Where Do You Look First or Most For Tractors and Attachments?

[MessickFarmEqu]

Messick,
Thanks for the input. Can you tell me what you use to design your site? Do you use FrontPage or DreamWeaver or what? I used screen shots of your site when I was specifying our website and what I got really wasn't what I expected. Its nice and all, but your right, its not cheap! And every change request costs $$$! I can control the used equipment listings and picture uploads and also control the home page center picture for content. Beyond that, the layout is static and requires $$ to make changes!

I use Microsft Visual Studio because its what I know, not becaues its the best tool. I worked as a programmer before joining the tractor business. That technology carries over into web development as well, its good for the mechanical data driven stuff, but not very good when it comes to look and feel.

Before this thread, had you ever heard of us? Just curious how widespread our dealer name is.

I have not, but that does not mean much. I work almost exclusivly with compact tractors. We also sell Kubota, and our volumes do reflect national averages... so you can guess where I spend most of my time.

Also, when you say local papers, are you referring to the free to the customer penny savers or retailer type magazines that come out once a week or are these papers like your paid local Journal that comes out on a daily basis?

local papers mostly, we don't do penny saver type stuff. We do some of the regional trade journals as well. I think fairs are a good way to get your name out localy. They are never very productive on the spot, but weeks and months later you can often point back to a sale that started there.

Are you the marketing person or sales manager or are you like me and wear 5 different hats? That's another issue. Not being able to focus 100% effort on a project leaves it half a@# when complete. Its sad but true that businesses expect more from fewer people and things suffer because of it.
Thanks again..
Larry

I'm a salesperson mostly. I also do most of our IT work by default. We have a dedicated guy who does marketing part time. It really does take that to keep up with all the co-op paper work and stuff. We do some of our own design work in-house as well so that takes time.

Who is your NH sales rep?

 

[Solo]

Jim,
They are not really our direct competition although at times we do have customers that have priced them also. Thanks Jim,
Larry

I would think that with the internet they,( Messick's or any other dealer ) would in some way be direct competition. My local dealer is 60 some miles away, Messick's is 250 I order most of my parts from Messick's. Why? I have been to the store several times and alway's treated well. They have their prices for their parts online and I can order anytime I want. I don't know why more people don't use this avenue. I also spend alot of money on hats, shirts, toys for the kids and other tractor merchandise. ABC Groff - Skid Steer Attachments has that covered.

Solo

 

[Larry The Tractor Guy]

I would think that with the internet they,( Messick's or any other dealer ) would in some way be direct competition. My local dealer is 60 some miles away, Messick's is 250 I order most of my parts from Messick's. Why? I have been to the store several times and alway's treated well. They have their prices for their parts online and I can order anytime I want. I don't know why more people don't use this avenue. I also spend alot of money on hats, shirts, toys for the kids and other tractor merchandise. ABC Groff - Skid Steer Attachments has that covered. Solo

Solo,
Mostly there are plenty of customers to "go around" within our trade area. Granted the web does help with additional sales but as a dealer, I dont actively pursue or advertise in competitve dealer's areas on purpose and generally they return the favor. I agree the market is shrinking with more web sales exposure but it still does not replace face to face, in the seat sales.
The web sales generally amount to after the wholegoods sale of parts, supplies, and service work.

Dont get me wrong, I am certainly striving to increase my web business because I know for sure that dealers from other areas have no problems sending their salesman into my territory to steal deals but that is just the way it is. Duke it out and drop prices until your left making a couple hundred dollars and wondering how you will keep the doors open.

Customers dont really care about that though as long as they are getting a good deal. Its like Walmart putting a below cost item near the entry to the store to drawn you in. They will take a loss on that product in hopes of making up for it somewhere else deeper within the store. The problem with that as it relates to our business is we take a loss on the tractor and then may never see a sale again after that as the Central Tractor stores take alot of the implement sales.

Simply, it all comes down to price and when you are shopping for a car or a tractor or something simalar, you have the option of haggling for the best deal. You cant haggle at Walmart or Sears. If you dont like the price there, you continue to the next store. in our business, you continue hacking away at the price until the dealer is as low as he can afford to go and if that's not enough, then you move on to the next dealer. The buyer sets the price regardless of dealer profit or loss. Wish it were different and pricing was standardized but it is not and never will be.

