Buying Advice Should I what the dealer has on his lot or does it really matter for the best price?

[AuburnAlum]

First, thank you for all the helpful items in this site/forum. It has been extremely helpful for someone that knows little to nothing about tractors and is now looking to buy a 40+HP tractor.

To the point. I have settled almost on the tractor I am looking for (Kubota). Are dealers willing to do a better deal on what they have on the lot over having to get it elsewhere? I like this dealer and would rather do business with him. He is also not a huge operation but again seems to have a great staff and has been informative and diligent.

Thank you in advance!

 

[TripleR]

I would expect my dealer to at least try find what I want, from what I've been told, dealer don't own or floor plan their machines. Now you may well have to pay a bit more for transportation as someone has to move it between dealers, or a model may be at the end of a production run.

 

[Farmer495]

I was told by a Kubota dealer that they are discouraged from selling new equipment outside their "territory" You may or may not get a better deal anyways....

 

[TripleR]

I talked to our Kubota dealer about that and zones or territories exist here in the USA, but they include large areas and multiple dealerships. My first dealer had to go outside the area, but I didn't pay extra, he may have just wanted the business and ate the added cost. It as just a BX, so I'm sure the costs were minimal.

Barlow's sells new tractors throughout many states and often beat the local dealers prices.

 

[GManBart]

First, thank you for all the helpful items in this site/forum. It has been extremely helpful for someone that knows little to nothing about tractors and is now looking to buy a 40+HP tractor.

To the point. I have settled almost on the tractor I am looking for (Kubota). Are dealers willing to do a better deal on what they have on the lot over having to get it elsewhere? I like this dealer and would rather do business with him. He is also not a huge operation but again seems to have a great staff and has been informative and diligent.

Thank you in advance!

Unfortunately, there's no real easy answer for this....it depends. How long has the tractor been on the lot? Tractor dealers get a period of time with the machine on the lot before they have to start paying interest on it to the manufacturer. The length of time varies between 3 to 12 months from what I've read here. On the flip side, if it's been on the lot a long time, and they really want to move it, they might be willing to sell it for limited profit to avoid having a really old tractor on the lot.

As far as getting it elsewhere, it depends on whether they'd be ordering it from the manufacturer, or trying to get another dealer to do them a favor and ship it to them. If it's from another dealer, it's hard to say what might happen.

 

[murphy1244]

I saved 2k by walking away from his offer and pointing out that my machine has sat on his lot for a year. He called me back on the 29th of December to close his year out.

 

[ultrarunner]

Tractors/Automobiles/Trucks is one of the few areas where almost no one pays the same price...

Your could be neighbors going to the same dealership buying the same tractor in the same week and unless you talk to each other... chances are you each paid a different negotiated price.

It really comes down to how well you negotiate and how wide you are willing to cast your net...

I've found my best price by knowing exactly what so the only negotiation is over price.

 

[whizdbiz2]

... from what I've been told, dealer don't own or floor plan their machines.

That statement confuses me a bit.. if they don't own it (don't buy it outright) or don't floor plan it (i.e, finance their inventory), that says to me the mfg. puts it there for the dealer to sell? What am I missing?

 

[murphy1244]

That statement confuses me a bit.. if they don't own it (don't buy it outright) or don't floor plan it (i.e, finance their inventory), that says to me the mfg. puts it there for the dealer to sell? What am I missing?

I hear tell Kubota will tell the dealer what he is getting and will put it there for 18 months free. Not saying this is fact.

 

[jenkinsph]

Tractors/Automobiles/Trucks is one of the few areas where almost no one pays the same price...

Your could be neighbors going to the same dealership buying the same tractor in the same week and unless you talk to each other... chances are you each paid a different negotiated price.

It really comes down to how well you negotiate and how wide you are willing to cast your net...

I've found my best price by knowing exactly what so the only negotiation is over price.

I agree with the above.
I go to the dealership and tell the sales person exactly what I want with the order numbers for the add ons. This aids in making sure I get what Iwan't. It also sends a signal to the sales person that I am informed about the tractor and purchase. I also bring in a small cashiers check for $1000 to place the order and an additional larger cashiers check to complete a 25% down payment. I show him this check also which I will hold until the tractor is in and paperwork is finalized. This shows the dealer that you are a serious buyer with money in hand. He needs to get the price low enough to make the deal close. If he does then I buy, if not I walk. So far it has worked well for me and discounts on new ordered tractors run from 15% L&G to 20% on industrial tractors.

