..yes but the level of expertise would not be there. If ya get bad service at a construction dealership then it maybe just a poorly trained tech working on it which happens the support sometimes from the factory down to the dealship is also not very helpful most the time. Lets face it Case doesn't make the components just the "box" all the components go in so getting training and support on newer technology is sometimes tough and turn over is high in my field so trying to get a qualified tech and retain him is extremely difficult, especially when dealerships can not can not offer what oil,mining,or union construction company's can and still be profitably. So will end this at least go down and check out the latest units and always do some research there seems to be enough online support here to steer you in the right decision. If you would like to see the impovements I could probably post some pics later on. like I said the track frames are pretty sweet looking.