You get what you pay for doesnt apply anymore because people are paying what they want to pay and some of them get a pretty darn good deal at the expense of the overall market. each time the price drops, that becomes the new sale price and it can never go up again without serious justification. You are then left to sell volume to make up the difference and that forces you outside your assigned market area into other counties and states because you have saturated the buying market in your own back yard and you have to wait 3 to 4 years for those people to be interested in trading up or out of their machines. It spirals out of control and as internal costs esculate in the form of added people and processes to handle the "outside" sales, you can no longer afford to sell at the reduced price and the whole thing falls apart, leaving you out of business! Its just a matter of time for those dealers whether they realize it or not.

Thanks,
Larry

 

[daTeacha]

Larry -- I'll depart from the general trend here in that I bought from a more or less local dealer. I'm in farm country -- the dairy capital of Ohio -- and there are lots of dealers around. I'm also A-plan eligible for CNH products.

I had a Kubota B7100 that was starting to feel a little small and tippy on my new place. I figured a bit more tractor would be a good investment. I simply went to the dealers I knew of in the area first, which was JD, NH/Massey/Deutz, Case/Kubota/Cadet, Agco, and a couple others mostly looking for used compacts.

Finding essentially none, I started thinking new. There were a few ads in the local paper and tabloids, but mostly I went by word of mouth among my farming neighbors. I was pretty well decided in favor of Kubota since mine had served me well, but then I found this site and started reading a lot and listening to patient answers to my stupid questions and opinions. I drove some tractors, sat on a lot, visited dealers, and got some impressions.

When all the looking finally came down to the Case DX series, the seat on the 29/33 was a major item. I had ruled out the NH because the salesman acted like he was doing me a favor whenever he talked with me. I was tempted to send the store a large supply of Preparation H with his name on it. The Case/Kubota/Cadet dealership had two stores nearby, one selling mostly Kubotas, the other mostly Case and Cadet. Unfortunately, despite my sense of loyalty to them through service on my Kubota and Cadet, they also had a salesman at the Case store who seemed like I was disturbing whenever I went there, and I wasn't real eager to buy from him.

I was visiting the next town over at the Agco store and saw a Case/Kubota/Cadet dealer about 1/4 mile down the road. I stopped in to sit on tractors, look over the inventory of used stuff, and so on. This salesman came out and just started talking tractor stuff. He was happy to spend as much time as I had with me, he offered me the keys to anything on the lot I might want to drive around, and was just a great guy who seemed like someone who came tractor looking with me rather than a guy who worked there. When I mentioned A-plan, he didn't bat an eye. He even told me they would get money back from CNH on their next order so they were happy to work with me on it.

After visiting 3 times and spending about 6 hours with this guy, some of the tech guys, and so on, I ordered Ag tires, a grapple and rear remotes, and a QA bucket for one of the tractors they had on the lot.

The store is a family run business. The guy who had all the time for me was one of the brothers who own the place. The parts guy is my neighbor's cousin, although I didn't know it at the time. About 1/4 of the help is family. They all seem to care about the customers first, the business's image second, and their time third. They have coffee and such about one Saturday a month if you stop in, sometimes hot dogs etc. They know whose farm is using what with what degree of success, and many of the customers are known on sight by first name. The customers in there for parts or whatever stand around talking tractors, hunting, or whatever. The whole place is like someone's living room that just happens to have tractors, parts, and supplies available.

Simply put, they treat everyone like family, and have been doing so at the same place for 40 years.

 

[Larry The Tractor Guy]

Larry -- I'll depart from the general trend here in that I bought from a more or less local dealer. I'm in farm country -- the dairy capital of Ohio -- and there are lots of dealers around. I'm also A-plan eligible for CNH products....I had ruled out the NH because the salesman acted like he was doing me a favor whenever he talked with me. I was tempted to send the store a large supply of Preparation H with his name on it....I was visiting the next town over at the Agco store and saw a Case/Kubota/Cadet dealer about 1/4 mile down the road. This salesman came out and just started talking tractor stuff. He was happy to spend as much time as I had with me, he offered me the keys to anything on the lot I might want to drive around, and was just a great guy who seemed like someone who came tractor looking with me rather than a guy who worked there....The store is a family run business.....They all seem to care about the customers first, the business's image second, and their time third...The whole place is like someone's living room that just happens to have tractors, parts, and supplies available....Simply put, they treat everyone like family, and have been doing so at the same place for 40 years.

