Dealer Dealer's stance on tractors not bought locally?

   / Dealer's stance on tractors not bought locally? #1  

MDM

Platinum Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2005
Messages
780
Location
East Ohio
Tractor
Kubota L2800HST
Hi,

Generally, what are dealers stance on servicing tractors that were not purchased from them. I have a local Kubota dealer that is not very responsive to negotiating his price. I'm just wondering what would happen if I bought out of state and then took the tractor to him for warranty work and servicing. I was leaning towards a TC30, but I am now looking hard at a L2800 HST or L3400 DT.

Thanks.
 
   / Dealer's stance on tractors not bought locally? #2  
This has been discussed in depth many times. There seems to be no real answer. From my readings it appears most dealers do not want to work on tractors they did not sell but that is not always true. I my case there is only one Kubota dealer for the whole state so it does not matter.
 
   / Dealer's stance on tractors not bought locally? #3  
MDM said:
Hi,

Generally, what are dealers stance on servicing tractors that were not purchased from them. I have a local Kubota dealer that is not very responsive to negotiating his price. I'm just wondering what would happen if I bought out of state and then took the tractor to him for warranty work and servicing. I was leaning towards a TC30, but I am now looking hard at a L2800 HST or L3400 DT.

Thanks.

I think most of the larger manufacturers require dealers to perform the warrany work, but it's totally up to them if they want to do service work. Also with the warranty work, keep in mind that the "far corner" of the lot might be a long distance away from the shop and they'll get around to it when they can :D
 
   / Dealer's stance on tractors not bought locally? #4  
I have found no issues at all. I purchased a tractor while living in one part of CT, moved across the state, and simply found another Kubota dealer for service, they have been terrific. They even waived pick up/drop off for my first service.

In fact, I have had a couple emergencies, broken shear bolt and the like, and a Case dealer much closer to me than the Kubota dealer has given me nuts, bolts, fluids, and let me borrow tools, and has never charged me, the entire time knowing that I have a Kubota.

So I think that a good dealer/person will be happy to help you out no matter where you purchased the tractor. Afterall, service dollars are service dollars to them. And if they act different there are plenty of others around here anyway.
 
   / Dealer's stance on tractors not bought locally? #5  
Well, there are really two types of dealer interaction after you have your tractor. First, either you initially went to the dealer, asked for a quote on a specific tractor (probably haggled with them) and then went and purchased it somewhere else and now want them to service it.

vs.

You show up at a Kubota dealership with a tractor. They have never seen you before and you tell them that you just moved here and would like your tractor serviced.

It seems like they are going to be more willing to help out with the 2nd scenario? I guess I would just tell the dealer while negotiating with them that you might have to go elsewhere and that you hope there are no hard feelings and that you would like to be able to bring it to them for warranty work.....if they aren't professional enough to do that then you probably made a good choice going elsewhere anyway....
 
   / Dealer's stance on tractors not bought locally? #6  
i talked to my local dealer in great detail. i was shopping for a b7510/7610hst with kubota fel.
i found a 2005 b7510hst/loaded r4's/la302 fel/bush hog squeeler with 37 hours on it for a few thousand less than the new one. i bought it and drove several hours to pick it up. i arrived and it literally looked new. i took a day off with pay, used about $250 in diesel fuel, traveled on my birthday (#38)and enjoyed the trip.

i stopped in the dealer with my hat in my hand. i spoke to the salesman/owner and told him what i had done. he told me i had gotten an exceptional deal and that he would have bought it too. i am sure he is aware that i will need items to hook to it, parts and service. i will be happy to give them the business. the salesman is likely expecting my tractor in trade sooner or later. they told me they would be happy to service it if needed.

35 minutes away, close to a good bbq place (i like that too), there is another kubota dealer that would be happy to get my business.



i was shopping another high dollar item recently. the salesman told (rather rudely) me he would not meet a price from 100 miles away. he said he would not go below a set margin. i picked up the phone, called the other dealer, told them to have it ready asap and turned to the other salesman and asked him "how many margin dollars in a no sale?" the look on his face was priceless. i walked out and he called the next day to "try and work things out." i told him we already had.

it is my money. everytime there is an option i will spend as little of it as possible to get what i want.

as a footnote- there seem to be very few problems with kubotas. the kubota corp will work to help you resolve any issues (like refusing to service). i found them very helpful in warranty x-fer and confirmation of loan satisfaction. i would not think twice about buying at the best price. i have made it known in other threads.

regardless of what brand- hurry up and get it. you will love it.
 
   / Dealer's stance on tractors not bought locally? #7  
DVR said:
...and turned to the other salesman and asked him "how many margin dollars in a no sale
Great respons! :D
 
   / Dealer's stance on tractors not bought locally? #8  
I am a multiple line dealer (JD, Kubota, New Holland Construction, Toro, Takeuchi, Clark, Daewoo, Mitsubishi, and several others) and this does happen where we loose a sale to an out of area dealership.

We are glad to take in any tractor regardless of where purchased simply because it is a chance to make another sale in the future and to make money off that individual in service or parts where we did not get to on the sale end.

Now if a guy that bought his tractor from another dealer brings his in for work and one of my good customers that drops 100k+ a year on equipment comes in two days later guess who gets worked on first. You got it...my customer goes to the front of the line. There is something to be said for keeping your money local. If you squabble and buy elsewhere because of a few hundred bucks expect to be handled but do not necessarily expect to be handled first.

Now if the dealers are say thousands of dollars apart there has to be a reason..harvest return, demo unit, old stock or more than likely equiped different hence the different price. If they are equiped exaclty the same well to bad for the local dealer but they should take in your equipment for service regardless.

Mark
 

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