Hey , new to the forum. I'm wanting to upgrade from my split drive classen to the 21" hydro from lawn solutions. Problem is I found it on ebay for 3000 shipped from SLE equipment. I also priced it at the local dealer for 3250+tax.
Has anyone dealt with SLE either in person or on EBAY? I would like to deal locally so the dealer could back the machine if i had any issues or I could save a few hundred buying online. SLE stated a 2 year warranty on engine and 1 year on the machine. Which way would you guys go?
Dale

Doesn't that answer your question?

 

Yeah I don't bypass my local dealer over no puny $3-400 on a 3 thousand dollar unit,
if it can't save at least a thousand dollars that small amount of savings ain't worth the headache
when something goes wrong with it, I'd buy it local and always have the dealer's support.

On that same note, have you tried asking for a small discount at the dealer?
They might not give you much if anything, but it likely won't hurt to ask.

 

Yeah I don't bypass my local dealer over no puny $3-400 on a 3 thousand dollar unit,
if it can't save at least a thousand dollars that small amount of savings ain't worth the headache
when something goes wrong with it, I'd buy it local and always have the dealer's support.

On that same note, have you tried asking for a small discount at the dealer?
They might not give you much if anything, but it likely won't hurt to ask.

Yeah, it never hurts to ask. Here's what I did when I bought my Snapper. I told them that I could either use my credit card to pay as the cc company would give me 2% back, or I could just pay them in cash and asked if they could give me a discount. I put the ball in their court b/c i know they would have to pay a fee if I used a cc, so they said they could just chop $100 off the top, so I paid them in cash.

 

Yeah I don't bypass my local dealer over no puny $3-400 on a 3 thousand dollar unit,
if it can't save at least a thousand dollars that small amount of savings ain't worth the headache
when something goes wrong with it, I'd buy it local and always have the dealer's support.

On that same note, have you tried asking for a small discount at the dealer?
They might not give you much if anything, but it likely won't hurt to ask.

2X this.....

 

Yes, despite the anti dealer sentimaent so prevalent on this site, the dealer can be your best friend, especially on specialty equipment. CASH always talks--never be afraid to ask--BUT -- let the dealer have some profit--afterall---YOU profit from everything you do, especially with this type of single use machine!

 

Yes, despite the anti dealer sentimaent so prevalent on this site, the dealer can be your best friend, especially on specialty equipment. CASH always talks--never be afraid to ask--BUT -- let the dealer have some profit--afterall---YOU profit from everything you do, especially with this type of single use machine!

Amen to this.......Like us, our dealers need to make money too and we need them around to make our business run more smoothly. A good working relationship with your local dealer can be very helpful in a pinch....

 

I contacted SLE about buying a Toro G3 on Ebay, emailed them first saying I needed a quote sheet for the mower I wanted, and would hit the buy it now once they emailed it to me. Well, they never did. So, I went and bought my Gravely a few days later. I'll personally never attempt to do business with them again.

 

So this SLE place will give you a 2 year engine and 1 year machine warranty, but how will you get the machine to them? Are they going to pay the shipping? What if it breaks down on you 3 times over the 2 year warranty, how much will you be paying to have that thing shipped to SLE?

To me, this shouldn't even be a question, buy from your dealer.

 

All depends on the dealers. Some dealers have good mechanics and some don't, even if it brand name equipment. Best dealer for me is 1hr away has the parts and mechanics to fix anything. Best dealer on price is almost 2 hours away, but will ship any part to me. One dealer sells me all my handhelds but don't like his brand of mowers. Local guy runs a mower repair shop and you cant beat him but doesn't sell anything. But he can get any part and fix any mower. It all depends what you have to choose from.

 

All depends on the dealers. Some dealers have good mechanics and some don't, even if it brand name equipment. Best dealer for me is 1hr away has the parts and mechanics to fix anything. Best dealer on price is almost 2 hours away, but will ship any part to me. One dealer sells me all my handhelds but don't like his brand of mowers. Local guy runs a mower repair shop and you cant beat him but doesn't sell anything. But he can get any part and fix any mower. It all depends what you have to choose from.

Who is your two dealers ?

 

Who is your two dealers ?

The best place if you cant do your own maintenance is Scottys in Haubstadt. They have a new show room, a used show room, a parts store and have very qualified sales, parts personnel.
The place that has the most mowers I have seen anywhere is Southern Ind. Equipment in Lanesville In. He sells a lot of mowers and will deal and ship parts to me.
The place for handhelds is Wright Stemel John Deer about 2 mile from me. Great to deal with but just don't like JD mowers that well yet.
The place for repairs is Pro 1. He used to work for the local Scag store. He can get all the parts and is a very good mechanic.
I have a nice shop and do all my service and repair work.

