AKfish
Super Member
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2004
- Messages
- 5,417
- Location
- Alaska
- Tractor
- JD 5115M; JD 110 TLB; JD 4720; Ford 9N; JD X300R
The myriad questions that tractor buyers work through oftentimes comes down to the dealer that you buy from. During the past 15 years or so of either renting a tractor ( or heavy equipment) and buying both new and used tractors as well as other farm equipment; I've had the opportunity to work with dealerships in WA, OR, MT, ND, MN, IA, SD, NE, GA, WI, and IN.
Granted, most of them have been JD dealerships. So, I don't have a big cross section of other manufacturers to compare with. Nonetheless, I found nearly all of them to be friendly, respectful and interested in understanding what I do on my place, what I'd like to do and how I might be able to better accomplish that work.
The distinction between the dealers that I, either purchased equipment from or did not, arose from my "gut-feeling" - sometimes proven, other times not - that they were willing to consider my economic position versus their own economic interests. And meet me halfway.
Understanding where "halfway" is... Is a matter of asking several dealers, visiting all these different websites and talking with neighbors and friends.
So, after careful scrutiny of these various sources of information, and having a reasonable sense of where "halfway" is in the marketplace; I ventured forth to discuss my purchase with a multitude of dealers.
If somebody was in a hurry or wouldn't return my calls - they're only interested in "whales" and don't really want to waste their time. (So, how much help are they gonna be with a warranty issue?) Next..
Somebody doesn't want to talk about their list/asking price? It's "firm" when I already know there's room to work... Not gonna look at your side of the equation - Next...
No... I wanna talk with the person (have bought from women @ JD) who is willing - wants to engage about their price and is willing to hear about your competing prices (because that's how business is supposed to work - competition). That's the person who wants your business and is willing to work for your business!
They're the people who will help you with a warranty problem. And, they're the folks who will lend their experience towards helping you to make good decision's when it comes to buying something that may/may not work out for your particular situation.
Those are the folk's that are not gonna twist the last dollar out of your pocket - even if it means they have a few less in their's!
Granted, most of them have been JD dealerships. So, I don't have a big cross section of other manufacturers to compare with. Nonetheless, I found nearly all of them to be friendly, respectful and interested in understanding what I do on my place, what I'd like to do and how I might be able to better accomplish that work.
The distinction between the dealers that I, either purchased equipment from or did not, arose from my "gut-feeling" - sometimes proven, other times not - that they were willing to consider my economic position versus their own economic interests. And meet me halfway.
Understanding where "halfway" is... Is a matter of asking several dealers, visiting all these different websites and talking with neighbors and friends.
So, after careful scrutiny of these various sources of information, and having a reasonable sense of where "halfway" is in the marketplace; I ventured forth to discuss my purchase with a multitude of dealers.
If somebody was in a hurry or wouldn't return my calls - they're only interested in "whales" and don't really want to waste their time. (So, how much help are they gonna be with a warranty issue?) Next..
Somebody doesn't want to talk about their list/asking price? It's "firm" when I already know there's room to work... Not gonna look at your side of the equation - Next...
No... I wanna talk with the person (have bought from women @ JD) who is willing - wants to engage about their price and is willing to hear about your competing prices (because that's how business is supposed to work - competition). That's the person who wants your business and is willing to work for your business!
They're the people who will help you with a warranty problem. And, they're the folks who will lend their experience towards helping you to make good decision's when it comes to buying something that may/may not work out for your particular situation.
Those are the folk's that are not gonna twist the last dollar out of your pocket - even if it means they have a few less in their's!