Yesterday afternoon I visited Wallingford Equipment in Auburn Maine. They seem to sell a lot of Kubota tractors; I'd say they had about 50 on the lot. This was my second visit; I stopped by on Saturday and spoke to the service manager; everyone else was up watching a snowmobile race. This time I spoke to the owner.
I've gotten some recommendations on this forum for dealers as far from here as Vermont, but I'd like to buy local if I can.
But this was not a positive experience, for several reasons.
First off, the price he offered wasn't very good...at least I didn't think it was very good. B7510 HST w/ R4s and a 302 loader, $12,995. The prices he quoted on attachments were full retail, if not more: $2850 for a B2650 snowblower, for instance.
Second--I don't know how much this really matters, since I don't know how much difference there is--that snowblower is last year's model.
Third--I asked him which FEL that price included; his response was that it was the 302--"the one that comes with it." It may well be that that's the one Kubota routinely ships its 7510s with, but if he'd have read his own brochure, which was sitting in his showroom, he would have known that you can also get that tractor with the smaller 272. I'd probably go with the larger FEL anyway, but he should have known that, IMO.
Fourth: I intend to buy a chipper. He quoted me a price of $1595 for a Salsco 600. I asked for more details and he said "it's the chipper that's made for that tractor, for that horsepower." He had one on the lot; it's a pretty meager looking thing, not much to it. When I got home I did a little research and found that it's designed to be used "with as little as 8 hp". Now that might be a very good little chipper, but it's not exactly what I had in mind.
Altogether, with tractor, FEL, Blower, and Chipper, that adds up to $17,440. Maybe he'd move a little on the price, but I asked him and he said he wouldn't, or not much. "There's not much room in that price," he said.
I would really like to build a good relationship with a local dealer. If someone treats me right and is knowledgeable, I'll be loyal. If I have a good experience buying my first tractor at a certain dealer, I'll have it serviced there, buy implements there, buy other tractors there (if I ever buy another one), and send friend there. But first the dealer needs to show me something.
There's one more Kubota dealer in the area--in Gorham, ME. Wish me luck.
Jim
I've gotten some recommendations on this forum for dealers as far from here as Vermont, but I'd like to buy local if I can.
But this was not a positive experience, for several reasons.
First off, the price he offered wasn't very good...at least I didn't think it was very good. B7510 HST w/ R4s and a 302 loader, $12,995. The prices he quoted on attachments were full retail, if not more: $2850 for a B2650 snowblower, for instance.
Second--I don't know how much this really matters, since I don't know how much difference there is--that snowblower is last year's model.
Third--I asked him which FEL that price included; his response was that it was the 302--"the one that comes with it." It may well be that that's the one Kubota routinely ships its 7510s with, but if he'd have read his own brochure, which was sitting in his showroom, he would have known that you can also get that tractor with the smaller 272. I'd probably go with the larger FEL anyway, but he should have known that, IMO.
Fourth: I intend to buy a chipper. He quoted me a price of $1595 for a Salsco 600. I asked for more details and he said "it's the chipper that's made for that tractor, for that horsepower." He had one on the lot; it's a pretty meager looking thing, not much to it. When I got home I did a little research and found that it's designed to be used "with as little as 8 hp". Now that might be a very good little chipper, but it's not exactly what I had in mind.
Altogether, with tractor, FEL, Blower, and Chipper, that adds up to $17,440. Maybe he'd move a little on the price, but I asked him and he said he wouldn't, or not much. "There's not much room in that price," he said.
I would really like to build a good relationship with a local dealer. If someone treats me right and is knowledgeable, I'll be loyal. If I have a good experience buying my first tractor at a certain dealer, I'll have it serviced there, buy implements there, buy other tractors there (if I ever buy another one), and send friend there. But first the dealer needs to show me something.
There's one more Kubota dealer in the area--in Gorham, ME. Wish me luck.
Jim
