Warranty Work on New Tractors

   / Warranty Work on New Tractors #1  

Brokermike

Silver Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
185
Location
Shaftsbury VT
Tractor
Mahindra 2555, Ford 4610, New Holland T4040
I'm still shopping for a new 35-40hp tractor and had an interesting question posed to me by one of my local dealers.

He asked me who I expect to do any warranty work on my new tractor if I don't by it from him. He basically said that he had no obligation to perform warranty work if I bought ti from another dealer and that he loses money on warranty work. His reason for being MUCH more expensive is that he has to "build in the cost" of performing warranty work at a loss into my tractor and that he doesn't know how much he makes on a tractor until the 4 year warranty is up? Seems kind of fishy to me, granted I spoke with a salesman and not the owner (he may have been trying to preserve his VIG).

Can anyone shed some light on this?
 
   / Warranty Work on New Tractors #2  
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.
 
   / Warranty Work on New Tractors #3  
I'm still shopping for a new 35-40hp tractor and had an interesting question posed to me by one of my local dealers.

He asked me who I expect to do any warranty work on my new tractor if I don't by it from him. He basically said that he had no obligation to perform warranty work if I bought ti from another dealer and that he loses money on warranty work. His reason for being MUCH more expensive is that he has to "build in the cost" of performing warranty work at a loss into my tractor and that he doesn't know how much he makes on a tractor until the 4 year warranty is up? Seems kind of fishy to me, granted I spoke with a salesman and not the owner (he may have been trying to preserve his VIG).

Can anyone shed some light on this?
I had a local Kubota dealer tell me that when I priced a new kubota grand 4240 from his dealership and he was $2200 higher than the kubota dealer just north of him.He told me he would not warrenty the new tractor if I bought from the other dealer.That was after I bought a new 2007 Kubota 326 ZTR from him and a new toro snowblower in 2006.Needless to say I took my service needs business to another kubota dealer for my ZTR & Kubota RTV 900.I also bought a new 2008 Kioti DK40se instead of the kubota 4240 so I guess he really missed out.coobie
 
   / Warranty Work on New Tractors #5  
Might want to drop the manufacturer a note on that one -- something similar happened to me last year on a new vehicle purchase -- I did not appreciate the implied threat -- I am still working off the free service credit I received as an apology from the dealer:) --JMHO
 
   / Warranty Work on New Tractors #6  
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.

Agreed. The guy was wrong to tell you he isn't obligated to provide warrantee work on machines from another selling dealer; most manufacturers require it. But he certainly can decide WHEN to schedule it.
 
   / Warranty Work on New Tractors #7  
This has topic has come up occasionally in the arbitration cases I hear.

I can't speak for Kubota, but A New Warranty is something offered by the Manufacturer and is subject to Federal and State Consumer Laws... business applications generally do not fall under Consumer Protection Laws.

It is incumbent on the Manufacturer to honor it's written warranty and that includes warranty work at any Franchised Dealer or Warranty Center if so stated.

A local Ford Dealer changed hands and told customers they would not accept warranty work in their territory unless they sold the vehicle. This caused a lot of problems for Ford and the Dealer once it became public and after the TV Consumer Reporters got hold of the story...

In the end, the Dealership amended it's policy by stating they reserved the right to serve their customers first... The Dealership went out of business and lost many long time customers... customers that had bought used cars for grandchildren or family members that had been turned away.

The real question is why do business with a Dealer that starts off negative.

My family has been in the Auto Business since the 1920's. My Grandfather philosophy was service work kept the doors open in hard times like the depression and generated traffic to the Dealership which often generated sales down the road.

I can't imagine any Dealership surviving by threatening potential customers...
 
   / Warranty Work on New Tractors #8  
In 2003 I bought a NH tractor from a dealer and in just a little over a month he went out of business. I started looking for people who, in case I needed it, would do warranty work for me. Sure enough, I had a small problem in the electrical system. One dealer told me to bring the tractor to them. I couldn't no trailer to haul with. It was finally agreed that I could bring the dash panel to them and they would replace the temperature gauge. They did, the tech? laid it down on a steel bench with all kinds of grit, oil etc. It ruined the face of the panel. Scratches all over it.
I finally took it to another dealer and they went out of their way to help. They fixed the problem and even sent a guy about 35 miles to my place to work on it once. Did not cost me anything for that one.
Afterward, I needed some work that could only be done in their shop and they came up with a trailer and hauled it down there and did the work plus they did a fix on the hydraulic hose that everyone was having problems with. They only charged for the parts. Then the hauled it back to me and only charged me $140.00 dollars for all of it, including the trips, about 104 miles. You can't beat that with a stick.
I am staying with a dealer like that. Baltz Equipment Co. has been there for me and IF I ever buy another piece of equipment, I will sure get it from them. A good dealer is one of the best things to look for when you lay out that kind of money. :)
 
   / Warranty Work on New Tractors #9  
I am staying with a dealer like that. Baltz Equipment Co. has been there for me and IF I ever buy another piece of equipment, I will sure get it from them. A good dealer is one of the best things to look for when you lay out that kind of money. :)


Agreed!! Glad to hear they went out of their way to take care of you.
 
   / Warranty Work on New Tractors #10  
Just to be clear, are the dealers saying that warranty reimbursements do not cover the cost to the dealership of performing the service?

I am somewhat skeptical of that. Sure, they don't make as much profit as they do on consumer billables(particularly with the associated parts markup), but it is unlikley that they actually lose money. Warranty work and dealer prep work must makeup over 50% of the shop time of most dealers. It doesn't seem reasonable that those charges aren't inline with costs of executing the tasks.

Just wondering?
Chris
 
 
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