# Ag-Pro Dealership Expansion



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Sounds like gaining regional control.....and then you have no way to price shop within your area....which is beginning to get non-existent anyway in many areas.

Regards, Mike

http://growingtennessee.com/features/2015/07/ag-pro-expands-again-stays-strong-service/?utm_source=Growing+Tennessee&utm_campaign=fd5f6851b5-growingtennessee-daily_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d75710df8e-fd5f6851b5-296641129


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## Troy Farmer (Jul 31, 2011)

The first thing Ag-Pro did here is close our local Deere dealership. It was frustrating because the dealership did what appeared to be a good bit of business. We have one small Deere (3 locations) dealership left in SC. I don't know why they haven't been bought out yet. Deere is helping me decide on my next brand of round baler.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Yes, and they are helping others look elsewhere also.....I know all about the large scale ag operators and how they operate their fleet leasing.....but the regular scale farmers is what drives Deere here and if we begin to look otherwise, they will definitely feel it in the US....I am really bothered by this intellectual property deal and I fully expect the verdict to go in favour of Deere. When it does I am going to locate some 20-25 year old great boned JD's and have them fully restored so that MY tractors can be worked on without a dang laptop. It is still a free country in spite of our current Supreme Court fiasco and I do not have to eat what John Deere is hoping to be serving soon.

Regards, Mike


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## cornshucker (Aug 22, 2011)

Same here in central NC with James River Equipment. Taking any leverage customer may have away. Don't affect me personally as have only a couple of Deere pieces. But still never like to see competition get swallowed up. 3 or 4 good competing dealers in a given area is always good for the farmer. Example last tractor I bought was not seriously considering Deere but I did talk to them and did give them the opportunity to convert my way of thinking but the khaki pants polo shirt wearing salesman knew less about what he had to sell than your average housewife. had to look in book to get an answer to every technical question I asked him . Will give him credit though he knew financing and payment options like the back of his hand. Just never could understand that if you bring cash you should get a better deal. Actually the idea of cash sounded kind of foreign to him. Need not to worry I won't never buy another new tractor anyway. will stick to 5100 or 5200 Case-IH, 5610-7810 NH, 300-4200 series Masseys or 55 series Deeres is as late as I will buy anything a little older OK but definitely not any newer than these. I can still do some mechanic work but I damn sure ain't no TV repairman. Getting back to the subject I'm saying that when I go look for equipment I like a lot of options not just one store.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

cornshucker said:


> Same here in central NC with James River Equipment. Taking any leverage customer may have away. Don't affect me personally as have only a couple of Deere pieces. But still never like to see competition get swallowed up. 3 or 4 good competing dealers in a given area is always good for the farmer. Example last tractor I bought was not seriously considering Deere but I did talk to them and did give them the opportunity to convert my way of thinking but the khaki pants polo shirt wearing salesman knew less about what he had to sell than your average housewife. had to look in book to get an answer to every technical question I asked him . Will give him credit though he knew financing and payment options like the back of his hand. Just never could understand that if you bring cash you should get a better deal. Actually the idea of cash sounded kind of foreign to him. Need not to worry I won't never buy another new tractor anyway. will stick to 5100 or 5200 Case-IH, 5610-7810 NH, 300-4200 series Masseys or 55 series Deeres is as late as I will buy anything a little older OK but definitely not any newer than these. I can still do some mechanic work but I damn sure ain't no TV repairman. Getting back to the subject I'm saying that when I go look for equipment I like a lot of options not just one store.


Actually they don't care if it's cash or financed. The dealer and John Deere (Or any other brand dealer) get cash either direct from you or from whoever is doing the lending. And since they can usually approve a person for a loan very easily it is just as good as cash. So why should they give a better deal for cash from their perspective? Especially since unlike a car or truck its a rare thing to take home a piece of equipment or tractor the day you buy it so its really not a delay in even getting the cash from a loan. And if John Deere finances the purchase the local dealer might get some sort of reward from Deere financing also. The only place that cash might help you get a better deal anymore is maybe in real estate. And the only reason it gets a buyer maybe a better deal there is because a deal can close faster without as many possible hiccups as a loan.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Teslan said:


> Actually they don't care if it's cash or financed. The dealer and John Deere (Or any other brand dealer) get cash either direct from you or from whoever is doing the lending. And since they can usually approve a person for a loan very easily it is just as good as cash. So why should they give a better deal for cash from their perspective? Especially since unlike a car or truck its a rare thing to take home a piece of equipment or tractor the day you buy it so its really not a delay in even getting the cash. And if John Deere finances the purchase the local dealer might get some sort of reward from Deere financing also. The only place that cash might help you get a better deal anymore is maybe in real estate. And the only reason it gets a buyer maybe a better deal there is because a deal can close faster without as many possible hiccups as a loan.


