FarmTrac Troubles
- Thread starter gamble77
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tommybr said:
I am a Farntrac owner that has been caught up in this mess also. tommybr is absolutely correct with his comment. It really grinds me that the management at Farmtrac took an attractively priced high quality product and destroyed it thru ineptness, stupidity, etc. I am sure the upper managers in this mess will not be impacted in the least. Do you think they will loose any money on this, I doubt it. Probably will get a promotion out of it!!!
rascoil
Bronze Member
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All I can say about this company is that even a Vulture lets its meal die before eating it. That is about all I have left to say about Mr. Pack. I feel he is the first of many to come. But with the relations with Gherkin sorta sours that for me. Plus the relationship with Gherkin with a auction company he owns part of is a little conflictive to me. Right is right and wrong is wrong.
All we need is some Justice
I have been following this thread because Farmtrac"was"on my short list for when I can buy a new tractor. Read this article in The Daily Southerner and it seems to paint a some what different picture on the issue of warranties. Maybe I'm just confused.
SESS
Gold Member
Don't be confused-we dealers and current owners are already there! Very brief summary: Farmtrac closed doors 1/18/08 to regroup and "temporarily" laid off 180+ people, was put into receivorship by the court because of millions of dollars of debt out the wazoo, partially reopened to assemble what unassembled tractors (900+) were up there, get rid of parts that are held up there, clean up the place for an auction (which the auction company is co-owned by the new Farmtrac CEO and asst receivor) that is scheduled to be held on 4/25-supposedly not for any of the NEW tractors, just all the other "stuff" they have, all in the meantime while customers are without complete warranty service, dealers have no "real" way to sell the tractors on their lot because there is no financing AND no warranty for the tractors and they are spending thousands of dollars each month for interest to Textron that Farmtrac told them that they would "never" have to pay for. I think that is basically it in a nut shell-fellow readers, did I miss anything!
PS: I hope sarcasim doesn't appear in this note, because its not sarcasim, its anger. You honestly are missing out on a good tractor, but I can't blame you one bit for walking away from the brand. Maybe one day a good name can return for the blue tractors.
PS: I hope sarcasim doesn't appear in this note, because its not sarcasim, its anger. You honestly are missing out on a good tractor, but I can't blame you one bit for walking away from the brand. Maybe one day a good name can return for the blue tractors.
Thanks SESS! I really can't blame you dealers for being angry. Feel real bad for you guys. Whether it was bad management or greed or both, you're the guys holding the short end!
I checked out a 270 last fall and was very impressed with, but when I shell out my money for a new tractor, I will want a warranty.
I checked out a 270 last fall and was very impressed with, but when I shell out my money for a new tractor, I will want a warranty.
Tim D
Bronze Member
WOW. I have not read this thread for two days. A lot of reading and a lot of information. I am a proud satisfied owner of a Farmtrac and are even more proud of you guys that are keeping the rest of us informed. Keep up the good work and I keep hoping one day soon that the good news we have been waiting for is posted.
Brentwood Power Equipment
New member
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Hey,B.S. from Textron, are you following this? Give us your words of wisdom.
longtrman
Can you tell us what deal LewPack has to offer? How much the commision is and where the tractors are to be sent for loading on the boat? Thanks
Sorry I was out for a while. I will try to respond the best I can on my deal with LewPak. I know they are also on the site so they may answer also or lay low until the dust settles. I as did many of you, called to see if I could buy a tractor and catch them selling in the USA. They seemed honest so I stayed in contact over the last week. I stated earlier that I think they were trying to make an honest dollar but may also have been led astray by nameless big corporations. After the web site blew up I asked if they could work with the dealers. They showed interest. We then agreed on a price I would be willing to take for the tractors(someone has to be the guinea pig). They agreed that they would put a fair commission on it for their time and try to move the tractors. Each deal my differ but I think something in the 3-5% range is fair. He stated they would take care of all logistics. I believe they know this business better then we do. Please Email them for specifics. I feel this avenue is the best because it does not steal market share from the other CUT companies or dump a two year supply on the USA market. I am willing to try this rather than leave my future up to the people who have been knocking us around lately. I hope I have given everyone a basic guideline to work with them. Please keep in mind to cover your own tracks with this. Never ship anything or release it until the wire transfer hits your bank, pay Textron to keep them off of your hide, and give a price to LewPak you can afford. This is only a suggestion. I am going this route to see what happens, if it does not go well I will be the first to eat my blue farmtracs.
Case
Can you tell us what deal LewPack has to offer? How much the commision is and where the tractors are to be sent for loading on the boat? Thanks
Sorry I was out for a while. I will try to respond the best I can on my deal with LewPak. I know they are also on the site so they may answer also or lay low until the dust settles. I as did many of you, called to see if I could buy a tractor and catch them selling in the USA. They seemed honest so I stayed in contact over the last week. I stated earlier that I think they were trying to make an honest dollar but may also have been led astray by nameless big corporations. After the web site blew up I asked if they could work with the dealers. They showed interest. We then agreed on a price I would be willing to take for the tractors(someone has to be the guinea pig). They agreed that they would put a fair commission on it for their time and try to move the tractors. Each deal my differ but I think something in the 3-5% range is fair. He stated they would take care of all logistics. I believe they know this business better then we do. Please Email them for specifics. I feel this avenue is the best because it does not steal market share from the other CUT companies or dump a two year supply on the USA market. I am willing to try this rather than leave my future up to the people who have been knocking us around lately. I hope I have given everyone a basic guideline to work with them. Please keep in mind to cover your own tracks with this. Never ship anything or release it until the wire transfer hits your bank, pay Textron to keep them off of your hide, and give a price to LewPak you can afford. This is only a suggestion. I am going this route to see what happens, if it does not go well I will be the first to eat my blue farmtracs.
