It’s a one man band that runs the business. I can’t see why there would be any mistake or confusion as it states Class tractor hire.This
There has been a lack of communication here.
Tractor demo
- Thread starter Katarina
- Start date
P#ss take using a demo tractor to try and do an 80 mile haul. I would expect the salesman to be furious when you rang and told him where it was.
Imagine selling a car and an interested party took it 200 mile to the seaside rather than a trip around the block to test drive it
Imagine selling a car and an interested party took it 200 mile to the seaside rather than a trip around the block to test drive it
I went to pick it up and drove it home . Barely no fuel in the tank when I picked it up. Filled it with fuel when I took it to pick up the straw , we insured it . No paperwork done . I have conversations on messenger bout it being a demo .Correct - there's a world of difference between a demo and a hire.
Only you know what was agreed and in what circumstances you got the tractor 'on demo'. Was it delivered to your farm on the back of a trailer, did any paperwork change hands, are you known at the dealers, do you know the salesman. Who insured it during the demo and do you have proof. All these are key questions.
I would write or email to the salesman or dealer principal stating that it was your understanding or agreed understanding that the tractor was yours on demonstration. You ought to do this further stating that you did not expect to be charged and that had the tractor proved satisfactory, you would have bought it.
Maybe on reflection an eighty mile road trip is a bit excessive - different if you had it for a few days ploughing, harrowing or round the yard. Maybe they think you are taking the pi*s. Your past relationship with them is key for me. But in any event some paperwork is important. I can't believe, unless you were borrowing something from a mate, that the deal came with no agreement
HK
I’d intended buying the tractor so I’d asked if it would be ok to go and pick the straw up with it. Your welcome to your view point but it was an agreed demo and I was completely open with him . I had no intention of taking the P&as as your suggesting .
If you asked then fair enough, you didnt make clear in your opening post that you had. As for fuel i always send a hire or demo back with the same amount of fuel it came with, empty ,part full or full.
I’d say if it was an extended demo then it proved to be the right outcome.
You demo’d it,then it broke so your decision was not to buy.
If it had been faultless then you’d have probably bought it.
Would they have tried to bill you for hire then?
You demo’d it,then it broke so your decision was not to buy.
If it had been faultless then you’d have probably bought it.
Would they have tried to bill you for hire then?
Fare enough. I was stuck on the farm in shropshire all day when the tractor broke down and I thought as it was a demo then leaving nearly a full tank of fuel in it was just a decent thing to do . Tank would have been emptied if I’d have know I would get a £600 bill at the end of it .
Tarw Coch
Member
- Location
- Bottom of Wats Dyke
Why is it a p#ss take using a demo tractor to do haulage work anymore than a day ploughing a field, speeding muck or any other job the person having the tractor on demo would use a tractor for as part of their business?
Car demos tend to be slightly different, a relatively short drive whereas a tractor demo usually consists of a few days left on farm
Time for a conversation then.
It all depends on the buyer, if your a regular good customer then a firm would let you do as you please because you will more than likely buy it. Nothing kills tractors worse than road work. Too many in the past have asked for a demo to do a special job or to save a hire fee and just abused the "demo" concept.
- Location
- DD9.
Talk to the dealer, tell them you feel the bill is unreasonable, because unless it’s 250hp+ and new, £600 for 3 and a bit days hire of an 11yr old machine (that broke down) is ridiculous.
Try not to leave it on a sour note tho, you never know what’ll come along in the future.
Suppose even if you do pay the bill, it costs you £600 but saves you from buying a Claas, which would be a massive win in the long run
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Try not to leave it on a sour note tho, you never know what’ll come along in the future.
Suppose even if you do pay the bill, it costs you £600 but saves you from buying a Claas, which would be a massive win in the long run
.shelly reynolds
Member
Our nextdoor neighbour had a 250hp tractor on demo for a week pulling a Topdown and drilling and i had two different makes of pick up, one for a week to do what I liked with it, and an other for a weekend only as it was fully booked for weeks ahead to treat as my own only asked for it to have a full tank of diesel on return. No point of a demo if you can't use it
Tarw Coch
Member
- Location
- Bottom of Wats Dyke
If others in the past have taken the pee then the dealer ought to have made clear what was and more to the point wasn’t acceptable use on a trial.
Ultimately the whole point of such a trial is to make the decision wether to purchase or not, dealers can’t expect every trial to result in a sale otherwise there would be no point in a trial, I would have thought the most important thing from the dealers point of view would be is the customer genuinely interested in buying and a realistic chance that they will buy. It’s rather unfortunate fir the dealer that a trial will sometimes result in the customer deciding it’s not fir them.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
The point of a demo is to find exactly the sort of fault that arose so I don’t think the OP was unreasonable to do the trip. A pootle round the yard or up and down the lane tells you nothing. It wants to be going hours at full throttle.
Getting to the point I’d expect a full day on a very big cultivator at full power, given the sort of prices we pay. If the OP hadn’t done the trip and bought the tractor he’d be faced with a bill for the breakdown fairly soon after which is a bit of a pee take IMO. Plenty of stuff I wish I’d demoed harder.
Getting to the point I’d expect a full day on a very big cultivator at full power, given the sort of prices we pay. If the OP hadn’t done the trip and bought the tractor he’d be faced with a bill for the breakdown fairly soon after which is a bit of a pee take IMO. Plenty of stuff I wish I’d demoed harder.
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Nearly every secondhand tractor I have been sold has come with a faulty head gasket that I had to put right at my own expense. No sympathy at all for dealers passing on these problems with full knowledge.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Mrs NeilO had a trip to Edinburgh with NeilO jnr before COVID arrived. We happened to mention it at a local dealership, who then offered her a new £40k car on demo for the weekend. They are out there.
betweenthelines
Member
- Location
- southwest
I'd expect a demo tractor to do anything I would do with it if I bought it. If that includes roadwork, then so be it.
The breakdown wasn't due to the road trip, it could just as easily have happened 200 yards down the road from the farm gate (where it could have blocked the road for several hours).
I'd say "See you in Court, bring the hire agreement I signed."
The breakdown wasn't due to the road trip, it could just as easily have happened 200 yards down the road from the farm gate (where it could have blocked the road for several hours).
I'd say "See you in Court, bring the hire agreement I signed."
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
- Location
- Co antrim
40 miles isnt that far though. Its only just around 2 hours driving so dont see why this is an issue for some on here. We had a demo for christmas 19. Had it over the holidays and put somethin like 120 hours on it. Left it back dealer never mentioned it. Was just interested to see if we liked it which we did and did a deal for 1 in the summer which should be arriving shortly. Some on here thought it was ridiculous about the hours but i didnt see the problem. If wed of had it for 1 day probably wouldnt of bought it as it was quite hard on diesel but once wed worked it hard for a few days it had loads more power and using nearly half the diesel. So was the dealer better to let it be used to the full and sell a tractor or be stingy and throw the book at us upon return and not sell a tractor?
I think I would speak to the dealer to try and sort something out, not put it on a public forum, it's a 12 yo tractor so anything can happen!, but would agree its slightly stretching any goodwill by travelling 40 miles for straw, you're maybe two of a kind Lol, blame on both sides perhaps.