Cash will also get you a better price on something that the dealer might have financed themselves. Granted, that's probably not happening on new equipment and probably not even much used equipment anymore.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

8350HiTech said:


> Cash will also get you a better price on something that the dealer might have financed themselves. Granted, that's probably not happening on new equipment and probably not even much used equipment anymore.


Yes if the used equipment has been financed and sitting there awhile. One thing I noticed in my dealing with a 4 rivers Deere dealership last year when I traded a baler for my Krone rake is that for the baler trade value they put the info in a computer and out popped the trade value. Which was higher then really it should be as it was a 16 inch baler that do not sell good. They went by a computer number then actual market knowledge. I asked the MF and NH dealer what they would have given me in trade and it was substantially less as they know what they can't sell easily.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Vol said:


> Sounds like gaining regional control.....and then you have no way to price shop within your area....which is beginning to get non-existent anyway in many areas.
> 
> Regards, Mike
> 
> http://growingtennessee.com/features/2015/07/ag-pro-expands-again-stays-strong-service/?utm_source=Growing+Tennessee&utm_campaign=fd5f6851b5-growingtennessee-daily_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d75710df8e-fd5f6851b5-296641129


Exactly...

That's why the big equipment companies are doing everything in their power to force their dealerships into huge conglomerates like this... eliminate dealers competing with each other and undercutting each other on price, IOW, a captive market.

Like when I bought my 5610S in 2000... talked to the "local" NH dealer 23 miles away, told him what tractor I wanted to trade, he quotes me, "$21,000 list price, I'll give you $3,000 trade, so $18,000 cash-- my best offer!" I go to the dealer by our other farm 100 miles away, ask him for the best deal he can do... "Hmmm... lemme see... $18,000 list, I'll give you $8,000 in trade, $10,000 cash and we'll deliver it to whichever farm you want!"

Guess which one got the sale and which one got told to "go pound sand!"... Course I didn't exactly advertise that fact, but about six months later I bought some filters for a 5610S from the local guy, and he started asking pointed questions, so I gave him pointed answers! Told him exactly who I bought it from and for what... he got all kerfluffled and said "he shouldn't have sold you that tractor-- we have protected territories!" and all this spiel... I just looked at him in the eye and said, "Well, I tell you what-- I wouldn't have bought that tractor from YOU anyway-- for what YOU were asking, I'd have either gone and bought a cheaper MASSEY, or put a few thousand more with it and bought a DEERE!"

Boy, that shut him up quick... never heard another word about it...

Having one dealer own every store for 500 miles in every direction eliminates the possibility of going to another store somewhere else and getting it cheaper. What the companies fail to realize is, that you can still find something cheaper in another brand from a different company, or go out of the local area, or heck just buy used... there's ALWAYS options. I don't like being held "at gunpoint" by some crooked dealer, and I'm not above going out of state to get something... If I can't make a deal *I* like with the local guys, I'll get it elsewhere... I'm not going to be "strong-armed" by the dealer OR the company into basically being ripped off because they're more interested in being shysters than in making a deal we both can live with...

Later! OL JR


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## Greasy30 (Mar 15, 2010)

Just looked at a new Deere from Ag-Pro and could not compare it to any other dealers (JD) except one due to them all being Owned by Ag-Pro. None of them wanted to deal, all basically had a price from a book and did not want to talk about a trade in.

Went back the other day to get a part for lawn mower and sales guy asked if I was ready to buy that new tractor and I told him I just bought one. He got upset and asked which one, told him I went down to Kubota dealer (10 miles away) and bought a bigger tractor, loader, mower, and landscape rake for the asking price of his deere before we talked trade's. also told him how the sales manager knew tractors in general and was there to help the little guy (me) and not just make a sale or number on a chart for the month.

He turned red and walked off.


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## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

I talked to some folks in the feed store a few weeks ago and they said something about buying a new tractor and I asked about it. They had shopped 5 different dealers and every dealer gave them a differant price for the same tractor, sad thing is 4 of the dealerships are the same company (Ag power).

Just shows shopping between stores in the big chains might actually save you a few nickels.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Greasy30 said:


> Just looked at a new Deere from Ag-Pro and could not compare it to any other dealers (JD) except one due to them all being Owned by Ag-Pro. None of them wanted to deal, all basically had a price from a book and did not want to talk about a trade in.
> 
> Went back the other day to get a part for lawn mower and sales guy asked if I was ready to buy that new tractor and I told him I just bought one. He got upset and asked which one, told him I went down to Kubota dealer (10 miles away) and bought a bigger tractor, loader, mower, and landscape rake for the asking price of his deere before we talked trade's. also told him how the sales manager knew tractors in general and was there to help the little guy (me) and not just make a sale or number on a chart for the month.
> 
> He turned red and walked off.


