Market Watch

[scootr]

If you can wait until the tractor market plumets because of overstock, did you really even need a tractor in the first place? I bought mine last year and paid what I think is a decent price. I love it and even with the break in period have managed to put a 100 hours in it with my projects and at my sons. Which is a lot for me. in about 8 months of what I would call useable time. Now that it is broken in and I can do anything with it, I expect to put another 100 on it this year, at least.

I also still love to look at used tractors and will probably do that until I die. I have an eye on a used Yanmar that I wish the dang thing would sell so it isn't a temptation. It is a great deal, or would seam.

My hope is that the market never gets so bad that they cannot sell tractors at a profit, because that would mean it is really bad out there.

If I was still waiting on the market to do whatever it is going to do, I wouldn't be on my tractor tomorrow. But I will be on it tomorrow : ) The rest of you can be smart and wait while I'm enjoying my life now.

You do what you can afford to do. If you want something now and can afford the going price you pay and take possession.
I'll bet most people waiting on the market to change don't need to buy a tractor to get on one tomorrow. If you know what I mean

 

[Fixastuff]

Has there been a year when the msrp went down and not up?

 

[Goose1776]

Has there been a year when the msrp went down and not up?

Not that I know of.
But I’ll admit to not being an expert, or fully informed on all brands of tractor pricing

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Has there been a year when the msrp went down and not up?

No.

 

[Torvy]

TYM has had a 110 HP machine for awhile and rolled out a 130HP machine recently.

Hard to sell to close minded people, but TYM is doing fine without that little section of SE MI apparently.

As economy worsens, people on average tend to buy lower priced goods. That would mean trouble for JD and Kubota if they were dependent on CUT sales. Both do a lot of construction equipment and JD is really more focused on Big Ag which is less sensitive to inflation. (Needs vs wants). Larger manufacturers also tend to do more government and corporate contracts. The sweet spot for a dealership is to sell to those government entities that do their own maintenance work and don't quibble on price. They still get parts from the dealership, bit don't tie down the mechanics.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Ok, I’ll try to rephrase. Last year, there was little to 0 inventory on dealers lots and reportedly, no one working to build anything. Then this year, wham, dealer lots are overflowing.

It depended on where you were in the country. Last year down in my market the lots were starting to fill up. By the time this year came rolling around they were filled to the brim.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

The sweet spot for a dealership is to sell to those government entities that do their own maintenance work and don't quibble on price.

Of course because it's of no concern when they have tax payer money to fund all of it. Buying equipment for municipalities is the equivalent to buying pencils and erasers to us.

 

[jyoutz]

Of course because it's of no concern when they have tax payer money to fund all of it. Buying equipment for municipalities is the equivalent to buying pencils and erasers to us.

I don’t know about municipalities, but federal and most state government sales isn’t highly profitable in term of individual units. The dealers make profits on volume sales. Typically three competitive bids are required and the sales price for awarded bids is far less than we could ever buy them for. Yes indeed there is quibbling on price.

 

[ultrarunner]

Has there been a year when the msrp went down and not up?

Cars or Tractors?

It does happen with cars on occasion but with most any price drop is some type or several various incentives from loyalty, military, etc...

I did get the loyalty on the L3800 which was just enough to say buy now...

 

[Torvy]

I don’t know about municipalities, but federal and most state government sales isn’t highly profitable in term of individual units. The dealers make profits on volume sales. Typically three competitive bids are required and the sales price for awarded bids is far less than we could ever buy them for. Yes indeed there is quibbling on price.

Ah, but when the bids are from 3 different dealers that are selling the same brand the differences are negligible. I know the forest service in NM is the exception that proves the rule. In general, federal purchases are a boondoggle. Bids can easily be manipulated. Want to ensure you get JD equipment? Specify JD's proprietary quick attach as a bid requirement. Ditto a billion other possible requirements for billions of other things.

100% agree the dealers and/or manufacturers tend to make money on volume. Sales tax (in most states, will save the feds roughly 5-10% of what locals pay). Of course, much of the overpayment is due to the leadership of federal departments asking Congress for more money as a badge of honor and Congress acting like spending fewer dollars is an affront to their appropriation power. Unlike agencies outside of government or even in some state/local governments, federal departments have to spend their allocated budgets. This problem is apolitical as all parties are complicit in furthering this nonsense. Even if our friend in NM comes in a million under budget, the forest service as a whole will spend that savings to ensure their budget remains high and doesn't offend Congress for daring to save taxpayers.

I would love to see comparisons between costs of government purchases and the pre-tax cost of a similarly sized corporate purchase. While individuals in corporations sometimes try the same shenanigans, their budgets have constant down pressure from stockholders. Example, a boss i had in the 80s wanted Apple computers rather than corporate standard of PCs. He wrote up some BS about why some app would only work on a Mac and got it approved. A year later I was brought in to his department by his boss to obtain the proof needed to fire him. It was almost an undercover assignment.