Bear . . . sounds like a fair price from the local guy, not the greatest, and there may be some room for them to come down. The nice thing about buying local is service.
You might want to also try Tarheel Tractor, they support this website and one of their guys used to work for Corriher. After getting prices from Tarheel, you will have 3 bids and you could go back to your local guy and let him know if he is a bit high to see if he is willing to deal down some.
Remember with Corrihers you have to add shipping, that will run you an additional $500 or $600 on top of their price (ditto Tarheel Tractor). After assuming the addition of shipping, Corriher is about $100 more expensive, but the extra $100, gets you a rotary cutter. You'd also get what is probably a lighter duty front end loader. I don't know for sure if it is lighter duty, but Corrihers typically offers factory loaders for a few hundred $$$ more than an aftermarket loader.
They are a good company to deal with, but your local company will still provide the service -- but you might not be at the top of their priority list if there is a problem. I've bought some implements from Corriher and am very pleased.
I've never bought from Tarheel, but I did talk to them about buying a tiller, they actually recommended I buy a different brand based on my needs . . . you have to respect that level of honesty.