Case
If a $15,000 Farmtrac sold in India for export to the U.S. in Oct 2005 @60 Rupees per dollar that would have been 900,000 rupees.
If a $15,000 Farmtrac sold in the U.S. in Jan 2008 for export to India that would be 600,000 rupees.(@40 rupees per dollar)
If India had 10% inflation in those two years the an Indian farmer would pay an Indian tractor dealer 990,000 rupees for the $15,000 Farmtrac in Jan 2008
And that is why, now that Escorts is out of the U.S. Market, it will stay out of the U.S market.
These exchange rates are foun by putting "value of Ruppee 2005" into a search engine. These calculations are for amusement only and not intended as sound financial advise. For expert financial advice consult Bear-Stearns (ha,ha).
If a $15,000 Farmtrac sold in the U.S. in Jan 2008 for export to India that would be 600,000 rupees.(@40 rupees per dollar)
If India had 10% inflation in those two years the an Indian farmer would pay an Indian tractor dealer 990,000 rupees for the $15,000 Farmtrac in Jan 2008
And that is why, now that Escorts is out of the U.S. Market, it will stay out of the U.S market.
These exchange rates are foun by putting "value of Ruppee 2005" into a search engine. These calculations are for amusement only and not intended as sound financial advise. For expert financial advice consult Bear-Stearns (ha,ha).
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rascoil
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Brentwood Power Equipment said:
Yea that is the good fellow that said I would get a motor and then after finding out I paid cash for my tractor said no about 40 times in 30 seconds. But I guess his bosses boss felt different.
rascoil
Bronze Member
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- 62
OH yea, The Daily Southerner wants to talk to Mr. Gherkin about his auction conflict of interest. This should make for a good read in a day or two. According to the email I got tonight.
According to the email I got tonight. Thanks Case, hope your deal works out well. I feel the time to sit and wonder who did what is gone. Now is the time to try and find a way out of this mess preferrably all together but if necessary one by one. Yours is the only idea so far offered to try to move on. See my post on the rupee / dollar exchange rates I have found on the net. It might help. It might be to make things happen we have to collect tractors from several dealerships to get the freight manageable. I think the other fellows on this thread are working very hard to keep us from being had by the wolves but yours is I think the first attempt at a way forward. Farmers think that a used tractor at $10,000 is a safer bet than an unused tractor at $10,000 with no warranty. Strange!
Can anyone help me with this? Every other brand that I have sold over the years has done things different than Farmtrac. When faced with a slow down companies discount tractors to the dealers, raising DSA's or upping incentives until inventory is back in check. Kubota just did this and were killing us. Case did this along with several others over the years. Has anyone in their years witnessed a company leaving so much inventory everywhere. I don't see the economic sense in this. Why not drop prices short term and move dated inventory. There is only one other company that I know of, that did this, they took down dealers to. It was owned by the namelessXXXXXXX I better stop, I don't want to be in court with Tim C for slander. Ha Ha
Case
Case
That ain't funny................................
But again, I have to warn all that this is a public site.
No hail here last night. Fried a computer. Worst electric storm I have seen in a while. Concussions shook the whole building.
Looks like crop planting will be a little late around here.
Tim
But again, I have to warn all that this is a public site.
No hail here last night. Fried a computer. Worst electric storm I have seen in a while. Concussions shook the whole building.
Looks like crop planting will be a little late around here.
Tim
sseelhoff
Veteran Member
taxpayer said:I am still waiting for someone to comment. I hope i am not imagining things.
Still looking. Here is a link to the Mississippi Secretary of State's file on Farmtrac. Not much to see, but does confirm that they have registered as a foreign corporation in that state.
https://secure.sos.state.ms.us/buss...pNameSearch&Words=Starting&SearchStr=Farmtrac
Tim C. said:That ain't funny................................
But again, I have to warn all that this is a public site.
No hail here last night. Fried a computer. Worst electric storm I have seen in a while. Concussions shook the whole building.
Looks like crop planting will be a little late around here.
Tim
Tim sorry to hear about your computer. I was on line when the storm hit and one tremendous thunder bolt caused a snap in the computer like a 22 shell but so far I'm still using that computer.
Has anyone heard anything fro Textron yet?
case1570 said:
Tim and I can remember the Long "one day sales" of the Jimmy Carter era when a 460 Long sold for $6750 and a 5040 sold for $14500. For people who aren't acquainted with those older tractors they are the same tractor made in the same plant by the same people except the 5040 has the sheet metal for an earlier Long 445. Come to thing of it the distributor of the 5040 gave up before Long. So your idea of cutting prices and moving the troublesome inventory might have been a good one. The trouble for FARMTRAC was the change in the dollar rupee ratio. But they could have gotten rid of some of the problem. By my calculations a Farmtrac on the last boatload which could hav sold for $15000 would now sell for $22500. I don't think many of my customers would go for a new tractor at $22500 when their neighbor had just bought one at a steep discount from $15000. So we would have gotten righ back into trouble.
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SESS
Gold Member
Country Boys Auction & Realty now a more detailed listing of the items that will be sold at auction. I want the hayspears! Wish they could give the dealers first choice on some of this stuff before auction day!
