BIG dealerships in the South

[Melensdad]

I come to South Georgia and Florida about 3 times a year, but it really struck me as I've been in the area this time that the tractor dealerships in Georgia and Florida are much bigger than the tractor dealerships in N.W. Indiana. I drove past several very large Kubota dealers, each must have had 40-to-50+ new tractors on the lot. I also saw about a dozen semi-trucks hauling M-Class Kubotas (typically 3 tractors per truck).

Back home a typical "big 3" dealer might have a dozen to 15 assorted tractors on the lot, a nice selection of implements, and probably a few RTVs and sell a 100 to 150 tractors a year; a large dealer might have 25 to 35 new tractors on the lot, probably sells twice as many as the typical major brand dealership? But the dealers at home a dwarfed by the dealers down here. Also seems like the dealers in Georgia/Florida also sell far more AG tractors while the dealers back home sell far more CUTs; at least based on the assortment of machines I see on the lots.

Back home the "minor brand" dealers have a handful to maybe a dozen tractors on the lot. The Montana dealer near me has had the same 5 tractors on his lot for 5 months. The Mahindra dealer typically has about the same number of tractors. The last time I passed the Kioti dealer he had nearly a dozen tractors (most were CK20s and CK30s)

What are the dealers like in your area?

 

[XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq]

The big three dealers seem to move a lot of inventory. In rhe outlying agricultural areas the dealers will easily have 40 tractors on their lots. The closer you get to the city the smaller the dealerships are. I suspect that if you are too far out in the sticks then the tractor dealerships will thin out a bit.

We have a lot of orchards, vineyards and tree nursery's in the areas outside of Portland so they can really move a lot of smaller tractors.

My Mahindra dealer is one of the few dedicated non-big three tractor dealers that I have seen and he always has 5-10 tractors around and seems to move them fairly quickly. He has a store front business and is not run out of his house.

I don't know of any Kioti dealerships near by that aren't run out of someone's backyard. Case and Cub tractors are sold through farm stores so they don't have a big presence.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Locally, we have a John Deere dealership that's basically, a chain store operation. They have 3 outlets scattered across the state. Each is BIG compared to any others I know of. Closest New Holland dealer stocks maybe 25 to 30 units, but moves hundreds through the course of a year. (Both industrial and small to mid-sized AG/compacts) AGCO is sort of piecemeal. Old Allis Chalmers dealer still sells ag line. Massey has 2 dealers with-in 15 miles of here. (opposite directions from home) Once upon a time, Massey led everyone in sales here. They're loosing thier grip on that all too quick. Kubota is handled primarily by one dealer with 6 outlets scattered over 5 counties in 2 states. (Ky/In), with 3 smaller Kubota dealers picking up the slack. The "big" Kioti dealership here in the area looks more like Sandford & Son. They're about the LEAST professionally run operation in ANY line of business I've ever dealt with. (tried to buy a rear blade last year. I had cash in hand, but the salesman was too busy waxing his pick-up to wait on me. I took my money elsewhere)

From what I've observed, dealerships in the midwest and "upper south" seem to be smaller, but more of them in a given area. I'm not sure that's such a bad thing, although, it's not neccisarily a good thing. I just like dealing with smaller "old fashioned" business's when they're available.

I'd imagine Florida draws a fair amount of folks that have "made it" and have money burning a hole in their pocket. People pack up and head to warmer climates. (Just as my oldest sister and her husband recently did. They sold off a farm and moved to the Tampa area. They now own 12 acres, and a new John Deere) I'm not certain, but I'd bet there's an on-going explosion of business for dealers in the sunshine state.

Back to the big John Deere dealership here in town. They just recently opened this branch. It is "THE JOHN DEERE SUPERSTORE" replete with wall to wall carpet in the showroom, 3-1/2 acres of product, a fleet of new vehicles, a toy and accessory showroom that looks more like a jewelry store than a tractor dealership, and prices that reflect the "formal atmosphere".

I'm straining myself to NOT sound so negative, but as an "old fashioned sort of guy", I'm struggling with the new breed of dealers. I like the old "feed store" type of dealer more than this Tiffany's sort.

 

[Av8r3400]

Been to a Harley-Davidson dealer lately?

Same thing.

 

[thcri]

Most dealers around here have about 5 to 15 tractors on their lots for compacts. I know that New Holland has a network were if you order a tractor you can get off another dealer's lot or they have inventory real close. So they can get them pretty fast.

murph

 

[messickfarmequ]

You would have seen alot in south george because thats where all these companies assemble their product. Texas and George are two of the biggest markets for tractors around.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Been to a Harley-Davidson dealer lately?

Same thing.

Spent too much of my MIS-SPENT youth on murderouscycles. None-the-less, I had to go into a Harley dealership for a meeting a few weeks back. (They're having us to build a new shop) I was stunned. No wonder the dang scooters cost so much.

 

[HGM]

(They're having us to build a new shop) I was stunned. No wonder the dang scooters cost so much.

I dont have much to add about the tractor dealers that wasnt already said for the Georgia, Florida area.. However, I stopped by a Harley dealer the other day on my way back from Birmingham and asked about the '06s they had left over.. They told me, emphaticly, "we can make you a really good deal on an '06, we've got to move them by Monday"(7/31).. Well, of course, I had to see what the deal may be since I'm, though a little soon, in the market for my next Harley.. They came back with the increadible deal of $500 off a $17,500 bike , I said "got amove them, huh? I'll let you know"... My last one I bought the same way, from a smaller dealer that knew me as a customer, he let me have the bike for $1000 off plus about $600 in accessories.. Wonder what he would say now, he just built a new dealership..

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Be it tractors, Harleys, or widgets, I'm interested in seeing how these dealers survive a down cycle when it finally hits. The pyramid scheme we call an economy always has ups and downs. We've been riding a big "up" for a few years now. The Deere dealer I'm talking about invested quite a bit in this new store. I,m not up on how they buy the big inventory that's on their lot. I suspect Mother Deere still owns most of it. None-the-less, property (in a VERY upscale neighborhood for a farm equipment dealer), building, service and sales vehicles, and all the rest of the trappings obviously set them back a pretty penny. When they opened, and older Deere dealer not far away dropped (or WAS DROPPED by) Deere product line. The older one was a low budget operaion. They were able to chop $$$$ off of list price.

Bill Gates I'm not, but I have managed to do OK for myself over the years by operating with a low overhead. Seems like that's a lost concept in todays business environment.

 

[Trakternut]

Here in The Frozen North, dealers tend to be chain-type operations as well. One outfit will own several stores in several towns. You have to drive quite a few miles to avoid patronizing them because they cover a lot of territory. Since I don't own any of their equipment, I don't know how service is, but their stores have enough trappings that I don't think are necessary. Toys, clothing, all that stuff. If I go in there I'm after parts or fluids and filters, not ball caps and hankies!

 

[Volfandt]

The big 3 have several large dealerships within 40 miles of me. I'll guesstimate a minimum of 40 machines not counting L&G machinery. They are layed out like a large auto dealership. The largest is probably the Kubota Massey dealer. Theres quite a few smaller dealerships compared to the larger ones but they avg at least 10 machines ea.

Hummm, looks like HD's are hot topics over here too