Good for you!!!

These guys want to treat you like a second class citizen (as a black friend of mine who's no longer with us once told me about a similar situation, "they treated me like I had a TAIL!" LOL) while trying to screw you over and then have the gall to expect a mutual "blow warm smoke up your butt" session while they're STILL trying to screw you.... BTDT...

I don't pull any punches-- I just lay it right back on them, like I did with the local NH guy years ago when I bought my 5610S...

If they don't like it, they can choke on it, or they can "get their mind right" and start treating the customer right and making a deal to get something sold...

I got NO problem telling a guy to "go pound sand" when they won't even TRY to "meet you in the middle" and make a deal everybody can live with...

Later! OL JR


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Lewis Ranch said:


> I talked to some folks in the feed store a few weeks ago and they said something about buying a new tractor and I asked about it. They had shopped 5 different dealers and every dealer gave them a differant price for the same tractor, sad thing is 4 of the dealerships are the same company (Ag power).
> 
> Just shows shopping between stores in the big chains might actually save you a few nickels.


Maybe... but that's probably the exception rather than the rule...

The whole purpose of those "vertically aligned" mega-dealer chains are so that "everybody's on the same page" and no matter where you go, you're going to get the "same price quote" and so none of the dealerships "undercut" each other...

Sounds like maybe there's some pressure on some salesmen or something that might be causing them to "go off the reservation" and actually make the best deal they can in an effort to drum up sales, regardless of what "the book" says, or the "wisdom that comes down from the mountain" (the front office). Either that or just nobody's on the same page, and so they're offering prices that "aren't approved by the front office" or something because they either don't know any better or because they're trying the old "bait and switch"... You decide that you like the deal, and find out when you come in to make it that "oh, I forgot to add 'such-n-such' or whatever" and the deal has changed... seen that plenty too...

The big car dealerships are doing much the same thing now... it's just taking longer because there's so many more of them....

Later! OL JR


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Greasy30 said:


> Just looked at a new Deere from Ag-Pro and could not compare it to any other dealers (JD) except one due to them all being Owned by Ag-Pro. None of them wanted to deal, all basically had a price from a book and did not want to talk about a trade in.
> 
> Went back the other day to get a part for lawn mower and sales guy asked if I was ready to buy that new tractor and I told him I just bought one. He got upset and asked which one, told him I went down to Kubota dealer (10 miles away) and bought a bigger tractor, loader, mower, and landscape rake for the asking price of his deere before we talked trade's. also told him how the sales manager knew tractors in general and was there to help the little guy (me) and not just make a sale or number on a chart for the month.
> 
> He turned red and walked off.


Sales people who get mad because you bought something from their competition are unprofessional. As a real estate agent when I was new I would get a little upset when someone I knew would use another agent, but I would never ever get mad. It would make me realize that I either didn't do something quite right or they had some other reason for not using my service. It's a little different in car sales or equipment sales because the sales people are limited with what their dealership allows them to do and the equipment they sell. The sales guy that got mad at you should be more upset at the company he works for not being willing to compete. He had you ready to go, but just couldn't give you the deal the others did because of the dealership and costs of his product. He shouldn't have shown you his emotion because now you probably wouldn't go back to him if there was something his dealership and only his dealership could sell you.


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## Greasy30 (Mar 15, 2010)

Teslan,

You are correct, I have bought a lot of equipment from him in the past before the dealer joined Ag-Pro. I think he is more mad at his company for pricing the equipment high and not giving him a lot of wiggle room to "wheel and deal" and he told me before I started serious looking that it was getting harder and harder to make good deals and that he had lost a lot of business to the local Kubota dealer.

I would love another John Deere, but I have no brand loyalty. I want the best tractor/deal I can get for my hard earned money.

I am sure it will be a different attitude the next time I go to get a part or something. Think he might be realizing that the name John Deere does not mean as much these days as it did in the past.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

I guess I am actually lucky that I am in an area that is the confluence between to growing regional dealers and a couple of large independents. Means up to 60 miles travel but what the heck. Getting decent service but not stellar from the growing competitor to the large regional JD dealer in southside VA and NC who I never was really able to deal with.

