That sounds like good advice. Thank you :)

I got a written quote for $4999 + free delivery for the X500/48".

Last year I was looking at the X500 series.

I was quoted a 2007 X500 with 48" deck for $4950.

My experience with the dealers is everything is negotiable!

Dont buy the X500 at the price given to you....you would be paying too much!

Good luck to you!!

justalurker,
copy from your previous post.

Around here the only JD dealer demands suggested retail price plus charges for shipping, setup, and delivery. He doesn't budge and loses a considerable number of sales.

How do you know he loses sales - and if he does what difference does it make to you?

steve2ski,

I know better but...

Pretty close knit community around here. Lots of chatter about tractors and trucks and such. Seems there is a high percentage of people buying JD L&G and subcuts out of state rather than from the local dealer and it's at least a 400 mile drive.

I personally know of 4 instances where the JD dealer threatened a customer that if they bought a JD from another dealer don't bring it to them for warranty or customer pay service.

I'm not saying our local stealer, er dealer, is the rule but he's who we got here.

I watched the Kubota dealer here go from a cottage Mom and Pop shop to a real nice full service Kubota dealer in a very short time.

The difference it makes to me is that I'd like to own a Deere but won't as long as this local dealer does business the way he does.

What difference does it make to you?

I guess I'm fortunate that there are several dealers in my area within a fairly large 50 mile radius. I got quotes from several dealers on a GX335 and took the best one to the dealer closest to me (7 or 8 miles) and he matched it. It was about 12.5% below list and he threw in a mulch kit and delivery too. In addition, there was "free dump cart with every tractor" promotion going on at the time so I got pretty lucky I think. I've since referred a couple friends to this dealer and they all paid less than list price.

Do what I did: go to machinefinder.com and click on search and sort out the listings for the mower you want. I got my X500 for way less than MSRP and it still has over a year of warranty left. I paid $4700USD for a 2007 X500 with 46 hours on it, they put a brand new 54 inch deck on it with a clean-out port, a free oil change and I even got a new travel mug. This unit mows like the grass isn't even there. But, I guess I'm used to my old 1994 Murray 16hp 46" deck (that is still running fine).

Here is a link that might be useful: search for mowers here

My dealer sells the X500/48" deck for $4380 + taxes. That's the cash and carry price.

OOPS! Sorry, the price should have been $4830. To early to be typing and not enough coffee.

Pricing in many cases is regional. A lot of you guys refuse to put your geographical location on your handles, then when you ask questions specific to where you're located, we can't help. Deere has been squeezing their dealers to "participate" in many costs they previously carried themselves. You want that 36 mo. 0% financing; the dealer has to participate (from their own pocketbook) as well. True, some dealerships do get greedy, and I would steer away from these kinds of businesses irregardless of color. But most are trying to build their businesses one customer at a time. Hopefully the one you'll select will be around for a long time and you'll enjoy the fruits of a long relationship.

Cheers

JDFANATIC

My geographic locale is Sacramento. Price was for Cash paid in full.

I live in Auburn,CA, which is close to sheolraver. I am going to purchase a JD X500 in the next couple of weeks, but I don't know if I should go to Sparks, NV to get the "non-California" model, or go local. I talked to local dealers and they won't give up what is different. Called JD and they wouldn't tell me either, said to ask dealer... Isn't really any price difference between Sacramento and Sparks; does anyone know if it is worth it to get the X500 in Nevada instead of CA?? All you got to do is give an address out of CA. Sheolraver: which dealer did you wind up buying yours from, and are you happy? Appreciate any help you can give. I couldn't find a local dealer that had an X500 in stock to look at; just have to go with the extensive research on what would meet my needs.
Thank you so much for any direction anyone can give.

sheolraver, thanks for updating your handle, and joh4620, it's interesting to me that in a state as big as CA that you have to go 400 miles between dealers. Here in CT, a postage stamp-sized state, we have 5 major dealers. Your local dealers may be exploiting the distance geography. You could always use the quote from the out of state dealer as leverage. It may or may not work. If you purchase out of state, the local dealer HAS TO do warranty work, unlike the dealer comment by justalurker. If they refused, Deere would yank the dealership in a blink.

Cheers

JDFANATIC

JDFANATIC,

FYI when I was shopping for a JD I brought the local dealer's comments to the attention of the highest level of management I could contact at JD corporate and their official response was John Deere dealers are independent businesses and operate independently of the factory and that any disagreement on service policy is between the customer and the dealer and they will not intervene. That's what they told me. That answer may change in court but they have an army of attorneys and customers usually don't.

Obviously any business is free to refuse a customer for customer pay repairs and parts. It is bad business but it is done.

I agree with you and am sure that there are details regarding the dealer's responsibility to provide warranty service in the John Deere dealer franchise agreement but it would take legal action just to see the agreement in discovery.

For my money, I don't want to invest the price of a John Deere anything and then have to sue the local dealer and John Deere corporate to get warranty service.

