Sad news, looks like I'm an orphan now

[K5lwq]

That is great news Mr. Slim! Hopefully they will be successful and be around for a very long time!

 

[Logan65]

Can you forward/reference/link to Big Tex' post with the service manuals? I bought my 3015 from them, Leon and the folks were great to work with. Thanks!!

 

[K5lwq]

Yes, they are great to deal with!

Here you go and congratulations on your new tractor!

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/century-branson/419226-i-have-found-all-service.html

 

[TXCOMT]

Yep, always good to read about a happy ending to a sad story!

As for the comments about not needing a nearby dealer, I壇 say in the case of older, less sophisticated tractors, that would indeed be the case, But guess what, folks, this ain稚 your grandpappy痴 world anymore and new tractors are all sorts of complicated. While some of us can handle hydraulic problems and wheel and tire issues, there are others who can稚...plus, there are warranty claims to consider, too.

I say being close to a dealership is definitely something to think about when getting a new Branson (or even those other brands)!

TXCOMT

 

[tradosaurus]

We would be more than happy to help you guys when it comes to your Century/Branson Parts or tech specs and advise, i'm not a expert when it comes to Branson i still learn new things everyday but i'd be more than willing to look up the information you need or the parts you are needing just send me an email if you need help.
Ryan@bigtextractor.com

I always wanted to stop in at your store. We make a lot of trips from Texarkana area to Arlington.

 

[Asteral]

come by and see us we would love to have you stop in

 

[BadDecisions]

plus, there are warranty claims to consider, too.

This was always the big thing for me...what happens if the one dealer suddenly closes up shop? Now what do I do with my new tractor?

Neighbor recently went through this with his Yanmar. The one semi-close dealer has an _EXCEPTIONALLY_ poor service department, and managed to cause extensive cosmetic damage to his virtually brand new tractor while in for other service work, then attempted to play it off as no big deal as they don't think anyone who REALLY uses their tractor gives a crap about how it looks, and initially refused to fix it. The neighbor disagreed...they finally agreed to fix it, and somehow caused _more_ damage in the process. It took involving a Yanmar corporate rep to get it resolved months later.

Next closest Yanmar dealer is now hours away, and won't come out here to pickup/drop off tractor for warranty work like the original dealer did (not that I would expect them to, especially not so for something they didn't even sell originally). Luckily for him, he's semi-retired, so while inconvenient, he can still haul it down there if need be. In my case though, I'd be up the proverbial creek, as I'd have to take a day off work every time it needed to go there or back.

Ultimately, this is what has steered me away from buying into a new tractor of the "smaller" brands, and I just don't have the cash flow to buy new from the "big" brands...

 

[Cougsfan]

A lot of people end up are deathly afraid of buying a "smaller" brand tractor because of dealer concerns. That insecurity causes them to only consider "big" brand tractor dealers, sometimes only to find they got ripped off and/or they might have a totally incompetent dealer service department by the "big" name dealer. I would argue that there are both competent and incompetent dealers representing virtually all brands. "Big" name brands aren't a guarantee of a competent dealership in the least. In fact I tend to trust a "big" name dealer less than a small dealer I can get to know on a first name, personal basis.

 

[LouNY]

What bothers me the most with the "big" name dealers is the alarming (to me) policy of larger dealers buying out the smaller ones,
and at times the manufactures actually shutting down the smaller dealers in favor of the big ones taking over there territory.

 

[Cougsfan]

How true, Lou. In our tri-state area if you want to buy a new John Deere tractor, you can most likely only buy it from one of a number of dealerships owned by either the Pap'e Group or RDO . Ron Offutt (the RDO owner, whom I've met) is far, far beyond being just an ordinary multi-millionaire, and Pap'e is a large corporate conglomerate involved in many things. It is the rich getting richer through legalized anti-trust and makes a shamble out of our supposed free enterprise system. It is another reason I would never own a green machine.
The auto dealer industry slowly moving in the same direction. It's a shame.