Boy, if I didnt know any better, I would think you were describing our dealership! A hometown, family run, dedicated to the community, customer comes first business! THATS what I am talking about here. Some place to go where they know your name, what equipment you own and whether you do your own repairs and also know that you have a wife and 3 kids and actually ask how the family is doing. The showroom is clean and bright, the parts guys always have a smile for you, and the salesmen push and shove each other out of the way to help you! You almost feel like VIP and all you bought was a rotary cutter!

Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? Probably not because most dealers are focused on the BIG DEAL and the moment they find out you only want a price on a tiller, they suddenly dont have time for you or shove some literature at you, a from the hip price and send you on your way! How's that? Does that sound more like your local dealer? I'll bet it does for most of them.

We are not like that. You cant be in business for 40+ years and think you are going to pick and choose your customers or you might as well be picking your next job because you wont work for me with that attitude, profitable or not!

Thanks for the honest input. Its great to hear there are other "warm" dealers out there who really do care about you and actually show it, not just say it!

Thanks,
Larry

 

[Buster57]

Larry,

The advertising from NH was almost nonexistent. If it was not 5 miles from my employer I would not know it was there. Your WEB site is OK but sort of hard to navigate. Very good start though.

Presently I am hunting for my third tractor. I know my property and I know what I would like to see in a tractor. 4WD, HST with HD loader. I always start with TBN.

I look at weight/HP ratio, PTO power, price range, and the shop at the big three. So far nothing has really stuck out. All tractors I have seen were priced within $1500 of each other –Kubota, NH, JD priced in that order.

Kubota has the B7800 but it vibrates like a sewing machine. JD has the 2520 but it is under powered and over priced.

Yesterday I looked at my first NH.-ever. I test drove a TC30. Very smooth operation but the tractor the salesman showed me looked used. The design also looks like it came out in 1975. The ‘Boomer’ version is priced too close to the Grand “L” series. While the price seems competitive at $15.9k, the $350 processing fee was also a very big turn off. I will pay cash before I swallow that. The Fiat association is also a very big hurdle to overcome. Like it or not the “Fix It Again Tony” sticks.

I am still looking.

 

[Kendall69]

I cant even meet that price because it cost me on average $500 to $700 to get the tractors trucked to me. I cant eat that cost and make any money and well, I have to make SOME money to stay in business!

Margins on compact tractors are always very low to start with.

Larry, granted and I agree, and I think you may have answered more of a concern than you have realized. With the simple statement that you made above, would STILL make me buy from a guy like you, over a guy in NC.

WHY? Because of your time and knowledge, and by the fact that you are up front with your margins. Consumers think dealers are making 10k a tractor, a bit exaggerated, but you get my point. If a dealer is up front with me, explaining what his bottom line is, I not going to deny a dealer profit, but for me it helps to know a guy is making a few thousand and not ten thousand. Because if I pay the extra ten thousand and find out someone else only paid xyz over invoice, I’m going to feel ripped of and be ticked off at the dealer, and again, I will vote with my wallet and never patronize that establishment again.

It’s all about education TO the customer no one wants to feel like they overpaid, that’s just human nature. I don’t think the average consumer wants to deny a business reasonable profits, but you will always get the guy that want to grind a deal into the ground. So whats reasonable, I guess it’s somewhere between suggested retail and cost, because consumers don’t want to pay retail and dealers won’t sell at cost.

Between buying from you, and a guy in NC, you would win hands down, at a reasonable profit, but if you read the suggested retail price to me, then that’s a different story.