I think part of the corporate strategy was Mother deere did not like dealing with the local small guys that did not agree with or follow their new corporate protocols. the reality is that with the technology changes emerging, one small dealership can not afford to have techs proficient in everything whereas a regional one can at least have coverage even if it means moving techs around the various locations. Well at least in theory that is a workable scenario. I don't like the shift but it is happening and we might as well learn to live with it. It certainly is not unique to Deere. New Holland dealer which started as a nice local support to the orchard business years ago now owns about 7 locations and is highly diversified with their lines incl Kubota, and bobcat in addition to NH.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

When I was a kid in the early 80s there were 3 small NH dealers within 30 miles of each other. One Case/International dealer, 3 Deere dealers within 40 miles. One MF dealer that didn't sell much of anything. Now we have 3 NH dealers within 50 miles owned by the same local guy, who generally keeps hidden away. 5 MF dealers within 100 miles, 3 owned by the same local owner who you can go see in person most anytime. The other 2 are very small, but I bought a Sunflower disk from one with no contract or anything. 3 Deere dealers within 50 miles. 2 owned by 4 Rivers which I guess is James Rivers Deere and one independent. That one independent formerly just focused on small Deere products like compact tractors and gators. Now they are selling some bigger equipment. The Case dealer was bought by the NH dealer. The local Deere dealer has been owned by big ownership since the eighties.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Greasy30 said:


> Teslan,
> 
> You are correct, I have bought a lot of equipment from him in the past before the dealer joined Ag-Pro. I think he is more mad at his company for pricing the equipment high and not giving him a lot of wiggle room to "wheel and deal" and he told me before I started serious looking that it was getting harder and harder to make good deals and that he had lost a lot of business to the local Kubota dealer.
> 
> ...


Yeah, this is true... (names don't mean as much as they used to... especially when they're prostituting their name out onto utter CRAP like the "John Deere" branded junk lawnmowers they're selling at these big home improvement stores... which no Deere dealer has ever heard of and can't get parts for). It doesn't seem to be keeping the companies from "believing their own press" and just coasting on their reputations... or resting on their laurels, so to speak...

I'm like you-- not going to be held hostage to any nonsense "brand loyalty", especially when some brand dealers think they can screw you over because of it... Told a NH dealer to his face one time I wasn't gonna pay what he was asking for a tractor, anyway-- for what he wanted, I could put a few more thousand with it and have a DEERE, or save a few thousand and just get a cheaper Massey or something...

He can sputter and fume all he likes... facts is facts, and if ya don't wanna deal, don't have room to deal, or just don't want to come up with something we can BOTH live with, well, no sense getting mad when a guy and his money goes down the road to somebody that IS willing to make a deal everybody can live with...

Sounds like to me if he's losing that much business and his hands are tied that tight, he's working for the wrong company... jump ship and go where you can make some sales... IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM! LOL

Later! OL JR


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Hayman1 said:


> I guess I am actually lucky that I am in an area that is the confluence between to growing regional dealers and a couple of large independents. Means up to 60 miles travel but what the heck. Getting decent service but not stellar from the growing competitor to the large regional JD dealer in southside VA and NC who I never was really able to deal with.
> 
> I think part of the corporate strategy was Mother deere did not like dealing with the local small guys that did not agree with or follow their new corporate protocols. the reality is that with the technology changes emerging, one small dealership can not afford to have techs proficient in everything whereas a regional one can at least have coverage even if it means moving techs around the various locations. Well at least in theory that is a workable scenario. I don't like the shift but it is happening and we might as well learn to live with it. It certainly is not unique to Deere. New Holland dealer which started as a nice local support to the orchard business years ago now owns about 7 locations and is highly diversified with their lines incl Kubota, and bobcat in addition to NH.


You can either "learn to live with it" and put up with being screwed, or support folks that do business a better way...

Know which way I'm leaning...  OL JR


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

My fav dealer has 2 locations now. I think within past 5ish years they bought out dealer 75? Miles away.

I see two sales guys. I was told the second one is the owner. And the young guy at the parts counter is his kid. Maybe ao, maybe not. I do hope ao as it would be nice when ownership transitions they stay in the family. I like it when I see the parts guy a few times a year and we are on a first name basis.


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## Hokelund Farm (Feb 4, 2014)

Lewis Ranch said:


> I talked to some folks in the feed store a few weeks ago and they said something about buying a new tractor and I asked about it. They had shopped 5 different dealers and every dealer gave them a differant price for the same tractor, sad thing is 4 of the dealerships are the same company (Ag power).
> 
> Just shows shopping between stores in the big chains might actually save you a few nickels.


For 2 years I worked at a JD dealer. When I started they had just expanded to 4 locations, in those two years they had grown to 9. I think they are at 11 now.

Indeed shop around. They may be the same company, but there are still managers in charge of performance for certain locations, and salesman working on commission. They will compete with themselves.

If they think you are being shady already getting a quote from the company and going to a different location of the same company to see if they will beat it, then tell them they are shady for trying to monopolize the region. Nothing wrong with a big company, as long as they do business the right way.


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