Roger,
You asked: "How do the rest of you feel about the dealer spats?"
Well, I have been considering upgrading to one of the newer FX series Yanmars and I am shopping for a dealer to purchase a tractor from. In fact, I have considered purchasing a few tractors to resell to finance this upgrade. I would like to purchase from a dealer that has fair prices, honest, straightforward and is NOT a kook.
I think that some of these discussions have answered some questions that I have had. Several of the people that I have been considering purchasing from have posted in some of these spats, and at least one has made a complete fool of himself. Frankly I am glad that I learned this prior to plunking down cash at the wrong spot.
I am much more likely to purchase from a dealer that have a consistent record of being helpful. Helpfulness is an important thing for a customer to count on. However, I just want to purchase a tractor. I don't want to have some sort of fatal attraction where the dealer reposts my email messages and analyzes every minutia of what I have posted over the last few years or conducts detailed Internet searches to find my real identity.
I just want a new tractor to play with.
I guess what I am saying is that it is helpful when dealers expose what type of person that they are. For this reason, this discussion has been helpful.
Cameron