Don't dealers need to sell in order to stay in business?

[JerryG]

Kendall69,
I hope that you forwarded that e-mail to their Corp. office. It doesn't matter what brand they are with, that person doesn't deserve their job.

 

[horse7]

Be interesting to know how many calls a dealer gets from out of state people, asking for a price. The dealer knows the probability of sale is essentially zero-- the shipping will dissuade anyone without their own means of dead head transport. The further away the inquirer is, the less likely the sale, and the more likely its just a way to pressure some local dealer (who will, undoubtedly, call to find out if the tractor being quoted matches what the potential buyer is asking about. After all, Mr. Tire Kicker could have, um, "misunderstood" the quoted price.).

If everyone asked for 20 quotes before buying a tractor, they'd probably have to raise prices to pay for the extra labor... but I have to agree that there is always the feeling that the dealer is high balling the price, so checking in person at a few other dealers to see if the prices are in the same ball park is prudent.

 

[LoneCowboy]

I've bought 2 of my 3 tractors long distance.
The first one in OK, and I drove to get it and come back. I saved about $3000. (including my gas and night's stay)
The 2nd one I bought sight unseen from a dealer in eastern PA and had it shipped. Including the shipping charge of 2200 dollars, I saved 6000 dollars off buying it locally.
That's serious money.
A couple hundred, you're close, I'll buy from you. A couple thousand, nah, you aren't even close. The 2nd one, the dealer admitted that was lower than his price (which I don't understand).
The 3rd one I bought locally and wish I hadn't. (although, the price was close so I did it). I now take all 3 to a different dealer about an hour away for service and I get great service and they make fine money off me in the service department. They'll all get another shot when I buy the next piece of equipment/tractor and the lowest price will win. It's a commodity.

It doesn't take but 5 minutes to come up with a bid on tractors you know like the back of your hand and sell every day. That's what salesmen do, sell things. And you can't sell things if you don't quote things.

 

[jeffinsgf]

So should I spend the 1000 for the 3rd valve kit? I am really leaning towards the purchase as it will make the wifey happy. ... I dont want the 3rd valve kit to become NLA.

Yes. Make sure as well that you get the hard line kit for the loader. On the JD's, the kit that installs a 3rd valve puts the remotes in the back. A second kit routes the lines forward to the same connection point as the FEL and has hard lines that attach to the FEL. You want both jobs completed -- adding a third remote and routing to the front of the FEL.

 

[jimg]

Hi srsu99
I think you got better answers on agtalk. Seems to be a love/hate sort of thing going on, they love to take your money but hate to see you. No matter, if you want the valve just stick to your guns, buy the part and do the install. Hey, its their loss!

As for the warranty issue Id give them a chance or 2 to make it right. If they refuse to deliver then Id get NH involved and Id let them know youre doing that. Once you decide to get NH involved I would go that route even if the dealer relents. You gave them a chance already to act like adults and they failed. Some 'incentive' is needed to whip them back in shape. Either they want to rep NH or they dont. If they do they need to follow thru on their commitment to NH and their customer (you).

ETA: BTW it shouldnt be your burden to sort out problems between the dealer and NH. That is, the dealer feeling NH doesnt pay him enough warranty work. The agreement between NH and their dealerships should be transparent to you. It makes a company look tacky when they expose raw underbelly to customers.

 

[srsu99]

Thanks jimg, I didnt know you visited agtalk, kinda funny forumn there. Though most of the stuff they talk about over there is big acres. When I have to shred the equipment yard in town again I'm gonna take the tractor over the dealer and see if I can get the leakys fixed.

 

[jimg]

Yes, guess I do. Its interesting to see how the other side lives.

I went the same route as you...buying from my local vs from away and I expected theyd be there when needed. I told them this directly and they acknowledged it would be the case. So far theyve done pretty well. In fact they told me theyd do what it takes to get my business. LOL...to me, the customer who's always right, that means before and AFTER the sale. I have no reason to believe this wont be true...I think this dealership is for the most part better than avg. Although the MF dealer the next town over is pretty good too. The MF 3600 series looks pretty good! I know, wrong forum...

Id be interested to hear how you make out and Id appreciate an update.

 

[srsu99]

JIMG
Will keep you posted I have to remember to tell the guys to not steam clean the tractor any more till I get it looked at. Leak does not look too bad when its freshly bathed. Once I put a few hrs on it the oil flys back and get all over the drain pan and with dust it looks worse. I'm not that picky most of my stuff leaks here and there but this is a new tractor and really should leak from the cylinders yet, it will only get worse with time and then will be out of warranty and I will be the one paying to fix it.

 

[mahlers]

JIMG has a great point about dealers being tacky when they show their acrimony with NH. It's just not professional, and for the kind of money we spend on this equipment, I'd personally rather not hear about their problems with the manufacturer. It doesn't give me a very comfortable feel for what's to come after the sale.

It does seem like there is a change happening in the dealer ecosystem. Around here, there were very few dealers to begin with, and recently there have been several disappear - and several others being bought by larger firms. They tend to be moving away from Ag tractors, and focusing on the CUT market and the Construction market. I went around looking for new TN and TL models to see what they have to offer, and couldn't find any. Not even any new brochures at the dealer. It did get me thinking about buying a real TLB the next time around, though - but the downside there is that you can't just pop off the backhoe when you want to do some box blading or hole drilling.

I know that it's great to buy from a local dealer if you can, but for those of us who would have to go far away to find what we want, I sure do hope that some enterprising dealers figure out a way to conduct internet sales without causing too much political craziness with NH - and still make enough money to stay profitable.

 

[jimg]

Just FYI Mahlers JD has a TLB (110) which also has a farm tractor personality. A good friend of mine has one but has never dropped the hoe. Ive also seen one near my place of work thats used for road side mowing and other maintenance. From my perspective it seems to work pretty well in both modes. My friend is very happy w/ his even after owning a much larger (and older) TCB TLB. For you the down side would possibly be the lower hp rating. I also havent had the best success trying to do business w/ JD. Perhaps your experience would be diff.