Importance of Proximate Dealer

[farmlegend]

I'm planning to be buy a compact tractor sometime over the next year. Been doing some homework, and a trusted friend(who lives in GA, I'm in MI) absolutely raves about his Mahindra 4110 4WD. I like everything about this machine, except that the nearest dealer is well over an hour drive from my farm. Not only that, but this dealer's main business isn't even farm equipment.

At this point, the lack of an established nearby dealer is a big negative to my purchasing a Mahindra. FWIW, there are Deere, NH, Case IH, and Kubota dealers all within 10 miles of me.

 

[Larstan]

farmlegend,

First let me say I love my 2615 HST, awsome machine. But I must say the dealer issue is huge. The dealer I bought mine from is quite a distance away 1 1/2hours. If I want a service kit or even something mundane I have to call, get a price and send him a check then he will send it to me. He is very responsive but lets face it, if you want an oil filter you probably want it today. I asked if there was a cross reference to NAPA for the filter kit and he sent me back to this board, quite frustrating. I called to check on a quick attach and pallet fork for the FEL he gave me the name of a company in Portland 2 hrs away. Bottom line is I regret not paying a little more for a machine with a local shop that I could bug with questions and go look at attachments and options in person. They probably would have had a couple more decent size purchases from me had there been even marginally easy access to the options and purchasing add-ons. The Mahindra site has a few pretty pictures, but no one puts prices or the ability to order parts or attachments online specifically for Mahindra that I have found. The next closest dealer for me is even further down the road. So I am not looking forword to the day I do manage to break something since I do actually use my tractor every day. So from my perspective unless you have a mahindra dealer close to you, that is interested in an ongoing relationship, you are going to spend a lot of time trying to find resources that other brand owners take for granted.

My 2 cents - Happy Tractoring /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Charlie_in_TX]

First, I would not buy from a 'Joe's Used Cars and Tractors'. That is not what you need in a tractor dealership. It doesn't matter if he is next door.

I also wouldn't like the dealer to be more than about an hour away. That is my limit, your will be different.

I think there are many good tractor brands out there. Shop and eleminate dealers first. From the acceptable dealers, you will find right tractor for you.

What is an acceptable dealer? For me,
well organized, clean (thought not spotless) repair shop,
long term tractor dealer,
Parts counter people who are frendly and helpful,
a salesmen that speeks well of his tractors without trashing others.
You get the right feel for what you see, then you can talk about specific tractors.

 

[Keith_B]

My dealer is only 50 minutes away, but he told me if I ever need anything to just call him and they will send it right out to me. In fact when the dealer delivered my tractor (he delivers each tractor he sells personally) he forgot the top link. I told him I could pick it up that weekend or drop by one evening, he told me not to worry about making the extra trip. He called the store and had them put it on the UPS truck that evening. He also said his experience with Mahindra has been that most things that go wrong can be fixed with a phone call to the dealer, as it is rare anything occurs that actually results in a needed repair.

 

[ArkCivEngr]

I'd have to agree with Larry and Charlie. I bought my L3400 from a really big dealer about an hour and 45 minutes away. I broke the dipperstick cylinder on my hoe (as did several other folks), which caused more than a little heartburn. Other than that, I absolutely love my Kubota and have gotten more work done with it in 4 months than the first 5 years I lived out here, but as Larry stated, you're always wondering when/if that big "bang" is coming and how much time (not to mention $$$) it's going to set you back. The JD dealer I bought my X495 from recently opened another dealership in my hometown (his other is 40 minutes away), and if I had it to do over again, I'd probably get a lot more serious about a 990 just because of their locality, even though a similar setup on the 990 (430 loader and 8B hoe) was about $4k more than the Kubota.

I guess the bottom line to all my rambling is that I'd choose a good dealer first and select a good tractor from it--like Charlie said. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif