broker than broke
New member
- Joined
- May 30, 2009
- Messages
- 4
I wonder if this has EVER happened to anybody else?
I bought a brand new Kubota L4400 in October 2007. Due to illness I didn't get to use it much that fall and winter so in the spring, April 02, 2008 to be exact, the tractor only had 48 point something hours on it so it was ready for it's first service. I must point out the tractor performed flawlessly up to that point.
I already had all the filters and everything except for the hydraulic oil. Of course Kubota RECOMMENDS you use their brand of oil, which THEY do not make, just like with any other equipment I have owned I NEVER buy the "dealer brand". Here it costs over double the generic. So I called the dealer I bought it from and double checked with them if Smitty's Supertrac fluid was compatible as I had used it in my other tractor for years. They said YES.
I had an unopened container of Supertrac fluid. Since the tractor needs 10.6 gallons to fill back up I went and bought 2 five gallon pails of the fluid from the local parts store.
After draining the old factory fluid from the tractor, and replacing the filters, I opened the first container of SuperTrac fluid and began filling the tractor. I became concerned IMMEDIATELY because the color of the fluid was bright green. It had NEVER been that color before. It seemed to me the viscosity of the oil was a little thick. But I am not an oil expert, though I have owned and operated all kinds of farm equipment, construction equipment, long haul 18 wheelers, welding equipment, and god know what else. Then I opened the second container I had just bought along with the first. It was the usual brown color and appeared to be thinner. At the point I became ALARMED!!! It was evening, so I waited until the next morning and carried the pails back to the store and showed it to the guy that ran the store. I poured residue form each pail in to a clean glass for each that I brought with me. I told the guy my concerns and REMINDED HIM THIS WAS A BRAND NEW TRACTOR AND THE VERY FIRST OIL CHANGE!!!!!!!! He said it was OK, just a "different batch" or something.
So I went home and cranked and ran the tractor for about 5 hours. The hydraulics began behaving funny, the brakes started to squeal as did the PTO clutch. I called the dealer who of course told me to get the fluid out immediately. Then I went back to the parts store and told them. They gave me 25 gallons of the same fluid to "flush the system" with. That's the only way you can flush it, just keep changing the oil and filters and run it a little each time to circulate.
Then the nightmare began. The brakes and pto clutch squalled so loudly, plus the hydraulics did not work right so back to the dealer's shop.
First rattle out of the box, they said they had put the wrong remotes on it. (I have to have three remotes) They put stackables on there, they will NOT work with that tractor but they exchanged them.
But, my brand knew tractor had to be torn down and new brakes installed. I had to PAY for it too because they said the warranty was void because the wrong oil had been put in it.
That spring season was ruined because the tractor was torn down over a month.
This October I got sick again and was on my back about 90 days and then after that I was very weak, plus in March I caught the worst case of flu I ever had. So it was just lately that I finally got up and around.
I put the rotary mower on the tractor and tried to do a little mowing with the the thing, but every time I engaged the PTO it squalled so loudly it put my teeth on edge. Since I had lost confidence in the dealer I bought it from for putting the wrong remotes on it I took it to another dealer. Now the tractor is going to have to be torn all down AGAIN, I am NOT going to have it for no telling how long and I have been told I am going to have to PAY for it again.
The tractor now only has 112 hours. I was supposed to change the oil at 100 hours but since it is going to have to be torn down all over again, no sense in doing that.
I want a brand new tractor. That's what I had when I walked in to that store on April 02, 08. Now I have a second hand tractor with 112 hours on it and in for the second major tear down. And get this, they want ME to pay for this.
I have talked to an attorney about this, he shot me a price of $500 (that's dollars) per hour to litigate it. This the second spring in a row since I bought the tractor that I am not going to have it when I REALLY need it. This is the time of year I have ALWAYS used a tractor like that the most.
I believe the parts store should buy me a brand new tractor right out of the box, pay all the money I have been and am GOING to be out, and the legal costs. I had a brand new tractor with 48 hours on it when I walked in to that store, now I have a piece of crap that is scattered all over the floor at a dealership. I am 57 years old and this is the only brand new piece of equipment I have ever owned with the exception of a new Lincoln portable welding machine I bought in 95.
Has anybody else ever had this happen to them???? What would you do?? what have you done and how did it turn out???
broker than broke, now sicker than sick
I bought a brand new Kubota L4400 in October 2007. Due to illness I didn't get to use it much that fall and winter so in the spring, April 02, 2008 to be exact, the tractor only had 48 point something hours on it so it was ready for it's first service. I must point out the tractor performed flawlessly up to that point.
I already had all the filters and everything except for the hydraulic oil. Of course Kubota RECOMMENDS you use their brand of oil, which THEY do not make, just like with any other equipment I have owned I NEVER buy the "dealer brand". Here it costs over double the generic. So I called the dealer I bought it from and double checked with them if Smitty's Supertrac fluid was compatible as I had used it in my other tractor for years. They said YES.
I had an unopened container of Supertrac fluid. Since the tractor needs 10.6 gallons to fill back up I went and bought 2 five gallon pails of the fluid from the local parts store.
After draining the old factory fluid from the tractor, and replacing the filters, I opened the first container of SuperTrac fluid and began filling the tractor. I became concerned IMMEDIATELY because the color of the fluid was bright green. It had NEVER been that color before. It seemed to me the viscosity of the oil was a little thick. But I am not an oil expert, though I have owned and operated all kinds of farm equipment, construction equipment, long haul 18 wheelers, welding equipment, and god know what else. Then I opened the second container I had just bought along with the first. It was the usual brown color and appeared to be thinner. At the point I became ALARMED!!! It was evening, so I waited until the next morning and carried the pails back to the store and showed it to the guy that ran the store. I poured residue form each pail in to a clean glass for each that I brought with me. I told the guy my concerns and REMINDED HIM THIS WAS A BRAND NEW TRACTOR AND THE VERY FIRST OIL CHANGE!!!!!!!! He said it was OK, just a "different batch" or something.
So I went home and cranked and ran the tractor for about 5 hours. The hydraulics began behaving funny, the brakes started to squeal as did the PTO clutch. I called the dealer who of course told me to get the fluid out immediately. Then I went back to the parts store and told them. They gave me 25 gallons of the same fluid to "flush the system" with. That's the only way you can flush it, just keep changing the oil and filters and run it a little each time to circulate.
Then the nightmare began. The brakes and pto clutch squalled so loudly, plus the hydraulics did not work right so back to the dealer's shop.
First rattle out of the box, they said they had put the wrong remotes on it. (I have to have three remotes) They put stackables on there, they will NOT work with that tractor but they exchanged them.
But, my brand knew tractor had to be torn down and new brakes installed. I had to PAY for it too because they said the warranty was void because the wrong oil had been put in it.
That spring season was ruined because the tractor was torn down over a month.
This October I got sick again and was on my back about 90 days and then after that I was very weak, plus in March I caught the worst case of flu I ever had. So it was just lately that I finally got up and around.
I put the rotary mower on the tractor and tried to do a little mowing with the the thing, but every time I engaged the PTO it squalled so loudly it put my teeth on edge. Since I had lost confidence in the dealer I bought it from for putting the wrong remotes on it I took it to another dealer. Now the tractor is going to have to be torn all down AGAIN, I am NOT going to have it for no telling how long and I have been told I am going to have to PAY for it again.
The tractor now only has 112 hours. I was supposed to change the oil at 100 hours but since it is going to have to be torn down all over again, no sense in doing that.
I want a brand new tractor. That's what I had when I walked in to that store on April 02, 08. Now I have a second hand tractor with 112 hours on it and in for the second major tear down. And get this, they want ME to pay for this.
I have talked to an attorney about this, he shot me a price of $500 (that's dollars) per hour to litigate it. This the second spring in a row since I bought the tractor that I am not going to have it when I REALLY need it. This is the time of year I have ALWAYS used a tractor like that the most.
I believe the parts store should buy me a brand new tractor right out of the box, pay all the money I have been and am GOING to be out, and the legal costs. I had a brand new tractor with 48 hours on it when I walked in to that store, now I have a piece of crap that is scattered all over the floor at a dealership. I am 57 years old and this is the only brand new piece of equipment I have ever owned with the exception of a new Lincoln portable welding machine I bought in 95.
Has anybody else ever had this happen to them???? What would you do?? what have you done and how did it turn out???
broker than broke, now sicker than sick