Time to 'fess up

[Kevin37]

Time to \'fess up

Greetings......I figured it was time to register since I've been lurking in the shadows of these discussions for a couple of weeks and soaking up as much information as I could! I never would have imagined how addictive this forum is had I not been on to see for myself. So now I'm the Newbie..to the forum and to CUT's.
I am shopping for my first real tractor to use on a 25 acre lot of which about 13 is field, the rest wooded. I seem to have settled into either a JD 4710 or Kubota L4630, based on my own research and reading these posts. My first of many questions is about pricing. Has anyone ever used one of the dealers listed on this site to price and purchase a tractor, or shopped the internet to find a great price. My local JD and Kubota dealers sure didn't seem too interested in negotiating price. Like anyone else, I don't expect them to give up all their profit, but full retail in the days of internet and invoice shopping seems a bit much. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[AndyM]

Re: Time to \'fess up

Of course price was an important factor on the New Holland TC18 I just bought. Corriher's in NC says they can send me a tractor including shipping costs for less than I could buy one locally around here with sales tax. After shopping around, I found that was true. However, I also decided ahead of time it was worth paying $200 more to buy from my local dealer 5 miles away. Unfortunately, they were about $400 more. I went to a dealer 20 miles away and they were $200 more than Corriher's, so I took this price to my local guy and he matched it. Corriher's are great to deal with, but when it comes to future service in the long run (warranty work, etc.), I felt it was better to buy from the local guy.

 

[beenthere]

Re: Time to \'fess up

Kevin
Who pays the dealer to keep his doors open so you can have parts and help available to you if and when you purchase 'on-line', and then need some help understanding or fixing what you bought?

I want my dealer to stay in business, as he has come in very handy and helpful in the last 4 years I have had my Deere 4300. So far, this CUT has functioned without problems to me, but thankfully a couple warranty items were taken care of without fuss. I'll bet neither item would have been "happily" taken care of, if at all, had I purchased this tractor on-line (and they "know" from where it came). /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

You have some hard decisions ahead of you. Good luck!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[pruntyc]

Re: Time to \'fess up

I don't believe he only makes money on the tractor and not the parts. He is paid by the company if its under warranty, and if not you have to pay him. So if he wouldnt' give you service you could report him the the company. He is suppose to do it. That is what a lot of dealer are trying to convince people so that they will buy from him and probably pay a lot more. And there won't be enough people buy off line to make him go out of business, unless he don't already have much business.

 

[Kevin37]

Re: Time to \'fess up

Tractor, FEL, 6'cutter...price about $26,000. That's a whole lot of money in my world. To walk in and just say "Okay, I'll take it, heres your check" doesn't seem very prudent without shopping a little. Again, I will stress.." I don't expect them to give up all their profit" I want my dealer to be around also, but it's a two way street. He must know that if he helps out on his side then I will return for years to come for all of my subsequent purchases of implements, accessories, and tractor knick-knacks. Not to mention any service I would require through the years. Ironically, it's these areas that I would guess dealers really make their profits. If they operate anything like auto dealers, then any warranty work is billed to the manufacturer at full shop and parts rates. Any general service is also a good profit margin as is all the little things and accessories guys like me can't help but buy everytime we walk in a place like a dealership / showroom. I'm not looking to steal anything, just a fair deal. Would I drive 500 miles to save $500? No way. Would I drive 30 miles to the next town to save $500 because my local dealer wouldn't compete with the price? Absolutely...the hard decisions aren't just mine, but my dealers as well. How much of my business will be lost over the next 20 years because the guy in the neighboring town was more fair to me during my initial tractor purchase?

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Re: Time to \'fess up

Your thinking makes a lot of sense! I learned a lot fro others about the mess that could hapen from buying from a dealer that you could not practically use for service. Look up blurrybill for starters, he makes no bones about the mess it caused him. And I have been down the no supprt road, too. You want a dealer to back you up.

Deere, and I believe, Kubota have great dealer locators on their websites. Usethem to locate area dealers that you would be willing to use for ongoing service, and send out bid requests. It is a common business practice, and you are very likely to find a dealer who wants your busines as much as you want his service.

Dealers are not required to give identical service to customers who don't buy from them. It may be good busiess practice. There are countless ways that a dealer can reward their customers. The manufacturer wants sales to customers who will be taken care of..They don't want dealers selling out of the area that they can service, and for good reason. They whole idea of having authorized dealers is to assure that customers are taken care of.

Warrenty isn't the cash cow for dealers that it used to be, and sales quotas must be met to keep the sign lit.

But you don't have to overpay, either. Look around, you may be surprised.

Don't forget to check on similar models, for example what if a dealer has a JD4610, with a super deal. Would that work for you?

 

[Chipperman]

Re: Time to \'fess up

Sorry guys please do not take offense but I could not let this go without responding.

pruntyc

To your first statement.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I don't believe he only makes money on the tractor and not the parts. )</font>

Unless the dealer is just foolish he most definitely makes money on NON warranty sale of parts.

To your second statement

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( He is paid by the company if its under warranty )</font>

For service under warranty dealers may or may not get paid above their cost for parts. But when you combine the parts and labor (including overhead) in the tractor industry dealers are very, very lucky to break even. On average warranty is NOT a money making proposition. I would take that one step further to say (and I have no idea what you do or who you are. You may be the nicest guy in the whole world). I would bet money if you switched places with a dealer and had to do warranty for customers (especially ones who bought their equipment else ware) you would quickly have a change of opinion.

Again, I am NOT trying to pick on anyone or upset anyone but you can not understand what it is like if you have not walked in someone else’s shoes. I think dealers deserve more credit for the hard work (and sometimes thankless work) they put in to please customers. My self included, their is nothing more satisfying then a happy customer.
Sincerely,
Chipperman

 

[markie61]

Re: Time to \'fess up

Hey, Kev:
Welcome to TBN.
I'm pretty familiar with all the dealers within 75 miles of Fairfax County. If you've been to the closest JD and Kub dealers, I not surprised at the prices you were quoted being high. You WILL, in fact, save significantly by shopping around in a 50 mile radius. I was VERY specific in what I wanted, put together a written list, and handed it to about 30 dealers. I was also very emphatic that I was ready to BUY. I was surprised by some of the long-distance quotes being higher than I thought they would be. And some locals were lower than the nationals. I bought my tractor from a dealer 40 miles away and saved quite a bit.
If you need any specific advice, send me PM.
Mark
PS I gave my closest dealer (less than 2 miles) one final chance to come close on a L4330 or L3830, but he wouldn't deal....

 

[thcri]

Re: Time to \'fess up

Chipperman,

Owning a Mechanical Contracting business I agree with you. Service is something the manufacturers for the most part don't pay you very well. Parts are usually at cost, labor rates are capped and only pay so many hours per task. So when someone calls me and says, will you take care of my air conditioner even if your competitor sold it, I usually tell them when the warranty is over I will be glad to service it but not until the warranty is over.

I don't believe in buying something over the internet unless I can do the service myself. A tractor even if there was a $1,000 savings I still think I would buy local. Another thing you have to think of is if you do need service and you find a local dealer to take care of it I would tend to wonder when he would get around to it especially when he has his own reliable customers that would always come first.

Just my opinion, there is more to a sale then just getting the best price.

murph

 

[chim]

Re: Time to \'fess up

When I bought my tractor last year I went to three Kubota dealers within easy driving distance (5, 20 and 30 minutes from home). There was a $1,500.00 spread between high and low on the same identical tractor & FEL..................chim