 

[CJ4]

Larry,

I wished "my" dealer was on here concerned as you are about what his customers or future customers thought!! I've been I guess you could say "_issed off" at my dealer for about a year now and this just gives me a chance to vent and get it off of my chest. I purchased a new TC55DA and took it 200 miles to my lake property and a few months later it just stopped pulling like the clutch went out. Well after it's all over now and I had to be the one to research it I found out the tractor doesn't even have a clutch. To make a long story short it was the Potentiometer that just got out of adjustment and after posting my problem on TBN I was a bit more knowledgeable about it when I talked to the owner of the dealership himself and argued with me on something he didn't even know about himself, making me out to be a fool......anyway, I had spent my $35,000 with him and he now treated me like a second class citizen.

Then the tractor this summer did the exact same thing.....again i'm 200 miles away from home so I just decided to take it 60 miles into the dealer at Velma, AR....Man I was initially excited. The service manager said he'd look at it right away when I got there and sure enough, I left it on the trailer even and he had a tech out there looking at it right away.....sounds promising right??? Well, I had purchased the service repair manual on this tractor and knew that you could use an electronic device (forgot the actual name of it) and follow certain tests to see if this issue was the potentiometer or the EHSS switch, etc to troubleshoot this, but I felt like they were the pros and I wasn't about to tell them their job so I kept my mouth shut. After about an 90 minutes of this I finally mentioned the tool and they said "yes, we have one" and they scratched their heads, went to their parts dept and pulled a new one out of stock. After 30-45 minutes of messing with it the tech just went out to the front line and took the switch off of a new tractor and put it on mine......wolla!!! It's fixed!!!!! Well this sounds like a great thing and i'm a happy camper even though it wasn't too professionally done and smooth right????? Yes, I could deal with this until.....the service manager looks at me and says something like...." well, I've gotta figure out how i'm going to charge you because warranty isn't gonna pay me crap on this job"......Here i'm sitting with a tractor that's about 8 mos old and probably 200 hours on it and now i'm just absolutely crushed!!! Not about maybe having to pay a couple hundred dollars but I feel I just darn sure don't owe it. I looked out front again and did confirm to myself that this was a NH dealer!!! I was honestly fixing to reach into my pocket and tip the mechanic pretty heavy until that all happened. Anyway, I think when he saw the look on my face he knew he'd overstepped his grounds. He finally him-hawed around and made out a warranty ticket and had me sign it.

My real sadness is this.......now my tractor needs for the second time the loader curl cylinders fixed because they're leaking off badly and I feel like I don't have a dealer that's worth taking it to or would even care!!!! You know, I knew my dealer made good money off of my purchase, even more off of my trade in but it's really sad when you DO pay the price and still are left out in the cold. I have very hard feelings at both of these dealers.

There.......it's off my chest......and now i can honestly still say........my TC55DA still gives me the "fuzzies" when i think about crawling on top and riding off to the woods!!! Just wish i had a dealer who got excited with me.

 

[Larry The Tractor Guy]

Larry,
I wished "my" dealer was on here concerned as you are about what his customers or future customers thought!! I've been I guess you could say "_issed off" at my dealer for about a year now and this just gives me a chance to vent and get it off of my chest. I purchased a new TC55DA and took it 200 miles to my lake property and a few months later it just stopped pulling like the clutch went out. To make a long story short it was the Potentiometer that just got out of adjustment and after posting my problem on TBN I was a bit more knowledgeable about it when I talked to the owner of the dealership himself and argued with me on something he didn't even know about himself, making me out to be a fool......anyway, I had spent my $35,000 with him and he now treated me like a second class citizen.

CJ4,
Let me start by saying that I am sorry for the way you were treated at your local dealer. If this thread taught me anything, its that tractor and equipment buyers are sensitive about thier needs and their hard earned money. How you were treated is certainly not indicative of most NH dealers. As you have read, we strive to treat every customer like they are our only customer, it cant be any other way. Tractors are expensive and its an investment that requires after the sale dealer support. The life of a tractor is tough and sooner or later it is going to break. It's THEN that the true colors of the dealer shine. How well and quickly they address the problem and get you back into your equipment with minimal delay and run around makes all the difference and determines if you come back again for futher business!

