Bobcat CT230

[Sabretooth]

Sorry I have not been back no excuse but just been busy>
No new CT230 yet
I do have more info though. Went dealer and brought tractor for agreed amount after week tractor came from another store had none of equipment I was told it had or on my quote
1 No loader was told they had five to stick on next day got call no loader( so were going to order it "retail sale" to get it quicker? third week in Aug)
2 No canopy (was coming in from one of the other stores),
3 No Mid Mount PTO
4 Ind R4 tires were told were weathered cracked looked like they had been sitting 10yrs(BTW tractor was new only3hrs)
So to make long story short I go home to think about this told him I would call him. I call him tell him I was not happy. As I stated to first salesman I was buying a tractor that week did not want to wait for one that was why I was dealing on that one. so he tells me the loader I am getting was bobtach one to make me feel better I said do it I need a freakin tractor. few days later salesman calls leaves message loader coming in does not have bobtach but is pin on model. So I call him up ask what the $%^&& is going on since I left dealer first time nothing has gone right. He says yeah I know things got a little sdcrewy I said a little !!!! So then dead silence he comes up with I can order a new tractor I told him I did not want to spend anymore $$ he says let me see what I can do so he calls back tells me I can get a new 09' with everything MidPTO,BobTach Loader 68" bucket,R4 tires, Suspension seat delivered around same time as what just getting loader was going to take but it was going to run $11,6k at my door minus the the wad of $ I allready given them so I told him I wasnt to happy as I am only getting what was supposed to be sold to me in first place so he told me no tax so I took it. i ASKED AS i DO NEED THE DAM THING IS IT GOING TO BE HERE!!! He says yes come down when it comes in and sign new sales and it would be delivered the next day. Now 2 weeks later I had'nt heard anything so I call him he no longer working there and the salesman that I dealt with in beginning was handling it so I had his number call him up ask whats with tractor as I am living in a jungle he tells me he hadf looked it up other day and it says still in production I say what that tractor is suppose to be here by the end of next week (I called friday) he says let me call you back I was out yesterday I had message on phone last night saying "This is so-so I called Bobcat youre not going to be to happy but I dont know who told you third week in Aug but they told it will be Oct before I get it in" they are only building 2 a day now??? thats what he said.
????? I am like what the Flying #%$ is going on what should I do just wait as I think I got a good deal as other tractor are all priced min 5k more(comparable not exactly same) or should I drop BobCat up here Houston was going to sell me the same one at $12.9 09'model and OKC was at $12.1 only a few bills more but 08'model(no longer) as I dont like finacing unless it benefits me and intrest rate being where they are I figure I would spend the cash and get about 7% intrest on that
11k from the discount I am getting for buying cash for the next 5years. So what do you guys think should I wait or should I go somewhere else

BTW I am not to worried about service I do it all myself as I am out in BFE. Though it is nice when it come down to it to buy at the local dealer over others for warranty work.

????? Decisions decisions decisions ????? I do have to call him tonight

 

[IslandTractor]

How about calling the Houston Bobcat dealer back and trying to negotiate a slightly better price. You would presumably be willing to pay a bit more for a tractor now and they might be motivated to come down in price to take your business from the disorganized dealer. If it were me I'd just let the Houston guys know that I'd rather have a tractor now but that your current plan is to rent one several times before October so you do have an option.

 

[Sabretooth]

The only reason I would like to stay with the local dealer(70miles) instead of going down to houston was that the the local was the delivery and the one in Houston was done over phone nothing in writing also it was over $1,300 difference I can call them but doubt the'll match that much difference what do you think another thing isnt the promotion for the free loader/$3500 over now and all you get now is either or? I also have to go almost 300 each way atleast $2.50 gal @14mpg pulling the trailer thats about $125 just in fuel plus my time, guess what I am looking at is what can I say to this dealer to maybe get something out of waiting longer for the trractor maybe say like a set of filters for the 50hr or something maybe a a new blade at cost but what and how do I approach. As by the price the guy that does not work there anymore gave me(I was thinking might be reason he does'nt work there anymore) and maybe they are just trying to get out of this deal
One thing for sure I am going to have to rent a tractor this weekend to mow at least part of the yard Im on 15ac and a little less than half of it is about 4-5' in the worst spots the rest can be left for now as its only 2' now thats gonna cost me bout $150-180 for the day so I figure they can give me something in return you know what I am talking about. Thought bout a loaner from them but dont think they will do that as they are about 70miles.

 

[IslandTractor]

I forgot about the distances in Texas. Around here 300 miles would get you five or six states away. Sounds like you may be better off making peace with the "local" dealer and getting him to throw in some extras for the inconvenience. In the long run renting a tractor a couple of times is a pretty small expense and I'd personally rather do that than take a tractor you are not happy with.

 

[vpnwiz]

I see the frustration, I waited a long long LONG time for mine. I was quoted 3-4 weeks because my salesperson recommended I special order my CT235 as theirs had been sitting for a while. The grass grew and grew and grew here... and projects piled up, man was my wife really ticked off. I think it took about 7 or 8 weeks, but now that I think back on it took 10! I finally had given up on calling my dealer once a week because I realized it was out of their hands. My CT235 was delivered with the belly mower but no loader - that was going to take another 2-3 weeks but it was in in a week. Oh, and I had to pay another $450 for the Bob-tach because he forgot to add it in the original price! Was invoiced separately for that!

But he was a nice guy, it was an honest mistake(s) I believe, so be it. He did let me use a trackhoe for a week ... dropped off and picked up at no charge to try to make up. And it went a long way. My dealer is good people but I think Bobcat was just overwhelmed with orders when they started giving these away.

