Newbie with dealer value questions

spencer200 · Mar 21, 2003

I guess I would have to disagree with the statment that we are given money every year for discretionary use. We have to file every warranty claim and wait to see if it is paid there is no funds that we can dip into to help someone out, if we do help someone out and it is not covered under warranty it comes out of our own pocket!

rockyridgefarm · Mar 21, 2003

In the automotive side there isn't a "fund" per se. The discretion is really whether the dealer is willing to pick up the tab if the OEM doesn't.

thcri · Mar 21, 2003

Spence, I may have not stated that right. I was questioning the fact on my vehicle of descretionary funds. Why would a dealer two states away from me use descretionary funds. I know that GM's paid the whole thing for him. In my case as a Heating Air Conditioning Contractor and working for the distributor at one time the manufacture did give the distributor money each year based on performance to handle special incident warranty claims. Sometimes things just don't follow under the warranty but yet they feel for the customer and the dealer to help pay for it. That is what that money is used for.

murph

Buster57 · Mar 22, 2003

Frank I agree 100%
My Kubota dealer said that warranty work was pretty much up to the dealer in most cases. What he was discussing was if something went wrong the dealer could normally tell if it was abused or defective.
As far as taking work from people who bought their tractors elsewhere, my guy says "Come on in!" They will always take all the work they can get and will not hesitate to hire additional mechanics if necessary to handle peak loads.
Regarding scheduling of work, I like to think that I may get a break here or there if I was in a jam, but normally every one is equal.
My Kubota has never had serious problem, other than my own stupidity, that is why I bought a Kubota in the first place! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Anonymous Poster · Mar 22, 2003

Guys- thanks for the advice. It seems I should put some value on a local dealer but if the price difference is great enough it may be worth a road trip. Of course I will try to get the more local dealers to meet the best price I can find but the dealers in this area seem to be higher than the prices I am seeing in this forum-the high cost of New England living! Thanks Again.

dancce · Mar 22, 2003

<font color="black"> </font>"they will all have to do your warrenty work but HOW FAST AND IN WHAT ORDER"

I am not sure if there is a law stating that any dealer is required to do warranty work, but even if there was such a law, I doubt that it could be inforced except in a courtroom.
Most all tractor dealers are independent businesses and the OEM cannot dictate policy (even though some try).
I think the worst that could happen ,is that the OEM could cancel the dealership.
Through the years I have heard dealer principals make statements to the effect that ," so-and-so down the road bought his tractor over in the next state for $500 bucks less than my price, and if he comes in here to get it fixed under warranty I 'm going to tell him to take it back where he bought it to get it fixed".
Maybe not the best policy for a businessman to take,but I imagine it happens.

dancce

Anonymous Poster · Mar 22, 2003

I doubt I would want to do business with a dealer who had an attitude like that in the first place. The tractor will need work after the warranty is over- it may happen but it is short sighted for the dealer to snub the warranty work when there will be repair work in the future. I would not do business with the guy.

dancce · Mar 23, 2003

MIKED,

I agree as to the attitude.
Two of the dealers that I heard make a statement like that are not in business today--(one was a dealer for one of the big three brands)
I guess the question is,-- how much more is the local dealer worth,--everything else being equal.

dancce

Anonymous Poster · Mar 23, 2003

I would pay $500 more for a local dealer but I am looking for two tractors , two snow blowers, two rfm ,one trailer,one tiller,one brush hog,one bh, one phd. I figure I might be saving a bit more than $500 if I find the right dealer. If I find a good price outside of this area I intend to bring it to the area dealers-there are three within 40 miles -to see if they can compete. I am getting prices from area dealers now.

Buster57 · Mar 23, 2003

I would try to find a local dealer for the tractor and the front-end loader, then surf the net for the rest of the attachments. While I like my Land Pride rotary mower, I would have bought a First Choice if I knew everything the first time around. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Don’t worry about who will service your attachments-everyone will do that. I would pay attention to make sure that the product chosen be very robust and that the parts are available.
I suggest you log on to the attachment section of TBN and use the link to Sweet tractors or CCM.
http://www.ccmachinery.com
Sweet Farm Equipment Co.