Hi KO,
I agree with you 100%. I'm fairly fortunate in that I've found a "local" Kioti dealer who's an hour and 15 minutes away from me. I really like him, and if I decide to go Kioti, he'll be the guy I deal with. But he's the only dealer that close to me (as far as I've been able to determine). Up until I found him, I had decided that I might have to buy from Little to get a decent price, and take my chances on getting servicing locally. I'm in southern Wisconsin, and Little's is in southern Illinois, which just might make it a little inconvenient to travel there for servicing.
Anyway, one way I would've solved the problem was by finding an independent tractor mechanic that works on just about any make. I was able to do that by talking with a whole bunch of farmers about guys they knew. Once I visited this guy to see what kind of operation he had (which would put some dealers to shame! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif), I knew that I could go anywhere I wanted to find the best deal on the tractor I would buy.
<font color="black">BUT </font> - I would still start looking locally, if for no other reason than keeping my money in my community and having the ability to look the dealer in the eye when need be. But at least I feel I have more options, and more bargaining power as a result. So I would encourage anybody to look locally first, just for the convenience. But with a little effort, you could find a good mechanic that allows you the flexibility to look in other areas as well, if need be. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif