After months of going back and forth i am finally buying a 2520

damiang · May 10, 2011

I probably should have stuck to just talking to the owner as he was the first person I dealt with back in March when I was fishing for ball park pricing. But as my luck would have it when I returned last week for a serious talk about buying he was not there and I had one of his sales guys. I knew I should have just said I will be back when the owner is in. Now I feel that if I do talk to the owner again thta I am just going around the salesmans back and I don't really like that. Seems more sneaky than anything.

Now I was just told (by someone I workwith) that they have a close friend (by me) that is looking for the same type of tractor maybe I can approach the dealer with possibly a 2 tractor deal.....hummm Maybe I do have some leverage. Watch him say that is the best they can do.... :confused2:

damiang · May 10, 2011

bxowner said:
I guess I'm confused... the only thing about the deal in DE that's better is the fact you're not subject to taxes. Otherwise, apples-to-apples, your local dealer is $185 less (sale price + delivery fuel). Not sure what the local guy's supposed to do for you. The dealer sure doesn't want to lose a sale over the fact that his home state charges taxes and the neighboring state doesn't. VT deals with this all the time - with NH being "tax-free." (I say "tax free" because as a Vermonter, I'm still supposed to pay local taxes for purchases like this made in NH).

Have you considered any kind of legitimate way around this? Does PA offer some kind of agricultural tax exclusion that you could file for and do some ag work with the tractor? Or, can you register it for road use?

Maybe you could live with a few free services - with pick up/drop off from your place free (I'm charged $100 each way for this service from my dealer 12 miles away - 1 mile wouldn't make a difference, as they still have to strap the thing down)? I mean, having a good dealer less than a mile away isn't something many of us on this site can say. And if you look back through the threads, when tractors go bad (which they sometimes will do), having a good relationship with your dealer can be the difference between a warranty repair and having to pay out of pocket.

Not saying I can't appreciate a $1000 savings, but you're in a tough spot from where I sit. I think there's still wiggle-room with your dealer to get you back to the $600 you're willing to pay over and above the DE dealer to keep it local.

I guess what i would like him to do is match the tractor price from the dealer in De of $11,699 and 0% for 60. That would put his total out the door cost about $600 over the deal from the DE dealer in which case I would buy from the local guy.

revitupfaster · May 10, 2011

I don't think you should worry about going behind the salesman's back. I would explain to your salesman that you have a better deal, however you really want to deal with them, and would prefer to talk to the owner, to give him a chance to work with you. I'm sure the salesman has his guidelines as to what kind of deals he can make, and if he is any kind of a salesman at all, he should want you to talk to the "head honcho" rather than just walk away.

I'm sure the owner would be some upset (at his salesman) if he ever found out you walked, without him having a final shot to at least explain his position. Unfortunately, the sales tax issue is beyond his control, and this makes for a terrible situation for the dealer, as I'm sure he has run into similar cases before.

At least if you talk to the head guy before you buy, even if you can't come to an agreement, it should make it easier for you should you have to go back to his store in the future. I'm sure he is aware of whats going on, and really can't blame someone for wanting to save money. It's not your fault the tax situation is the way it is. Maybe he simply can't match the other deal, or even get close enough to satisfy you, but at least you gave him a shot, and if he is a decent dealer, he should thank you for the courtesy.

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megaboz · May 10, 2011

I would at least show them the deal, minus the sales tax stuff. I did that with my local dealer, and the pretty much matched the competing bid dollar for dollar in one way or another. The first offer (I had a trade in, that was the kicker for me) was about $4500 difference.

Also, it is going to depend on size of dealer and how much inventory they run through, smaller places won't be able to make much of a deal. I know my dealer has about 20 of each of the 2x20 series (I might be exaggerating some, but I can grantee there is at least 5 of each), I got kinda annoyed when I was looking for a 2520 and all I could do was find 2320's.

damiang · May 11, 2011

Well I actually had a friend of a friend that was also buying a JD lawn tractor (X745) and thought we could perpose a deal that we are both going to buy from the local Dealer if he can move a little for both of us. Well i went with the local dealer....Brought the overall price down to $20,600 plus tax (6%) and gave me 0% for 60 months, so it comes out to about $800 more than the DE dealer. If I figure the fuel cost to go to DE and back that will add about $150 in Diesel. All in all i paid about $650 more just to stay local which I am good with. Plus the buddy of mine I mentioned now works for him as well. Giving a friend a job in today's market is plus in my book!!!! Should be here in 3 weeks.

smalltown · May 11, 2011

damiang glad to read it ended up good for you. Now you have to wait for delivery like the rest of us :laughing:

revitupfaster · May 11, 2011

Well done......I know you paid a little more, but sometimes that's not a bad thing. You gave your local guy a shot and it worked out.

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Gobblin Tom · May 11, 2011

:thumbsup:AWESOME:thumbsup:

RJJR · May 17, 2011

Hello everyone,
I'm a new member who is just starting to look for a way to cure my tractor fever. I grew up on a family farm with "green tractors" everywhere. I've been working in the private sector for 25 years and didn't realize how much I took for granted when climbing on one of my father's John Deeres. Quick question on this post. What is the discount % that you refer to in your quotes? I see 12.5% 14% etc on different pieces of equipment. Is that something that everyone offers? I'm going to be on 15 acres and am looking to get back to my roots.
Thanks