Wildmikey
New member
As stated in an earlier post, I said I would discuss my travails on the road to purchasing a CUT. I have succeeded in that purchase but let me chronicle the journey.
Last year at the local AG fair, me and the MRS. agreed that it might be prudent to get a tractor to not only do the grass but to 1)landscape around the house we built in 2005; 2)move the large mounds of dirt as a result of building that house; 3)help remove snow from our driveway; and more recently, 4)grade and fill in ruts in driveway caused by recent torrential rains.
Around Nov. I began to look fairly casually, not kicking any tires but just browsing. I got my father-in-law's 'green' 4110 and found that it would fit in my shed easily. So it became the yardstick to be measured against, just for physical size. I looked at green, orange, blue etc. but never with any serious intentions until about Apr.
I went to the one local orange place, where the sales guy took great pleasure in rubbing my nose in the fact that had I bought in NOV. I would have saved $1200. I thought I had scratch them off the list. In an extreme weak moment, (and goading from my buddy), I went to an auction there last week where the same guy said to me, (with heaps of sarcasm), "So you're finally going to buy one this time?" Which prompted me to say, "Not from you I'm not."
The 2nd orange place, the sales guy never seemed available. He was never there on weekends, (some of us work from 6AM~4:30PM). I got 2 emails from him and that was it.
I went to the blue place where the salesman was cordial, but pounded on his calculator and quoted me a price that was too high for what I was looking for. Also, while looking, I wanted to know how difficult it was to do the consumer performed maintenance: changing oil filters, fuel filters, air filters, etc. As much as I liked the blue machine, their maintenance procedures disuaded me along with the price, (something to keep in mind when buying a machine like this).
I went to 'green' and told the man what I needed. He knew the dimensions of the 4110 and quoted me the MSRP. The biggest drawback was that the ROPS was not a foldover type, (this was for the 2305). When I told the sales guy that I needed either a foldover ROPS or one with that was less than 77", he said, "Well, you can take it to a welder and have them cut it down to size to fit for you." To which I responded, "Wouldn't that void the warranty by modifying a safety device?" Needless to say, he hemmed and hawed and he didn't want to answer but I already knew what it was.
Which leads me to my selection. I bought the 'white' one because the sales man was very respondant to my queries, asked me what I was looking for, followed up on questions, and the dealer has a good reputation for service. That cinched it for me. When I walk into any store, regardless of what item or service is being sold, I don't expect to have my 'behind' kissed, but I do expect them to show some appreciation for the fact that I am patronizing their establishment!
One shout-out here before I close, Neil Messick is a class act and followed up on my needs. My only issue is that his business was too far away. Had he been closer, I think we would have done business.
Anyone wanting personal insights to my thoughts and such can PM me.
Last year at the local AG fair, me and the MRS. agreed that it might be prudent to get a tractor to not only do the grass but to 1)landscape around the house we built in 2005; 2)move the large mounds of dirt as a result of building that house; 3)help remove snow from our driveway; and more recently, 4)grade and fill in ruts in driveway caused by recent torrential rains.
Around Nov. I began to look fairly casually, not kicking any tires but just browsing. I got my father-in-law's 'green' 4110 and found that it would fit in my shed easily. So it became the yardstick to be measured against, just for physical size. I looked at green, orange, blue etc. but never with any serious intentions until about Apr.
I went to the one local orange place, where the sales guy took great pleasure in rubbing my nose in the fact that had I bought in NOV. I would have saved $1200. I thought I had scratch them off the list. In an extreme weak moment, (and goading from my buddy), I went to an auction there last week where the same guy said to me, (with heaps of sarcasm), "So you're finally going to buy one this time?" Which prompted me to say, "Not from you I'm not."
The 2nd orange place, the sales guy never seemed available. He was never there on weekends, (some of us work from 6AM~4:30PM). I got 2 emails from him and that was it.
I went to the blue place where the salesman was cordial, but pounded on his calculator and quoted me a price that was too high for what I was looking for. Also, while looking, I wanted to know how difficult it was to do the consumer performed maintenance: changing oil filters, fuel filters, air filters, etc. As much as I liked the blue machine, their maintenance procedures disuaded me along with the price, (something to keep in mind when buying a machine like this).
I went to 'green' and told the man what I needed. He knew the dimensions of the 4110 and quoted me the MSRP. The biggest drawback was that the ROPS was not a foldover type, (this was for the 2305). When I told the sales guy that I needed either a foldover ROPS or one with that was less than 77", he said, "Well, you can take it to a welder and have them cut it down to size to fit for you." To which I responded, "Wouldn't that void the warranty by modifying a safety device?" Needless to say, he hemmed and hawed and he didn't want to answer but I already knew what it was.
Which leads me to my selection. I bought the 'white' one because the sales man was very respondant to my queries, asked me what I was looking for, followed up on questions, and the dealer has a good reputation for service. That cinched it for me. When I walk into any store, regardless of what item or service is being sold, I don't expect to have my 'behind' kissed, but I do expect them to show some appreciation for the fact that I am patronizing their establishment!
One shout-out here before I close, Neil Messick is a class act and followed up on my needs. My only issue is that his business was too far away. Had he been closer, I think we would have done business.
Anyone wanting personal insights to my thoughts and such can PM me.
