Tractor BLUE-BOOK (Muhammad, CowboyDoc)

[Anonymous Poster]

Hey guys (and gals),

It seems to me that TBN is the natural place for the "birth" of the tractor "Blue-Book" that Richard mentioned.
If everone-who-was-willing-to were to post their "deals" under the sub-heading "What I Paid", before long, there would be quite a data-bank of "actual" selling-prices for the shoppers (that's ALL of us,huh? /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif ) to reference.

There is already a scattering of such info here, but it would be awfully hard to find quickly. So I would suggest that this form be used:

Kubota Buying/ What I Paid
Attatchments/What I Paid,
etc./ What I Paid

--whole lot of "stuff" been bought and "Paid"-for by TBN readers,... info "jes' waitin'" to be gathered!

What does everybody think? /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Larry

 

[Roy]

I have real mixed feelings on this one. Yes, as a buyer, I would like to know is the going rate. But, I can see the possibility of gross misinterpretation. Just because person A was able to get a certain price, doesn't mean Person B will achieve the same. Too many variables: cost of doing business, factory incentives, region, how things are moving at the time, etc. So, I would hate to see someone think they are getting a raw deal when they are really not, and walk away from a honest sale. IMHO, I believe that the best way to achieve an good price is to get quotes from multiple dealers (the more the merrier).

Roy

 

[Bird]

Larry, I like the idea of having the information, but have serious doubts about it being practical. For the information to be comparable, you would need make, model, list of optional equipment, region purchase was made in, whether a trade-in was included, all the data on the trade-in, if applicable, cash or finance, sales tax or not and how much, and date of purchase (and it might be obsolete pretty soon). I'm afraid I have to agree with Roy.

Bird

 

[Muhammad]

Technically, sure, this could be done. Just a system that users could enter their purchase details in for other users to see.

But, the average buyer is not going to be able to make a solid, clean comparison between the prices other users paid (taking the many differences in submissions; tractor, options, location, time of year, relationship, and other factors) and the price they are being quoted from a dealer. I don't say this just to be fair to dealers, but just being realistic... you wouldn't really be able to factor in what item x or location y would do to the price if you substituted your own data in to customize the price found online.

I can think of an ideal system, that would be consistant and fair, but it would take participation from about 500 dealers (for each make) and a very complex database to accomplish, and then a lot of ongoing maintenance and updating of the data to keep current and correct. And the end result with this? The same thing you get with simple math and 3-5 price quotes from the dealers you are actually considering buying from. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Other suggestions?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

All points well-taken, I'm sure.

I was just responding to the post mentioning the "Blue-Book" idea, and certainly have no wish to pursue the topic just for the heck-of-it, /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I made my own purchase exactly as members have described, contacting dealers, weighing relative priorities, researching TBN, etc.

"Being fair" to dealers has been mentioned. I certainly support that. But I don't think a buyer who attempts to educate himself as to how-the-game-is generally-being-played, is "cheating"! (One of the things one might-not know, is that "tractor-people",including dealers, are really quite a different breed, in general, from "car salesmen". That has been my experience, But it's experience (and knowledge) I didn't have, when I started.

I ended up paying my dealer-of-choice $500 more than the lowest bid, for what I felt were good reasons (actually, he was about 7th out of 10 or 11 bids), ...and after working on the project for some months, I'm delighted with my decision. Prompt, courteous service and "extra-mile" effort on some "special" requests.

I'm left wondering, though, remembering the early days of "not-having-a-clue", how a "tractor" book would be less-useful to the shopper (for "getting into the ballpark") than the automotive ones!(?)
Do you all feel that all of this "breed" of books are of zero value(?) ... or that the situation is somehow very different(for the dealers?/customers?) when tractors are the subject, rather than automobiles?

I'm getting the impression that it's very easy for someone who "knows-the-ropes" a little, to FORGET just how little "nothing" is when absolutely nothing is what you know about a subject. (Thanks to TBN, I'm a walking tractor-encyclopedia today, if you compare with what I knew about this topic a year-and-a-half ago /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif .

I don't expect anyone to make decisions for me, but am uncomfortable dealing "blind". If a book was available to give a "general idea(with qualifications and variables to be kept in mind)" what to expect, as far as I am concerned that is quite a step from "ground-zero", for a real beginner.

In my case, any "Blue Book" is a non-issue,... Ive made my deal, and it'll be one of those chilly-days in a warm place, before I buy another tractor. I'm sure this one will outlive me /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif .

Larry

 

[cowboydoc]

Larry,
I for one agree with you. I think that it just gives people an idea of the ballpark of where they should be. I would have no problem scanning in my order sheet and what I paid. Because of what John Miller has posted on the 5105 I may be buying that tractor on a special deal that john deere has with the round baler. I wouldn't have known what a good deal the 5105 was if he hadn't posted that. I think it's a good idea and at least gives people somewhere to start on their prices. There are people on here who have said they would pay freight to get a tractor somewhere else. The last pickup I bought I went down to OK to buy because they were selling there for $99 under invoice. At that time the dealers around here were selling for $2000 OVER retail. I saved $7,000 on the pickup I bought compared to the prices around here. The only clue I had about tractor prices was from a blue book that I got for used tractors. But still I have not been able to find invoice pricing on new tractors. I don't mind a dealer making his money at all but I would like the best deal that I can get. I think posting prices and such gives people that don't have any idea where the price of these tractors should be some idea of what to pay.

 

[Alan L.]

I'm all for a "What I Paid" section. Knowledge of what other people paid is valuable at deal time. Some of us don't have all that many dealerships to get bids from, and it is really time consuming. If I walk in the first one and see that the price is not out of line with what others are paying, then I go ahead and make the deal and avoid the time of visiting the other dealers.

I think this would work with tractors because there aren't that many options. Case in point - my father-in-law near Springfield, MO was about to plop down $19,800 for a Kubota 3010HST with loader and 5' cutter. The tractor is not new - it is a 6-hour demo. I learned from this forum that nobody is paying within $1,000 of that for a new one. Valuable information and not that hard to interpret with enough entries of different people as to what was in the deal, etc. As for the dealers, I don't mind them making a profit, and they ARE with those deals, or they wouldn't make them.

Alan L., TX