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

[Root Cause]

I agree with ShooterDon and plowhog. They stated it's not a big deal to be out for a few weeks. My bet is the CEO's know that too.

If I were a decision-maker for a tractor company, with supply-chain issues, (they all are) I would absolutely direct all my resources to larger tractors knowing I am protecting my long-term customers.

So it isn't just the dealer ignoring the home/hobby owner, it probably works throughout corporate and right on through to the vendors. Raw materials no doubt are being directed where the most profit now and later exists.

I suspect there are Mahindra owners saying "Never again" and others saying the same about theirs. In the end, we may just rotate.

 

[fried1765]

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.

On average, I only use my Jeep for 500 miles each year.
The 34 year old jeep has a crappy repair reputation....but with the 5 spd. it is fun.
My Kubota L48TLB HST gets less than 20 hours per year, but compared to the Jeep it is a fine piece of machinery.

 

[jimnor46]

sorry ben a mahindra owner for many years now - max 25 fel and midmower.

the dealer i called 50 miles away when i was curious to find out more was rude and told me to go to their website which didn;t have anything on it. OK... so i found someone else about 40 miles away but seemed like a part-time dealer as such. Took me 3 attempts to meet with him and talk tractor. He tried to sell me a tractor model i did not want and he had in stock and he tried to sell me a back mower/brush hog unit which i did not want. he had no real staff as such and did not kow much about mdmwers or even putting a fel on it. ya that's right.

but he chased one down for me and the price was ok so i went with him. then he went out of business.

the first person i had to play a lot of games re: help and parts that never came in and i had to chase a part down at bill's in TX - got it 3 days later that the dealer said took him 5 weeks and nothing. called the mahindra rep which took days and he kind of blew me off too and never wanted to chase down the issue with the dealer and his slipshod service. WTF!!!???

actually chewed me out because i wanted to get my tractor working to use it.

now i see there is a new dealer 1 1/2 miles away from me according to the mahindra website so i called and after 10' on hold got hing up on. called back and no luck. emailed the guy and he tried to help but he never answered one question for me. he has nothing in stock and probably has not had any ever, and the service guy is leaving this friday so no service tech. love the tractor but WTF is it with the dealers and mahindra. no one around here to help with servicing or fixing an issue here or there. one expensive paperweight eh?

this is a sad state of affairs.

end of rant.

Welcome to the world of Mahindra...

 

[MHarryE]

Are people having problems with local dealers so they shop around? Sunday I was at our County Fair talking with one of my local dealer principles. He said they are doing more long distance sales as time goes on. In 2016, I traded my L5740 for a L6060. A couple weeks later the dealer called to see if I was okay with talking to a prospective buyer in North Carolina about my trade (dealer is in Wisconsin). Dealer said he told customer I traded because I had a leaking 4wd seal, tractor needed to be split, and I needed at tractor right away. I said sure - the customer called a short time later and I told him the complete history. Dealer told me it was on a truck to NC the next day. Is there a problem with local dealers taking care of their customers so they are willing to buy from a distant dealer? Remember, I am talking about 2016 when I could call my dealer requesting a CUT and have it delivered in a few days so it wasn't the current availability problem. Or is it possibly Midwest dealers are more willing to deal than those on the East Coast?

 

[Smily0]

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?

Hearing these stories makes me so glad for my dealer. I bought a cabbed L6060 3 years ago and the dealer was great to work with overall. He didn't have one on the lot, but never tried to talk me out of ordering one. I told him all the features I wanted, gave me a quote with pricing breakdowns so I could "pick" the ones I actually wanted, and was a bit surprised that I really did want everything I told him. He planned to order one in, then called me and said he found one on another dealers lot still in the shipping crate and could get it to me in a week instead of ordering if I preferred. I asked about buying a used 3-point fence line trimmer and he tossed it in for free, after the main negotiations had finished. They took great care of me, and have on each visit before and after buying. When he heard I had just moved to the area, he even invited me to his church.

