The high cost of tractors

[mark.r]

Mark,
Problem is, there are no local Kioti dealers, Bell Creek is the closest (about 2 hours away over the bay bridge) BUT --- they do not stock ANY Kioti units ?????
Called one in Virginia about 2 hrs away, they ONLY stock HST units.
The local bobcat dealer is HST only.

Slack

Yea, I wanted to see if you had checked with the one across the street from my house. Which one in VA was it, do you recall?

 

[Builder]

Narrowed it down to:Kioti CK30,* Mahindra 2815 (26, 32), NH 31DA.
But at what point do You say the heck with a local dealer and drive 6 hours to get a tractor ?
Here is the run down of the local dealers:
Mahindra - 2 hours away, very few machines on the lot, 2815 TLB - 24,500NH - stock nothing, 31DA w/FEL* ~20,000
Kioti - 2 hours away, stock only HST , CK30 w/FEL ~17-18K
BobCat CK30 w/FEL - 17,800.
These are the "basic" or "Buget" brands at JD estate prices.
Buy a used CK30/fel for 11K ?
drive 4 hours each way to PA and see a real tractor shop ?
(I look at wallace's web site and see rows of tractors, I stop buy the "local" mahindra dealer and he has a few "odd" machines)
Why cant I live in PA ?
I do all My own wrenching on My 580, So I am thinking to forget about the whole "dealer/sevice thing"

Give Me your thoughts,
Slack

Slack,

I'd go even farther than 6 hours to get exactly what I want. You could drive up in a car, check it out then drive home and have it shipped to you if you can't get a trailer or truck.

I've bought equipment from 1,000 miles away and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. A fellow TBN member looked at a John Deere 310SG backhoe for me (Thanks again, Doug) I had a buddy preview a truck for me once. Usually anyone with basic mechanical understanding can look it over for you.

When I buy my utility 4x4 tractor, I'm probably heading to TN or GA FL for it and I'm in PA. I'd rather get exactly what I want and I find southern equipment to be cleaner and cheaper.

 

[Slackdaddy]

Mark,
It was the tractor shop.
Talked to the owner on the phone, He WAS helpful and gave me his time.
But as he said they are in an "upper Crust" area, HST models only on the lot.
And if I walked into his shop with cash in hand, I am sure I would get a better price (as would I at the Bobcat dealer)

Still thinking about a road trip up to PA to see Rick Wallace - one stop shopping.

Slack

 

[gp1200x]

I know what you mean about driving to dealerships only to find 1 tractor on that lot. That is literally what I found at two Mahindra dealerships I drove to...same at a couple Kioti dealerships too. It seems to be the par for many..Cub Cadet too. Out of the 10 dealerships (different makers) I have been to, maybe three had some models in the size I was looking for. Definitely not like car shopping even though these things almost cost as much as a compact car.

I noticed one important thing..if they do not have a web-site online, they more than likely have less than a handful of new tractors total on the lot.

I did find one Mahindra dealer that was somewhat knowledgeable and willing to deal, but wanted me to place a 500 deposit so he could order one for me next week....but I am not completely sold yet on Mahindra (or the model I really want) over Kioti and the new B2x20 series....His prices seemed a little high too but would order the way I wanted... when I told him I was paying cash and not going to finance, he didn't drop his price even though he assumed I would finance....that's a problem.


I think a trip to PA or the other direction to actually see a large dealership is in my future. Just need to trade my single axle trailer for a dual too.

 

[Soundguy]

Dang.. that's a tough one with no dealers around... It's hard to make a good choice without test driving a few units.

soundguy

 

[Limecuda]

I have most all brands (Kubota, Kioti, M-F, NH, JD, Mahindra, Montana, etc)within an hour drive. I didn't really drive them. It came down to me price, options, and warranty. I narrowed my search to 3 tractors 18 months ago, Kubota, Kioti, and Farmtrac. I went with a Kioti ck30 hst fel. I eliminated the Kubota due to it being a basic (l2800) tractor. The Kioti for me offered what the Grand series Kubota did in terms of creature features for a few thou$and cheaper and a 4 year warranty. I will say this however, if you read everything here you can definitely get overwhelmed with too much information.

 

[PAB_OH]

I'm probably not sitting too far from you right now, I'm just north of Hagerstown, MD in Shippensburg, PA. I live in OH and it's about a 4 hr drive for me to here. I make it a lot lately and it's not too bad.

I'll admit, I'm biased but that's what we're here for, right? To share our experiences. Jeff at Brownies Tractors has been absolutely great to deal with. I got to test drive all I wanted and he was more than willing to stand out in the cold rain with me to talk about the Kioti's. He didn't have 25 tractors on site when I was there but IIRC he had pretty much one of each from the CK20 through the DK45SE. Some were gear, some were HST.

He has put up with my silly questions and to boot he helped me sell my GL21 (waiting for funds to clear). Hopefully this weekend I'll be delivering the GL21 to Indiana and picking up my CK30HST on the way back home. After talking to Jeff over the past 3 weeks I have no doubt he's one that will be around for a long while. If you're looking for someone to deal with I would suggest you at least give him a call. It ain't close but if you're looking long distance you owe it to at least see what he can do for you.

Like I said, he did more than alright by me. I got really, really good pricing on dual remotes, a toothbar, and brush guard. I can't speak for him about what he could do for you but based on what he did for me I can't see how you could go wrong.

Just my opinion. Good luck!

 

[E.B. Haymakin']

I just wonder if the dealers for the smaller manufacturers are cautious about floor planning too many units with what happened to Farmtrac dealers. Just a thought, from what I see following that thread Farmtrac dealers have been taken for a ride. Read that thread under all others, and you may understand why these smaller dealers don't have as many units on the lot.

 

[Gittyup]

Slack,

Have you considered Wertz in Linboro PA, just over Maryland line? I went there to test drive Kiotis. He has a few tractors there. I tried to buy from him, but he was $2500 higher than Wallace. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from Wallace again even though he is over 200 miles away.

If Linboro isn't too far, then I suggest you give Wertz a call and see what he has in stock before making the trip. He also is/was a Farmtrac dealer and he seemed to be pushing them on me at the time. Now, he might be more willing to make a better deal on the CKs.

I thought there was a dealer in Winchester, VA too.

My offer still stands though.

 

[Nuru]

I'm not buying locally. None of the local dealers had much in stock up until a few weeks ago, certainly not enough for me to even look at all of the machines I was interested in. On top of that, it was like pulling teeth trying to get responses, via phone or email - I was constantly having to initiate contact.

It took a good 6 weeks to get most of the dealers to get me pricing, and even then, I didn't get everything I was asking for, so there was no way for me to make a direct comparison between dealers and the packages I was looking for.

I finally got fed up, and went ahead and ordered a machine from an out-of-state dealer, who came in at least $1500 less, even after I pay out the tax myself, than any of the local guys that I could actually get pricing from. The out-of-state dealer responded promptly, courteously, and I ended up making him wait while I tried to gather local pricing.

I got a good feeling from this dealer, have communicated with satisfied customers, and am glad that it worked out that I could give him my business. I work hard for my money, and I have no tolerance for salesman that do not respect that, and have the attitude that customers should be 'honored' to do business with them.

If a big enough warranty issue comes up, I will go into a nearby service dept and tell them that I recently moved into the area (which is actually true), and need a service dept to take care of me, and ask them if they are willing to do that for the life of my machine. If not, I'll move on to the next dealership until I find one that will (I know there is one a little over two hours away from me that will).

Some states do not require the dealer to charge tax on out of state deliveries.