Am I Wrong ?

[Cycledude]

I recommend reading lots of reviews but many of them are not even reviewing the correct product so be careful what you believe. I spent about 4 months going to different dealers before buying my new LS tractor, in my opinion some dealers were absolutely terrible and many were great, so far I have been very happy with my choices.

 

[Brily Farms]

I am new here so hello and thank you for all the awesome info. My question here is am I wrong to buy a ls brand tractor from a dealer with a 4.7 rating and not go out of my way to check out the Kubotas because the only dealer near by has a rating of 3.7 ? I have read so many times that the dealer is very important, and I only have a couple to choose from.

I recommend buying the brand first, then consider the dealership. Dealerships have a way of coming and going. I purchased a Kubota from people I liked at dealership A, thinking my relationship with them would help when I needed service. A few years later, that dealership was out of business; I still own the Kubota. Ratings for dealerships and manufacturers can be managed very easily. When researching a new product, I don't look at the reviews that rate a product or merchant as a "5", but rather look only at the lowest ratings. If a rating is over 12 months old at the merchant level, I disregard it as merchants (dealerships) can quickly fix issues resulting from service. Manufacturers cannot fix design and engineering issues that fast.

Bottom line: buy the best product available and hope for the best.

 

[Username Taken]

I actually like to be left alone while I’m looking and I’ll find a salesman when I’m ready.

I agree with you and I used to be that way.

Anymore, I try to do as much homework as possible on the internet and over the phone. Salespeople today really aren't very good. Not all of them, certainly. Some are old-school-cool. But too many are just entitled, millenial order-takers. Who really don't like the job very much in the first place so they don't bother with learning product knowledge. And it's obvious when you talk to them. Like they're doing you a favor even though they have no clue what they're talking about other than giving you a canned sales pitch.

I don't ask them for a price, I give them a price. They can take it or they can stick it in their ear. I'm fine with it
either way.

 

[ripHST]

I get what a lot of you all are saying about reviews, but I wouldn't disregard them completely. You do have to read them critically though. Some of them you have to just ignore (generally the extreme positive and the extreme negative ones). But, the information is there in the 2-4 star reviews if you look for it. Look for comments that show up repeatedly. Look for replies by the dealership....what did they say, how did they say it, etc. You can get a feel for what kind of operation they are, but you have to read between the lines. Salespeople are good at showing you what you want to see so this "after the sale" information is helpful. One caveat....there have to be enough reviews. If there are only a handful, there's not much that can be interpreted from that. The significance of the difference between a 3.7 star review and a 4.7 is zilch if it's based on (10) reviews. If it's (100)....that might mean something.

Obviously this is for the analytical crowd (like me), which the OP might be. I get the handshake and eye contact aspect and agree that's more important...but the reviews CAN be useful.

A quick simple example....I'm shopping for tractors now and narrowed it down to a couple so I started looking harder at the dealer. Checked the Google reviews and one of the dealers was slightly lower in rating (not enough to matter, but it got me looking). What I quickly found out was that most (if not all) of the negative reviews were for their landscape business. My point....you can't stop at the number.

Best of luck in your search!

 

[5030]

They are ALL good until they break or need service you cannot do. That is when the dealer becomes an important player in the equation.

 

[3gunr]

I am amazed at how many tractor dealers i have called with questions or have been to in person who know nothing about what they are selling or dont even want to bother helping you. And i have purchased tractors at some of these places,