Price Check Pricing a Gator XUV - ouch!

RedHawkRidge · Jan 31, 2009

Just got a quote from my dealer on a 850 diesel. Also got an unpleasant look at John Deere's laughable "nick-you-til-it-hurts" pricing strategy.
1. If you go the JD website and use the "Build it yourself" configurator, the price comes up $11,339. No mention of the recent $500 cut. No mention of any other add-on's. It just tells you to submit for a quote from a dealer.
2. Dealer says JD charges a shipping fee that is added to the price (didn't get what that is). If a dealer is big enough, JD may not charge that.
3. Dealer says JD no longer ships units that must be prepped at the dealer; instead JD charges a roll-on/roll-off fee of $300 which of course is passed along to the buyer.
4. Dealer says JD reduced the profit on all Residual division products down to 6-7%, which makes a dealer discount almost impossible.

Would appreciate comments from anyone else looking at Gators -- is this what you're hearing?

gerard · Jan 31, 2009

Have you looked at the japanese mini trucks yet? I have a 6 wheel polaris ranger and when that goes I'm going to looking at one of the mini trucks. For less than a gator you can get a full cab, ac, diesel, 4wd, and a dump bed that also opens to a flatbed. About the same size but built as a road vehicle. Do a google. There are more and mroe dealers for them and they're worth taking a look at. Also a couple of pretty good videos on youtube if you want to see some in action.

RollTideRam · Jan 31, 2009

Try another dealer. Aren't these things made in Wisconsin? JC

Silk Hope Soldier · Feb 1, 2009

I bought the limited edition camo diesel with just about every option available--and it cost me over 17,000.00.

Sure, I had buyer's remorse, but I've got to tell you, I'm lovin' it!

Point is, it's the options that add up!

jcmseven · Feb 1, 2009

I would definitely get some alternative pricing. I did a lot better than that on my XUV (a bit over one year ago) and it has everything imaginable on it, even some things not offered by JDC.

John M

Nuru · Feb 1, 2009

At one time i considered getting a JD XUV or the Polaris, it was a tough decision between the two, but I eventually like the polaris better for the cost. The JD was good too, but the polaris was a bit better for me. Price was a big issue too, the polaris was cheaper.

If you are going JD, then get some pricing from multiple dealers and that can bring the price down of your local dealer substantially. Also try for used units.

http://www.tractorhouse.com/listing...eywords=&txtStates=&LS=&SO=2&btnSearch=Search

nmu98 · Feb 1, 2009

I seen my dealer last night and asked him about this post. He stated that most things have seen a 5-7% increase, but did not seem to agree witht he rest of the original post.

He stated to me that he can ussually end up about 6-10 percent off the JD Online Build cost, out the door.

On my last tractor he was more like 15%..... So they might not have as much room on Gators as they do tractors....

jcmseven · Feb 1, 2009

I do know the margins are tighter on the Gators, but I am not sure by how much. Based on my research, an average price reduction on these machines is about 10% +/- 2 ish points. If one gets a better percentage discount than this, he/she is doing pretty well. Attachments and accessories will kill you though, as they are not marked up by much and can really add to the non-negotiable part of the price. For example, if someone orders an 850D Gator, the discount might be 10% but add in $2000 in add-on's at 3-5% off (if that) and it can really affect the bottom line of the Gator price. One has to keep this in mind when pricing out those gotta-have items.

John M

RedHawkRidge · Feb 2, 2009

Thanks for the several comments. I will contact a couple of other places. However, it's getting harder to get competing quotes. The dealership trend around these parts (Wis) is that a few bigger dealers have been buying up other dealers, so I am finding the same "deal" wherever I go, at least within 50 miles. The place I've spent most of my green on green (sorry) is now part of a 4 store chain. The next closest has 5 stores.

jim