TC45

[MikePA]

Do you just use the FEL to do the pushing?

 

[jinman]

Mostly FEL, Mike. But some I used the boxblade in reverse. I only broke off and left a stump on two small trees. By having enough guts to push down low on the trunk and just ease the trees over, this tractor is awsome. On a couple of the bigger trees, I had to undercut some roots, but that also was no problem. The same work that used to take me two days with a chainsaw now takes me about two hours...and I don't leave any stumps.

JimI

 

[SteveBenson]

JimI,

While I totally agree with you that "a TC45D with loader should not be more than about $22,000 or at most, $22,700", I think you'll find this is not the case in certain parts of the U.S., most notably the northeast. The dealers in these regions defend thier higher prices by saying that it cost a lot more to do business in New England. In all fairness this is probably true and New Holland does nothing to even out the pricing. There was a huge thread on this topic on that "other" tractor board that all started when people in New England found that they could get tractors significantly cheaper in NY. Accusations of dealer under-cutting started to fly and then the prices in NY mysteriously went up to be "competitive" with local dealers (at least to people in New England). Obviously New Holland got involved somehow. Anyways, I'm not trying to start up the controversy again, but I just wanted to say that prices can and do vary significantly in certain regions of the contry.

 

[JATO_RaT]

Steve, WHY does it cost more to do business in the NorthEast? I would not expect any manufactuerer to take the cost of business of a particular region to make retail pricing suggestions or offer a dealer discount to pass on to consumers just because they live in a particular region. Very curious as to your comment about this. I lived in Maine for about 6 months and if anything, prices were every bit as competitive as here in California, Rat...

 

[SteveBenson]

Rat,

I don't no about Maine, but there were about half a dozen people from NH, VT, MA, and CT in on this discusion on jplan.com. I would say it cost more to do business in Southern New England due to low unemployment, higher property values, presence of many professionals. If you live within 3 hours of Boston or NY the average worker has got to make a lot more money to make ends meet than some who lives in upstate NY or PA. The dealers claim that they make flat rate on warranty work from the manufacturers and that it is not a good deal for them considering the above. But it was clear from that thread that none of the dealers would budge below a certain point to compete with NY or PA dealers. In fact my dealer told me flat out that had no desire to compete with the prices that one could get in PA or NY.

 

[SteveBenson]

Rat,

I would also say that New England doesn't have the high volume dealers like they do in NY and PA. I'm sure high-volume dealers are more efficient in many aspects of thier operation and the may get breaks from the manufacturers.

 

[JATO_RaT]

Steve, I guessed that you might say that. Here in California, you have a huge diversity in property values. Some of the highest in the country (San Francisico and the surounding Bay area) and then some pretty typical values in the agricultural areas. Its nothing for someone to buy out of the area, but it also keeps the dealers competitive. You are correct about the busineses having higher fixed costs like building leases etc., and about the only way to make that up is with superb service and higher volume.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I can tell you a couple things that make our cost higher in new england. freight our freight on tc tractors is 450.00 per tractor new york and pa only have a 300.00 freight charge per tractor also there is no volume discounts on tc tractors so you can throw that rummor out right away

 

[BigErn]

Jim,

Thanks for the feedback. I got a quote from another dealer for $20425, which "felt better." But in the longrun I decided to go with the Massey 243. It's got the extra power and weight. I just felt safer on it when I did the "really big hill" test drive. The front end just stayed down and never tried to come up. What I did see with the TC 45 was the front end bounce when we pushed down on the elevated mower. There were no weights or loader on it when I did it so that may have made the difference, but there were none on the Massey when I did the same thing and when I drove up the hill with the mower raised. I did drive a TC45 with the loader on it, but the Massey just seems to fit my 6'6" frame better. Plus my wife likes the color - looks like Ohio State. She liked driving it a little too well for me. Waiting for the loader and mower to come in. We're taking the unit we drove so the toy should be in the garage in a couple weeks.

Thanks.

BigErn

 

[jinman]

Congratulations on your purchase BigErn. The Massey 243 is a whole step above the TC45 and more into a comparison with the TN series of New Hollands. At 5000 lb for the base tractor, you come in above the weight of the TC45D with 16LA loader combined. Certainly you should feel more stable on hillsides and climbing. The 52 horsepower will also give you power to do things not in the 45 horsepower class. By the way, we got into this discussion by your comment about prices of the TC45D. Could you give us an idea of what the Massey 243 setup cost as the base tractor and with the loader? Don't you have to get additional auxiliary hydraulics to put a loader on the Massey? I'm just guessing, but I would expect a tractor of this type to be in the $25k+ range. I know the suggested retail price is probably up around $30k, but I'm sure you got a good discount over that. Anyhow, I know you will enjoy your tractor and from reading in the Massey forum, I know you did very thorough research. You've bought a tractor which you and your wife can use with confidence and pride. Congratulations again!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

JimI