Then the tractor this summer did the exact same thing.....again i'm 200 miles away from home so I just decided to take it 60 miles into the dealer at Velma, AR....Man I was initially excited. The service manager said he'd look at it right away when I got there and sure enough, I left it on the trailer even and he had a tech out there looking at it right away.....sounds promising right??? Well, I had purchased the service repair manual on this tractor and knew that you could use an electronic device (forgot the actual name of it) and follow certain tests to see if this issue was the potentiometer or the EHSS switch, etc to troubleshoot this, but I felt like they were the pros and I wasn't about to tell them their job so I kept my mouth shut. After about an 90 minutes of this I finally mentioned the tool and they said "yes, we have one" and they scratched their heads, went to their parts dept and pulled a new one out of stock. After 30-45 minutes of messing with it the tech just went out to the front line and took the switch off of a new tractor and put it on mine......wolla!!! It's fixed!!!!! Well this sounds like a great thing and i'm a happy camper even though it wasn't too professionally done and smooth right????? Yes, I could deal with this until.....the service manager looks at me and says something like...." well, I've gotta figure out how i'm going to charge you because warranty isn't gonna pay me crap on this job"......Here i'm sitting with a tractor that's about 8 mos old and probably 200 hours on it and now i'm just absolutely crushed!!! Not about maybe having to pay a couple hundred dollars but I feel I just darn sure don't owe it. I looked out front again and did confirm to myself that this was a NH dealer!!! I was honestly fixing to reach into my pocket and tip the mechanic pretty heavy until that all happened. Anyway, I think when he saw the look on my face he knew he'd overstepped his grounds. He finally him-hawed around and made out a warranty ticket and had me sign it.

CJ4,
Again, these tractors have a 3 year warranty and for the first 2 years, the only thing not covered is trucking the tractor to the dealership for repair and even then, WE commonly pick it up at no charge because alot of owners dont have trailers to truck their equipment around. They buy it to use on their property, not to move it from one place to another! It sounds like this dealer spend too much time diagnosing the problem and knew NH warranty would pay him for a set number or labor hours. At your next visit, ask to see the Factory Certified Training Certificates for the mechanic working on your tractor and make sure it specifies compact and utility tractors and is current. NH hosts MANY tech schools throughout the year to keep the service force up to speed on all the new advances and technologies they produce. There should be no excuse for a tech that does not know how to properly diagose a tractor problem.

My real sadness is this.......now my tractor needs for the second time the loader curl cylinders fixed because they're leaking off badly and I feel like I don't have a dealer that's worth taking it to or would even care!!!! You know, I knew my dealer made good money off of my purchase, even more off of my trade in but it's really sad when you DO pay the price and still are left out in the cold. I have very hard feelings at both of these dealers.

CJ4
A word of advice here...get the tractor in for repair ASAP because the loader warranty is only 1 year, not 3 like the tractor! Regardless of your feelings for the dealer, you should still get the repair done soon so you dont have to pay for it yourself. Get some of your money back, so to speak!

There.......it's off my chest......and now i can honestly still say........my TC55DA still gives me the "fuzzies" when i think about crawling on top and riding off to the woods!!! Just wish i had a dealer who got excited with me.

Well, I'll tell you that I am excited everyday when I go to work and represent the best tractor line in the business! The latest TC45DA with the cab that just came in is another prime example of NH leading the way. I applaud loyal buyers like you that even after having troubles at the dealer level, you dont blame the product and still love it. I know I am a ways away from you but I would gladly take your business and I gaurentee you would feel like the respected and valued buyer you are! Best of luck and let me know if I can help in any way.

Regards,
Larry

 

[CJ4]

Larry,

Thanks for the response. My heart just sank when you told me about the loader warranty. The tractor was a yr old last October and I put it off all summer even though the cylinders are leaking off bad. I didn't even think about the loader having a separate warranty since i bought it with the tractor and it is factory NH equipment. Oh well no argument on that. The dealer fixed them under warranty once before and when i got it back (and took it to my property 200 miles away)they leaked worse than they ever did after about a week.

Now the issue is.......where do i go to get the cylinders fixed and approximately how much cost??? I'm sure I won't go to the dealer if i'm going to have to pay my hard earned money. Maybe a dealer is the only place i can find to work on it. Do you have a clue how much brand new ones would cost??? Maybe that'd get it done and over with. Hummm, not even sure it's not a valve leaking off somewhere.

Larry, where are you located anyway???