I have been negotiating with a local dealer on a compact tractor over the last few weeks. Yesterday he called me up and said he'd agree to my last price, so I went in to close the deal.

He said there's been a large slowdown in buying among all Deere dealers in the last month, one that usually comes in July, not May. Oh, and fyi, Deere is currently offering a 48 month loan @ 0% for any new Deere equipment. Vendor financing, anyone ? So of course, instead of paying cash I took the loan. Sorry Deere, you just lost out on a bunch of upfront cash.

What did ya get? I love me some green tractors. Got 3 of them now.

My local dealer has little inventory and (for the first time since opening) big banners with prices hanging off the FELs. I see zero activity there as I pass each morning/afternoon.

Aren't they likely to have sold the account to another party at a discount, so they got cash, just not as much as you're going to pay?

Deere ****d their "dealers" at the lawn and garden level. Farm implements are in a league of their own. Wouldn't read to much Deere and Co into it.

I only buy New Holland anyway

"garden level" is all off shore stuff isn't it?

More Anecdotal...on track hoes (any brand). Four years ago I needed one so I started looking at used ones. They were scarce and expensive. I looked for about six months before I found one I thought was reasonably priced.

Today, they are everywhere at bargain prices. I can buy the one I bought for about 60% what I paid back then.

Lodger, I am now the proud owner of a 1026R (diesel) with an H120 loader, rear weight box, an auto-connect belly mower, forks, a 647 tiller, a trencher, and a post hole digger. I sold every other piece of equipment I had, as the maintenance was getting a bit pricey on the old 8N. I have some neighbors lined up who need fenceholes and trenches dug and some small acreage tilled, so 2.5 of the implements will be paid for by someone else almost as soon as I get it home I'm hoping to get a bunch more jobs for it over the next year or so to pay for itself.

Pcap, new holland was easily 10% higher in final cost. Deere was offering all kinds of incentives and discounts that new holland, kuboda and bobcat had no interest in matching.

Flaps, the 102x series has a Yanmar diesel engine, the same engine I have been very familiar with since childhood, but on a sailboat I know my way around that engine a lot better, since I used to perform the end of season maintenance on it for years.

Infidel, I'm not sure about Deere and its dealers, but I can tell you that the folks at Bobcat and Atlantic Tractor weren't claiming good sales, either. They wouldn't match Deere's price because it would leave them no margin.

Tesla,

I have a buddy here in Central FL that is looking at the exact same JD - the 1026R. W/Out accoutrements, he was quoted $11,338. Is that in the neighborhood that you got yours at?

Quoted a D120 NSL Loader at $ 2,259.71 and a Frontier BB2048 Standard Duty Box
Blade at $ 891.29.

I think the box blade is a bit high - by at least double for a generic box blade.

Is he in the range of your prices?

Thanks,
Leng

Nice unit Tesla, can't go wrong with that Yanmar. I have a 990, 6420, and a 5310.
And I still have my grandfathers Ford 8N too.

I have had no problems with any of my JD's, and I work the hell out of them. Have fun.

Here's what has caused the slowdown in tractor sales. Demand was pulled forward.

http://www.agweb.com/article/tax_incenti....

Just bought 4 new gators today. Traded in 3 older models. Paid less than I did for the older ones and got 0% interest to boot.

Len, the tractor price was 10,318 and the H120 was 1915. I didn't get the blade. The tractor had been at the dealer's for ~ 5 months and had 7 hours on the meter, so they took off a bit more as a demo. They had 3 more in stock so I think they needed to shift it.

Thanks loger, I'm really looking forward to having a loader in particular. I liked my 8N but it was needing replacements really beyond my mechanical capabilities, sad to say.

F'n A. I'd bolt a Yanmar into anything.

Tesla,

Thanks much for the gouge!

I've got an older JD650 (2 cyl, 16 hp) with a loader, bush hog and box blade. Saved our asses during the hurricanes that crossed over our house 3 times back in '04. Not huge, but lots of torque!

I'm looking for a compact tractor myself. I have about 3 acres I could put to use for various crops,landscaping, draining adjustment and cleanup. They are selling New Holland Boomers for 17k. Is that a good deal?

I'd love to have a 7330 JD. Of course, I'd also love to have the farm to use it on...

In all seriousness, thanks for the thread becuse I have been thinking of a small purchase myself.

Boz - what's the hp ? The 1026 is ~ 23hp.

My guess is demand was pulled forward - by the unusually warm spring weather.

Tesla,

What you buy?

Nevermind. Read the thread.

Why not a 2000 series? Faster hydros.

Quote:

Sorry Deere, you just lost out on a bunch of upfront cash.

Actually, you overpaid for the tractor and the interest expense was essentially embedded into the higher cost that you paid. Had they not offered you the 0% interest deal, they would've been able to offer you a discount on the equipment at the prevailing finance rate, adjusted for the time value of your payments, and the risk.

With businesses as liquid as they are right now, its no surprise that they're not looking for a lot of cash. Better they lend it to you, than to stick it in a bank, and force you go to a bankster for the loan. At least the bankster is cut out of the deal this way, not earning money on JD's cash, nor earning money on a loan written to you.

Eric - I only have 10 acres, 7 acres of which are generally kept mowed by horses so that I only need to run the brush mower once every 4-6 weeks to knock down the weeds, 2 acres are devoted to house/barns/equipment shed/run-in sheds and driveway, and the last acre is orchards and gardens. It takes me only about 1 hour a week on average to cut grass; I really needed it for the loader, forks and plow and the 1026 gave me all I need.

Pitz - nope. They gave me a 12% discount all told, and the 0% financing was on top of the discount. I looked at a comparable Kuboda and Bobcat. They couldn't get anywhere near Deere's price for similar hp, torque and ease of use features. A used Kuboda in the same class, with ~400 hours on the engine and just 2 more hp was ~$1000 more than this machine new. I can easily carry a 50 lb bag of grain or a bale of hay, but needing to wrestle with implements to get them on and off the tractor is something I wanted to completely avoid.

Massey is running 0% financing on their sub-compacts, compact, and small field tractors and reduced financing on their large field tractors right now. AGCO, the parent company is doing the same.

Thing of it is that right now is the dead time for AG sales. People are loaded when they bring their harvests in and so fall is the busy season for AG sales, not summer.