Dealers: how does mahindra do it and why do we pt up with it?

[Solitary Man]

well i was interested in kubota; however, the owner was jerk and knew notta and could care less about the sale and the only salesman they had just keptincreasing the price over a 3 day period so i said forget it. and deere did not impress me for my needs. so...

We have a local Kubota dealer that is infamous for being a jerk; one day he'll kiss your a&& to sell you a tractor, and the next day he won't even come out on the yard. I drove farther to buy a tractor is all I did; I sure wasn't gonna give up and buy something besides a Kubota. But, hey, that's me.

 

[fried1765]

This is why I'm very nervous about Mahindra. I'm hoping to buy a used cab tractor in the near future and the Mahindra 105P sure has a lot to offer for the price. But they seem to age quickly and I don't have any confidence in the different dealers that have been here. Some have been around for awhile, others only last a year or two.

Branson is the worse I've encountered.

Case also scares me because of the issues I've had finding parts for my Case Dozer.

Everyone I know who has Deere and Kubota have told me that the dealers have been great.

I'm leaning heavily towards Kubota.

That is probably a very wise "lean".

 

[doneill127]

Find it really interesting that almost all the comments and replies about the mahindra dealers and product are coming from people that don’t own a Mahindra so not sure where their experience comes from unless they traded in their Mahindra for another brand. I don’t spend a lot of time on the other manufacturers forums, but from what little time I do sure seems they all have some issues and that all brands have good and bad dealers

 

[sea2summit]

well i was interested in kubota; however, the owner was jerk and knew notta and could care less about the sale and the only salesman they had just keptincreasing the price over a 3 day period so i said forget it. and deere did not impress me for my needs. so...

i could not build one myself i had to buy. i figured i'd get some wise guy replies.

Middle TN in your profile. Have you contacted Barlow’s? I drove 500 miles for the price they gave me on my MX.

 

[Hay Dude]

This is why I'm very nervous about Mahindra. I'm hoping to buy a used cab tractor in the near future and the Mahindra 105P sure has a lot to offer for the price. But they seem to age quickly and I don't have any confidence in the different dealers that have been here. Some have been around for awhile, others only last a year or two.

Branson is the worse I've encountered.

Case also scares me because of the issues I've had finding parts for my Case Dozer.

Everyone I know who has Deere and Kubota have told me that the dealers have been great.

I'm leaning heavily towards Kubota.

Probably a wise lean, as Fried said.
Buying Deere, Kubota, CNH are safer ways of buying equipment.
I don’t think it’s impossible for Mahindra to get into their category, they arent there at this time.
I would not trust Mahindra as a farm tractor to make a living with.

 

[BlackOps]

no never heard of them and at least around these parts. thanks.

 

[Root Cause]

I am fairly new to the game but I went with a good local dealer. It just happened he was a Mahindra dealer with a tractor I wanted. Used with 80 hours. Found some parts missing two weeks later and they robbed everything I needed from a new one on the lot, no questions asked even though I took pictures.

They are great folks and try hard to please even during these tough times.

However, I have found that they seem to be at the back of the Mahindra parts/service line. It may be because they are small. Who knows. So I contact them first to give them the opportunity to make a sale. If they can't deliver, I go to the Greenburg, PA dealer and place the order. So far, they have had what I needed and got both items in about a week. Maybe luck or maybe because they are a big Mahindra dealer.

 

[Torvy]

Find it really interesting that almost all the comments and replies about the mahindra dealers and product are coming from people that don’t own a Mahindra so not sure where their experience comes from unless they traded in their Mahindra for another brand. I don’t spend a lot of time on the other manufacturers forums, but from what little time I do sure seems they all have some issues and that all brands have good and bad dealers

I haven't purchased anything yet. I value all opinions. Someone who considered a brand and decided against it is often as valuable as the person who feels brand loyalty toward whatever brand they chose...confirmation bias. Basically, if I only went with the opinions of those who purchased a brand, I would only hear the positives.

 

[doneill127]

If you only went with the opinions of those that purchased a brand,you would only hear the positives. Really? This thread is about someone who purchased a brand and its all negative.

 

[Hay Dude]

Find it really interesting that almost all the comments and replies about the mahindra dealers and product are coming from people that don’t own a Mahindra so not sure where their experience comes from unless they traded in their Mahindra for another brand. I don’t spend a lot of time on the other manufacturers forums, but from what little time I do sure seems they all have some issues and that all brands have good and bad dealers

Some of the comments raise the idea that more established brands with larger more established dealer networks may assist with a more positive ownership experience.
I am old enough to remember when Kubota, a very established company, was in its infancy stage in the 70’s and everyone said they were “Jap crap”, etc. Look where they are now!
Mahindra might do same, but they aren’t there yet.

 

[Torvy]

If you only went with the opinions of those that purchased a brand,you would only hear the positives. Really? This thread is about someone who purchased a brand and its all negative.

