Local Tractor Dealer Recently Dropped Yanmar..

[treedawg]

Local Tractor Dealer Recently Dropped Yanmar.

Is anyone else seeing this where they live?

I own an old Yanmar which I love but always thought the brand to be a rather small niche market.

I had a feeling this was going to happen after I stopped by my local dealer and looked at new Yanmar tractors. I was more than a little surprised when I learned they were higher than similarly equipped but much better known brands like Deere and Kubota. You can put forth an argument that they are better than Deere or Kubota but that matters little if nobody is willing to buy them.

I'm not a marketing expert by any means but it seems Yanmar failed to think through their entry/reentry in the US market.

Not a Mahindra fan but they literally flooded the market with tractors priced well below comparable Deere, Kubota ETC when they entered the US years ago. Mahindra is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

td

 

[CalG]

J-D recently dropped the local dealer. 'been at it over 50 years. The rumor was the "facility" wasn't modern enough. Now, there are no J-D dealers near by. Go figure how that works.

 

[treedawg]

That's not quite the same as the dealer dropping Deere.
GM did what you describe at the local long time Chevrolet dealership. It was an extremely old facility and GM told the owner which upgrades he needed and he refused. GM revoked his franchise and he reopened selling used cars then later shut down completely. This according to someone I knew that used to work there.

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[ultrarunner]

I'm seeing a general shake out in various lines of business...

My Insurance Broker of 35 years called to say he is closing... I asked who is taking over the business and he said Farmers will no longer allow that location to be open... business will be sent to others... but that location will be no more.

Finding lots of dependable long established businesses no longer meet what the newly minted MBA think of a business... personal service and all that with a home number on their business cards...

Broker had 44 good years and excellent loss ratio...

Another is a small two store Men and Boy Wear going back to the 1930's... always sold Levi... well they were dropped because Levi is shedding the small independents... the one line that has been dependable is Pendleton... where I guess business relationships mean something.

Have a friend with a GMC dealership... it is small and neat... he was afraid it would be pulled but there is nothing nearby so he got a reprieve... asked GM did it really want to alienate all the farmers and GM customers?

 

[treedawg]

I've been small business owner going on 25 years so I know it can be a challenge.

I deal with suppliers on a daily basis and the big box stores always get their merchandise before the mom and pop shops.

I wish every business could succeed but that's not possible.

td

 

[treedawg]

I've been small business owner going on 25 years so I know it can be a challenge.

I wish every business could succeed but that's not possible.

td

 

[foggy1111]

Seems its all "go big....or go home" mentality any longer. Most have multiple locations if they are to survive in the auto or farm equipment biz. Same goes for Farms, gas stations, drug stores, super markets, and so much more. The scale it takes to operate these days is beyond the small biz operator in many cases. Used to be a small entrenpenuer could operate a shoe store, gas station, or a clothing store, yadda yadda. Small towns were full of small time operators. Pretty hard to do these days.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yep... it is downright difficult today to be a small business in many cases...

The days of the sole medical doctor are just about over... so many compliance issues with little differentiation between a single doc with an office or a medical group... tremendous regulatory burden.

Many small Insurance Companies are feeling the heat here in California... they are unable to write Fire Insurance...

But the big guys like going through Costco Insurance have not been affected...

 

[treedawg]

Thankfully I'm getting close to retirement age but the days of small local owned business are numbered for the most part. I deal with suppliers on a daily basis and I can assure you big box store's orders are filled before small business. They also get a better price from suppliers/wholesalers so it's a double whammy.

Amazon and online shopping is another big nail in small business' coffin. Sure you can save a few dollars shopping online but when all of the local businesses close where will anyone work? People have to have somewhere to work and everybody can't work for Amazon ETC. Small town America is dying especially in rural areas and it's getting swallowed up by urban sprawl in large metropolitan areas.

td

 

[sloeffle]

I had a feeling this was going to happen after I stopped by my local dealer and looked at new Yanmar tractors. I was more than a little surprised when I learned they were higher than similarly equipped but much better known brands like Deere and Kubota. You can put forth an argument that they are better than Deere or Kubota but that matters little if nobody is willing to buy them.

Back on topic

I bought my Yanmar YT347 for 7K less than a Deere 4004R ( less HP BTW ) and about 4K less than a stripped down Kubota MX series. Deere was trying to sell me a 4044M for the same price I bought my YT347 for. The YT is a head and shoulders better machine than the 4044M. My dealer also threw in a 3rd function valve and some other goodies into the deal too.

I looked at Mahindra too but was turned off when I saw little puddles of oil below multiple tractors at a farm show I attended.