Cost VS cumfort

   / Cost VS cumfort #1  

Mr_Teci

New member
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Messages
6
Location
North Carolina
In doing my homework on CUTs I found this terrific site. It didn’t take me long to realize that the dealer is more important than the brand, when looking at the top brands. This got me wondering “how much of a premium should I pay for the dealer I like?”. Can you put a price on “customer service”. If I am more comfortable with dealer A, but dealer B will save me money, at what point should I ignore the comfort factor and go for price? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
   / Cost VS cumfort #2  
The answer I think would be first of all in how much difference is there in the service and your feeling of comfort with both of these dealers. The distance each dealer is from where you live is important also.

Does dealer A have larger inventories of equipment and parts maybe a larger service staff than dealer B? Will you be buying other attachments in the future?

A good dealer one that will work with you and for you when you need it is a very nice thing to have, but owning the tractor you want is also very important. However, if the amount of money you will save by buying from dealer B allows you to get the next size up tractor or more gadgets then you have to weigh that out too.

The different dealers are both selling a quality product, I would assume being they carry the major brands, so the difference is either in the ability to service what they sell or the attitude of the people running the dealership. Only you know the answer to that.

Good luck, and whatever tractor you purchase you will enjoy what it can do for you.

Randy
 
   / Cost VS cumfort #3  
What do you mean by 'comfortable'?

In most cases when people mention the 'the dealer is more important' there are objective criteria for evaluating the dealer that make you 'feel comfortable'.

There's no way to put a dollar figure, either a percentage or in absolute numbers, on the dealer. It will be different for everyone since a person's tolerance for a poor dealer is usually inversely proportional to their skill in servicing your own tractor. In other words, if you are mechanically inclined and will, by and large, treat the dealer like a parts store, how 'comfortable' you are with them is almost irrelevant. Some dealers even allow you to order parts online, so you don't even have to enter the store after the purchase.

Listed below are some objective criteria to evaluate your dealer...

When you're at the dealer;

Check out the service area. Is it clean? Are the mechanics working? Does it look professional? Or are people standing about drinking coffee and talking? Do the mechanics wear uniforms or are they dressed in jeans and T shirts? See any trucks and trailers owned by the dealer indicating they do pick up and delivery? How many of them are there? Big enough to handle your size tractor?

Check out the showroom/sales area. Clean and neat or a pig sty? Some manufacturers have dealer awards for sales and/or service. See any hanging on the wall? Are there empty desks in the sales area? If so, why are people leaving? Do they sell attachments? If so, are they major brand name attachments or no name ones? Some major brands have dealer requirements such as stocking a certain number of models and parts to fix them. If (fill in the blank of a major vendor) is willing to trust these guys, they are probably OK.

Does the place look busy? Not so busy that you're ignored, but busy enough to know that other people trust and like the place.

Walk around the outside. Is there used equipment for sale indicating recent trade ins? Is there a good selection of new tractors and attachments? Are some of the new tractors equipped with a FEL so you can see how they look and try them out? Do some of the tractors have attachments on the three point hitch so you can try them out as well? Is there a paved, grass and dirt area for you to test drive the tractor? Will they loan you a tractor to try out on your property?

Check out the Parts Department. Lots of shelves of parts behind the counter? If not, you may be waiting if you need one. Check the shelves on your side of the counter. Are there any? Bolts, nuts, paint, oil, pins, i.e., the odds and ends and consumables a tractor needs.

Does the dealer sell other things, e.g., Ag tractors or other large farming equipment, lawn and garden tractors, chain saws, string trimmers, things that indicate the dealer is a thriving business. This can also be a problem, i.e., the dealer is a jack of all trades and a master of none or that they concentrate on their large farmer customer base to the detriment of their other customers.

Does the dealer have separate departments for each line (Large Ag, Compact, Lawn and Garden) of equipment they sell and service with separate service trucks?

Check out their web site, assuming they have one. Professional looking or are the Copyright dates still 2003? Send them an email via their web site. Get a response?

Call them on the phone. Get a cheerful receptionist or Bubba back in the garage. Or do you descend into a phone system never to emerge? How many times does the phone ring? Do they have toll free numbers?

Do they take credit cards? Do they offer local bank financing?

None of these things are fool proof. Mechanics can wear uniforms and still be incompetent. People can be friendly and still give you a raw deal. Just some things to think about as you visit each dealer. All of these things help you form an overall opinion of the dealer and what kind of support he will provide.
 
