Some were same-day.
Many next-day or two-day.
A handful longer.
The worst delay in the sample involved a specialized low-volume component on another machine type and stretched to eleven days.
Leonard closed the folder.
“Now the important question.”
Tom nodded.
“I buy six machines from you.”
“One dies in April.”
“You don’t have the part.”
“Regional doesn’t get it here.”
“What happens?”
Tom answered:
“You call.”
“The clock starts.”
“If I cannot put the required part in your machine within seventy-two hours during the defined planting or harvest window, I keep you moving another way.”
“How?”
“Depends on the failure.”
“Part from a floor unit if appropriate.”
“Temporary tractor.”
“Transfer from another territory.”
“Sometimes I drive.”
Leonard studied him.
“You’ll put that in writing?”
“Yes.”
“Exactly?”
“Yes.”
“Seventy-two hours?”
“For qualifying field-stopping failure during the defined seasonal period.”
“And if you miss?”
“Loaner obligation activates.”
Leonard leaned back.
“Why would you assume that liability?”
Tom smiled slightly.
“Because if I’m asking you to trust six machines to my dealership, part of the risk should belong to me.”
That sentence mattered.
Leonard asked:
“You know I’m not buying today.”
“I assumed.”
“I’m going to check everything you told me.”
“You should.”
“I’m calling your customers.”
“I’ll give you names of people who agreed to speak.”
“I’m checking resale.”
“Good.”
“Fuel numbers.”
“Good.”
“Service disputes.”
“Also good.”
Tom finished his coffee.
“When you’re done, call me.”
No pressure.
No expiring incentive.
No declaration that another farmer was about to buy the exact tractor Leonard needed.
Tom left the logs.
For fourteen days, Leonard worked like an auditor.
He contacted three growers running comparable Fendt equipment.
He asked about diesel consumption.
DEF usage.
Tillage speed.
Hydraulic response.
Cab electronics.
Transmission behavior.
Cold starts.
Parts.
Software.
Technicians.
He did not ask:
“Do you like the tractor?”
That question was nearly useless.
People defended expensive purchases.
Leonard asked:
“How many days was your longest field-stopping breakdown?”
“What failed?”
“Who answered the phone?”
“When did the replacement machine arrive?”
“Would you buy it again if the color were removed from the hood?”
That final question produced interesting silence.
One grower laughed.
“Yes.”
Another said:
“Probably.”
The third answered:
“For the tractor, yes.”
“For the dealer, absolutely.”
Leonard wrote all three.
He reviewed regional auction records.
Four-year-old units.
Five-year-old units.
Hours.
Condition.
Options.
Resale.
He compared depreciation against his existing fleet.
Initial Fendt acquisition costs were not low.
Leonard expected that.
A cheap machine that sat during planting could become the most expensive machine on the farm.
He modeled fuel.
The farmers he interviewed showed enough reduction under comparable workloads that Leonard believed a meaningful efficiency gain was realistic.
He refused to use the best figure.
Instead, he built conservative projections.
Five percent.
Eight percent.
Ten percent.
Then tested whether the purchase still made sense.