“Buy the dealer, not the machine” is outdated

[Shenandoah MF1760]

I think there are a lot of ways to twist this tale.

Where I live now I have choices; Deere, New Holland, Mahindra, Massey, and Kubota.

Where I'm moving to, and where the tractor is right now, I only have three choices; Mahindra, Massey, and Kubota.

The Massey dealer is willing to come and get my tractor at no charge for any needed repairs and maintenance. This is because he's less than 10 miles away.

I didn't even consider folks like LS or Kioti simply because of the distance I'd have to go to even look at one.

Since I have a new tractor I want to keep any issues with the warranty at bay, so buying things like that special Massey hydraulic oil can only be done at the dealer, or online except I have no one there to receive it.

So, in my case I opted for a tractor I liked (within my 3 choices), bought it at a dealer that gave me a good price (where I live now), and was willing to transport it at no cost to where I'm moving to. Which had local support for that tractor.

 

[BubbaSam]

I order all my parts online. Tractor owners in this category typically average 110 hrs per year.

So Rademamj1...
Would you mind passing along where you purchase all your Kioti parts online? I assume they are very reputable.

 

[DK35vince]

So Rademamj1...
Would you mind passing along where you purchase all your Kioti parts online? I assume they are very reputable.

I have purchased Kioti parts online here with great results Parts Finder Michigan Iron & Equipment Morrice, MI (855) 265-4590
I have also ordered OEM filter kits from Ebay.

 

[mtretick]

When I was looking for a new tractor I kept seeing posts that you should be less picky on brand and more picky on your dealer. This is such antiquated thinking imho.
Buy the tractor that feels good and provides the best combination of quality and price, wherever and whatever it is.
Do you buy a car that costs 2 grand more from a local dealer because he’s local? I know I don’t.

Saving a thousand dollars sounds great but you may lose much more on the service end.

 

[TexasDigger]

When I was looking for a new tractor I kept seeing posts that you should be less picky on brand and more picky on your dealer. This is such antiquated thinking imho.
Buy the tractor that feels good and provides the best combination of quality and price, wherever and whatever it is.
Do you buy a car that costs 2 grand more from a local dealer because he’s local? I know I don’t.

I found myself in this exact dilemma a couple weeks ago and my new Kioti RX7320 gets dropped off this Sunday from TN (I'm in Texas!). The dealer I bought from is 700 miles (10 hours) away. No dealers around me had the tractor I needed so we worked the whole deal over the phone & by email. Sent them a bunch of pics of my freshly power-washed & detailed trade-in so it could hit their lot ready to sell. Negotiated the deal and now they are shipping me a tractor and picking up my trade without ever having to enter a dealer! My local dealer tried to get me one and just couldn't find the tractor I was looking for - they had no estimated wait-time & since my gently used low-hour trade was not increasing with value while I waited on them to find a unit, I pulled the trigger & got a good deal. Out of all the 35+ dealers I called (I called EVERY LS, Mahindra, New Holland, Branson, Kioti, Kubota, Case & TYM dealer within a 300 mile radius since I was looking to upgrade from 35hp to 65+ hp) - only ONE dealer I spoke with told me "dealers service what they sell" (implying that if you don't buy from them, you won't get service - including warranty service). I dropped them to the bottom of my list immediately & bought a tractor from someone who was ready to sell one. It's the 21st century & not the 1970's any more. People shop for the best deal & will find it if they look hard enough. Dealers don't want to lose business & they still get paid on warranty work etc, so they're not going to turn your service or your warranty work down just because you bought your steel somewhere else.

 

[FERLING]

When I was looking for a new tractor I kept seeing posts that you should be less picky on brand and more picky on your dealer. This is such antiquated thinking imho.
Buy the tractor that feels good and provides the best combination of quality and price, wherever and whatever it is.
Do you buy a car that costs 2 grand more from a local dealer because he’s local? I know I don’t.

Found in 2016 when buying a New Holland there was about $500 difference from local dealer in NC verses internet dealer in Georgia. If you need warranty work and you purchase on internet you have two choices: Ship it to Georgia or pull it around back at local dealer. Around back is behind shop so no one can see it. They let the trainees work on it in their spare time. When you complain about how long it's taking you get all kinds of excuses. New Holland specs. sold itself but I had to bite my tongue to pay the extra $500. It was like rolling the dice choosing my one and only local dealer or saving $500 by ordering on internet. So far, So good with quality of purchase.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I always lay the cards on the table and am totally honest. Explain to a local dealer exactly what my options and dilemas are. This usually works out well. No one is upset or feels offended. Sometimes it's just a matter of them asking the question, if I can do something for you, are you going to sign a deal "right now". You have to be prepared for that, otherwise it's just more game playing.

 

[GB540]

We have two dealers that for the discussion carry “Brand X”, one of the leading makes. Both are roughly the same distance away.

The first dealer has been good enough to work with, some quibbles but no show stoppers. The other... family owned and ran and off-the-charts arrogant. I’ve personally seen them call their own customers “stupid farmers” right to their faces and behind their backs. Have no idea how this place stays open.

If for some reason the first dealer becomes a problem or closes, we will trade off every single piece of our Brand X equipment before we set foot in the second dealer again. (A shame because the Brand X hardware itself has performed pretty good.)

So the dealer does matter. I’m not paying too much for the sake of it, but I’m also not spending anything at a place where the customer needs to be worthy of their time.

 

[darinstambaugh]

As a person who makes their living in sales I will say that your opinion is incredibly short-sighted! You drive by your local dealer to save $50 in the next town over or on the internet but what do you do when something goes wrong? You come to your local dealer for free support! So as a sales professional I go out and spend 30 minutes or more of my time to help you figure out how to work your new whatever because as it turns out the $50 they cut their price was the $50 it takes to actually take care of their customers!
So next time you want to drive past me to save a buck do me a favor and drive past me when you need help! - Not really, I will always help if I can but man did feel good to say that!

When I was looking for a new tractor I kept seeing posts that you should be less picky on brand and more picky on your dealer. This is such antiquated thinking imho.
Buy the tractor that feels good and provides the best combination of quality and price, wherever and whatever it is.
Do you buy a car that costs 2 grand more from a local dealer because he’s local? I know I don’t.

 

[FERLING]

As a person who makes their living in sales I will say that your opinion is incredibly short-sighted! You drive by your local dealer to save $50 in the next town over or on the internet but what do you do when something goes wrong? You come to your local dealer for free support! So as a sales professional I go out and spend 30 minutes or more of my time to help you figure out how to work your new whatever because as it turns out the $50 they cut their price was the $50 it takes to actually take care of their customers!
So next time you want to drive past me to save a buck do me a favor and drive past me when you need help! - Not really, I will always help if I can but man did feel good to say that!

Drive on by!