 

[GManBart]

I hear tell Kubota will tell the dealer what he is getting and will put it there for 18 months free. Not saying this is fact.

In another thread Messick's said it varied from 3 to 12 months without interest, but wasn't specific to Kubota. I'd assume that if Kubota was 18 months, they would have said 3 to 18 months without interest, but that's just as assumption.

 

[TheMan419]

I'd think it is like a car. If you buy what they have on the lot you should get a discount. However if you want model x and only model x they can dealer trade for it.

My deal did exactly that. Nothing on the lot close to what I wanted. He found exactly what I wanted and I had it in a week.

This was NH but other dealers I talked to were the same.

 

[GManBart]

I'd think it is like a car. If you buy what they have on the lot you should get a discount. However if you want model x and only model x they can dealer trade for it.

My deal did exactly that. Nothing on the lot close to what I wanted. He found exactly what I wanted and I had it in a week.

This was NH but other dealers I talked to were the same.

Not necessarily. Car dealers pay interest on the cars that are on their lot pretty much starting on day one, so you wind up paying for it. If you order a car, rather than have them trade with another dealer, you can pay less than you would for the same one already on the lot because their cost is lower for it. Of course, they'll tell you you're getting a "discount" either way, but they can't discount a car they've already paid interest on as much as one they haven't paid interest on.

Tractor dealers tend to have a grace period before the interest starts to accrue, and that varies from brand to brand, but dealers have posted here that the low end is 3 months, and the high end is around 12 months.

 

[dalroo]

I'd think it is like a car. If you buy what they have on the lot you should get a discount. However if you want model x and only model x they can dealer trade for it.

My deal did exactly that. Nothing on the lot close to what I wanted. He found exactly what I wanted and I had it in a week.

This was NH but other dealers I talked to were the same.

That is almost exactly my experience. I had done a lot of comparison, and arrived at exactly what I wanted, and how much I was willing to pay. I called the closest Kubota dealer to the ranch and although he did not have what I wanted in inventory, he was able to locate one, and have it delivered within a week. This was all done by phone and email, and I never saw the machine until it was delivered to my barn.

The biggest heartburn I had when shopping was to convince the dealers I was serious, although I told several I would pull trigger on best deal I could find. Fortunately it all worked out and I got exactly what I needed for my usage.

Good luck!

 

[NC419N]

There is a great dealer not far from you that handle's Massey and LS that if I were closer to would be buying all I could from. Not sure hoe the rules work her so I won't name any names you can PM me if you want and I will be happy to share their info with you.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Make sure that you know the model year of whatever tractor you buy, and pay accordingly.
What I,m saying is, if by chance you were to buy one that has been around for a couple of years on someones lot, even thou it is brand new and never been sold to anyone else, and you decide to trade it in in say 3 years, they will be treating that trade-in as a 5 year old tractor. Big difference in value. If they don,t want to discount a 2 year old tractor, insist on getting one that is the current year model, for the same price.

 

[Coyote machine]

Make sure that you know the model year of whatever tractor you buy, and pay accordingly.
What I,m saying is, if by chance you were to buy one that has been around for a couple of years on someones lot, even thou it is brand new and never been sold to anyone else, and you decide to trade it in in say 3 years, they will be treating that trade-in as a 5 year old tractor. Big difference in value. If they don,t want to discount a 2 year old tractor, insist on getting one that is the current year model, for the same price.

Yes, and no on this point. Year of manufacturer may make some difference now that tier 4 final is in place. Tractors and boats usually sell as of the date sold, regardless of year/date of manufacturer. Discounts when sold, or devaluation when resold by the original retail purchaser may vary, sometimes regardless of what year the item was manufactured, and or sold to the original purchaser. Recently, when tier 4 tractors were just hitting the market, people were searching for earlier tractors that did NOT have the newer tech in place. Tier 4 interim was hot to buy until they were gone off the lots. YMMV.