Why won't the dealer let us "test" drive the fel??

[workinallthetime]

is the poster still watching his thread? Im in tulsa, dont know which b your looking at but I have a b3030 tlb you can play on for a bot or there is a tractor auction a mile from my house with all kinds of new bota's for sale and you can play with them to help make up your mind.
And ya what bird said!!!

waxn a tractor and cryin over a scratch just aint my deal. drive it like ya stole it, dive into a pile a dirt in the middle of the woods with all 4 tires spinnin and grinnin the entire time.

[CBW1999]

I see both sides, however- here in Vermont, I do not know of any dealerships that have indoor parking for their equipment. Stays out in the elements until purchased. Thats alot of water ice and sun throughout the year. So, prior to delivery, regardless of hours- there is quite a bit of wear on the machines finish.

What would it take to have a "spare bucket" to pin on if someone wants to try it out? Either way, the dealer is taking a risk- they have to judge what is reasonable based on their business base

[Lyrch75]

Ask the dealer to contact someone else who has purchased the setup you are looking at and see if they would be cool with you coming to visit.
This will allow you to check out a unit that has been broken in and see if the dealer has good enough customer relations to get it done.

[tommyz270]

Thanks to everyone - great information and comments.

I can see both sides....

Couple things - They don't have any used machines and I have found rental places don't have B's to rent, usually L's.

Phyxer - Yes, it is definitely a funny world... think it's kind of crazy, isn't what these machines are supposed to do?? Get scratched up and work??

Dodgeman - Thanks for the offer, IL may be a little too far away, even though I used to live in Champaign, Bloomington, and Sterling/Dixon and need to get back there soon to visit friends.

Gator6x4 - Good point on the adult beverage, can't wait to finally get one and enjoy the time in the seat

Workinallthetime - Like the woods thought - can't wait to go out there and burn up some ground. Where is this tractor auction? I only live 3 hours away!! I'm leaning toward a mid-range B.

Thanks for everyone's comments - good to know other people have had the same frustration and also good to know there are true dealers and salespeople out there who are willing to do whatever it takes to sell a machine!! My kind of sales guy who would earn my business!!

[hemiguy]

Tommy,
I am on the side of posters who say the dealer not letting you try the tractors (and FEL) you are interested in is BS. I have never heard of such things. When new tractor shopping 3 years ago every single dealer (2 Kubota, 1 NH, 1 Case, 1 Cub Cadet, 1 JD, and 2 MF) all let me try out tractors/FELs and a couple with BH's on their side yards. A couple even had a dirt pile and said just go play for a few minutes. Granted, I was not a first time tractor buyer, but that really should not make a difference. A tractor dealer not letting you try the machine(s) you are interested in is like a car dealer not letting you test drive the cars you are interested in ("you might put 10 miles on it", "you might scratch it backing out of the lot", "you might get dirt on the floor mats"). Come on... Tractor dealers have spray paint and know darned well how to detail the machines just like car dealers do.

It sounds like that dealer does not really want your money. Find a new dealer, NOW. Even better, go try out some different brands just to compare. Then go back to the the PITA dealer and tell them all the things you really liked about the other brands and why BrandX is better and tell them you are ready to buy one of them. I'm actually very serious about that. Again, its the same as buying a car in that if the dealer knows you are really serious and have other options or better deals on the table he will probably change his tune very quickly.

[workinallthetime]

tractor auctin web site, w/ pics and info
http://enlow66.com/auction.html

[Gator6x4]

Originally Posted by hemiguy

Tommy,
I am on the side of posters who say the dealer not letting you try the tractors (and FEL) you are interested in is BS. I have never heard of such things. When new tractor shopping 3 years ago every single dealer (2 Kubota, 1 NH, 1 Case, 1 Cub Cadet, 1 JD, and 2 MF) all let me try out tractors/FELs and a couple with BH's on their side yards. A couple even had a dirt pile and said just go play for a few minutes. Granted, I was not a first time tractor buyer, but that really should not make a difference. A tractor dealer not letting you try the machine(s) you are interested in is like a car dealer not letting you test drive the cars you are interested in ("you might put 10 miles on it", "you might scratch it backing out of the lot", "you might get dirt on the floor mats"). Come on... Tractor dealers have spray paint and know darned well how to detail the machines just like car dealers do.

