Warranty Work on New Tractors

[WilliamBos]

He is right. Dealers loose money on warrenty work. Most worth their salt will work on your tractor anyway to get your continued business... I'd go somewhere else.

So are you saying that the little profit you make is supposed to help out if their is a warranty claim??

Are tractors covered by Magnusson-Moss??

[mattman]

I worked at a new car dealership, warranty work paid for itself. There was not any money lost on warranty work. The parts department gets a little profit off the parts on warranty claims, the service department did not get the labor rate that was charged for a customer pay job, but it was by no means a do it and break even type thing. I think it was like 10 dollars less than what customer pay labor was versus warranty labor rate. We would work on any warranty claim no matter where it was bought from. I don't know how tractor warranty work gets handled, but surely they don't expect you to lose money taking care of theis customers??

[teg]

Not all dealers are created equal... This one sounds like he's blowing smoke...

[john_bud]

I'd have 2 words for that dealer, "Pound Sand"

jb

[Lunk]

I called my dealer the other day to schedule my complimentary 50 hr service. He asked if I wanted them to come get it, or would I like them to do it at my place (50 mile round trip). I said to have him come on over and I'll have a salamander going in the shed, because I want to be there to see what it's all about (plan on doing the future maint. myself...).

This same dealer is bringing a couple new front tires along, as I had some odd checking/cracking around the lugs on mine. He said if he had some extra rims, he'd mount them there, if not - he'd bring them anyways so I had them come spring, and he'd mount them for me then (wanted them out of his shop, and in my possession). He said I might as well finish out the winter on the ones I had, as he didn't want them back, and I might as well get some wear on them...

Cliff's Inc in Friesland WI is the dealer - Been great to work with!

Lunk

[rfk]

While I don't know about waranty work profit on tracrors , but I dont think it is much different than the auto service. There is profit in waranty work although it is paid differently thru parts purchase. If your not making a profit in that area I suggest you my need to restructure some areas of your service dept. The manufacture warantys the product and the franchised dealed has agreed to service that product. Period

[MessickFarmEqu]

There is no profit for us in warrenrty work unless the tractor is delivered to our door (trucking is not paid) and the problem is a very easy fix. In the automotive world most mechanics can meet the flat rate times put out by their manufacturers. For tractors, there is not a prayer. Take the popular BX fender replacement that we did so many of two years ago... flat rate on that was probably around 1.25 hrs. Even someone who had done several of them took 3+ to get it done. So we eat the cost. Its a simple expense of doing business to us. With machines like Kubota compacts we do so little warrenty work its not a huge problem for us as a buiness. It does cause some bad blood when machines get moved between dealerships as someone elses profit is becomming your liability. Like I said, just avoid the dealers that are jerks about it. Your better off picking a tractor from a good dealer, than fuss about a specific brand.

[3RRL]

In the automotive world most mechanics can meet the flat rate times put out by their manufacturers. For tractors, there is not a prayer. Take the popular BX fender replacement that we did so many of two years ago... flat rate on that was probably around 1.25 hrs. Even someone who had done several of them took 3+ to get it done. So we eat the cost.

This sounds like a problem between manufacturer and dealership?
Does the manufacturer have individuals who can perform the change out in that time? Who determines the flat rate? Although not likely from what you said, what if you had a guy who could do the change out in less than that time ... you would make a profit then, right?
My point is that if manufacturer and dealer times agree, it would be profitable.
Cost of transportation can be passed on to the consumer, make that a clear stipulation ... thereby the consumer would take dealer location for warranty work into consideration because there's a cost involved to him.

[MtnViewRanch]

I used to know a guy that worked at a car dealership and it was very common for him to get paid for 80-100 hours a week. He was good at what he did and was paid piece work (hrs allotted by mfg) not by actual hours worked. I'm guessing that the tractor dealers do not work in this manor?

[Robert_in_NY]

In the automotive world most mechanics can meet the flat rate times put out by their manufacturers. For tractors, there is not a prayer. Take the popular BX fender replacement that we did so many of two years ago... flat rate on that was probably around 1.25 hrs. Even someone who had done several of them took 3+ to get it done. So we eat the cost.

This sounds like a problem between manufacturer and dealership?
Does the manufacturer have individuals who can perform the change out in that time? Who determines the flat rate? Although not likely from what you said, what if you had a guy who could do the change out in less than that time ... you would make a profit then, right?
My point is that if manufacturer and dealer times agree, it would be profitable.
Cost of transportation can be passed on to the consumer, make that a clear stipulation ... thereby the consumer would take dealer location for warranty work into consideration because there's a cost involved to him.

But you will still have the people who will complain if a dealer charges them to transport their tractor for warranty work. Some people think the dealer is responsible for every cost associated with a warranty item. A good dealer factors in transport cost when they sell the tractor so when a warranty item comes up and the customer asks them to pick the tractor up there is no problem. If you get a lot of tractors from a different dealer in your area it can become a burden on the local dealer.