When Buying a New Tractor

[MtnViewRanch]

I am surprised you guys rate the dealer so low on your list.

I don't think that the dealer is as important until you are a person that uses their tractor to make $$$ with. What do you do when all but one of the local dealers (within 100 mi) are jerks and the one good dealer is selling an off brand that normally would only be used by home owners. What good does it do to have the best dealer in the world and they sell tractors that do not meet your needs, (comfort, price etc.) When I bought my tractor, ALL of the dealers were total jerks, would not budge off of list price, and you could forget about service. So what do you do then? Me, I looked for what I thought would be the best tractor for me and then I shopped for price. Forgot about service, because it just wasn't going to happen, and hope that I don't need parts, at least in a hurry. Now I'm not saying that I would do the same today or if I was making a living with my tractor, but I did what I did at the time what worked best for me at the time.

I envy those of you that have good dealers with a good product. I would like to hear from some of you that have it good, what you would do if all was not good for you?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I don't think that the dealer is as important until you are a person that uses their tractor to make $$$ with. What do you do when all but one of the local dealers (within 100 mi) are jerks and the one good dealer is selling an off brand that normally would only be used by home owners. What good does it do to have the best dealer in the world and they sell tractors that do not meet your needs, (comfort, price etc.) When I bought my tractor, ALL of the dealers were total jerks, would not budge off of list price, and you could forget about service. So what do you do then? Me, I looked for what I thought would be the best tractor for me and then I shopped for price. Forgot about service, because it just wasn't going to happen, and hope that I don't need parts, at least in a hurry. Now I'm not saying that I would do the same today or if I was making a living with my tractor, but I did what I did at the time what worked best for me at the time.

I envy those of you that have good dealers with a good product. I would like to hear from some of you that have it good, what you would do if all was not good for you?

Brian, I am in an area where there is a lot of dealers all fighting for sales and some of them realize service means a lot. My local NH dealer has always been there for me till recently when they took advantage of me. Since they have refused to work with me on the problem I have decided to quit doing business there all together. I can travel 20 miles down the road to the Case-IH dealer and buy the same tractor in red. Or I can travel 20 miles in the other direction and buy a Valtra or Agco from a great dealer. I have Deere dealers all around me and another New Holland dealer 40 miles away. Plus I have Neil Messick who I can order parts from and have next day. I have back up tractors for everything so if in a bind I just pull the backup tractor to take over.

I will tell you this, I don't care for the local Deere dealer and all the stores locally are owned by one guy so I buy all my Deere parts from my friend who works at Lakeland JD in Avon. If I was to ever buy a new John Deere tractor it would come from them guys. I can get parts from Deere next day also (Deere has a great parts system with huge warehouses in Syracuse (3 hours away) and Indianpolis (not sure how far that is but I would think less then 10 hours).

I can not picture a case like yours where all the dealers are jerks with terrible service. Maybe it is because I have so many dealers around me I just can not imagine what some of you guys have to deal with in more rural areas. I can not even begin to count the amount of dealerships within 50 miles any direction. And these are main line dealers and I can only travel 180 degrees as I am right next to Lake Erie (there are no tractor dealers on the water yet). If I was to put a guess on it I would say at least 20 and maybe more depending on how many Kubota dealers are around Buffalo. I can not even fathom a guess at how many are within 100 miles as you are running into some major farming areas. It would be fun to make a map with all the dealers within 10 mile increments of my base farm. Since I am stuck at home so much I think I will

If I didn't have the luxury of this many dealers I would have to rate my buying on this scale, best tractor for my needs, best dealer that can support my operation, price and parts fourth since I can buy parts online and have them shipped next day if needed.

I will say this, if the situation was as bad as you say I would buy multiple, nice used tractors instead of one new tractor as if the service departments are that bad you are stuck if you break down. At least with two used tractors you have a backup.

There are always options and you don't need to cater to the dealer. Buy two tractors like a Deere and a Ford/NH. This way the Deere dealer will try to help you more in hopes you will trade the Ford/NH off on a new/newer Deere and vice versa with the NH dealer.

I did my best to maintain a great working relationship with my local NH dealer. There was a problem and I was willing to accept a larger hit to my pocket but they refused to accept any responsibilty and have all but called me a liar. From this point on I will never buy another tractor or implement from them and I will never refer anyone to their dealership. I will now refer anyone who ask me to better dealers and I will tell them why. I have been responsible for at least 4 tractor sales in the last couple years and they know it.

