Why Do Small Tractors Cost The Same As Larger Ones

crk133 · Jan 18, 2005

8 years to be a DVM. and for a house call at $150 seems reasonable to me. You could have asked about fees before they got there.

Bird · Jan 18, 2005

Fortunately, our vet was a very popular one (actually 3 of them in the same office) and I think, relativel speaking, their prices were quite reasonable. My point was that if you take a "pet" in, they know you have an emotional attachment to the animal and will pay bigger fees. But if a farmer takes an animal in, they know he isn't going to pay more than market value (probably less) so the fees are less. When we took our dog in just for routine vaccinations, it was going to cost $50 or more, but I took a goat to them, they gave him one shot and gave me the syringe and medication to give him another one later and charged me $20. I took a rabbit there for diagnoses; thought the rabbit was going to die, it wasn't worth much, but I wanted to know what was wrong in hopes it wouldn't spread to my other rabbits and they charged me $10 (with the medication recommended, the rabbit recovered). And when a neighbor had a donkey (big Jack) with a big tumor on his upper lip, I went with him to take the donkey to the vet, they anesthetized him, removed the tumor surgically, stitched it up, kept him overnight, etc. and charged $75 (that one was low enough to really surprise me). And when that neighbor bought 8 cows at the auction, we took them to that vet for vaccination (and they went ahead and branded them at the same time), and while I don't remember how much they charged, it wasn't much. Now I can imagine them charging a lot more for horses because they'd figure you had an emotional attachment to your horses just as with your dog.

So I'm by no means complaining about their prices; good vets and good prices; only commenting about the difference in prices for "farm" animals vs. "pets". /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

When we "adopted" our dog from the animal shelter, one of their requirements was that he be neutered, and to ensure that the animals adopted are neutered, we had to pay the shelter, they deliver the animal to the vet for neutering, and the new owner picks up the animal from the vet. The shelter had a vet who would do the job, but we paid an extra $10 to have our own vet do it, so I guess his prices were higher than some, but worth it to us.

Wannafish · Jan 18, 2005

" think I would still be upset if my family Dr came out and charged my spouse $150 to tell her I was dead and it could have been any # things that caused it "

Ken,
I hope you would be over being upset by the time to doctor got out there...if you were dead /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

sweettractors · Jan 18, 2005

So I'm by no means complaining about their prices; good vets and good prices; only commenting about the difference in prices for "farm" animals vs. "pets" 

Bird, I totally agree. It does seem anything that we buy or sell that has emotions attached to it, always has a higher price tag attached.
For example, A consumer will sometimes pay more than he should for a CUT because he is going to produce a better and bigger garden, provide food for deer and turkey or do family oriented projects around the home vs the farmer who strictly trying to turn a slight profit (If he is lucky and has a good year)--Ken Sweet

Evasive1 · Jan 18, 2005

( I think I would still be upset if my family Dr came out and charged my spouse $150 to tell her I was dead and it could have been any # things that caused it )

LOL, Good one.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Indydirtfarmer · Jan 18, 2005

While the tractor may be SMALLER, it has essentially the same parts. It will cost as much to machine a part the size of a quarter as it would a part the size of a dollar. Then there is the fact that a great many compacts go to "Joe Homeowner" as opposed to a full-time farmer that's more accustomed to operating equipment. There are liability issues. Countless saftey items.... AND... The compact tractor market has MUCH MORE competition than the BIG AG market. Therefore, the cost of promoting and advertising comes in to play.

Lastly, there is the issue of farmers being more "frugal" with their spending. The typical compact tractor buyer is a "I want it no matter what" kind of buyer. That's not an insult...So please don't take it that way.

The greater the demand, the higher the price....There are WAY more units being moved in the compact tractor market than the 200+ HP Ag tractor market. They gotta get it where they can. ($$$$$$)

Gunfighter · Jan 18, 2005

Except for the amount of material used, the same amount of labor
goes into a little tractor as does a big one... Big or small the same
number operations are needed to finish a component, it's just that
the parts your working on are smaller..

Where I have problems with is when you have two tractor nearly
identical but one has it's injector pump turn to produce 6 or 7
more HP and it cost 4 or 5 thousand more...

RJK Sr.
West Michigan...

Tombo · Jan 18, 2005

I guess I am full of dumb questions, but can you buy health insurance for horses?

Tombo · Jan 18, 2005

The typical compact tractor buyer is a "I want it no matter what" kind of buyer. That's not an insult...So please don't take it that way.

Boy, you sure have my number! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif No insult taken. Maybe homeowners buy their machine as a "toy" and farmers buy them as a "tool"...

DK35vince · Jan 18, 2005

( Maybe homeowners buy their machine as a "toy" and farmers buy them as a "tool"... )

I bought mine for a little bit of both ! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif