First time no JD combines in our harvest plans!!

JD Seller

Well-known Member
Last year in the late summer I went to an auction in Northern Missouri. It was a retirement sale. There where several CIH combines on the sale. I went looking at other things they had listed. Anyway the BIG combine they had did not sell worth a darn. It was a CIH 9420 on tracks with 4wd and only 800 separator hours. They sold a CIH 8420 right before it and it almost out sold the bigger machine. I bought the CIH 9240 just because it was a good deal. I figured on holding it until fall or even after harvest last year and then resell it. Well when we got it home my sons got to looking it over and decided to find a corn head for it and try it out. Long story short we ended up shelling the majority of our corn last year with it. That left the two JD 9760s to run soybeans. That turned out to really help us get done in a timely manner with the wet fall last year.

Last winter we found a Drago 16x30 folding corn head for the CIH 9420. We plant 16 row and had ran a 12 row last fall. So with finding the 16 row header we where set for running corn for this year.

About 6-8 weeks ago the local CIH dealership owner stopped by to talk to me. He knew we had liked the CIH machine. He told us he would be interested in doing some combine trading with us. He said he had some customers interested in our JD 9760s. He had a list of options of machines to trade on. Well w really did not get too excited about doing anything then. There is not much difference in the CIH and JD combines. They both do a good job and are nice too run. So we thought about it but really did not plan act on it much.

About one month ago the local JD dealership hired a new service manager. He is all gung ho JD. Really drank the coolaid. He did/does not like the fact my sons do a fair amount of repair work. So he started running his mouth and starting/spreading rumors. One of which was we are in tough financial shape and can not even get a Farm plan account so we have to pay for our parts when we get them. I posted a year or more ago about how the local store dropped all their internal accounts. So you have to use Farm Plan or Credit/debt cards if you want parts left out and such. We just use a debt card for the few parts we buy off that store anymore. A very good friend of mine told me about the rumors that the service manager was spreading. We went to the store manager about it. He was useless. Just told me it was all just hear say and that none of his employee would ever do anything like that. We closed all of our account with that dealership chain right then. I will gladly drive the 30 miles to another dealership group for parts.

I was so mad when I got home that I was ready to explode. My sons where hot too. Well this got us to talking about how we would proceed without dealing with the local JD dealership.

Here is what we are doing. The two JD 9760s and 8 row cornheads are getting traded in on a lease return CIH 9420 with only 700 separator hours. The CIH dealership will switch over our two Macdon 45 foot flex draper heads over to work on the CIH 9240s. We signed all the final paperwork this morning. We are paying some boot but not that much.

So I guess that for now JD is out of our harvest picture. Well I am a little wrong about that. I will still run my steep ground with my JD 6620 titian II Sidehill combine but that is under 250 acres.

This change may not be the last of JD going down the road with me/us. Pretty tired of treatment that JD and these MEGA dealerships are doing to us farmers.
 
Well good luck with all of this, obviously it has bothered you some by the sounds of your post, the dealership could probably care less.
 
I agree with you on the attitude of the New Generation Of Deere dealers,, same thing is happening in my area with the Ag-Pro group..The new combines and tractors are becoming like the New Automobiles,,you can't tell much difference in them except for the Color,,,Deere loyalty is waning ... and no one seems to care...
 
You run a pretty good size operation and have quite a bit of equipment from what you post about, hard to believe any dealer no matter what color would treat a customer like that. Business is that good, they can shed customers your size, amazing.

I'm glad to have access to a dealer locally, but about 30 miles north, that has done the right thing by me for many years, and myself and my father have given them some decent business too, he's done 2 deals on new tractors with them, I've done 2 on good low hour ones, latest was a pretty decent low hour backhoe. Some parts are a bit high or worse, but for the most part, all of their staff, at the counter, road mechanics etc. are really good. Prices are fair and their service manager part owner is a class act, enjoy dealing with him. It makes all the difference, surprising the way things have evolved.
 
That is pretty sad after the history and loyalty that you had with Deere, That dealer just pizzed it all away. I have to commend the CNH dealer for personally visiting you and working to gain your confidence. When we were dealers we strived to keep our customers happy and as you know, company constraints and some customers themselves make that a tough row to hoe. I hope your relationship with the CNH dealer strengthens in the future.
When we were in business, we carried multiple short lines of equipment, such as New Idea, Hesston, Amco, Landoll, Knight and others. We knew that we would not sell Case tractors and equipment to every farmer out there, but these short lines were well respected and gave us the opportunity to deal with the Green and Red guys. The big companies frown on their dealers selling short line equipment nowdays.-----Loren
 
I won't cast doubt on yours or anybody else's experiences but life is anything but sunshine and roses with CNH here for me. I'm just some guy who will go out of business sooner than later and my ground will most likely go to one of their preferred customers or so I have heard. If life gets too tough with JD for me there is always the Mennonite Deere parts sources and Shoup plus the area boneyard for most other parts.
 
Is that the 10 store conglomerate? I see the Cresco store is 8 miles west of the town - kind of hard to call that location Cresco. Which store has the new Service Manager? At Cascade, looks like you're on the fringe of their territory.
 
Hope it works out for you folks. I have never been able to deal with our local JD dealer, just not interested in trying to do business with me. And the CaseIH dealer, never seems to remember my name, or what kinda farm I run, and I have bought some new equipment from them, but not anymore. The Kubota dealer I do business with was a IH then CaseIH dealer , and I have done most of my business with them over past 40 years. When they dropped CaseIH, so did I.
 
Tim the main reason they are not caring about our business is we are not new equipment buyers. We buy good used and lately good newer used but that does not seem to count for much these days. Everyone wants that new piece of equipment. That high dollar trade-in is the hard one to sell. That is where we have been buying lately.

Ten years ago we where buying rebuilder equipment. Then fools have bid that stuff so high you can shop around and find virgin equipment for just about the same money you would have after the repair.

Two years ago all of my family jointly bought over $100K of JD parts. 90% of that was through the local dealership. Last year we bought under $10k from them. We bought under $50K JD sourced. Meaning we are buying after market or OEM suppliers parts that supply JD. This year the JD based will be lower still.

I hope I live long enough to see this once great company, JD, brought to its knees. A ten year stretch of low grain prices would cure a lot of what is wrong with a lot of agriculture today. Those BTOs with Green and Red paint fever will shortly run out of money playing with grain only.
 
The local dealership had a major expansion in the past couple years. They're up to 22 locations. The more they buy up the worse they get. I would have to drive 60 miles to go to a different chain and be treated worse.
 
For my story my CNH reference is deliberate. The dealers for both sides of that company have their noses pretty far in the air where I am concerned. The parts people and other staff are reasonable enough but management is another story and in a couple of instances management has made it personal with me. I've got a story that would most likely top most of the others mentioned here in terms of outrageousness but it probably should only be mentioned via personal message which this site lacks.
 
Might be far longer than 10 years. This is starting to feel like 1983 all over again but the pain won't gradually subside like it did back then.
 
Jd, I have had a few years lately that the dealers wont give me a second look.They have bigger fish to fry. I am small potatoes and they want the bto business first. One of the green dealers got its legs kicked out from under them when the 86,000 acre guy south of me defaulted on 300 million. Guess they got stung real bad. I was told when one of his guys came though the door they would stop waiting on mr. little guy and take care of Dennis Bs first. Look how that worked out for them? I have been back seated by The Ina store salesman because I didnt milk enough cows to be a big player. They now are starting to sell construction equipment because their bread and butter was dairy, and dairy is on its way out. I might not be a big sale, but I pay with cash. What good is a big sale when these BTOs cant pay their bills. Lots of little cash sales add up. When their salesmen stop here now I tell them to Pizz off. I will continue to buy what I need off the internet. I can have things trucked pretty darn cheap. Al
 
My local Deere dealer has been pretty good to me.
The chain does sell to the big boys (sugar cane farmers) that are dealers over 50 miles from me.
The 2 closest dealers (15 miles away) may sell a tractor to pull a round baler every now and then but with the dairy business pretty much null and void now in the area they have to cater to homeowners are close up shop.
 
If you changed to






















































































































Perhaps you should change to JDkiller!

You sound like you have farming figured out better than most, don't let this keep you up at night. I have a friend that farmed using nice used equipment, he was debt free and bought more farm land before the prices went through the roof.
 
That is sad to hear. I do not blame you for looking at other brands and dealers. I have never had any new equipment but the service manager at our local Deere dealer would always help me out and answer questions and sometimes loan me service tools. He left recently and the new guy does not a feederhouse from a cultivator. He would give me a hard time for farming with old stuff and made a comment or two when I got some of his shop work away from them on some 4020's. But nothing nasty like you are referring to. I have almost all Deere equipment but the Deere company of today is not the same as the one my Dad bought from. Every customer was important years ago now only few big ones seem to count. I still have a great parts man. He has back problems so he says he is stuck there. Tom
 
I stopped using the JD dealer in Spokane due to their arrogance and apathy. After many years, each visit is as if I'm a new customer and they can't even remember my name. It's a big mega dealer. Fortunately I can go to a different mega dealer not too far away and give them a try. Eventually I'll be all Kubota. I've had good luck with them and the local dealer actually remembers my name.
 
Loren: The local CIH dealer is one of two stores that are totally family run. Great people to work with. They handle several short lines so I have dealt with them over the years.

One of the things that really made me think long and hard about doing this even before the bad blood with the local JD store, Last fall we had a seal go out on the Rotor drive gear case on the CIH 9420. At that time it would have had right at 1000 separator hours on it. With the wet ground delaying harvest we just did not have the time to repair it ourselves. I finished the field we were in and took the combine to the farm. I washed it off and put it in the shop to dry off in the heat. I know the CIH service manager very well from church. I called him on Sat.afternoon and told him what was wrong. I just wanted to know if we needed to take it in to them to get it fixed. It had started misting rain/snow and was not supposed to be clear until Tuesday. He asked me if we had it inside so it would not be terrible to work on I told him it was in our heated shop. He told me he would just have someone come out and do it. Should take them 3-4 hours at the most. When we got home from church the next day one of their service trucks was setting in our yard. The mechanic was waiting for us to get home. He said he did not have much going on at home with the cold/wet/snowy weather so he just wanted to knock this out. It took him under three hours to replace the seal that was bad. GREAT service!!!!! It did not stop there. After about two weeks I had not gotten a bill on the repair yet. So the next time I was through town I stopped in to asked about the bill. I wanted to pay it ASAP. Turns out there was a bulletin on this seal issue. It should have been replaced under warranty by the selling dealer. They just billed me for the service call and oil/grease in the box. THAT is service like I used to see from JD.

So that service call and the OWNER stopping out to talk to us earned our business.
 
Sorry to hear about the way they treated you no excuse for it,, back in the decades we owned a Case dealership we got along pretty decent with the other brand dealerships and tried to work together as much as competitors could,, sure sounds like that is far from the truth today,, the price of equipment these days and some snot nosed salesman pulls this Sad
cnt
 
I'm one of the smallest of the small farmers at our local JD dealership, but the parts guy knows me by name. He and one of the other parts guys migrated over when the IH dealership closed.

I get the impression that as long as the former owner of the location, now part of a 16 store chain, and his 35-40yo son are still there, that store will stay friendly.I think the shop reputation actually improved when the chain took over.
 
In my area small holders are the lifeblood of the dealerships and the JD and NH places give good service and are good to deal with,guess it helps that I have long time friends and a couple relatives that work in both places too.Across the mountain one of the managers of the JD dealerships is a long time Oliver collector and the AGCO dealership was bought out by a big outfit but the staff stayed the same which was good.Its in a Mennonite area so it has to be more small farmer friendly.
 
I am really small time and barely buy much tractor parts anymore. The Ag-Pro group is charging around 15% over list on parts. I am buying from dealer farther away that does not price gouge. These mega dealers are not the way to go.
I can't say anything bad about you at all for shopping around for the best deal and service. You have to watch your bottom line just like I do.
 
just hope you can keep up with payments, I used to be way large too all kinds cattle etc etc. now its all rented out and some in gov program. I know its not right as some say but since going this route I have profit every year not just one out of five. trying to retire but has not happened yet. still trying to close out the small engine shop . if you have ever run a business and deal with the public like they have to and I had too you would have different outlook and change your ways of getting paid also. and yes some changes work and some do not as far as personal, ther will always be a hors11111 a111s out there. good luck with harvest, just getting going around me.
 
Good Morning J D

Good for you , I am not a Farmer but enjoy following you & your Family .
When a Man. & Dealer becomes so BIG that they can treat there customer like dirt , then I say they need to be brought down to their knees . Best of luck to you and your Family .
I used to have your Name on my computer but it must have gotten deleted . I should get it again & start using it ,might help getting the Bad. Bad taste out your system if the J D isn t mentioned .

My E Mail is flakyfriends2@yahoo. My Ph is 480 250 3864
 
Ihc dealer i worked for took care of all,same as our jd dealer. Funny thing,we got a partsman from a huge ihc dealer that catered to bto.there was a guy who never haggled prices n paid in cash. Came in wanting to buy 1 of the service trucks,that new guy snaped him off said no sale.the boss heard,intervened sold the pickup and proceded to inform new guy old guys like that 1 pays the bills.and by damm if he wants the bricks out of the chimney,you get a ladder n scale up there n get him those bricks.new guy lated 5 months
 
Hard to understand a business model that works like that. The older I get the less tolerance I have in dealing with anyone that has any sort of attitude.
 
Back in the 80s my Dad knew some management from our local JD dealer. At that time at least, Dad got the impression that parts sales were the dealerships bread and butter. I wonder if that has changed or if that was ever even the case.
 
(quoted from post at 23:20:16 10/03/19) ...GREAT service!!!!! It did not stop there. After about two weeks I had not gotten a bill on the repair yet. So the next time I was through town I stopped in to asked about the bill. I wanted to pay it ASAP. Turns out there was a bulletin on this seal issue. It should have been replaced under warranty by the selling dealer. They just billed me for the service call and oil/grease in the box. THAT is service like I used to see from JD.

So that service call and the OWNER stopping out to talk to us earned our business.

In this day/age, I don't think many operations can afford to be BRAND loyal. I hear a lot more about dealer loyalty than brand loyalty.

The red/green/name your color who makes better debate is a red herring. They all make good stuff and they all make some stinkers.

With the complexity of modern equipment, the cost, and the number of hours that bigger operations are stacking on equipment nowdays, it is only a matter of time before an opartion has no choice but to go to the dealer for service, parts, or both.

JDSeller, IMO you displayed the make or break charastic that is a must have if you want to stay in business these days: Business sense. Blind brand loyalty makes no sense and cannot be justified as a business decision these days.

Grouse
 
John Deere needs a good dose of new management which respects the customer first. I've had over 50 years in the retail farm business and kissed a lot of babies. Making the customer first is the answer. It is sad to hear about these issues. The absence of the local, down-home dealers who cared is sad. If I was younger and had the energy I'd get in there and revise some of their recent mistakes.
 

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