   / Cost VS cumfort #4  
I bought a new 21HP Kubota B7510HST with LA302 FEL last May from the local dealer.

When I'm buying new vehicles, what I'm looking for is a dealer who will deal. Couldn't get the NH or the JD dealer to deal. Same for the Mahindra guy. So I went with the big guy who has 60% of the CUT market, figuring that would help at trade-in time.

As far as dealer service, I take care of the scheduled maintenance. No problem. At that level, tractors are pretty simple machines and easy to service.

I figure I'll put about 100 hrs/year on the tractor and keep it for 3-4 years before trading up, probably, for more horsepower. Diesels are supposed to be very trouble free (thousands of hours of life before major repairs) so I don't think I'm rolling the dice here on dealer service.

Of course, you can always break the tractor by overstressing it. However, I tend to baby my expensive tools so I'm not expecting to cause a costly repair by doing something stupid.

And there are other places to get tractors repaired besides the dealer after the warranties expire. The local equipment rental guy near my place can service almost any brand of tractor at pretty reasonable price. Same for the diesel shops around I5 near my place that service the truckers. And the local ag cooperative has a bunch of tractors/implements in their fleet that they service and repair, including Kubotas. In a pinch, you can get them to do a repair.
 
   / Cost VS cumfort #5  
I tend to disagree that the dealer is the most important thing, you are buying a tractor not a dealer. Maybe it is my dislike of salesmen in general. Don't get me wrong, a bad dealer is a problem and not desirable but all the rest are lumped together as "adequate". I suppose there are those that could be considered excellent but they are few and far between and one of the things making them excellent are super low prices.

The added premium for a good dealer is quite low, maybe a few hundred bucks. I will reward the good dealer with a purchase that saves me money and makes him some. When I bought my Kioti I actually chose a dealer that cost me a few hundred more because of his business, location, friendliness, and low price. I thought that was a fair reward for the up front "comfort". After the sale, they can turn on you so you never really know.
 
   / Cost VS cumfort #6  
Where did I say that the dealer is the most important thing. What I said is that to me the DEAL is what's important.

I would have bought a JD, NH, or Mahindra IF these dealers would have be willing to deal. My benchmark for my tractor purchase was the Kubota B7510HST with LA302 FEL. If one of those Kubota competitors could have beat Kubota on price I would have bought his tractor.

As far as "good" and "bad" dealers are concerned, I don't worry much about that.

My tractor has a factory warranty and I can buy extended coverage when that runs out. I don't put many hours on the machine and I don't abuse it. So I don't expect to need major repairs before I trade it in.
 
   / Cost VS cumfort #7  
Lot's of people think that the dealer is the most important thing. I never quite understood that. I believe that a great deal on a great piece of equipment from a decent dealer is the goal.
 
   / Cost VS cumfort #8  
Amen to that.
 
   / Cost VS cumfort #9  
Every ones situation is different. I'm starting to think mine is the exception, rather than the rule. I've bought 4 new tractors in my life. (Not counting lawn tractors/mowers) The newest is 26 years old now. The dealers I deal with realize I MIGHT buy one more new model in my lifetime, but that's just a big MAYBE. I do however, buy parts, implements, and purchase "service" from them. I spend a fair amount of cash with several dealers. They know, and I constantly make it clear to them that I expect good treatment, but NOT preferential treatment from them, REGARDLESS of the fact that I haven't bought a tractor from ANY of the existing dealers. (All the dealers I've bought new from are retired/out of business/ changed hands)

I expect good service from ANYONE I spend money with, regardless of how much. I don't expect a dealer to kick a $50,000 customer out of his office to take my $100 purchase, but I still see my purchase as important to their bottom line. (How many $100 parts purchases do you think the average dealer make, compared to the number of $50,000 sales?)

This is where I differ from a large number of tractor buyers. In a great many cases, their first contact with ANY dealer is when they're making the biggest purchase that they'll ever make from that dealer. 99% of my purchases will be smaller, POSSIBLY leading up to a bigger one. I've already got BOTH feet well inside the door when the time comes to spend the big bucks.

So.... I wouldn't consider buying from what I consider a "bad dealer", no matter what the price, but will buy from whom ever gives the best buy out of those on my list of "good dealers".


Make sense?...... If so, explain to me what I just said, because I confused myself. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

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