Sorry, I must have written poorly. If the only opinions posted were from those buying that brand they would be skewed heavily positive. The people who had a bad dealer experience would be much less likely to buy.

 

[BlackOps]

i love the max25 but as i said the delaers and service nd company itself was a disappointment. kubota for trying to buy one was a joke.

a i side not had some clown hit me from behind and totaled my car which was in impeccable shaoe and low mileage and no issues but got crapola for thie ins company. so without a car - my old cargo van had a serious trailer hitch and i could have accessed a trailer but now with notta my choice of trailering ti anywhere let alone 60 miles or even more is impossible.

lastly - wit many surgeries with complications and mutliple heart attacks and surgeries and more due - i am in a struggling space right now.

so dealers that are Quality count for me as well as machines.

 

[doneill127]

Haydude, understand and to some extent that’s one of the things that pushed me towards Mahindra. My model is actually made by Mitsubishi, has a proven S3L motor. Plus where I live had 3 dealers within 30 miles. Down to 2 now.

Torvy: knew what you meant. Saw a few things yesterday where pure bs was being promoted and think it got to me. Don’t really have brand loyalty generally do my research and look at best value for my hard earned money. Kind of what you’re doing

BlackOps if the machine is out of warranty have you tried to find an independent service person. There’s generally mobile repair techs that will come out to service and repair your equipment. Maybe someone who’s close to you can recommend someone.

 

[Hay Dude]

Haydude, understand and to some extent that’s one of the things that pushed me towards Mahindra. My model is actually made by Mitsubishi, has a proven S3L motor. Plus where I live had 3 dealers within 30 miles. Down to 2 now.

Torvy: knew what you meant. Saw a few things yesterday where pure bs was being promoted and think it got to me. Don’t really have brand loyalty generally do my research and look at best value for my hard earned money. Kind of what you’re doing

BlackOps if the machine is out of warranty have you tried to find an independent service person. There’s generally mobile repair techs that will come out to service and repair your equipment. Maybe someone who’s close to you can recommend someone.

It’s good you don’t have brand loyalty. That has got to be the biggest exercise in stupidity on the planet. I have multiple brands of everything. Trucks, tractors and attachments. If you truly want to stretch your equipment dollar, you buy quality brands at the best value point for your needs.

I don’t have anything against Mahindra, but if it came down to Mahindra or the legacy brands, as a farmer and property maintainer, I go with the legacy brands. I must have dealer parts support. 1 day without a tractor is a bad day. I will let others experiment with new stuff.
I realize there’s a lot of guys and birthing persons here with 5 acres and a 25HP tractor that can sacrifice some reliability for a cheaper tractor and that’s fine by me.

 

[duffer]

I don’t have anything against Mahindra, but if it came down to Mahindra or the legacy brands, as a farmer, I go with the legacy brands……for now….I must have dealer parts support. 1 day without a tractor is a bad day

Totally agree with this if you're a farmer. All you have to do is open your eyes and see what 90% of the farmers use, especially the big ones....JD & Case IH. No Mahindra, no Kubota, no LS, no Kioti, no Branson, no New Holland (or very, very little).

And even within the various tractor brands, it seems that certain models or series have the majority of problems. Which comes down to the factory/country where they are made. It's rare to see a significant problem on the 2500-2600 series Mahindra on this board. But not so uncommon to see issues with the eMax, 1500, 1600 series. Just sayin....

Covid had major impact on the supply chains of production parts and supplies. I'm not surprised it's tough to get parts. Probably will be for another 6 mos to a year, assuming they don't lock us down again...The local JD, Kubota, & Mahindra dealers don't have any tractors to sell on their lots. No surprise parts are tough to get too.

For all of us "hobby farmers" or acreage owners that need a compact tractor to do what we need, several brands will fill the bill. Just a matter of what you need for your circumstance, dealer quality and availability, and your budget. Based on the posts I've read on this board, most of us probably won't put more than 200 hours a year on the tractor. (I'm the exception, as I use mine about 400 hours a year).

If one brand made the best compact tractor, we'd all be there. We're not.

 

[plowhog]

I must have dealer parts support. 1 day without a tractor is a bad day. ... I realize there’s a lot of guys and birthing persons here with 5 acres and a 25HP tractor that can sacrifice some reliability for a cheaper tractor and that’s fine by me.

Compared to a hobby/residential farm tractor owner, a dealer looks at you as a much more profitable customer. Because whatever either of you initially pay for a tractor, that's just the first sale in a long relationship. You are much more likely to come back for parts, service, more equipment, ... whatever.

I had a miserable time trying to purchase a cab model Kubota L6060 tractor. Two different dealers. I was paying cash, had the exact config and attachments identified, yet couldn't get any serious response. Which seemingly makes no sense-- they are in business to sell things, right?

