Would you pay extra to have hauling included for "free"?

[flusher]

Except they can be rather capricious.

Hi Dave.
When I bought my 1951 Minneapolis Moline BF wide front in 2009, I had it hauled from Shasta Lake, CA to my place--about 118 miles round trip. Local auto hauler with a really nice rollback did the job which included winching that non-running tractor onto the tiltbed. Cost: about $2/mile which I thought was pretty reasonable.

About 2 years ago I had another old tractor, my 1949 JD B, shipped one-way from the seller's place in Albany, OR to my place down here. $400 for 400 miles by a married couple (senior citizens) who specialize in hauling tractors and implements up and down I5. They picked up my load while dead heading home from a drop off in the Seattle area.

Just my $0.02

Take it easy.

 

[Capricious]

It doesn't sound to me like you have that much of a problem. Just emphasise to the sales guy(s) that they really need to point out at time of sale that the manufacturer does not reimburse for hauling and that you can't afford to "eat it."

Otherwise, let it ride as-is.

 

[DavesTractor]

Hi Flusher,

Was that $2 a loaded mile (one-way) or $2 for all 118 miles for the rollback?

On the haul from Albany, $1/mile is quite good. They must have figured that $1/mile was much better than $0/mile and were heading home. At 7 mpg on our Freightliner it is $0.58/mile for fuel only. If your driver cost $30/hour (fully burdened rate, just as an example) and drives 50 miles in an hour average that is $0.60/mile for wages. Then you have truck overhead, tires, engine, clutch, insurance. At $1/mile, unless it was just to avoid driving empty on the way home, you are losing your shorts.

We typically charge $2.25/loaded mile (with a minimum) and normally haul empty one direction. It would be awesome to always schedule a backhaul, but it is tough to do. That is $1.12 per driven mile and we are going in the hole with every mile driven. But that is made up some by our minimum charge. And customers really dislike paying for hauling, so in reality some of it is absorbed in the initial profit margin, some in parts, some in service. Spread the pain a little. It's just like the electric bill and all other expenses, at the end of the month the bottom line needs to show a profit. Yet I can't add a $20/tractor electric bill charge....that would be silly.

The kicker is that the charges need to seem fair and palatable to the customer. As I have stated many times, there is no free hauling, there is only hauling the is absorbed by the company and recovered in some other manner.

 

[Capricious]

Wrong thread

 

[DavesTractor]

It doesn't sound to me like you have that much of a problem. Just emphasise to the sales guy(s) that they really need to point out at time of sale that the manufacturer does not reimburse for hauling and that you can't afford to "eat it."

Otherwise, let it ride as-is.

10 points for a simple answer and you are correct in what you say. But for sure when the customer calls he will still say "but this is not my fault, so you need to haul it for free". But you are right, this is not a big problem, it's a little one but I want to see what others feel is best. When you sit on this side of the desk you have a different perspective.

Any other dealers want to chime in?

 

[finspop]

$2.25 per loaded mile seems very reasonable. Most guys around here (Vermont) charge $3.

 

[Garandman]

I'd look at a fixed rate charge negotiated in advance, and based on distance zones from the dealership. For example "Flat rate pick up and deliver charge of $xxx for five years."

There's a local BMW motorcycle dealer who charges $100 and up, so there is a market for it: and MC's are easier to transport.

 

[flusher]

Hi Flusher,
Was that $2 a loaded mile (one-way) or $2 for all 118 miles for the rollback?

Ans: $2/mile for all 118 miles.

 

[bigbull338]

ok the dealers i have bought from offer free delivery of the new/used tractor.ive had the dealer send a machanic out to work on a new tractor at no cost to me.meaning they did not charge me for a service call.now if i have to put a tractor in the shop for some reason i expect to pay for them to come get it.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

To which we respond, "it's not an extra charge, just bring it in and we will fix it free of charge". To which they respond, "we have no trailer". To which we respond "we can haul it for a minimal" charge. To which they respond...."what good is my warranty," and it goes downhill from there...

I'm thinking if we offer transportation coverage at the time of sale and folks decline it, at least that reinforces that transportation is not included.

Just for the record, folks that are patient can often get a free or really cheap haul because if we have a truck in the area and it has space, it costs us very little to pick up a tractor that is basically on our route.

Dave,
If my Chevy breaks down on the side of the road and it is under warranty GM toes it to the dealer and gives me a rental car of similar size if the repairs will take longer than a day or two. Auto dealers make a LOT of money doing warranty work because all of their costs are charged back to the manufacturer. I hope it is the same in the tractor business.

I would expect that a tractor under warranty should be repaired at the either the dealer or my property at the dealers discretion. Hauling the tractor to the dealer should be covered under the warranty. I like to buy new because it eliminates the unknowns of how the item was maintained. In the last few years I have bought a new boat and a new tractor. I am disappointed how those two industries don't pride themselves on warranty repairs like the auto industry does. The tractor and boat manufactures should be ashamed that they let a product off their assembly line that caused a customer to have an issue while it was under warranty. The customers pay top dollar for their product and any manufacturer that really values their customers and stands behind their product should cover all costs. If the manufactures don't cover all the costs then I can't expect a dealer to eat the cost of the hauling. If there was a plan offered at time of purchase and I didn't have a way to get my tractor to a dealer I would probably buy it.