Most still don't take their tractor to a dealer more than once or twice while owning it. That should not be ignored. But, as you say, most don't give this much weight - Dealer must be close! That absolute requirement is just silly in modern society. Maintenance parts come to your door without having to drive anywhere. Mountains of information available fast and free via the internet. Unless you are unlucky and get a lemon or simply don't do your own maintenance, your tractor never sees a dealer.
Well, for sure I'm not like most people. I generally find better values and get more done for less without sacrificing quality either in purchases or results there from. Many people won't go to the bother that I do to squeeze out value. They'd rather pay more, sacrifice on performance to stay in budget, and or pick a local dealer even if not the best. Not me, I saved thousands by not letting the "dealer must be close" barrier get in the way. The quality of the dealer certainly played into my decision. The dealer I chose has stepped up for me with the mfr. Not so sure the close-by dealers would have done that. I think that makes me pretty smart: saved money, got a tractor well suited to my needs, and got excellent service. The icing on the cake is that I have yet to have driven even one mile for any of this, not even for maintenance parts.
I certainly wasn't going to change colors simply to pick a dealer that was close. I like my JD dealer. But, I wasn't going to give $5000 more for less tractor no matter how much I like green. Similar difference for all the other dealers that were close to me. And the close dealers that sold the brand I bought were not only much higher priced, but I got the sense they were less accomodating to customer's after the purchase.