 

[ljjhouser]

Sorry to hear about your service problems. Hope it gets better for you. That makes me even more committed to my belief that ANY tractor, regardless of brand, is no better than the dealer you must depend upon when in trouble.

 

[oldpilot]

My Mahindra salesman by contrast is a wonderful guy, and the service department the one time I used it (to keep my 1975 International Harvester 284 running, which it did for several years) was very good and phoned up for approval on every expense).

It's only the Mahindra tractor that's a huge disappointment. But it was $10,000 cheaper than a similar Kubota, and the Kubota wouldn't fit into my garage. (The ROP on Mahindra Baba is four inches lower.)

 

[DonaldP]

sorry ben a mahindra owner for many years now - max 25 fel and midmower.

the dealer i called 50 miles away when i was curious to find out more was rude and told me to go to their website which didn;t have anything on it. OK... so i found someone else about 40 miles away but seemed like a part-time dealer as such. Took me 3 attempts to meet with him and talk tractor. He tried to sell me a tractor model i did not want and he had in stock and he tried to sell me a back mower/brush hog unit which i did not want. he had no real staff as such and did not kow much about mdmwers or even putting a fel on it. ya that's right.

but he chased one down for me and the price was ok so i went with him. then he went out of business.

the first person i had to play a lot of games re: help and parts that never came in and i had to chase a part down at bill's in TX - got it 3 days later that the dealer said took him 5 weeks and nothing. called the mahindra rep which took days and he kind of blew me off too and never wanted to chase down the issue with the dealer and his slipshod service. WTF!!!???

actually chewed me out because i wanted to get my tractor working to use it.

now i see there is a new dealer 1 1/2 miles away from me according to the mahindra website so i called and after 10' on hold got hing up on. called back and no luck. emailed the guy and he tried to help but he never answered one question for me. he has nothing in stock and probably has not had any ever, and the service guy is leaving this friday so no service tech. love the tractor but WTF is it with the dealers and mahindra. no one around here to help with servicing or fixing an issue here or there. one expensive paperweight eh?

this is a sad state of affairs.

end of rant.

You are not alone.

There are good days, weeks, and years for all businesses, conversely the opposite is also true.

Timing is everything. From unit availability, to service, to parts and implements, every dealership goes through this.

I believe it’s those that are able to tell you exactly what is going on with their business that offer us the real options of accepting trade offs.

Were I to have known that particular dealer had a good chance of closing after I bought the tractor from them, well, maybe I would have still purchased it from that dealer if I knew that the price was going to reflect the issue of possibly not having a supporting dealership at some point in the future).

I believe it’s the dishonesty and downright lying that comes from many dealerships that drag the entire community down.

Tell the truth. Be honest… many times that’s all we as consumers need to make the right decision for us as consumers.

more often than not, an honest answer will return a more positive result than not.

 

[RammerJammer]

sorry ben a mahindra owner for many years now - max 25 fel and midmower.

the dealer i called 50 miles away when i was curious to find out more was rude and told me to go to their website which didn;t have anything on it. OK... so i found someone else about 40 miles away but seemed like a part-time dealer as such. Took me 3 attempts to meet with him and talk tractor. He tried to sell me a tractor model i did not want and he had in stock and he tried to sell me a back mower/brush hog unit which i did not want. he had no real staff as such and did not kow much about mdmwers or even putting a fel on it. ya that's right.

but he chased one down for me and the price was ok so i went with him. then he went out of business.

the first person i had to play a lot of games re: help and parts that never came in and i had to chase a part down at bill's in TX - got it 3 days later that the dealer said took him 5 weeks and nothing. called the mahindra rep which took days and he kind of blew me off too and never wanted to chase down the issue with the dealer and his slipshod service. WTF!!!???

actually chewed me out because i wanted to get my tractor working to use it.

now i see there is a new dealer 1 1/2 miles away from me according to the mahindra website so i called and after 10' on hold got hing up on. called back and no luck. emailed the guy and he tried to help but he never answered one question for me. he has nothing in stock and probably has not had any ever, and the service guy is leaving this friday so no service tech. love the tractor but WTF is it with the dealers and mahindra. no one around here to help with servicing or fixing an issue here or there. one expensive paperweight eh?

this is a sad state of affairs.

end of rant.

