Buying Advice Remote JD Dealer Has Better Price Than Local Dealer

[meyerld]

About to buy a new Deere 5085E and am a bit worried I may experience problems getting it serviced at the local JD dealer if I choose to buy it from a remote dealer who has a better price. My local dealer will not match the price and there is a difference of about $4000. Any of you have actual experience with this one way or the other?

 

[crazyal]

Welcome to TBN. That's a decision a lot of tractor buyers had to make. I'm sure Deere corp will say every dealer will work on their equipment no matter where it's bought. Some dealers will say otherwise. Some dealers will work on it but will prioritize tractors bought from them over others. Most new tractors will not need anything more than routine service. If you are able to do that work yourself you can save a lot of money and most likely not need your local dealer for years. You could talk to your dealer and say that someone else has a much better price, can he match it. I personally don't do that. $4000 is a lot of money but if you're a farmer and your machine goes down when it's time to plant or harvest having a dealer that will get you up and running asap is priceless.

So I would start out there. What do you use your tractor for? If it breaks how big of an impact will it be while you wait to get it repaired? Do you do your own service work and can you handle minor repairs? How far away is the cheaper dealer? Do you have a way of trailering it there? If you can drop it off at the cheaper dealer will the time involved doing so be a big impact to you or your business?

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I had the opposite experience with my E. My local dealer was 4k cheaper than the next closest dealer. The local guy I bought from has since went under. I now use the john deere parts website and get parts shipped to me. If it's something big, like wheel weights, I get them shipped to the closest dealer to where I'm going to be and just pick them up.

 

[jenkinsph]

How far away is the remote dealer in miles? Have you asked what it costs to move it to and from this dealer? After the warranty expires would the near by dealer do your shop work?

I have had my 110 for over 10 years and I had to take it in for work one time. The 4520 which is 6 years old has been in one time. I think you would be better off to chance it and get the better price as it would still be cheaper to have it transported in most cases.

 

[jeff9366]

How far away is the remote dealer in miles? Have you asked what it costs to move it to and from this dealer? After the warranty expires would the near by dealer do your shop work?

The remote dealer will charge you delivery based on round trip mileage. You may be shocked.

 

[Deere Dude]

I lived in WI and bought a 3720 out of Missouri. They delivered it and the whole price was a couple thousand lower than the dealer 11 miles away and another 15 and another 20 miles away. I took it to the close dealer for any warranty work and had absolutely no problem with getting it in and out quickly when problems occurred.

Any dealer will try to convince you to buy from them even by saying you would be last on the list for repairs. I would say that any warranty work would be put on the schedule and gotten to in the order it came in, but in an emergency, dealers will try to satisfy your needs in a timely manner.

$4000 is a pile of money and wouldn't worry about what the local dealer would or would not do.

 

[blackdog2086]

I'm in Michigan and I purchased my 5115M from a dealer in Nebraska. I saved thousands off the price and when I showed local dealers what I was paying, they just shrugged and admitted that they couldn't come close. I had to handle the transaction process from Afghanistan which slowed things down a bit, but it still went smoothly. It cost me $1100 to have it shipped over 800 miles and that included a loader, bucket, grapple and pallet forks. I used U-ship and arranging that was also quick and easy.

 

[bushhog28]

I'll bite my tongue on your tractor choice, a little searching and you can see my thoughts on that. I have bought from local and dealers not in the area. If you don't buy local they will give you some crap about warranty work etc. Most will not lose a dime if you didn't buy it from them. They will put you at the back of the line. They will all service them though, and 4k is a good amount. I have saved over 10k buying out of state before. Just make sure you pay your taxes if buying out of state. You can get parts online if needed. They may charge you to pick it up etc. which it is the customer's responsibility to get the tractor to them. If you buy local they usually don't charge you to pick up the machine etc. Best thing you can do is not argue price with them, just contact them if you need parts and help, be polite, they need your money. If they don't need your money, spend it elsewhere. The attitude for not buying local is common with all of them, orange, green, red. I sometimes use it to feel a dealer out for future purchases.

 

[KubotaToy]

Some of these threads on warranty work is as good as oil threads. See this thread for more on the subject. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/mahindra-owning-operating/343618-warranty-work-info.html

 

[meyerld]

Thanks everyone for the responses. You've raised some angles I never thought of. The remote dealer is about a 3 hour drive away and will deliver the machine for free. Seeing how this is a relatively new design as far as I know and all the emissions stuff on it, I would not be surprised if it needed some dealer help on occasion although I am very mechanical I don't do computer stuff very well. Have not pulled the trigger yet.