Missed the boat

[MessickFarmEqu]

We're seeing all our venders pulling back on financing programs. The year ended very strong so it seems they are all happy with their sales volumes. Time will tell if things get kicked back up for spring, but I doubt it.

 

[riptides]

yes it was good while it lasted. But sooner or later zero percent and low interest rates have got to disappear...... what goes down and what not....

 

[teg]

Good... I might be able to start to think about selling mine... could not compete with that 0%




.

 

[Hematite]

Good... I might be able to start to think about selling mine... could not compete with that 0%




.

Funny you say that, I originally went looking for a used tractor but bought new because of the interest rate savings of 0% financing versus a conventional loan.

The dealer that I bought from will breathe a sigh of relief, he has a number of used tractors that he couldn't move because of 0% financing on the new ones.

 

[IslandTractor]

Not so clear that the era of 0% financing is over. Kioti still offers it though it is some sort of dealer dependent program so not all dealers may offer it.

It will be interesting to see if Kubota brings something similar back.

 

[wampum]

I have spent the last few weeks looking for a tractor,the 0% financing,I have to admit was interesting. Some tractor brands actually had it with no hitches. Some tractor brands had it,but really did not. I was told by several tractor dealers that @ 0% they had to tack on $2800.00 or more,depending on the tractor to get it. These dealers said it was better to take the rebates,pay cash or finance it with rates up to 7%. These dealers turned me off with there trick financing. 0% to these tractor companies was a smoke job. Others companies actually allowed you to make your best deal,use a trade or cash and get true 0%. I ended up looking at 3 companies that did not have a gimmick,and gave true 0%. I figured if you are going to seem to not be honest with your financing,what would your repairs and warranty be like? I looked at 6 things before I bought my new tractor. #1 what size tractor and how I wanted it equipped. #2 A good local dealer. #3 The quality of he tractor,weight,hp,loader strength,exc. #4 warranty. #5 price. #6 Financing,0% meant I could use their money,and pay what I needed to get the monthly rate manageable. I hope and believe I achieved these goals. I also got my eyes opened,some of these dealers really are characters. If I got a good deal only time will tell. The last tractor I bought was a Landtrac,the dealer was a friend of mine. He had to go bankrupt,he lost a lot. Today he is selling insurance,I hope my new dealer is selling tractors long after I am in the grave.

 

[two_bit_score]

I hope no one really feels like they "missed the boat" if they haven't bought a tractor yet with "0% financing".

That just a completely unnecessary sales gimmick scare tactic thrown out here for some unknown purposes.

The market is always changing but there will ALWAYS be a deal out there.

Last dealer who tried to tell me that I 'better not wait to long or it will be gone' was told 'yeah but they're being built new every day'.

Shop hard, do your research, on financing as well as for the tractor/truck/etc you're looking at and BUY when it's the best deal at at the time that is right for YOU not when some dealer tries to scare you into it by trying to make you think you'll never see such a great deal again in three lifetimes.

One time deals do happen but some salesmaen think they can make everyone think that whats in front of them is that once in a lifetime deal that they better not let get away.

 

[Snead Tractor LLC]

The 0% rates are not going to leave. We can still get 0% for 60 months through Kubota. However, the price of the tractor is a little higher, comparded to financing it for the 42 months. Even our Massey Ferguson rates can still go as high as 0% for 72 months. So don't panic over the rates. Just panic over which model to select.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Yea, I did not mean to say 0% is gone, the term just got cut back.

 

[wampum]

People that missed the so called boat,may end up being the lucky ones. If the economy does not start to pick up,there could be unbelievable deals in the future. If tractors do not sell,something has to give. To even suggest that the best deals are gone,is to neglect the fact that we are still deep in a bad economy. Big dealers may survive,but small dealers will have a tough time until this economy picks up. Even some of the big boys may go belly up. GM and Chrysler was pretty smug a couple of years ago,they are not as smug now using tax payer money to survive. To bail out a tractor industry that is dominated by over seas made Tractors,may not set well with the American tax payer. Farmers that use tractors for a living will still buy as they can afford. Ordinary Joe that is looking at that CUT with an uncertain job future will pass on a tractor,or possibly buy used. I am sure that the economy has stopped a number of CUT sales the last couple of years,and the future remains to be seen.

 

[Coyote machine]

What Wampum said!
And things will undoubtedly get much worse before they get much better. Latest report out says from 1999 to now we had 0% job creation. ZERO! % when each decade going back 50 years had a job creation rate of 20% or more MINIMUM. - so what does that mean for big ticket items with rapid depreciation- I would have to say, hold onto your hat it may blow away waiting for the good times we are now enjoying.
I hope I'm wrong, but I'd be willing to bet we're in for a very rough road ahead. {Thanks banks and hedge fund guys and everyone else out there who sold us down the river, only to beg us to bail you out for some more fat bonuses you don't deserve}.
Sorry for the rant, but let's get real- 0% financing or not we will need to look further into the future to survive the present.

