Cub Cadet 5000 series subcompact tractors

[ducati996]

Bird & Henro,

You have to understand the product line and what the dealer mentioned...He mentioned MTD and the quality issue, but that statement covers all the lawn tractors, garden tractors, sub cut 5000 series, some 7000 series...what's left is the 8000 series made by Koiti...and this isnt his only comment that in my opinion, is less than positive for the line he carries...see the Cub forum

Is that all he sells then? not much of a selection then...while dealers around me seem to be ok with the entire line and promote it because they believe in it....How he runs his business is his affairs, but the comments from him seem to be less than enthusastic...I have my own business and its caters to end users in the technology field....I would show him the door 30 seconds after the words left his mouth...

My question to him would be why bother with the line if you are so down on it? I understand the box stores models and sales that take place in Home depot and Lowes. And it not really a good thing overall for dealers...but there is another product line that they cant sell, and a dealer can so there is some protection...

Sorry you guys think differently. If I walk into a dealer and the guy has a sour puss on about a product then I look at the product and the dealer at the same time to size them both up...and usually take my money else where if the vibe isnt positive...

Duc

 

[shvl73]

I take his comments as an honest assessment. I did look at the comments about the Cat engined models in the Cub forum but, it looks like the info came right from the correct source so, I wouldn't fault him for that either. My dealer is a Cub & Mahindra dealer, he didn't downplay the Cub machines but, rather pointed out what he liked about the Mahindra/TYM tractors. So far I've been very pleased & I appreciate his honest assessment & candor. I think I might feel the same way about Messick's unless I read something to prove me wrong.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Thanks

As a salesmen there is always this fine line between what you say and don't say. I'm trying to be fair as possible. I am not an expert by any sense of the imagination. But I do have a unique perspective and it seems some appriciate it while others don't. Its hard to point out faults about a brand or model without offending someone. In a sales situation any respectable salesmen will avoid this by selling on the merits of their own product without trashing the competition. I am doing my best to simply state the facts as I see them. The Cub is a fine product, with flaws just like any other.

 

[ducati996]

Regarding the Cat motor policy, I think thats a good policy...you certainly dont want to gamble on your name and have hack mechanics work on your motor's...If they are certified at least they displayed the skills required to do so...

Why would this be any different in lets say the Auto Industry?
Warranty work is only covered under warranty approved centers? and that gets even more specialised depending on the car...

In the end the customer gets the machine repaired and under warranty and done correctly...why is this displayed in a bad light? because he dosent want to take the time to get certified or incur the expense to be trained ?

Duc

 

[fivestring]

<font color="red">"Second is that its an MTD made product and they don't exactly make the best stuff out there." </font>

I like that honest attitude.
I find his statement to be accurate.
I went through two MTD riding mowers (42" cut, 14 hp) in 4 years.
Their products do not hold up.
Thin metal, small spot welds, etc. <font color="blue">The best thing going for them is they don't make their own engines or tires. </font> Those items hold up longer than the rest of the mower. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
That's why I went with a tractor last year.
I have an MTD rear-tine tiller. I've had to have the handle and stem re-welded three times. There again, I'm glad B&S made the engine. It still cranks on the first pull.

I have a Snapper 30" rider that is over 15 years old and have not had to have anything welded. The transmission, on the other hand, is a different story.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

You need to qualify that some. What has happened over the last few years is that Cub/MTD and Deere have gone into competition with the Budget brands by getting into Lowes / Home Depot. In that market a tractor is not made to last much past the warrenty period. Yea, the product is not what it used to be. You end up saving the money up front only to have to replace things down the road. With this sutff you truely get what you pay for. Your experience with inexpensive riding mowers is not unusual, its also not issolated to MTD brands.

 

[ducati996]

<font color="blue"> </font>
It sounds like I'm gunning for you but I'm not. I'm not at the least bit offended in anything you have said...I think differently I guess, and have a much different prospective.

