Service after the sale

[banjobj]

I am to the point of getting my first REAL toy, I mean tractor. I have narrowed my choice down to 18 to 22 HP it will be either Blue, Green, Orange or Yellow/ White. There seem to be some very good prices from distant dealers. My question is if you buy from a far away dealer how easy is it to get warranty or other work done by local dealers? I suspect it may be a problem.

 

[Thomas]

banjobj,
Thats a loaded question,and by rights you shouldn't have to wait longer just because you bought from another dealer.

But I'm sure there some tractor also auto etc.. dealers that practice taking care of the regular costumers first no manner the issue at hand.

Maybe if you visit your local dearler and started dialog on the issue.

May you have a pleasant time purchasing your new tractor.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[redhawk]

Thomas, great answer! the worst that can happen during dialog is that someone says NO.

redhawk

 

[banjobj]

I didn't mean it to be a loaded question. It just seems that there might always be a little bad feelings in a situation like I stated.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

My guess is that the "worst that can happen" is that someone says YES (what do we really expect him to say?), when the answer is closer to "NO".

(If the question is " Say, Good Buddy, I'm gonna buy my tractor somewhere else, and deny you your idea of a fair profit, and then bring it to you for service. Will you take care of me in just the same way as your purchasing customers?)

If we don't trust him to be "fair" about his profit margins, why would we trust him to really mean "Yes!" to such a "Have you stopped beating your wife?" question?

If I were going to shop price, and make a purchase accordingly, I'd just DO it. And then bring my tractor in for needed service, with no up-front reference to where it was bought ( though I wouldn't hesitate to say, if asked ...and if the quotes were so different that I really had no sensible choice, maybe the dealer might give some thought to adjusting his price to better-meet the competition.)

I chose the route of getting (9 or 10) quotes from dealers that I might realistically travel to for a purchase, and then give my preferred ( closest) dealer a shot at it.

He didn't feel he could get closer than $500 to the lowest bidders, but all things considered, that was close enough for me.

I don't think my service-treatment will be hurt by the fact that I gave him a chance to keep my business, and that I was willing to pay a little more to stay with him all-the-way.

I did this in no-small-part because of the emphasis placed on the importance of a good dealer, by posters on Tractorbynet. My salesman has been EXCELLENT in working with me on some special details, and I have a friend who has bragged to me about the service dept. That's about all you can hope for, in my opinion. Anything less would add up to $500 worth of aggravation (or lots more) in a hurry! My chosen dealer...Fisher Implement, West Salem, Oregon / Salesman - Jeff Miller.

My reading of the original question mirrored one of my own..."How does the long-distance customer (of let's say "Carver") find his service needs being met, and what IS the real attitude of the servicing dealer?

Larry

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Sorry I didn't notice that this (general-if-there-ever-was-one, in my opinion) question was in the "orange" category.

My last post referred to a John Deere dealer!

Larry

 

[stubblefield]

I recently purchased a New Holland TC45D after serious negotiations with two New Holland dealers {John Deere and Kubota dealers were thousands of dollars higher for compatible tractors}. Both New Holland dealers told they had fantastic service departments and both also made it clear if I bought my tractor elsewhere they would give me fine service but their customers who had purchased tractors from them would be ahead of me in line for service. I would not be surprised if a Kubota dealer had a similar policy. I can not say I would blame them for having such a policy.

 

[WVBill]

I have heard from several sources, that Automobile dealers make way more money from their parts and service departments than they do from their sales departments. I wonder if this is true of tractor dealers?

The premise that a dealer would turn away (or discourage) warranty service from people who didn't buy their tractors from him/her seems to be based on the assumption that the dealer makes no or little money on warranty work. I wonder if this is true? Are dealers not compensated adequately by the manufacturer for warranty work?

In any case, why wouldn't a dealer want to provide the best possible warranty service to any customer (whether he/she bought the tractor there or not) in hopes of getting them as a return customer for their future out of warranty work?

I know that Carver's reads this board, and I hope other dealers do also. I'd be interested to hear from them on this issue.

WVBill

 

[M. Sullivan]

Basically comes down to the individual dealer; a top notch businessman will see any service work as an opportunity for future sales--if not, he's an idiot. Would fully expect though, that he will service his own sales first--imagine the buyer who found he was placed below an out of state buyer in the service line. Hence if you buy out state and need service locally, suggest you visit a couple and see there reaction when you explain where you bought it. Any reaction even slightly negative, and I'd walk. Found JD to be different though, most around me are simply arrogant as they have so much service business they could basically care less.....Hmmmm, speaks volumes about their quality imo.

Re. sales vs. service profits. True, most auto dealers make their $$ in the garage. Not sure on tractors in general, but discussions with Kubota shops suggest otherwise--they virtually never come back. Looks like JD is more like the auto shops--check out some parts prices and you will see it's a major profit center for them. Based on posts over the past couple years, I'd say a lot of JD dealers are making a fair buck on warranty work as well.

 

[banjobj]

Thanks to all who have responded. I am going to "buy local". I really think you need a good local dealer no matter which color you have. Also I guess, I posted in the wrong area, SORRY I'M new to this board.