Dealer Best brand to start dealership? Branson / LS / TYM

[sunstardude]

If you were starting a dealership and could pick only one brand, at least initially, which would you go with and why? Branson / LS / TYM

Also, anyone have input on outsourcing the warranty service & repair work to a third-party shop? Can this work out well?

Any dealers on here who can answer this from experience?

Thanks!

 

[AxleHub]

Didn't Branson get sold to TYM's parent company ?

Your question seems to limit answers to only 3 choices. Why are you looking at such a narrow grouping?

Personally, I'd assume that many of the brand names like Massey or Kubota would be expensive dealerships because they have a large quantity of sizes and product choices and service requirements. Unless I was really flush with lots of money - I'd want a dealership that could offer a limited quantity of sizes so that the original investment would not be overpowering - and as a result you could display each and every product in the lineup potentially in various configurations as well (less building requirement and service dept.). Yes - I know - a brand without big huge units doesn't attract the big farmer category - so you do a better job selling the markets that are the hottest - scuts and cuts.

Under these parameters - I'd get the best quality desigmed and built brand that fits those parameters - - Yanmar.

Why? Pure manufacturer (engine and tractor). Nice choice of sizes in scuts and cuts and nothing after that. And they compete on price very very well but have national name recognized anywhere in the country for engines. That way your selling based on 1. quality 2. long time recognition AND 3. price - not just price.

AxleHub

 

[Tractorable]

Great post. Yanmar is building some nice tractors, even though they have a limited number of models.

Per the OP, sticking to the Korean makes, I'd probably hedge towards LS, simply due to their name recognition and level of resources in North America.

 

[1stDeuce]

I believe the reality is that Branson and TYM are now owned by the same S. Korean parent company. Neither owns the other, and they are two completely different companies and mfg facilities.

I have been talking to TYM on and off about a dealership in my area, but haven't been able to find a cheap place to lease yet. They have a pretty good setup for new dealers, and they will move tractors around to help you get them off the lot if necessary. TYM is supposed to be getting a west coast parts warehouse soon, which was good for me.

I also pinged LS to see about becoming an LS dealer, but they didn't get back to me. Those two brands have the nicest tractors, IMO. That said, if I hadn't found my MF, I'd probably own a Branson. There actually is a place in town that used to sell them and can still get parts. They have one tractor on the lot now. The owner said Branson is hard to work with because they want you to order tractors in quantity, and have minimum quantities of each model... Hard for a dealer to sell 10 of the same tractor, or have more than a few models in stock with requirements like that...

I'd still like to start something, but haven't found a good place for the business yet...

 

[1stDeuce]

I should also say pricing on TYM and LS seems very similar, and tractor options are also similar. Branson is cheaper, as are the lower Mahindra models, but their tractors are definitely less refined, and usually have less options. Yanmar would be a good brand to sell if the prices aren't bad. Wranglerstar seems to like his, and the features are good, they're just fairly new to selling the whole tractor.

Any of these brands make a good alternative to orange and green for many buyers who don't use their tractor commercially.

Kioti tractors are nice, but prices have crept up to the point they're not that great a deal, and Massey and New Holland offer nice tractors too, but they're even more expensive than orange and green. Since LS makes many of the NH SCUT and CUT tractors, but offers the same tractor with more features for less than NH wants, I don't see the point of selling NH tractors, unless you want to sell the big boys...

 

[Olympus]

LS brand is growing by leaps and bounds! In my area, LS is everywhere, only 1 Kioti dealer, and no TYM dealers.

LS has won the dealer's choice award several years in a row as being he top rated of all the brands by dealers. That says a lot right there. And I can tell you they take care of their customers too.

 

[nybirdman]

With the current world events;I would be leery of any Korean brands.I think they generally make quality products.Kioti would be my choice of the Korean's.

 

[Olympus]

With the current world events;I would be leery of any Korean brands.I think they generally make quality products.Kioti would be my choice of the Korean's.

I wouldn't let that bother me in the least.

 

[Brazos by Nemo]

I am with nybirdman. North Korea is a loose cannon. Who knows what will happen.

 

[AxleHub]

I'd like to state a differing viewpoint regarding some recent statements.

In no manner are kubota and jd less money than Massey in pricing for similar sizes of scuts or smaller cuts. I mean it isn't even close unless some isolated dealer is gouging. In 150 mile radius of my Wisconsin region j. D. Is the pricing highest with kubota dealerships and Mahindras dealership following behind. I've seen 1 Kioti dealership 160 miles away and no Branson dealers at all. 2 ls dealers are small and at least in scuts are in the same higher pricing area of Mahindras. I've been in numerous dealerships where kubota and Massey are both sold successfully together and while both brands are quality the Kubotas are higher priced than Massey.

In that 150 radius here are more yanmar dealers than Mahindras or TYM or Kioti or ls.

Now my viewpoints are focused on SCUT and cut because this thread is about someone considering starting a dealership and quite honestly unless you have millions of dollars available plus credit lines in addition you can't start a dealership today that includes utility and big farm equipment because you would starve. It's sub 4.00 corn folks and sub 10.00 beans and a gallon of milk in the store is often less than 2.00.

Now maybe an existing dealer can have big equipment and not be a multi millionaire but he sure is not going to start new otherwise. You have to win part of your market to justify the risk of big equipment and those already selling big equipment have been earning the customers for years.

Today's reality is unless you start smaller and slower you would be required to have your own service department and stocking parts. You'd need considerable cash for payroll and advertising because the pressure on manufacturers of brands is they need dealers who can "move metal". They might sound soft and sweet on day one of your opening but day two you better be willing to finance cash flow because the days of the old "guy with three machines in his front yard" are dead. And disappearing fast.