Feeling bad for my local dealer

[Willman]

Got a letter the other day from my dealer.
Apparently Mahindra pulled his dealership he had for the last four or five years.
It seems the reason is that his sales in our county wasn't up to par with the local big green dealer and others dealers.
He will continue to do non warranty work and stock parts.

 

[mikeinvt]

That is very sad to hear. Where is the next closest dealer to you if you need warranty service done? My guess is he was probably charging either list price, or close to list prices without budging much. That probably led the potential buyers to the "big name" brands for just a couple grand more, instead of the Mahindra which is quickly moving up in rank. Just my thought on it, he is the only one with the real story behind it all!

 

[Willman]

He was only about 8 miles from me.
Next closest dealer is 35 miles, next is 55 miles and 3rd next is 75 miles.

 

[DavesTractor]

As Mahindra gets stronger, so must it's dealers. I don't know your dealer's situation, but Mahindra expects to see some market share and a dealer that is at least working towards a top notch dealership. One of the best things about a Kubota or John Deere isn't necessarily the tractor...it is the dealer network. Mahindra is aware of this and needs to strive for strength in this area as well. That is just my guess of what is happening.

 

[Dougster]

As Mahindra gets stronger, so must it's dealers. I don't know your dealer's situation, but Mahindra expects to see some market share and a dealer that is at least working towards a top notch dealership. One of the best things about a Kubota or John Deere isn't necessarily the tractor...it is the dealer network. Mahindra is aware of this and needs to strive for strength in this area as well. That is just my guess of what is happening.

Exactly right! I'm guessing this was all about building dealer network strength and, sadly, maybe your most local dealer just didn't fit into the broader plan for a strong, fully competitive, strategically spaced dealer network. In my view, Mahindra could absolutely blow away the competition anywhere it wanted to. But it does need top-shelf dealerships that are willing to spend the money for stock, advertising and infrastructure if it is going to grow at a healthy pace.

Mahindra must continue to build its image as the sturdy, intelligent, economical alternative to other quality image brands like JD, M-F, Kubota and even Kioti. In my view, as more JD stuff comes in from China, people are going to be looking even more for alternatives that make good sense.

I'd say you are still lucky to have so many Mahindra dealers remaining in your area. I hope this makes the remaining ones stronger. It keeps resale values higher too. I have to travel nearly 75 miles, but given what you get for the money, I still think it's worth it.

Dougster

 

[tydp]

One of the best things about a Kubota or John Deere isn't necessarily the tractor...it is the dealer network. Mahindra is aware of this and needs to strive for strength in this area as well.

As someone that uses and owns a "brand" tractor, I am a little offended by this, but we don't want to get a brand war going here, nor do I think you at all mean to be offensive.

This statement is exactly what one might expect from an "off-brand" dealer.

It is necessarily THE tractor.

 

[ducati996]

Mahindra is not in any position to be selective - and they certainly are not in a position to take any significant market share away from the others. Its the bad corporate decisions that backfire on the product - the product speaks volumes by itself, but can be handicapped and stiffled from growth based on bad corporate decisions. As a rule of thumb, you dont apply a policy that will work for the larger mfg's and expect it to work for you when you are not in the same position. Again this isnt a negative about the product but the corporate marketing decisions. Of course there are exceptions; if the dealer is breaking the law ( financing scandals, etc) or a horrible job for the brand as a whole.

 

[Dougster]

Mahindra is not in any position to be selective - and they certainly are not in a position to take any significant market share away from the others.

As a person who researched and shopped around a lot before buying, I certainly agree with your second point. There is a tremendous amount of image seeking (think: Kubota) and intense brand loyalty out there (think: JD). But I have to disagree with your first point. Mahindra *STILL* has to be very selective about their dealerships if they are ever going to become a top-level player in this increasingly competitive business. I was totally impressed by most of the Kubota and JD dealerships I visited. Sadly, I cannot say the same about the Mahindra dealerships. Very, very nice people... but not the sort of infrastructure/investment that convinced me they would be there tomorrow.

In spite of this, I did end up buying a Mahindra, albeit a slightly used one... buying used only because my budget turned out to be insufficient for any new machine of the size I wanted other than perhaps some sort of generic Chinese crap.

Dougster

 

[Dougster]

As someone that uses and owns a "brand" tractor, I am a little offended by this, but we don't want to get a brand war going here, nor do I think you at all mean to be offensive. This statement is exactly what one might expect from an "off-brand" dealer. It is necessarily THE tractor.

Ouch!!!

And here I thought I owned a brand name tractor.

You just ruined my whole weekend.

Dougster

 

[ducati996]

As a person who researched and shopped around a lot before buying, I certainly agree with your second point. There is a tremendous amount of image seeking (think: Kubota) and intense brand loyalty out there (think: JD). But I have to disagree with your first point. Mahindra *STILL* has to be very selective about their dealerships if they are ever going to become a top-level player in this increasingly competitive business.

It didnt happen overnight for Kubota and Deere either. They had a lot of dealers, and decided to scale back because they now have the name brand.
It takes a long time getting your name out there and then be able to afford to be selective. IMHO Mahindra is not there yet....