Dealer Bizzare JD Dealership Exp.

[CinderSchnauzer]

I was all set to purchase a JD Lawn Tractor this spring. Went to 3 local JD dealers and looked at 155C (48" Deck) / 195C (54" Deck). Got exactly the same story all three places. "Why would I ever buy a LT with a Briggs engine. They won't last. Noisy etc etc. The Kawasaki is so much better yada yada." Perhaps the Kawa is so much better but also pretty much twice as expensive. Looked at the Sears (Husquavarna) 25 HP 54" Deck - less money than the 48 JD. I figure at 50 hours per year I'll be pushing up daisys before the Briggs quits or in the alternate I can buy two Briggs for the price of one "decent" JD.

Probably would have bought the JD "piece of crap" if the 3 dealers had been just a little positive about it and not shot themselves in the foot. Figured if buying a piece of crap might as well buy the cheapest one - Sears. So far after only one season, I'm happy and still have an extra $3,000 + taxes in my pocket. After all, I'm only cutting grass / weeds - not doing brain surgery.

 

[dgl24087]

I was all set to purchase a JD Lawn Tractor this spring. Went to 3 local JD dealers and looked at 155C (48" Deck) / 195C (54" Deck). Got exactly the same story all three places. "Why would I ever buy a LT with a Briggs engine. They won't last. Noisy etc etc. The Kawasaki is so much better yada yada." Perhaps the Kawa is so much better but also pretty much twice as expensive. Looked at the Sears (Husquavarna) 25 HP 54" Deck - less money than the 48 JD. I figure at 50 hours per year I'll be pushing up daisys before the Briggs quits or in the alternate I can buy two Briggs for the price of one "decent" JD.

Probably would have bought the JD "piece of crap" if the 3 dealers had been just a little positive about it and not shot themselves in the foot. Figured if buying a piece of crap might as well buy the cheapest one - Sears. So far after only one season, I'm happy and still have an extra $3,000 + taxes in my pocket. After all, I'm only cutting grass / weeds - not doing brain surgery.

My Dad bought a Murray 10HP 42" cutting deck rider in 1977 or 78, can't remember exactly. It cut an acre of grass every 4-5 days until about 2 years or so ago, we gave it away and bought a new rider. The old Murray is still mowing to this day, 28 years old and only cost $799 new. It doesn't always work out this way, but it just shows you don't always have to buy these high dollar machines.

 

[WALT]

Your post caught my eye, as I have had the same experience.

I live in and grew up in Northern CT. When I bought my first tractor in 2000, the local JD compact dealers acted as if I was more a bother than a potential customer. They talked more trash about the competition, that selling the positives about the JD line. I got better answers about the JD compacts from the local Agriculture JD dealer, but he did not sell the compact line.

One JD dealer also sold Cub Cadet tractors. I bought a "new" mower belt from him, for my dad's Cub Cadet 125, that turned out to be used. When I noticed the obvious wear upon closer inspection, I returned it to the dealer, which created quite the scene in the showroom, as the parts guy who sold it to me, accused me of using it and returning it. I finally got the manager out of his office to hear my side of the story, explaining that my character & credibility was worth more than cheating him out of a $25.00 belt. I appeared to have caught him & his parts guy red handed in an ongoing scam of reselling used parts as new. He would not return my money. I ended up pursuing this to the Dept. of Consumer Protection & the Attorney General. Due to the amount of money & time involved, they did not pursue it further. As I had charged it on MasterCard, I was able to get the charge credited, after filing the required paperwork. As I related my experience to many others, I certainly cost him numerous future tractor sales, besides my own. Word of Mouth cuts both ways.

I have since spent $60,000.00+ on tractors and implements, but those JD dealers did not make the sale. I know that a dealer has to be profitable to stay in business. I have no trouble patronizing a dealer of any brand who delivers a quality product at a price fair to me as the customer. Knocking your competition, depending on brand loyalty only, and being $1000's more expensive caused me to consider other brands. Any & all brand lines will have bad sales staff. It is unfortunate, as they are the face of the company & dealership they represent. My worst experiences have been the local JD staff.

