Why is it such a hassle?

[inode]

I knew I wanted a particular brand of tractor and had already researched used prices for the model I wanted. I wanted new and used the low hours "used" prices as my baseline. One particular dealer in had me super competitive quotes in email and was more than helpful. In fact, I was planning to buy from them. I had been told by several to buy where you were going to have it serviced as it made all the difference in the world. I therefore contacted my local dealer and he came within $500 of the other dealer's price. For me, it was worth the money to buy local and know I had a dealer in my court should I need help with something.

 

[Swampcollie]

I did my shopping at the state fair. Probably 15 different dealers there. I had thought I would buy a deere since that is what i had been using for 40 yr. However i found the kubota dealer to be best able to answer my questions and best know his product line plus he was 30 mi from where i wanted the tractor. My total shopping time was about 4 hr. And they have been great since the sale.
Bottom line: state fair is a great place to shop tractors and they usually have a good state fair price subsidized by the manufacturer.

 

[ultrarunner]

The county fair did have several dealers... Kubota, Deere and New Holland and then none.

I asked the Kubota Dealer and he said not many tractor buyers around here... 2 years later they were closed... totally closed.

Eleven Million people in 9 counties and the pickens are slim...

The dealer closer to my brother is family operation... has a fair amount of stock...

Thing is when we were looking for a Kubota RTV... he had 4 assembled and said all 4 were sold... had two more getting checked out/assembled and said those were probably sold... so not a one to even drive around the lot... we ending up driving 150 miles and bought a nice used one that he had sold new...

In the car business, we always had inventory and demo models... if we didn't it was a simple matter to get a dealer trade... I don't think tractor dealers work together so much unless same ownership.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Welcome to the country. Close early on Saturday, closed on Sundays. Close at 5 pm during the week.

I got quite a bit of attention at my dealer visits, but then I had done a LOT of research prior, knew the specs, knew what I probably wanted and didn't want, had some semi-intelligent questions, and I think all of this proved I was a serious buyer and not a looky-lou. Or maybe I just had some good dealers around. Now that I think of it, the local JD dealer was different, or should I say "in-different."

 

[Maharaja]

I shopped a bunch of dealers by phone. Shopped four in person closer to me. The New Holland dealer did the best demo but other issues steered me clear (dealer issues).
One Kubota dealer who I visited was nice, I wanted HDC12 he said no need and hardly ever sales 12 speed. Why pay $3000 more for 4 more gears. I said doesn稚 that option include other features. He said nope just 4 gears. I said are you sure, gosh I seem to recall more features with 12 speed, nope.
I bought elsewhere as he was either stupid or a liar. HDC 12 has higher hydraulic flow, hydraulic wet disc brakes (versus mechanical) and 540e. I think that he didn稚 want to have to find a 12 speed. And I didnt pay an additional $3000 for the option.

 

[inode]

I forgot to mention that I also checked out some other local dealers and had them price me what I wanted. The sales rep couldn't answer my questions (I knew more about options/features than he did). He also had no brochures and it took him a week to get me a quote which was more than I was willing to pay. He had three strikes against him which made me wonder what service I would get when I needed it. Moving on...

If you're going to sell anything, at least put some time into understand what you're selling. An informed buyer will walk out if you appear unintelligent about your product line.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

Just a few years ago, there were several places online where you could actually order and buy a CUT directly from a dealer, and have it shipped to you for a stated price. They have disappeared. I really, truly mistrust the secretive pricing information, and the games being paid. It all points to a very high markup overall (without pointing the finger of blame at any particular step along they way.) Years ago there used to be lots of small dealers, many small towns had several. Now they are centralized mega-dealers, like big box tractor stores. That didn't happen by accident, but by the direct actions of manufacturers.
Now, for many CUTs, even the specs are hard to find, and when published, need to be taken with a grain of salt. It's very frustrating. At least when you go into a car lot you have some point to start out with - a sticker price. It seems the tractor manufacturers want the customer to be perpetually off balance so they can get the most out of them.

About 10 years ago I went to a Kubota dealer and looked around for a while. They had a "sale" going on. I went in and asked to talk to a salesperson, and was told I had to make an APPOINTMENT! Needless to say, I walked out and never went back.

 

[wagne223]

It was not a hassle for me.
I knew what I wanted so I emailed LS dealer, Kioti dealer and 2 Kubota dealers.

Both Kubota dealers responded within 2 days with quotes that were within $100

No reply from LS or Kioti so I called them. LS got a voicemail, I left a message.

Kioti, pleasant sounding female took my info and said a sales person would call back.

Never heard from LS or Kioti again.

Meanwhile, I emailed with the nearest Kubota dealer a few times, sent in the credit app, they gathered up my attachments and accessories. The rear remote valves took 3 weeks.

They call when it was ready and delivered the next day. First time I saw the sales guy.
He came with the delivery guy. I signed the papers, handed him the down payment check, he did his delivery demo and left.

I never had to go to the dealer.

Granted.....this is a family owned dealer that has been around for decades and I know 2 people personally that bought from them. So I really did not need to check them out.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I really get upset when people don't respond to emails. I know there are people shopping and comparing prices and they don't like it. Too bad - it's called a competitive market. When I don't get a response to an email, I generally don't bother to contact the dealer again. If you aren't going to answer emails, then don't have a "contact us" email. Easy peasy. These are highly technical products, and again, the manufacturers keep changing models and specs to make the situation ever more complicated. I find the whole thing very stressful and idiotic. Look, most dealers don't even have any kind of price tags on the machines in the lot. Some do, and kudos to them, but nobody likes to get the feeling they are going into a major purchase without even a hint as to what the dealer expects to be paid, except for word of mouth. It's annoying enough with a car, when they do have some kind of price posted, but you know they'll sell it for less. In this case, you're pretty much blind, except for the kind of quote you get from the websites. Kubota's at least lets you see some kind of a price for what you want, but the others generally leave you hanging for something as basic as a loader, which probably 80% or more of the people in the market for a small tractor want. Again, there used to be sites where you could configure and order a tractor for a set price, but they are gone. I blame the manufacturers for that, and for all the secrecy about what a machine costs. Again, Kubota is somewhat of an exception on that score. Add to that the scarcity of dealers now, and the huge distances between two dealers of a particular brand, and you have a situation that is just plain wrong. We had one dealer in town who was authorized for White, New Holland, Kubota, and a couple other brands. That kind of dealer doesn't exist anymore. We had John Deere dealer in town, but they lost their dealership because Deere wanted only big box stores. No competition. Price secrecy. Apparent ripoff??

 

[ultrarunner]

The multi line dealers seem to be fading...

We had a huge dealer the sold CATIPILAR and DEERE... now it is CAT

When I was tractor shopping... the Dealer carried New Holland and Kubota... kept steering me to New Holland and basically wouldn't discuss Kubota... later I find out they were dropping New Holland and wanted to liquidate New Holland inventory.

Up in the Gold rush country a Dealer I liked had both Deere and Kubota... I was told it was causing issues and soon they would have to let one go...