PS my front tires are cracked like crazy too and mine was just built. The service manager called me and wanted pictures of the date codes on the front tires. They were from 0408 and 0508. They are replacing both.

Patrick

 

[Sabretooth]

Thanks for the response IslandTractor and vpnwiz I did call yesterday to talk to him left message will talk to him after weekend I guess was just disappointed to have to wait another month did not think about the overwhelming response they got from this. I do think that buying it was right thing to do. Just don't know about buying further from what I heard and read here if you got warranty work or problem and don't buy from the local guy your stuff goes to bottom of pile.

Vpnwiz so how do you like the 235 power,response to commands(drive system and fel),fuel usage,operator fatigue after few hours?,fit finish and overall quality of the Bobcat. Only reason I did not go for it was they had that CT230 at the other dealership sitting there and I had read the prices on it and $10k was to hard to pass up. I did talk to the dealer in Houston he told me the 2 series is all same 225,230,235 just pretty much different injector size and bumped up the pump output but they are same engine ? do not know if its true but seems logical as they weigh same and are built on the same frame. What do you do with the Bobcat how does the loader feel do you use a brush cut I am going to be using a Woods HHS60 5' for doing the fields about 10-12 acres worth till the ponds are dug Salesman said I could have used a 6' but I didn't want to strain it as I do live on to of a hill also would of been wider than the rear wheels and the boxblade and the fel to put in new driveway and re-grade around house.

I did like the part about the problem with the tires cracking that's what I was talking about buying local not sure about this dealer but they have a few locations in Texas maybe my encounter with that other salesman and the order getting screwed(first tractor came in with nothing but base tractor also saying unit here in 3weeks) might of just been him(also he does not work there anymore) not the company hopefully everything will go right from here on out I guess we'll see.

Edit* Was just reading a diffrent post bout the bobcat be so cheap (lost it have like 40 windows open right now) seems Dadong was overloaded with parts and same bobcat had cash I guess so they built some extra tractors had em sitting and now the problems maybe mine will come with fresh tires or Ill be doing same thing I guess

 

[vpnwiz]

I've got 19 hours on mine and will probably have 25-26 at the end of today. I can do hours in the chair and it feels fine. Fit and finish is excellent - I'm glad I waited. There are a few spots of surface rust, none of them larger than a pen tip and most at the joints where the paint got nicked. But I don't baby this thing either ... already got a few dents in the hood too Fuel usage has been great too, think I've only gone through 10 gallons so far. The HST can be abrupt until it warms up but once it's on for a while it's smooth. The hydraulics do have a lot of flow - almost too much (is that possible?) sometimes I wish the FEL was slower.

I mow about 2 acres of finished grass with lots of turns, which is why I got the belly mower. I also have about 4 acres of woods, 2 of which need cleared and the other 2 just maintained, so I needed the 4wd and FEL for that. I am used to taking the belly mower off and on now - I can do it in about 15-20 minutes total time on/off. Now I have to get used to taking off the FEL too because it is real hard to mow with it on.

I was waffling between the 235 and 335 but overall I would buy this again in an instant - minus the belly mower.

 

[Sabretooth]

Thanks vpnwiz I appreciate the feedback I was reading another thread that I found talking about the wait One guy said he was offered the 335 for $13.2 did not elaborate only that he would have it (?m meaning maybe it was one on the lot the dealer had think I might see if they will deal on it. I also saw some other posts you had commented on mainly the "paint issue" the one they had down in FortWorth was getting close to 2yrs old now I didn't notice anything wrong with flaking paint and such only spots I saw was on the CT120 they had it was bad in some spots like where metal fender met the floor board handle had rust drop running away from it also on loader the little guard they screw on where the lines cross the the paint was bubbling on that and turned me off to that one thats why I was going with the 230 till it came in with nothing on it ie: loader RR Pto canopy.

 

[Lucky1]

I've got 19 hours on mine and will probably have 25-26 at the end of today. I can do hours in the chair and it feels fine. Fit and finish is excellent - I'm glad I waited. There are a few spots of surface rust, none of them larger than a pen tip and most at the joints where the paint got nicked. But I don't baby this thing either ... already got a few dents in the hood too Fuel usage has been great too, think I've only gone through 10 gallons so far. The HST can be abrupt until it warms up but once it's on for a while it's smooth. The hydraulics do have a lot of flow - almost too much (is that possible?) sometimes I wish the FEL was slower.

I mow about 2 acres of finished grass with lots of turns, which is why I got the belly mower. I also have about 4 acres of woods, 2 of which need cleared and the other 2 just maintained, so I needed the 4wd and FEL for that. I am used to taking the belly mower off and on now - I can do it in about 15-20 minutes total time on/off. Now I have to get used to taking off the FEL too because it is real hard to mow with it on.

I was waffling between the 235 and 335 but overall I would buy this again in an instant - minus the belly mower.

Why minus the belly mower if I may ask?

 

[vpnwiz]

Why minus the belly mower if I may ask?

It was a mistake on my part. I only have to mow about 2 acres but I wanted an all-in-one machine for my back property (rough woods) and finished areas with lots of curves. I use my tractor a lot more in the back, so to mow I need to unhook the FEL, drive into the barn and hook up the mower, mow, then reverse all that again. I would have been better off with a 3 pt finish mower or buying a separate cheap used riding lawn mower.

It is easy to put in and take off, but it's still a lot easier to hook up to a 3pt.