Did you try out your CUT at home before purchasing

[Theowegian]

Hello all.
Ive been lurking here quite a while...about a year, actually. Hope you all dont mind me jumping into the forum.....Would you mind offering me your opinions, please? Ive searched the old posts and not many seem to talk much about my question.

Anyway, here's what Im thinkin'.
I wanna get rid of my old allis D-14 (36hp) and get a new compact. I had a nearmiss roll over incident recently which convinced me to go modern. The CUTS seem just the right thing for me.

Ive narrowed it down to a JD4310 or B2910, (HST) . But the NH dealer was the only one anxious to deliver me a tractor to try out at my place - the others were not eager.

I want to do lawn and pasture mowing and tons of landscaping on my new 7 acres in rural kansas. (And I secretly want to somehow start a berry farm. . . I grew up with an orchard).

My question: Did most of you try out your CUT on your property before your purchase?

thanks guys (and gals, too)!

 

[JDgreen227]

Welcome to the TBN forums, I have been reading the discussions for the past two months and am sorry I was unaware of the site sooner. You raise an interesting point by asking if others were able to try out a prospective purchase at home. I did not have that opportunity and you are very fortunate if you know a dealer who will grant you the favor.
Good luck, and I hope you enjoy whatever new tractor you decide to purchase.

 

[JackIL]

Dwight,

It would be unusual for a dealer to provide a demonstrator tractor for a potential customer to take home to try. Typically the dealer / salesperson will coach you through a "test" drive on the dealership lot. This usually would include a demonstration of the ease of mounting and dismounting attachments such as loaders and midmount mower decks.

I have very steep property to mow, so I felt an upfront demonstration was necessary when I was considering a Steiner tractor in 1995. The closest dealer was 120 miles away. Therefore, I paid the dealer $200.00 to bring a tractor setup for operating on steep slopes and 5 attachments to my property for a day. The demonstration was so convincing I agreed to a purchase by the end of the day, and placed an order for the tractor and attachments equipped to my specifications. It was the best $200 I ever spent. I would not expect a dealer to take the time and the effort required to do this without reimburement. I did not ask that the $200 be deducted from the agreed purchase price.

Hope this helps.

JackIL

 

[PineRidge]

Dwight welcome to the TBN board. You almost make it sound like NH is your last choice; I hope that's really not the case. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Actually I did most of my homework on the Internet checking options and features. Only after I had formulated all my questions did I actually go to the dealer.

I did test drive many makes but I did not bring a demo home. I really wasn't offered one and I didn't ask for one either, I would have refused it anyway. I wanted to base my final decision on the tractor itself and I didn't want to be influenced by the fact that I would have one of the dealers tractors at my place.

It boils down to what you will be comfortable working with. Talking to lots of dealers adds a mix of confusing details and sometimes contradicting information. A word of wisdom, get lots of prices. My 1st quote was almost 4 grand higher for a NH TC-40D with the very same options.

Good luck on your final choice, hope it’s <font color="blue">BLUE </font>
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Theowegian]

Actually, I really liked that TC35D! I really wanted to drive a Supersteer around, but he didnt have one on the lot. However, the dealer was difficult to "read" and I wasnt too sure he was maybe more interested in selling me something (anything) than listening to what I wanted...But that NH ran great and I liked it alot. I didnt ask him about trying one out, he offered to it to me to try first. The JD and Kubota dealers didnt offer and I didnt ask either. But on the other hand, I do have misgivings about plunking down several thousand $$$ without even sitting on one either! My point was, and you answered it, not many dealers make demo tractors available as a standard practice to their customers. At least, that is what Im hearing so far. Thanks for the response!

 

[AndyMA]

Re: Did you try out your CUT at home before purcha

Hope you go blue... lol Just look at all the complaining people on this board make if there tractor is delivered with a few hours on it and you'll probably see why dealers aren't anxious to loan out tractors. There's also a serious liability issue. Whats curious to me is that some amateur users seem to make a huge deal out of a couple of hours where most pros seems to care less. They seem to be more concerned about ultimate reliability. My dealer always seems to have a machine or 2 around that he will drop off for me if I want to try something or the ones I have aren't large enough. Sometimes I have to give him a certificate of insurance to cover the machine I am borowing. These machines tend to be rental or lease return units.

My dealer also has a bunch of fields and mud to let people play.

Andy

 

[beenthere]

You put a dealer in a tough spot asking to 'demo' a tractor free. The number of TBN'rs who are asking how many hours should a 'new' tractor have on it, and still be new, is one of the reasons, I imagine.

The liability of a loaner on a trial run if the CUT is in the hands of a newbie can be hairaising to the dealer, at best.

I rented a Deere 4300 to satisfy my expectations and then bought one. Couldn't be happier. Wish you luck in your choice.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

I did not try my tractor out at home prior to purchase. As others mentioned I did run one at the dealer's. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[txdon]

Theowegian, I did not try out my tractor on my land, and I would not want to. If the tractor had been delivered to my property for me to test drive I could not have been objective and told the dealer to take it back. Orange, Green and Blue are all great tractors. However I was not going to buy a tractor that I could not test drive thoroughly and operate the attachments that I wanted (backhoe). The dealer I bought from got a new backhoe, put it on the tractor, changed the wheels to R4, and let me test drive and dig as long as I wanted in a large ditch behind their property which was about the same steepness as my steepest dam. I felt good when I left to think about it for a couple of days and not obligated to buy that day as I would have if I had test dove it on my land.

I wonder how many people did not buy the tractor that they test drove on their land.

Don.

 

[Bird]

I've actually been surprised that some dealers do deliver a tractor for a potential buyer to try out on their own property. I never had a dealer offer to do that, nor did I ask simply because I would not have expected them to do so. Before buying a B7100, I did drive one around a dealer's lot for a few minutes, and I looked at, and even sat on, several other makes and models without starting them before eliminating them from consideration, either because of price or because of features they had or didn't have, or because of the feel; e.g., I liked the Cub Cadet until I sat on it; simply was not comfortable for me although I thought it would be comfortable for a smaller person.

I later bought a B2710 without even sitting on it or hearing the engine started; just based on seeing it, reading the specs, and talking to the salesman.

But I had driven quite a number of tractors over the years, and I never regretted either of those purchases. I think if I'd never driven tractors, I would have wanted to spend more time trying (actually driving) more different ones.