Question on an equipment purchase

[MGP4506]

Question on buying a new piece of equipment. What do you think is more important: 1. The brand of the equipment (Cat, John Deere, Kabota, Case...)? OR 2. How close the dealer for parts and service is to you?

I am looking at a new / use excavator and I have always used Cat or John Deer however I am moving, and the closest dealer is 1.5hrs away for both. There is a BobCat dealer 5 min. away and another off brad 20 min. away. In all my years I have never used a BobCat and I heard mix reviews. Basically you like them or you don't. I do like having a dealer close by for parts and service but I know Cat and JD very well and never had an issue getting a part or a tech if needed.

 

[Jchonline]

You missed parts availability. It doesnt matter if you have a dealer close if they dont have the parts to begin with. Many smaller brand dealers have this issue...and that is why I went with Kubota. For me I wanted a good dealer with good service and a good parts network.

I would not buy a bobcat personally. I am an hour away from town for groceries....so 1.5 hours for heavy equipment dealer isnt a big deal to me. I would say go with JD or Cat.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I would say "Option 3"

Having a GOOD dealer nearby. Just because a tractor has a certain color paint on it, does NOT mean the dealer is any good.

When I was tractor shopping, both the Kubota and the Deere dealers nearest me were complete garbage. I wouldn't go back and have dealings with either one of those again.

 

[MGP4506]

You missed parts availability. It doesnt matter if you have a dealer close if they dont have the parts to begin with. Many smaller brand dealers have this issue...and that is why I went with Kubota. For me I wanted a good dealer with good service and a good parts network.

I would not buy a bobcat personally. I am an hour away from town for groceries....so 1.5 hours for heavy equipment dealer isnt a big deal to me. I would say go with JD or Cat.

Good point on part availability. I have a New Holland farm tractor and In my current area the Kabota / New Holland dealer is the same. It is a large dealer but for parts for the New Holland unless the part matches a Kubota part then they have to order it.

 

[MGP4506]

I would say "Option 3"

Having a GOOD dealer nearby. Just because a tractor has a certain color paint on it, does NOT mean the dealer is any good.

When I was tractor shopping, both the Kubota and the Deere dealers nearest me were complete garbage. I wouldn't go back and have dealings with either one of those again.

Unfortunately I am moving to a new area and haven't had dealings with any of the dealers. Where I am at the JD and Cat dealer is great and no issues with NH / Kabota. The Case dealer on the other hand I wouldn't recommend to my enemies. That is not saying Case isn't good but the dealership sucks.

 

[dodge man]

I’m always impressed with the parts my John Deere dealer carries and has in stock. Sometimes the low cost impresses me and sometimes a $3 part costs $10. If you don’t make a living with your machine immediate parts availability seems less important since you can order them and have them delivered. If you work on your own equipment service is less important.

 

[Hay Dude]

I would say "Option 3"

Having a GOOD dealer nearby. Just because a tractor has a certain color paint on it, does NOT mean the dealer is any good.

When I was tractor shopping, both the Kubota and the Deere dealers nearest me were complete garbage. I wouldn't go back and have dealings with either one of those again.

Taking that one step further, if you DO buy from the nearby dealer and you end up in a urinating match with them, then you are stuck with them for years.
I like buying a brand where there’s more than one dealer nearby that carries that brand.

 

[TerryR]

I like buying a brand where there’s more than one dealer nearby that carries that brand.

That's an interesting concept.

We'd like to have more than one dealer at all in the whole county, let alone multiple dealers of multiple brands.