Dealer Kubota Dealers Going Out of Business ? What Gives ?

[bigcut]

I recently did a search for Kubota Tractor Dealers located in the SC PA area and got a return of maybe 10 Dealers with addresses. Of the 10, maybe 3 or 4 were listed as CLOSED ! Anyone have any thoughts or insight on this. I thought it was a bit unusual.

I did not have the same experience in searching JD dealers. Any thoughts.
John

 

[TravisD]

My understanding is that Kubota, unlike JD, does not have protected sales territories. It's good for competition, but competition implies that there's winner and losers, and that could be dealers that don't make the cut.

 

[lilranch2001]

Bota is doing the same thing Kioti did a few years back, pulling their dealerships from mom and pop shops that do not meet their very high standards for visabilty of facility.
Last year a local dealer that had been a Bota dealer for almost 40 years got his pulled.
I talked to him last week, and told him the place didn't look right with Mahandras sitting on the lot instead of Botas.

He is almost 80 years old and still works daily, and knows just about every move that is made in his dealership. Sharp old guy, I thought he was going to start crying when he told me how they pulled it, just because he does not have a fancy dealership.

I would bet he competes for sales with a very large amount of bota dealers
:thumbdown:

 

[bigcut]

Travis & Ranch,
Thanks for the insights...So, If I understand correctly, if I buy a Kubota and base part of that decision on geographic proximity, reputation for service, etc., they may not be in business if and when I need them.
That sucks !!!

What started me down this path was a review of the survey results based on Dealer input for Tractors. Kubota faired considerably higher than JD. However, if the Kubota Dealer is not there the next time you need them, then that's not a favorable situation.

Thanks for your input....live and learn I guess.
John

 

[ruffdog]

I would rather buy from a plain old good dealer than a bad fancy one.

 

[RollingsFarms]

We had a really good Kubota dealer about ten or so years ago. I'm not sure why he went out of business but I had heard his service department wasn't that great and he didn't have any experience selling tractors as he had a background in running car dealerships. I hate that he went out of business because he had pretty good prices, nice looking dealership in a good location. Now the only Kubota dealerships around here have that "we mostly sell lawn mowers and weed eaters but we'll sell you a small tractor too". They just don't have the right "feeling" for me and they never respond to emails anyways whenever I've tried contacting them about prices on equipment. All 4 of them are this way for some reason. My John deere dealer might be a lot if things and own all 5 of the local stores around here but they'll call and email you back within a reasonable time at least and sorta act like they want your business....sometimes.

 

[2458n]

Maybe they are following Harley's plan. We do not care if you have been in business for 60 years we want a big dealership by the interstate. Amazing some of the longtime dealerships that were sold ,closed,or moved over that ordeal.

 

[MHarryE]

My dad got his International Harvester dealership in 1939, sold a lot of machinery, especially in the post war years. In 1952 they insisted they put up a fancy dealership. My dad and uncle purchased a lot in town for the proposed dealership but 2 years later IH pulled the dealership when they realized the lot was only a ploy - my dad and uncle had no plan for a new dealership building. They gave the dealership to a business in town - someone with virtually no farm equipment experience - and sales tanked. They came back and asked my dad and uncle if they would return to IH (by that time they had become Case and New Holland dealer). Dad told them where they could stuff their business. Dad had made arrangements to get parts at dealer cost with an IH dealer 40 miles away so we still serviced our original customers for many years. We only serviced the ones who had bought from us in the first place because we were building up our new lines. All the haying equipment in the area stayed red but nearly 100% change from IH when we sold it to New Holland when we picked them up.

 

[5030]

Probably the main reason I don't bleed green in a mostly JD farming community, I can't deal with the conglomerate JD dealerships here. My Kubota dealer is a ways away but not an issue. He's single line, knowledgable, no fancy showroom but sells units on service and honesty. The local JD dealer is a multi dealership dealership with preppy salespersons and a fancy showroom, things I'm not impressed with at all.

I just lost my NH dealer last fall, they pulled their franchise but I can still get parts there. I grudgingly bought a new round baler from the conglomerate dealership that took their territory but I'll get my parts from my old dealer. NH hay tools are the best in my opinion. My old dealer now sells Kioti. Problem is, Kioti don't build a large enough unit for my needs ir I'd have one.

I guess it's big business but the end user suffers.

 

[bigcut]

I guess it's a truism....The strong survive...the weak are eaten....either grow or fold...the bigger fish eat the smaller fish. It's unfortunate in a sense. Some Dealer who is honest and provides good service is forced out due to an unwillingness to invest in the Mfg. marketing plans, displays, promotions, etc.

Someone on this thread posted that they would rather buy from an honest dealer who isn't fancy, preppy, etc.,doesn't have the most modern showroom or displays, yet provides a value to his customers and has a personal rapport with his customer base. I agree completely !!! I never thought of farming as being a glamorous or fancy vocation.

It's a dog eat dog world. Not just in this industry but, in many. It's called CONSOLIDATION.
John