It sounds like that dealer does not really want your money. Find a new dealer, NOW. Even better, go try out some different brands just to compare. Then go back to the the PITA dealer and tell them all the things you really liked about the other brands and why BrandX is better and tell them you are ready to buy one of them. I'm actually very serious about that. Again, its the same as buying a car in that if the dealer knows you are really serious and have other options or better deals on the table he will probably change his tune very quickly.

I for one one would not take delivery of a tractor with more than one (1) hour showing I don't care how much "Detailing" a dealer did. I would also not buy a new car or truck with more than 8-10 miles on the speedometer, if purchased from the dealers lot or less than two (2) miles if vehicle was ordered. I have a neighbor that ordered a $80,000 dollar unit and when the delivery person delivered the tractor and started to unload the neighbor noticed the front end loader bucket was all scratched up. He stopped the delivery person and checked the hours. The unit had 9 plus hours on it. The neighbor told the delivery person to take the unit back and delivery it to the person that put the 9 plus hours on it. When the delaer called the neighbor informed the dealer he purchased a new tractor and he sent him a used tractor and if he was interested in pricing the unit as a used unit please advise the price and if he thought it was a good price for a used tractor he would finalize the purchase, if not sell the unit to the individual that put the 9 plus hours on it. As far as I know the dealer still has the tractor. Also several dealers that I have talked to advised the latest thing today is individuals are showing up with children in tow and using "Tractor Demoing" as entertainment while the dealer baby sits the children. They aren't interested in purchasing a tractor they are only looking for something to occupy their time. What is a dealer to do?

[newbury]

Been following this thread - didn't see a dealer comment.
I've read a lot of threads where in "farm country" it's customary for a dealer to "drop" a tractor off for a test drive for an established customer. But unless a dealer has a rental fleet or a used model I wouldn't expect to be allowed to drive one around and play in the dirt.
And if I went to buy one new I wouldn't take one with 10 hours on it without a discount. Heck, I just managed to put 10 hours on my BH and I've had it for weeks.
To the OP - it seems like you need to find a dealer that will work with you.

[Reg]

Yes, they probably COULD pick a used bucket off a used tractor on the lot.
Nahh, maybe not.
These are micro tractors, right ?
Not as if there are a dozen or two used skid steer buckets laying around that would fit.

I don't think it is ONLY about scratches, the base tractors on the lot almost certainly have unloaded tires, so the stability issue COULD arise.
I know, they could put a tiller on - in the hopes that you would also buy that (-:

Hey, if it was MY store maybe I would have you turn up some soil with the tiller first, then there would be something to pick up with the bucket.
Hmmmm, anyone wanna hire a CREATIVE part time tractor implement salesdroid in training ?

[WilliamBos]

Originally Posted by Bird

Do you have any idea what it would cost to keep one of each model available for potential customers to try out? Some folks, such as myself, don't care if I buy a "new" tractor with 4 or 5 (or even 10) hours on it, and I don't care if they scratched the paint on the bucket and touched it up with a rattle can, but read some old threads and see how upset some people get if their new tractor isn't delivered with zero hours on the meter and not a scratch on it.

So, yep, I can see two sides to this story. As a customer, naturally you'd like to try it out and I don't blame you for that. But as a dealer, how much extra overhead can you afford?

I agree Bird. We bought our MF 1523/snowblower as a package with 62 hours on it. Did not bother us that it was a rental unit, a local golf course used it to blow the driveway to their office, so not abused, since it was 9 months old when we bought it. Came at a nice price, with full warranty, and the 50 hour service was performed by the dealer, at no cost to us.