This is not much different than the Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota, etc. truck debates. We, as the customer, would benefit greatly if all the salespeople would do some work to learn their product lines, and be interested in sharing that knowledge with their potential customers. Ultimately, the buyer must do the needed research to feel comfortable with the sales price and future service of the tractor they buy.

WALT

 

[keeney]

RE: JD Retaining its value...

I was at a JD dealer looking at possibly buying a 3rd party backhoe for my tractor. Of course, he wanted to move me up to the JD backhoe for my tractor, but it was $1000's more expensive. He gave me the line about JD retaining their value better.

About 10 minutes later in the conversation, I asked him if he was interested in taking my barely-used JD snowblower in partial trade for the backhoe. He said, well there isn't much market for used JD snowblower attachments. He could maybe give me $250 for it (The JD front-mount blower cost close to $2000 new).

I swear, he was perfectly serious. It was even snowing outside at the time.

- Rick

 

[gamble77]

Rick, not to down play your situation but there is also a difference between JD equipment holding its value and a dealer not needing whatever it is you are trying to unload. If he didn't need any more snow blowers then he didn't need them, each dealer knows his needs. I don't think one person on this board would argue that the top two brands for resale are JD and Kubota in the CUT market...so yes JD will hold its value as good if not better than any other brand on the market.

 

[shaley]

What dealer was that. Can you PM me the name. I'm starting to look for a new unit. I really think I'm just looking at the orange stuff for now but I like to use JD as a base for comparison.

 

[HillbillyFarmer]

What dealer was that. Can you PM me the name. I'm starting to look for a new unit. I really think I'm just looking at the orange stuff for now but I like to use JD as a base for comparison.

If you're "just looking at the orange stuff for now," why don't you use it for your "base for comparison?"
Let me answer that for you: Because you know that JD is the superior product.

 

[ridgerunnerinwv]

Probably would have bought the JD "piece of crap"

I have a JD riding mower and it is far from a piece of crap,I had a Craftsman which was an ok mower,but I like the JD mower a lot better.

 

[swines]

Swines,

Let me know if the Dealer was wrong about this but he said JD had a much better value retention than most other brands (that makes sense considering the market share they hold). If that's true then THAT to me is huge because the property I'm buying it for is commercial. At some point I will utilize the rest of that property and may not need the tractor to groom and maintain.

Just curious.

I can't really comment on that. My JD dealer was really straight forward about my Ford 1720. He said, "That's a great tractor." "You should be able to sell that with no problems." "There aren't a lot of those around, and that's a very desirable tractor."

He helped me look up the retail value on it. Then said, "If you can't sell it, bring it to me, I'll put it on my lot and sell it for you."

When comparing manufacturers, he was very knowledgeble about the Kubota, and NH products - and local dealers. He didn't take shots at any of the other products or dealers, he only said, "If you look at XX manufacturer's product compare this feature against their feature," etc.

My feeling is that if you buy a quality piece of equipment it will retain it's value no matter who makes it. I had the 1720 for 14 years and sold it for $2500 less than I paid for it.

It was certainly worth the $2500 when compared to the amount of work I did with it.

I think there are certain "classic models" no matter who the manufacturer, and they're desirable no matter what the age (Ford 8N for example).

My evaluation is that the JD 3x20 series is one of the classic tractor series that will retain its value over time - just like the Ford 17xx, 19xx, and 21xx series.

I have no reference for Kioti, Mahindra, Montana, etc. My purchasing of the JD was partially based on past experience with my dealer and JD; and not having problems getting parts for other JD equipment - and I wanted to own another green tractor.

 

[TomKioti]

Ultimately, the buyer must do the needed research to feel comfortable with the sales price and future service of the tractor they buy.
WALT

Amen to that!