If I can raise a question or two regarding your statement above being "not an expert in any sense of the imagination"

When a customer comes in to your store, is it not fair to assume you should be the expert in what is offered? and if not you then who? Who can the customer count on to be the expert? I find salespeople who don't know the answers but proceed to give answers as the most offensive...Cant tell you how many conversations I've cut short by people not knowing about what they sell...
I've been in sales a long time and if you find yourself not believing in the product you offer or know everything there is to know about them without having to rely on others to answer the question for you, the less successful you will be...

Anyway I have a Cub 3204 and I enjoy it 100%....MTD has owned them outright since the mid 80's....I have an older Cub as well, and I like the new one better...as you said yourself
it has flaws like any other mfg. True enough, so maybe it's time to focus on the positive point's of the product line ? when talking about positives, you aren't lying about it at all, just emphasizing them...

You sell other brands as well, so maybe the Cub line isn't the revenue generator like the others? hence the lack of enthusiasms about them? just a guess...

I already gave my thoughts on why CAT requires dealers to be certified. This is a very common practice in many industries and enhances the quality of work and customer happiness. For example in the tech field Cisco Cert. means something., authorized factory repair center means something...Its still covered under warranty regardless...

Duc

 

[Bob_Skurka]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue"> </font> When a customer comes in to your store, is it not fair to assume you should be the expert in what is offered? and if not you then who? Who can the customer count on to be the expert? I find salespeople who don't know the answers but proceed to give answers as the most offensive...Cant tell you how many conversations I've cut short by people not knowing about what they sell... )</font>



I buy a lot of vehicles and it always amazes me the way sales people act regarding vehicles. Most don't know as much as I do, and that is NOT because I am an expert, it is because I did my research before I walked in the door. How many people buy cars without looking at the engine? I'm probably one of the very few, and I've had one car that I bought, owned for 2 years, and sold that I never even looked under the hood of. I've got 2 right now that I don't even know if I could tell you where the hood latch is. But that is because I have other people take care of my car maintainence. Why am I saying all this, because it illustrates a point in salesmanship. I don't have to know how to fix the engine to know what HORSEPOWER or TORQUE do for a vehicle or a tractor. I don't have to know how to change the oil on one of my older Catepillar 3116 engines to know that the engine is realiable becuase there are a dozen sources I can check BEFORE I bothered to spec the engines that tell me that they work. But I will tell you one thing, and I totally agree with Ducatti's point, I absolutely expect the sales person to know more than I do about the product and I am more than willing to test them, and I am more than willing to make them look like totally ignorant jerks if they don't know their stuff.

I think it is reasonable to expect a sales rep to push the best, and to talk about the positives. I think it is reasonable for a retailer to carry the whole line of products, or at least to offer the whole line even if the whole line is not in stock.

One thing my sales staff at my company hates is when they have to play role playing games with me. . . they better know their stuff . . . and they know they better know it. . . because they know I know it.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

we are getting way off topic here. When I said I am not an expert, I was mearly stating that I am not a "know it all". This industry is very complex and when you start really digging into these kind of questions its impossible to know everything. There are dozens of manufacturers, modems and designs. It would be a full time job to stay on top of it all. I do consider myself an expert in the products that I sell, and your right, as a customer you should expect that.

One frustration that I have had with this forum is that everytime someone critisizes somthing people jump all over that person. Why can't people accept that there are good and bad aspects about every product? Isn't that why we come here?

 

[Tractors4u]

I'm gonna jump in and defend Neil here a little. When Neil first started posting here he had a tendancy to bash other brands and make comments that seem unfounded and he got hammered for it. Now when he speaks of something he knows about he still gets hammered. When Neil spoke of MTD he was talking about the MTD built Cub subcompacts not the MTD built Cub Cadet lawnmowers. I tend to agree with Neil, I wouldn't want a true tractor built by MTD. A few years back all the Cub Cadet tractors, including the CUTs built by Mitsubishi had a decal on them that said "Cub Cadet by MTD". They later stopped putting those decals on the tractors at the request of the dealers. At the Cub dealers conference many dealers stated that their customers were turned off by seeing "MTD" on the tractors. This story came from an MTD/Cub rep at the National Farm Machinary Show in Louisville KY.

As for a salesman giving me the straight poop on whether a product stinks or not, I would rather the salesman tell me what he prefers.