My problem was not with the dealer. Five years ago, the dealer and his staff were top notch when I bought the tractor. (So was another located in SE Alabama.) However, the inconsistencies in the manual relative to service intervals, fluids, etc. caused me to contact Mahindra corporate in Texas. THAT was an entirely different experience. I was concerned about doing it right so that I'd never encounter the 'you used the wrong oil/fluid/method' excuse should I ever need to use the warranty. Not only was it difficult to get to the right person (they preferred to speak to dealers, not customers!) but it was difficult to get them to recognize/own the issue. I asked them to issue an addendum to clear up the inconsistencies but I never saw one. And, yes, I did document those contacts just in case an issue developed later.

I am a believer in Karma to some extent. So, I will not tell you whether or not I have had any issues with my tractor but I will say that the last time I spoke with anyone at Mahindra was years ago. I'll need to replace the battery eventually. I did the fluid/filter changes earlier than required, lube it, keep air in the tires, use good fuel, keep it out of the weather, don't run into stuff - even wash it now and then. With the exception of Mahindra Corp, I am satisfied with Mahindra in all respects except the price and availability of parts and documentation. I suspect that dealers are affected by the parts prices and that may be why they end up closing - Lack of expected revenue. However, I can normally find parts here/there and, generally, at reasonable prices. When I say "parts" I mean filters, mainly. I like the fact that my tractor has no regen/DEF requirement. I like the fact that it is heavy - Hell, the "oil pan" looks to be made from cast iron! The same engine is used in applications where it produces around 50% more power than in my tractor. This tractor should far out live me.

And, one more thing, it's not yellow or green or orange. I mean, can you imagine spending hour after hour sitting on anything but a RED tractor? Really?

 

[fried1765]

My problem was not with the dealer. Five years ago, the dealer and his staff were top notch when I bought the tractor. (So was another located in SE Alabama.) However, the inconsistencies in the manual relative to service intervals, fluids, etc. caused me to contact Mahindra corporate in Texas. THAT was an entirely different experience. I was concerned about doing it right so that I'd never encounter the 'you used the wrong oil/fluid/method' excuse should I ever need to use the warranty. Not only was it difficult to get to the right person (they preferred to speak to dealers, not customers!) but it was difficult to get them to recognize/own the issue. I asked them to issue an addendum to clear up the inconsistencies but I never saw one. And, yes, I did document those contacts just in case an issue developed later.

I am a believer in Karma to some extent. So, I will not tell you whether or not I have had any issues with my tractor but I will say that the last time I spoke with anyone at Mahindra was years ago. I'll need to replace the battery eventually. I did the fluid/filter changes earlier than required, lube it, keep air in the tires, use good fuel, keep it out of the weather, don't run into stuff - even wash it now and then. With the exception of Mahindra Corp, I am satisfied with Mahindra in all respects except the price and availability of parts and documentation. I suspect that dealers are affected by the parts prices and that may be why they end up closing - Lack of expected revenue. However, I can normally find parts here/there and, generally, at reasonable prices. When I say "parts" I mean filters, mainly. I like the fact that my tractor has no regen/DEF requirement. I like the fact that it is heavy - Hell, the "oil pan" looks to be made from cast iron! The same engine is used in applications where it produces around 50% more power than in my tractor. This tractor should far out live me.

And, one more thing, it's not yellow or green or orange. I mean, can you imagine spending hour after hour sitting on anything but a RED tractor? Really?

Yup!
I spend my time on an orange tractor, or a blue one!
Never tried red, and probably never will.