On the bright side, I am looking forward to buying more equipment from my Agco/Valtra dealer as those guys are some of the best people you can imagine. It is a farmer owned dealership and ran by family. The three brothers all have specialized area's they work, the dad is one of the sales guys and does all the leg work building the dealership up. The mom is the parts girl. When you go in there you feel comfortable. I just never could justify buying from them too much as they were 20 miles away and my NH dealer was 2 miles away. Now I have no hesitation at all

Take care

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Congrats!!

FWA? Open station? Pics please when they arrive.

MFWD, cabs. Pictures upon delivery.

 

[Mailman17]

First , is a tractor that closely fits my needs . If it is not comfortable , easy to use or correct size - why have it ?

Second , would have to be the dealer . It is like insurance you hope you don't need it - but if you do .....

Third , is price . Most dealers are going to be pretty close on price on same brands . It's after the tires hit the mud you see what kind of dealer you picked .


of course this is just one opinion on a forum of many....

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

My process of elimination was much like Farmwithjunk's, but the reality was closer to Brian's (MtnViewRanch).
The big boys in the area acted like talking to me about what I was looking for - or even telling me the prices for what they had on the lot - was too much effort. (I actually had one tell me come back tomorrow when I got to the dealership - after I had called ahead to see if he would have time to talk!)

The Kubota dealer was friendly and helpful, but didn't have anything over 25HP on the lot. (since then a larger orange dealership has appeared, but based on my experience with them and their blue tractors, i won't be going back)

I missed a chance at the last Challenger "A" series tractor around, by calling to set up a purchase 2 hours late (the wife had wanted me to sleep on the decsion). That would have been a good deal - and the dealership has a good reputation and the folks there seemed to listen to me and my needs.

The closest Massey dealer didn't have anything on his lot in the size I was looking for, and didn't know when he'd be getting more stock in, so despite giving a great impression to both my and my wife, I ended up going with an "off brand" that had the features I needed at a price I could afford, 100 miles from home.

Brand meant nothing to me.
Reliability was important.
features/specs were important.

If I ever need to upgrade will I give first chance to the AGCO dealers? - you bet!

 

[LBrown59]

I just bought a pair of Massey FErguson 583's !

Wonder why anybody would buy 2 tractors alike ?

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Wonder why anybody would buy 2 tractors alike ?

Because I NEED them in my mowing business. No one with half a brain would buy two tractors and NOT need them.

 

[RobS]

I am surprised you guys rate the dealer so low on your list.

I rate product quality, reliability, durability and features first.

Price second.

Dealer third.

I won't buy a big ticket item like a tractor at a box store so I do want a dealer if any problems arise, but unless there is a problem I do not use the dealer. I buy my oil/filters at my Deere dealer but that's been it. I do all my own maintenance and minor repairs. Same with vehicles. If I were making a living off my tractor it may be a different story. Same if I had a problem tractor but my tractor has been trouble free and it's only for my uses. I also do not need the dealer to show me how to operate the machine, I tend to know how.

That is why I rate the dealer where I do. I don't want to sound arrogant and I do understand why some people are very close to their dealers. Just not me.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I rate product quality, reliability, durability and features first.

Price second.

Dealer third.

I won't buy a big ticket item like a tractor at a box store so I do want a dealer if any problems arise, but unless there is a problem I do not use the dealer. I buy my oil/filters at my Deere dealer but that's been it. I do all my own maintenance and minor repairs. Same with vehicles. If I were making a living off my tractor it may be a different story. Same if I had a problem tractor but my tractor has been trouble free and it's only for my uses. I also do not need the dealer to show me how to operate the machine, I tend to know how.

That is why I rate the dealer where I do. I don't want to sound arrogant and I do understand why some people are very close to their dealers. Just not me.

That is a fair enough reason. I was just surprised when I read about so many people complaining on here about bad dealer experiences and yet on this thread the dealer is considered one of the lower rated parts of equipment buying.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Because I NEED them in my mowing business. No one with half a brain would buy two tractors and NOT need them.

You mean you don't buy one tractor for every implement you own then bring it up every chance you get