Tiller Tiller colors: Do matching colors matter?

[rdbrumfield]

There are times if you look beyond the color, they are made by the same company.

 

[JimMc]

There are a couple of tractor companies offering color options. I understand the majors wanting color for brand recognition. Henry Ford resisted color options for years but eventually gave in. His famous quote "They can have any color they want, as long as it's black" seems to be the current philosophy for the ag and compact industry.

 

[rationalizer]

I think offering colors is great if your customers are ordering their implements. If they are buying from dealer stock it may not work so well - "off the lot" buyers (vs. order and wait buyers) may not want to buy a color that "clashes" with the color of their tractor (how many New Holland owners want a Kubota orange implement?). I know that when I was looking for a box blade I started wanting something that would match my tractor - but the dealer who carried the "color match" brand didn't have my color in stock. I didn't want what he had and didn't want to pay a premium for a custom order - so I kept shopping.
Keep it simple and "neutral" - like Landpride and Woods. High paint quality - however - is worth something.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I have a New Holland TN 65. My tiller is a Befco which is bright Orange. I also have a bright orange spreader. It doesn't clash as it actually helps me stand out if I am on the road which I like since the implements are behind me.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

From a manufacturers standpoint, the costs in producing different colors is not much of a cost factor. However, Many local retail dealers order and stock the attachments to match the color of the main line of new tractors they sell. In this situation, the selling dealer stocks that 1 color and his inventory is kept to a minimum. Good dealers, selling 1main line of new tractors can usually stock 5 of each implement and 5 of each size. For example: If a manufacturer makes 15 different implements in 3 sizes and 1 color, the Good stocking dealer would need to stock approx 225 new implements, of that 1 brand, in order to have all
the bases covered. Doing busines via the internet, as we do, our customer base is all brands and all colors and all sizes. In order to stock all implements in colors and size variations from the just one manufacturer, we would have to stock 900 new implements as opposed to 225 for a local dealer selling only 1 color in 3 size variations. The inventory and overhead costs for a stocking dealer doing business via the internet goes up dramatically (4 times as much).However, a few dealers, like myself, doing business via the internet are put in this unusual inventory situation. We try our best to match the color, and we have lost only 2 sales this past year because of a color issue and dont regard this as a major concern at this time. From our
experience and from reading these posts, it seems that most customers are not too concerned about color. They want quality, features,service, parts support, quick and inexpensive shipping--Ken Sweet

 

[Anonymous Poster]

>>(how many New Holland owners want a Kubota orange implement?).

I would wonder how many NH owners regularly shop for implements at a Kubota dealer? (Interchange the tractor brands as you might) I would suspect that the majority of folks shopping at a given retailer are owners of the tractor brand that is featured, so that dealer is probably justified in stocking a color-coordinated inventory of implements. Of the two Kubota dealers that I actually have patronized in my area, one carries predominantly "orange" implments and the other carries predominantly Woods "yellowish-or-something-like-that" implements. (My Woods 1120 PHD actually has several shades of paint--poor quality, to say the least) For some reason, I find the look of the color coordinated inventory having more street-appeal, even though I know that there really isn't any difference in functionality for the most part. Should I ever repaint anything I own, I'd probably opt to change to K-Orange "just because" I'm way too ****...<G>

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

I've waited a while to weigh in on this but here's my two cents worth. From a consumer standpoint I'd prefer a matching implement color with all other factors being equal. Would I wait a while for that? In my case it would depend on how urgently I perceived my need for the implement in question to be. If I'm ordering an implement, of course I'd prefer to be able to order it in my color choice. If I need one now and my color choice isn't in stock or the implement isn't available in anything other than the generic manufaturers color, obviously I'd take what was there.

What would bother me, though, would be feeling forced to take another tractor manufacturer's color. Personally, while I feel all the makers have good products, I wouldn't want to be pulling Kubota orange, NH blue or everybody else's red behind my green Deere. If I can't have green, I'd prefer gold, yellow or tan.

In the case of a retailer, I can certainly understand the concern about manufacturers offering such a choice. It can increase inventory costs dramatically for a small dealer. With just four colors as options the small dealer has to quadruple his inventory just to have the same number of implements available to each color buyer as he use to need when he simply handled a generic color. For the small retailer, this could translate into increased costs, lost sales or both.

 

[HayDR]

Is K-Orange , Kioti or Kubota orange? They are the same. To answer the question concerning "wonder how many NH owners regularly shop for implements at a Kubota dealer? " Many do because NH dealers didn't like the Fiat deal, they were forced into and either added Kubota or dropped NH if they already had Kubota. Ask Carver why they are Kubota only now and dropped NH. NH was dominating the Utility Tractor market, 40-70 HP in the early 1990's. Deere just changed from it popular 55 series to the 5000 series in 1993 and sales on the New 5000 series were slow. Ford was dominating. So Fiat bought control of Ford-NH and radically changed the look of the old Ford style. Gone was the longer wheelbase for stability and the old Ford blue paint. Overnight NH/Kubota dealers went from selling NH-3930's to selling L4700 Kubotas. NH dealers that could obtained the Kubota contract did so. Now Fiat is basically out of control at NH but they sure messed NH up. I for one can sympathize with the NH & Case/IH dealers that have weathered the changes. Any brand is only as good as its servicing dealers. They all will break down and need maintenance and parts one day. Most all of the MFG's tractors work well. Kubota seems to give the market what it wants faster than the other MFG. What does this have to do with matching colors? Nothing LOL Just a Sunday soap box post

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

When I was younger color match meant alot more to me. Now I could not care less about it, being a former "color matcher" I can understand those who wish things to match.

 

[Kodiak]

I am a New Holland owner and when I bought my new First Choice RFM last spring I took the Orange one that they had in stock. If I had waited for N.H. blue it would have been 3 to 4 weeks more plus shipping time. And the grass just wouldn't wait. As far orange goes, well when your cruising the fence line or cutting close to a tree, it only takes a glance and there it is, hard to miss. Now that I think about it some orange areas on the outside corners of my boxblade, rear blade and landscape rake will make them more noticeable at a glance also.