Why buy a big Massey?

Why did people buy big Massey Fergusons such as the 1150, 1155 and 2805 compared to other manufacturers? Was it due to the dealership, power reliability etc?
Has anyone an opinion on which model offered the best overall package eg the 1150,1155 or the 2805?
Just interested in peoples views.
Bill

Here in the states there were normally 3 things that sold a brand of tractor.
1. Price! 2. Dealer support and 3. brand loyalty.

When we moved onto the farm in 72 from the city we had a Ford dealer about 8 miles west of us and a Deer realer about 8 miles east. Most of the tractors were IH and AC even though the dealers were much further away. The Ford dealer also sold cars and thats all he was really interested in. The Deer dealer thought that if he had no parts that people would buy new equipment to get crops in or out. By 78 the Deer dealer had passed and his replacement knew how to keep farmers happy and a heck of a lot of stuff around here had become Green. Nearest Massey dealer was 60 miles and the Case dealer was a joke. Now we don't see much orange and it's about equal between red and green....gotta go 25 miles to get parts. Starting to see some Massy stuff here now but that dealership just changed hands and I don't know how good this new owner is going to be.

Rick

I kind of look at it as before 1985 and after in general terms. Before 1985 every brand had its share of enthusiasts around here. Yes, IH and Deere predominated but together had just maybe half the tractor market and less than half on implements. All brands around here had strong (and weak) dealers and a lot of farmers responded to the pricing and support these dealers offered. Also, each brand had a few dealers that had aggressive pricing and some farmers responded to that to a certain degree.
After 1985 with the mergers and near-failed companies farmers were keen on resale value in terms of keeping the balance sheet strong. Over time less and less farmers were willing to indulge their personal preferences in favor of products that held their value. This practice favored Deere and Case IH.
To answer Bill from Scotland's question I would say the 1100 series tractors were more popular because there were more dealer numbers to sell them including one in the area that had an aggressive pricing policy. Most of the 2805 production would have happened after the US grain embargo in 1980 which put US agriculture in to a deep recession. Therefore 2805's were produced in lower numbers. At this same time MF underwent serious financial difficulty which made farmers leery of investing in MF products in case the company failed making parts and service availability possibly problematic. I've never been around a 2805 but heard they were a significantly improved tractor over the 1100 series.

All the 1100s here were sold on price vs. Deere and IH, although the dealer was good on parts & service. However, many of the Deeres sold by the now defunct dealers back then are still around, while only a handful of the big MFs are left. That might be because after all the locals closed, the nearest Deere dealers were 25-35 miles into Pennsylvania, while MF you had to go all the way to MM Weaver in Leola, PA, almost 100 miles. Now we've got an ex-White dealer 40 miles away in PA that sells new MF stuff, but they don't know the old MF stuff.

Bill, to capsulize on what I said below I would say the biggest motivator around here would have been price. The second would have been a strong parts and service dealer within reasonable driving distance. All other things being equal would lead a vast majority to buy Deere or IH in those days otherwise.

If I remember back all these dreary years.... there was a... an ad campaign? By MF, to climb to the top. The rest thought they could rest on their laurels in the 70's, then most all soon declined, but MF was still just looking up. A practical design, that I only recently appriciated, and prices I could only recently afford, but they had a 'green revolution' theme going. Circle irrigation was part of this new program, early experiments in desease and insect resistant genetic engineering another, feeding the entire world with Massey Ferguson 'big muscle' doing the work, made them a CanAM/UK venture into a... one of the first? Global corporations. I do wish Allis chalmers could have kept up the fight, they made very few flops in 100 years, but now, they are all one???... conglomerate? I can't afford new, but nice to see them continue even if so different in all aspects. Now go out and buy one or 3.... btw, the pic is of my 8th massey....

Bill, Did you ever get that 880 six bottom in the dirt?

I agree with what you say . An additional factor which may have helped M-F in the 1960-1970"s era would be brand loyalty with the older generation carried over from Massey-Harris and possibly Ferguson .

I dont have much land of my own so littel oppoertunity to get it tried. I talked with on eof the local farms a couple of weeks ago so he has agreed to let me on once he has finished harvesting so should get it tried then.
Bill

Oldtanker gave the three reasons, but I would put brand loyalty marginally first, price second, and dealer support third.

Actually in my neck of the woods in the late 60's and early 70's it was price first followed by dealer support/location. Most of the farmers here at the time were tight wads! MF was too far and the best service/parts were IH and JD. AC dealer was tiny and the Ford dealer was a joke. If dealers were equal and and they offered the same sized tractor at the same price then it came down to brand loyality.

Now it's the social climbers with their JD's and the rebels with CaseIH. Kinda funny, the area was about 80% AG related back then, now maybe 10%. Tell a guy who works in the dog food plant "I own JD" and it means nothing. So I don't know who they are trying to impress.

Rick