Dealer Bizzare JD Dealership Exp.

[TomKioti]

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.

Shaley,

As much as I'd like to I'd rather not. I hope you understand. Use the process of elimination and that will basically get you there
as you are in my same area. This is refering to my original post on this thread, if not then disregard this post.

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

ridgerunner inwv:

It was the JD dealers that were telling me the JD 155c and 195c were not good machines - not the competition - that was my whole point. The JD guys insisted to get a good quality JD mower - do not consider the 155 / 195 go at least to the X300 series and even consider X500 series. I'd have to look up the exact pricing but the X3XX with a 54" deck was approx. 67% higher than price of the Craftsman and the X5XX even more.

My preference was for 54" deck and as previously stated probably would have paid the $1,000 extra (compared to Crafstman) to get a JD 195c if the dealers had been even a bit positive about the series.

 

[ducati996]

ridgerunner inwv:

It was the JD dealers that were telling me the JD 155c and 195c were not good machines - not the competition - that was my whole point. The JD guys insisted to get a good quality JD mower - do not consider the 155 / 195 go at least to the X300 series and even consider X500 series. I'd have to look up the exact pricing but the X3XX with a 54" deck was approx. 67% higher than price of the Craftsman and the X5XX even more.

My preference was for 54" deck and as previously stated probably would have paid the $1,000 extra (compared to Crafstman) to get a JD 195c if the dealers had been even a bit positive about the series.

There is a difference between models, machines and competitors products.
For every success story of generic brands that last 10-15 years or more, there are thousands that dont. Same hold true with Craftsman, some last a long time, others dont. What you should do is know as much as you can about the differences of what you shop for - that is your responsibility and yours alone, and it will come in handy on days like those.
I do find that the lower end lawn mowers tend to take away from the brand image of Deere and others (a big thanks to Box stores). The sales people arent shy of that either, and I dont blame them (very little margin, maximum headaches). However you get what you paid for which holds true more often than not. Yes we all would like Lexus quality at Yugo prices but that dosent happen to often, if at all...so what did you go with ? a craftsman?

 

[gemini5362]

My other problem with a lot of salespeople is the attitude you get depends on how you look and what you are driving when you come to look at their product. I have a 1998 chevrolet tractor with 168,000 miles that is a bit beat up but I love to drive it and it gets great gas mileage. If I drive that onto the lot I dont get the best cooperation in the world sometimes. If I get really treated badly I will leave and then when I get some free time I will show up in m 2005 porsche. It is amazing the difference in the way you get treated when you show up in the Porsche. I make it a policy that the only time I buy anything is when I get treated well if I drove up in the tracker first. My theory that the people that treat you decent no matter what you are driving is the ones that will treat you decent when you need servicing of your vehicle. The other kind seems to only treat you well until they have your money.

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

ducatti996:

Yes I bought the Craftsman. Aside for the black paint it looked identical and had same specs as the orange Husquavarna. Takes two hours to mow the grass, maybe 25 times a season = 50 hours.

I have no illusion the Craftsman is a good as the X3XX series or the X5XX series and I assume it's a toss-up between it and the L195c I was comparing it with. All I'm saying is the JD dealers probably could have very easily sold me the 195c, even at a highr price if they had not been so negative and run it down themselves, telling me how the Briggs engine will never last and the Kawasaki is so much better and quieter. Listening to both with the deck running, I couldn't tell much difference, Plus I wear earplugs when mowing anyway.

I'm not trying to run down the JD product, just saying the experience I got from more than one dealer, led me to purchase elsewhere - when I had originally gone in prepared to buy green.

 

[Agro-oti]

My other problem with a lot of salespeople is the attitude you get depends on how you look and what you are driving when you come to look at their product. I have a 1998 chevrolet tractor with 168,000 miles that is a bit beat up but I love to drive it and it gets great gas mileage. If I drive that onto the lot I dont get the best cooperation in the world sometimes. If I get really treated badly I will leave and then when I get some free time I will show up in m 2005 porsche. It is amazing the difference in the way you get treated when you show up in the Porsche. I make it a policy that the only time I buy anything is when I get treated well if I drove up in the tracker first. My theory that the people that treat you decent no matter what you are driving is the ones that will treat you decent when you need servicing of your vehicle. The other kind seems to only treat you well until they have your money.

I know exactly what you are talking about. When I was 18 I went looking for a new truck,had the Cash to buy it. Most dealers would not even talk to me when I went in,no matter how long I was wandering around the place sitting in everything I could. The few that would talk to me,most told me to bring my Dad next time I came in. The one that treated me like a customer,got my $$$. I learned from my own experiences to treat every potential customer the same..............don't try and figure out if he can or can't afford it till the deal is sealed Is my motto.......Once there you can see if he can or can't foot the bill. Might waste some time in the long run,but might miss some sales if you don't.