 

So this SLE place will give you a 2 year engine and 1 year machine warranty, but how will you get the machine to them? Are they going to pay the shipping? What if it breaks down on you 3 times over the 2 year warranty, how much will you be paying to have that thing shipped to SLE?

To me, this shouldn't even be a question, buy from your dealer.

I thought a dealer had to service its brands regardless of were they were purchased??

 

We can if we want to but they don't make us and plus it doesn't mean I have to do the repair in a timely manner.
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I thought a dealer had to service its brands regardless of were they were purchased??

Toro TITAN and Commercial series mowers are not allowed, per Toro Dealer Agreement to be ... well let me see if i can find the memo to dealers...

So, if after reading the attached sheet, you still want to buy a mower from a "dealer" who is violating his or her Toro dealer agreement, don't think that Toro or that "dealer" is going to be standing behind you if you come up with an issue. And for that fact, since it would be considered as a purchase outside of the Toro dealer agreement, you could probably kiss your warranty bye bye on it anyway...

 

I bought this same aerator directly from lawn solutions. I had a forward reverse cable go.bad replaced it myself is less time it would take to haul it off to a dealer. Then again I also have a Quick mower.

The price of the unit is a good deal.
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We have 3-4 dealers in the Charlotte market with our 21", 24", and riding aerators that you can demo......

Currently they are STI Turf Care and Whitney's Lawn and Garden in Monroe.

It will he worth your time to demo them! You will see what everyone is talking about first hand.

 

There is also Cooke's Rentals......they have a fleet of the 21s and the other 2 models on order for spring....ask for Chad.

 

Toro TITAN and Commercial series mowers are not allowed, per Toro Dealer Agreement to be ... well let me see if i can find the memo to dealers...

So, if after reading the attached sheet, you still want to buy a mower from a "dealer" who is violating his or her Toro dealer agreement, don't think that Toro or that "dealer" is going to be standing behind you if you come up with an issue. And for that fact, since it would be considered as a purchase outside of the Toro dealer agreement, you could probably kiss your warranty bye bye on it anyway...

This is all about protecting zones so that competition is reduced, much like franchises limit how close together stores are. Selling outside of your "zone" means price competition is more intense than it otherwise might be. So its discouraged, usually with some BS corporate-speak about safety or education of customers or whatever. They can't very well say, "hey, we can't charge as much if we all have to compete with a guy in the next state who sells more in a day than most stores do in a month but makes less per unit".

I've been in the business 2 decades and taken toros, exmarks, and echo equipment into various dealers and NOT ONCE has anyone asked me where I bought them. The places that had that attitude happen to still be in business after 20 years. Coincidence?

A dealer who pitched a snit fit because I didn't buy that machine from him would certainly never get any further business from me. Grow the F up and if you can't compete, get out of the business. You get paid for your service work. It's not like you're giving it away. If you don't want to fix it then fine, I'll take it somewhere else and you can starve like so many of the ones out there are who don't "get" how retail works, and eventually go out of business. Two of my dealers have, even though I "supported" them by buying there. A third has dropped commercial lines and is sucking wind. Times are tough. Here's an idea...be efficient, price competitively, treat customers right, fire your surly redneck employees and put in people who know how to greet a customer, and maybe you'll get some sales! The fraction of buyers who buy online has got to be tiny. My typical dealer experience is sadly, a mix of incompetence, surly attitudes, laziness beyond comprehension, and a lackadasical attitude where they sigh and act bothered if you (gasp) ask to test a $8500 machine before you buy it. Or act offended because you bought a machine 30 minutes away for $800 less than they wanted. I realize that it's a tough business, but I see a whole lot out there they can do to improve the bottom line besides prices. Running off potential future customers is not going to help. You're not going to blackmail me into buying from you, sorry. I'll just buy used machines before I do that.

I was going to tell the OP to support his local dealer and in the case of a rare product like this aerator, to err on the side of caution and use a local dealer, because its not like there are many other dealers nearby for it and this is a special machine that could use good dealer support.

But most years I never step inside a dealer. If they made it more pleasant to do so I might be tempted to use them for other things more often. But when I need a certain blower and get "we don't carry that" on the phone, no offer to order me one, just a vibe that I'm bothering the dude on the phone, why shouldn't I just order one from Home Depot with a few mouse clicks? When I need parts the parts counter guy is slow, displays no sense of urgency at all, eats his sandwhich while I wait, or its some snotty kid with an attitude, etc, why shouldn't I just order them on the web?

these guys don't offend me as a customer. They offend me as someone who used to run a retail operation and trained workers for a living on how to treat customers. This is stuff 16 y/o's used to do within hours of starting work. What's these guys' excuse?