 

[Punk]

So all who didn't buy missed the boat, hey.
Like some others said, and then some. Sounds a little smug to me, also. Kinda reminds me of that movie Titanic. When the boat was leaving the port, all the Messicks of that age were hee hawing at the poor miserable wretchs who missed the ride.

 

[IslandTractor]

What Wampum said!

I think you guys are two years too late with your analysis and recommendations. Yeah, the economy is down but that just means that those who make decisions to take advantage of the situation BEFORE it starts to rise again will be the ultimate winners. Economic indicators do not forecast deepening recession and jobs growth always lags in recovery. It makes sense to purchase a tractor at favorable terms before everyone else who is sitting on the fence shows up in dealer showrooms (where there is little stock as dealers have cut back orders due to the economy and manufacturers have similarly cut back production capacity).

I'd say that this is still a pretty darn good time to be shopping for a CUT especially if you are flexible and buy something that has been sitting on the dealers lot for a while. If you want to be a real pessimist then consider that one of the only ways for the USA to claw its way out of the current deficit combined with a severe allergy to tax hikes is to allow depreciation of the dollar and inflation to occur. That means those foreign made CUTs will become more expensive and interest rates will soar in the future. Nothing like a zero percent finance on a discounted leftover tractor to take advantage of that scenario.

 

[JoelD]

As usual tough to argue with island.

From my perspective, until unemployment improves significantly (i get that it is a trailing indicator) we've got a log slog.

Our current economy is consumer driven, I struggle to understand how meaninful improvement can occur, until they are working and therefore spending.

This post is raising the critical question to me of what is a recovery? To me a meaningful recovery is jobs, where will they come from???

For me, long story short, until we make stuff or provide a service that others are willing to pay for, we are stuck in a circular reference of government printing and distributing money and not sure how long that can work nor the long term ramifications in this global economy.

I'm definately not optimistic either way.

 

[bp fick]

When your drive is filled with a foot of snow, you need to plow it out.
When your grass is a foot tall, you need to mow it.
When your gravel needs raking, your fields need plowing, when the manure piles up........

You need a tractor. Timing is what it is.

 

[ovrszd]

I heard on the news last week that we (taxpayers) gave another $4B to GMAC. We gave them $7.1B in November. They are still making bad housing loans. HOUSING LOANS!!!! What the H???

Until we stomp our foot and tell our government we ain't bailing out poor finance managers anymore our economy will not recover. That mentality bleeds into other areas that are even more critical to recovery.

P.S. Did ya know GMAC is owned by Chrysler??? Chew on that. Baaaa Humbug!!!!

 

[bp fick]

I heard on the news last week that we (taxpayers) gave another $4B to GMAC. We gave them $7.1B in November. They are still making bad housing loans. HOUSING LOANS!!!! What the H???

Until we stomp our foot and tell our government we ain't bailing out poor finance managers anymore our economy will not recover. That mentality bleeds into other areas that are even more critical to recovery.

P.S. Did ya know GMAC is owned by Chrysler??? Chew on that. Baaaa Humbug!!!!

Feel your pain, but it's a stretch to post this here. And no, Chrysler doesn't own GMAC. Chrysler owns nothing but debt at this point. GMAC merely offers financing to Chrysler purchasers, using bailout money. Government arm twisting all the way around, no doubt.

 

[IslandTractor]

As usual tough to argue with island.

My wife would be only too happy to give you a tutorial.

The real challenge for a consumer in this setting is to neither be too optomistic (irrational exuberance etc) nor too pessimistic (China is taking over and all we do is complain about our government). Somewhere in the middle is reality even if it is veiled. There is opportunity and in the microcosm of the CUT world, I suspect a lot of people will be looking backwards at the deals available now and wish they'd made a purchase. Not a time for a vanity purchase or an indulgent present to ones self but for those who really need to buy a CUT or upgrade in the next couple of years, this still seems a good time to do so. I recall an old teacher of mine who used to say that there was never a really right time to buy a new car, it was something you just needed to do occasionally and then figure out how to make it work.

 

[jenkinsph]

This is a good time to buy a new tractor with low fixed rate financing, and as Island tractor suggest, if inflation is in the near future then it makes for a better deal. BUT, I strongly recomend that people make sure they can continue to make the payments, as I for one am tired of bailing out those who are failing. On a local level and in the present I am paying attention to who is making a real effort to work and be productive, these people get my business and support.

 

[two_bit_score]

I'd like to just see the prices come down and the so-called 0% to go away. Get your own financing or save up the money and pay cash.

I have been shopping for a truck and just this week got a 'offer' from a dealer for "72 mo at 0%" .....further investigation revealed that the price would be $4,000 LESS if I paid cash or got my own financing.

People gotta wake up.....that 0% financing ain't no bargain.