dealers who deal

[Spudland_Dave]

Spuds
You sure made alot of assumtions about my relationship with the local dealer.

I am trying to make a informed decision and if my local dealer is unable to make the sale price palatable for me it is my right to purchase elsewhere.

I have prior experience with both the service and parts depts. both favorable.

I ma asking agian if their are JD dealers who would rather make a sale instead send customers away with non negiatiable pricing.

FYI I and considering a 4320, or 4520 machine

I might have made some assumptions, but at the same time..am I totally wrong? I had a MORE then favorable experience with my service & parts depts before buying my new machine and the sales dept treated me equally well. I guess what I'm trying to say is yeah, we all gotta wach our wallets these days, BUT if your dealer is truly a good dealer and you like him, why do you feel like your being ripped off? Definetly its good to shop around....BUT, at what cost does it make sense? Even if I could "save" 3k by buying a new machine from timbucktoo I would still buy from my dealer. You are correct, it is your right to buy from ANYBODY from Anywhere...and its also the dealers right to treat you as he see's fit.

To answer your question though, I know in the process of buying my 3520, there was alot of negotiation. Especially when I started saying...well I can get a Grand L 3240 for $XX.00. I will say though, I did hit a brick wall with actual $$ eventually, and at that point I had to switch over to having options and such thrown in. I heard from a friend of a friend, etc.. that there is a "minimum sale price" that most dealers follow...any further leeway is done thru options. Talking to other people who bought green echoed the same thing....

Lemme ask you this, what is the "rock solid price"? Is it MSRP? 10% off MSRP? 15% off MSRP? etc? I wouldnt pay MSRP, but if the solid price is 15% off MSRP, your not doing too bad.

Sorry if I made TOO many assumptions, but it tweaks me when I read posts saying "I bought my machine 1200 miles away and saved 2k, but now my local dealer is giving me the runaround...I hate my [insert brand & model here]"... In the big picture, are you really saving anything?

 

[Berkley]

I was quoted in writing today on a 4520 with ehydro, 400 CX FEL, R4s, I-Match, MX-6 and some other attachments and tractor options.......48 month ZERO PERCENT financing and a loyalty discount of $1,000 ( prior purchase in last 12 months )......The tractor and loader were also discounted by more than 15% ( slightly less than 20% ) and the attachments were about 10% or so off.......

However, I have a horse farm that generates a real cash loss every year......I think the dealer felt sorry for me:thumbsup:

 

[tulenutn2o]

You say that now. Your tune would change after being in the equipment business. Also, any smart dealer would never admit this to the general public.

When I was saying that the dealer would take care of the customers that buy from them first, I meant all customers. Not just those that buy a lot from them.

Also... after rereading my post, I said:

"I would service customers that actually bought from me first and have no problem putting or moving my customers ahead of those that are only coming to me for service and not buying equipment from me".

I meant WARRANTY service. Regular service is great. In fact, that's where most dealers make their money.

Aye, you speak like a true salesman. If you do not treat all customers the same, how do you make that person that walks in a new and returning customer? What I am getting to is that you cannot judge when a person may become a returning customer. I have personally went to car dealers dressed as I came from various jobs and found a striking difference in the way I was approached and/or treated with respect to the way I appeared. Car dealers gave the cold shoulder to me in ragged jeans and old truck. I guess they thought I had no means to pay, kept urging me to look at something more in my price range they said. So I started making it a point to dress that way until I found a dealer that wanted to talk serious.How many customers come to you for service that don't buy something? Maybe you need some new techs if service is taking longer than labor manual says it should? Sounds like your dealership puts all warranty on back burner except for best customers? What if another dealer had the imp. and you had to order it? I recently bought a new truck 100 miles away, but the local dealer is more than happy to warranty it. Now they have a new customer for other things. Maybe I'll buy there next time, maybe not. 1 unhappy customer is 1 too many.

 

[radman1]

You might get a good deal on a John Deere several hundred miles away, but what about service if something happens. I think Deere has a policy that John Deere Dealers do not provide warranty repairs on an "Out Of Sales Area Unit". I am sure some of the Green Dealers can confirm or deny this.

That has not been my experience nor do I believe that is true. I have bought both Case-IH and JD tractors from one dealer and had warranty work at another dealer. Dealer doing the warranty work never even questioned where the machine came from. Both warranty services were prompt and no hassles. At the time, both tractors were 45 and 100 miles from the selling dealer and it was easier to have the work done elsewhere.

I certainly can buy a car at one dealer and have service/warranty done elsewhere. I don't see a difference with a tractor. Now I might not get high priorty. No matter where I have warranty service done, a company or frequent client will get some preference over someone who does little business or minimal sales but IMHO even the "little guy" has the work done.

 

[AKfish]

I'm a staunch believer in competition. Most business people tout the benefits of competition but hate it to their core.

I have noted that the more reflective and thoughtful business owner recognizes that the initial sale of a piece of equipment is the best opportunity for them to "give the customer more than they expect".

Parts, service and repair is where the money's at...

Some dealer's want their "cake and eat it, too!" They want that higher margin on the initial sale AND they want to charge you higher prices on the parts, service and repairs down the road!

Those are the folk's that you need to look out for! And a very good barometer of what your "down the road" costs will be like can be determined by how the initial purchase of your tractor worked out...

AKfish

 

[Cidertom]

I will chime in one one issue: If I have a problem, that I can't seem to get heard at my dealer service (v rare indeed) , I walk out to the salesman who sold me my last three tractors, and yack in his ear. Funny, I get service manager coming out to see me ASAP.

Brand-dealer loyalty works both ways.

 

[AKfish]

I was quoted in writing today on a 4520 with ehydro, 400 CX FEL, R4s, I-Match, MX-6 and some other attachments and tractor options.......48 month ZERO PERCENT financing and a loyalty discount of $1,000 ( prior purchase in last 12 months )......The tractor and loader were also discounted by more than 15% ( slightly less than 20% ) and the attachments were about 10% or so off.......

However, I have a horse farm that generates a real cash loss every year......I think the dealer felt sorry for me:thumbsup:

Congratulations!! Your dealer was willing to "work" with you - not against you.. I'm more than a little "green" with envy!

Gettin' a big itch for a cab tractor; can't quite convince myself that either the 4520 or the 4720 will be the best fit for our hobby farm. (I can feel your pain.. with the horse farm.)

Best of luck with your new tractor. Looking forward to your pictures, too!

AKfish

 

[Engine_Tech]

JD dealers are obligated to support the mfg warranty regardless of where the product was originally sold. Customer satisfaction always comes first.

One thing you should keep in mind is that very often these "out of town" dealers know they won't be handling any warranty issues, so they cut the price down to the bone. Dealers often end up eating a little of each warranty claim, giving away pick up and delivery, etc. Your hometown dealer knows that, and it's a small part he builds into his margin. The out of town guy won't have to deal with that...so they can cut the price. Plus, the more they sell they may get a year end volume bonuses from JD - something a small home dealer cannot do.

Moral of the story here is that you check around, and if you are getting a fair price from the hometown guy, you go for it. If not, do what you have to do.

 

[DennisH]

I personally know 2 kubota dealer owners who absolutley refuse to do ANY warranty work for someone who purchased from another dealer (of course they make agreements with those that move near them who already have equipment). So far Kubota has been unable to force them to do otherwise.

You know 2 dealer with a piss poor business plan.

 

[tulenutn2o]

You know 2 dealer with a piss poor business plan.

AMEN! I would make it a point to not buy from that dealer. Tell all your friends,etc.