Worst of all, after the dealer is forced to do the warranty work I don't want them touching my JD for fear of retaliation that might not surface till far down the road and the warranty has expired.

I envy you who live in an area where you have a choice of excellent dealers and multiple brands... where I live we don't and that sucks.

Like everything else in life there is good and bad. There are John Deere dealers who made JD what they are today and there are JD dealers who made Kubota what they are today.

Of course this local dealer's actions and policies is no reflection on the JD brand or JD products, just his choice of how to do business.

the local dealer here won't budge on price either. i ordered a new X500 a month ago and am waiting on delivery any day now. the ONLY thing they discounted, and reluctantly at that, was the 300.00 rebate from Deere. around here garden tractors are just not a big seller other than from Sears, and even then they are rarely used AS a garden tractor. so you want something special you pay for it.

my dealer has never sold the sleeve hitch attachment for any of the X series. he said he has sold a couple of 3 pt hitches, but never a single SH.

tax and all, with teh SH, i came out to a hair under 5900 for a X500 with a 48" deck. if i did not get the SH it would have been around 5600 or so after 7% taxes.

I think I didn't state my dilemma accurately in my previous post. I am going to buy a X500 with a 48" deck, but have been confused by the JD web site on what is available in California and what is not. I know it is all centered around emission regulations, but I can't get anyone at a dealer or at JD to give me a straight answer.

I called JD twice, and they had no idea on what tractor could be sold in CA. I asked to speak with a supervisor and then things went downhill. I told them their web site states that certain models are not available in CA, but they still had no idea what models could be sold in CA, and told me to contact a dealer. Told them I donÂt trust salesmen, and wanted to talk with the manufacturer. No good. Waited a few days and made another call to JD, and finally this person confirmed that being in California I could order a X500 garden tractor, but couldn't get it with the deck. He couldn't say why. He said a dealer in CA would have to order the tractor and deck separately and assemble them for sale. Thus my question: Is a CA X500 an emission choked-out model and is it better to drive 200 miles to Nevada get a non-emission controlled model that has been assembled in total by the factory??

A few weeks ago I went to a JD dealer in Stockton and after a little "back slapping" the salesman said "I sent 4 people to Sparks(Nevada) last week." Obviously he wouldn't expound on his statement, and probably wished he didn't make it.

But, bottom line, and sorry I'm taking up so much space with talk; is that I want to get the best tractor, and don't know if that can happen in California. Nevada and CA both have around the same price, just a tad under $6,000 including tax. Thanks for any help you can give!

the thing you need to ask yourself is are YOU going to get in trouble if one of your neighbors turns you in for running illegal exhaust? my ex's uncle lived out there and got turned in because his truck was smoking when he passed someone. turned out that for some reason a DIESEL does that. but still it caused him much headache and grief having to deal with teh state.

i dunno if a CA model has less power or not. i know that i personally hate anything that was made special just to suit the great state of Cali. there is no need for emission control on OPE. but like i said, check to see if you will get introuble if someone turns you in.

you know, come to think of it i wonder if the reason Deere went to the Kawa engines is because the Kohlers and briggs smoke so bad on startup. maybe Cali outlawed them all together! :)

justalurker,

Again, I'm attuned to dealerships here in CT, but also in IN and IL. All of those dealers would quiver at NOT handling a warranty claim with all due effort within the warranteed period of time, with the suriety that Deere, who IS looking to consolidate dealerships, would immediately sever the relationship. While your dealer may be an a$$, if it came down to a warranty claim, this wouldn't even go through a court.

jon4620, your question poses a unique dilemma and I'm not sure how many dealers are versed in answering it. I can't see that there will be any ramifications by purchasing a tractor out of state -- I mean -- how many people move in from other states? However, we do live in another time.

Let us know how your final decision goes and what happens over time.

Cheers

JDFANATIC

I have 2- dealerships within 40 miles of me, the large dealer in Farmington, MI who has just about 1 of everything in the showroom has an X500 "on sale" for $5049 + 6% sales tax. Which is werid because they wont haggle on any of the prices

Maybe some changes are going to happen on the 2009 models and he wants to rid his stock before the public finds out and he is stuck with the 2008 model??? Anyway, it kind of gives an idea of what their profit margin is...

Once I decided on the X500 and got serious about buying, I told a salesman at my two closest dealers that I was going to buy an X500 and I wanted the very best price. I made it clear that I would buy from whoever offered the best deal. Dealer #1 located in Virginia quoted me just under $5,300 for the X500 with a 54" deck. Dealer #2 located in North Carolina (just over the VA. line) quoted $4,999.00 for an X500 with the 54" deck. Dealer #2 got the sale. After taxes the price was just over $5,200.00 out the door. From reading some of the posts here, I think I got a pretty good deal.

Kellyray62-yahoo-com,

which dealer is it?

I am looking to buy x380 48".

Thanks