Been running Vermeer BC1000s for 12 years. First one was bought used in 2005, a 2002, and it ran like a champ but got old and rusty/rotted. Looked at a Morbark 12R. Dealer brought it to a job of mine, tried to run a 10" log through it to show me it's capabilities and the thing bogged and died. Started again and bogged again. Dealer and his mechanic couldn't figure what was wrong so I finished the log by putting it through my now 11 year old BC 1000, ate it like a champ. One of my friends commented to the dealer, "looks like it's morbark than bite!" Dealer wasn't smiling.
Demoed and bought the 2013 BC 1000 and have had zero problems other than glow plugs last week, 2 of the 4 were suddenly bad. Service is a ways away but they always come through for me on anything I need. The auto feed has never been a problem for me, it eats everything I put in it and it sips fuel. They've made a number of changes/upgrades from the 2002 I ran but both run/ran strong. And yes, the price was cheaper than the Morbark and the Bandit.