Over time, I came to believe that Kubota dealers (around here) can sell more tractors than Kubota will allocate to them. So, they likely try to steer their sales to customers (like you) who will be better overall customers than sell to residential/hobby owners (like me.) If I bought a L6060 from them, it would "take away" one unit they could have instead sold to a commercial operator.

 

[Hay Dude]

Totally agree with this if you're a farmer. All you have to do is open your eyes and see what 90% of the farmers use, especially the big ones....JD & Case IH. No Mahindra, no Kubota, no LS, no Kioti, no Branson, no New Holland (or very, very little).

And even within the various tractor brands, it seems that certain models or series have the majority of problems. Which comes down to the factory/country where they are made. It's rare to see a significant problem on the 2500-2600 series Mahindra on this board. But not so uncommon to see issues with the eMax, 1500, 1600 series. Just sayin....

Covid had major impact on the supply chains of production parts and supplies. I'm not surprised it's tough to get parts. Probably will be for another 6 mos to a year, assuming they don't lock us down again...The local JD, Kubota, & Mahindra dealers don't have any tractors to sell on their lots. No surprise parts are tough to get too.

For all of us "hobby farmers" or acreage owners that need a compact tractor to do what we need, several brands will fill the bill. Just a matter of what you need for your circumstance, dealer quality and availability, and your budget. Based on the posts I've read on this board, most of us probably won't put more than 200 hours a year on the tractor. (I'm the exception, as I use mine about 400 hours a year).

If one brand made the best compact tractor, we'd all be there. We're not.

Oh heck no. I have 2 Kubotas running full time farming. Kubota is legit for small to medium farming. Not large scale farming, yet

 

[fried1765]

It’s good you don’t have brand loyalty. That has got to be the biggest exercise in stupidity on the planet. I have multiple brands of everything. Trucks, tractors and attachments. If you truly want to stretch your equipment dollar, you buy quality brands at the best value point for your needs.

I don’t have anything against Mahindra, but if it came down to Mahindra or the legacy brands, as a farmer and property maintainer, I go with the legacy brands. I must have dealer parts support. 1 day without a tractor is a bad day. I will let others experiment with new stuff.
I realize there’s a lot of guys and birthing persons here with 5 acres and a 25HP tractor that can sacrifice some reliability for a cheaper tractor and that’s fine by me.

Ah Ha......"birthing persons"
Are you drinking the Kool-Aid in this hot August weather?

 

[shooterdon]

Good thread for those looking to buy a "normal" tractor. What the "big boys" in farming use is not important to the majority buying a tractor to work around their homestead, hunting property, etc.

Being without a machine for a week or two is not catastrophic for me and that factored into my decision not to buy a name brand that cost $8-10k more. For someone buying either a "tool" that will see limited use or a "toy", reliability is not paramount. And for the inexperienced, a dealer has more value than to a guy who can, and/or enjoys wrenching.

Hay Dude made a valid point about Kubota when they entered the market decades ago. Maybe they got started with mostly "loser" dealers but they have pushed through that hurdle. I see LS being able to do that as the market grows.

The arrogance of some of the name brand dealers is driving people away. BTW that is what happened in my case. I had no intention to buy an LS when I started but ended up there after months of due diligence.

I may regret getting the LS in 15 years. By then, it will have about 1000-1200 hours on it. But in the 15 years I will have owned it, that $8-10k savings will mean I have $15-18K more cash to fix my "inferior" tractor. That is why longevity is such a minor factor for most purchasers. We are not putting on 400+ hours a year. Paying a premium for a 5000+ hour machine is not worth it.

If the LS is only a 3000 hr machine, I will last over 35 years....I will be dead and it won't matter anyway.

One last thought. The reason Kubota has such a good reputation is that its biggest market has been tractor owners who put on less than 100 hrs per year. Look at all the low hour machines advertised for sale when people upgrade or decide they no longer need a tractor. Their machines do not see heavy use. They do not rack up enough hours to break. It is akin to a car used 100 hours a year....say 3-4000 miles.

 

[plowhog]

The arrogance of some of the name brand dealers is driving people away. BTW that is what happened in my case. I had no intention to buy an LS

Same here. I budgeted $50k for a cabbed tractor, plenty of $$ (at the time) for a Kubota L6060, yet dealer sales people were something between incompetent and disinterested. I thought that if the *sales* people were so uninterested I'd be really screwed if I ever needed to bring it in for service.

I bought the Massey 1758 only after throwing in the towel on dealing with Kubota dealers in my area. But it has been an excellent machine and I am thrilled with the result.

Looking back, I waved a red flag at the Kubota dealers. I asked that the tractor quote include the cost for all filters, fluids, etc. needed for the first major service. In hindsight, this probably signaled that I'd do my own service rather than bringing it back to the dealership. So being prepared to do some of my own servicing made me a less valuable customer in their eyes.

I asked the Massey dealer for the same filters and fluids and he said: "I'll throw in all that stuff with your purchase!"