It sounds to me like you should take a ride. If the price difference is that great and you can do some minor maintenance, you should go for a drive and save yourself some serisous cash. If you are the type of person that is going to call the dealer with every little thing, than it is worth it to pay slightly more, but not significantly more.
I bought from a dealer 200 miles away. Even after I paid $700 for delivery, I still saved over $3,000 from what my local dealer wanted. I will still buy attachments/parts and service from my local dealer, but I couldn't spend that kind of extra money, just because he is local. I bought a tractor locally in the past, and the service I got from the dealer can't be any different than if I didn't buy from him. I certainly wasn't getting any breaks from him on service/parts or attachments because I bought from him. So, this time around, my money went elsewhere.
I bought from a dealer 200 miles away. Even after I paid $700 for delivery, I still saved over $3,000 from what my local dealer wanted. I will still buy attachments/parts and service from my local dealer, but I couldn't spend that kind of extra money, just because he is local. I bought a tractor locally in the past, and the service I got from the dealer can't be any different than if I didn't buy from him. I certainly wasn't getting any breaks from him on service/parts or attachments because I bought from him. So, this time around, my money went elsewhere.