The truth: 4310: the good, the bad, mostly ugly

[tdenny]

Cowboydoc,

<font color=blue>I think it's pretty hard to expect #1 service if you are more concerned about price.</font color=blue>

I would have to very respectfully disagree with you on this point. I believe that dealer is making a margin that they feel is adequate or they would not have sold the unit and all of the additional things he added to him. If I go to my local Ford dealer I expect #1 customer service from that dealer no matter how much he decides to sell me the car/truck for. I expect my $26,000 tractor to be in mint condition (i.e. no scratches) and to be setup perfectly. Now there is always the possibility of a mistake or two after all we all only human but......

I am not sure about other folks out here but to me that's a lot of money. My tractor budget was about half of that.

I would venture that it's safe to say that Bill thought this dealer not only offered him the best price but also he felt confident that they would give a huge effort to make sure everything was NOT sub standard.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[tdenny]

Rus91,

I hope you are correct in assuming that this is an isolated incident. I find it very disheartening that I keep reading these type of threads on the web about John Deere and it's current serious problems. I have a JD and it is a great tractor but I bought it used and didn't have to go through all of these problems. Best of luck to you.

 

[blurrybill]

Rus91,

Sorry that my post was the reason for registering, but welcome to TBN. I think you'll find, as I have that the members are supportive on a number of different levels. Stay tuned; I will be communicating progress with JD one way or the other. I hope your purchase experience is a good one. I chose JD for many reasons, but whether for the right ones or NOT remains to unfold.

Bill

 

[MJB]

Sorry to hear about all your trouble. A poor dealer can make even a great tractor look bad. I must have got lucky with my local dealer when I bought my 4300. Being the fanatical sort myself,/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif I went over my 4300 and attachments with a fine toothed comb when I first bought it. The dealers’ mechanics did everything right by the book. There were even a few dirty fingerprint smudges on the installation manuals that came with the attachments, so I know they referred to them. Like many others have already stated: A good dealer can make all the difference in the world. Your local dealer sounds like a much better dealer than the one in Missouri. Good luck with your new toy./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

Bill,
Yes you are absolutely right that it should be that way no doubt. I agree with you 100%. All I meant was that some dealerships make it on service and some make it on price. My only point was that there was a reason that that person could sell you the tractor and equipment for less than anyone else in a 350 mile radius. The reason is they sell on price and obviously service is terrible. I did not mean that by any means you deserved the service you got because of the price. Yes you deserved better than what you got. Yes John Deere corporate should take care of you and they should have taken care of you already. I really hope they haven't fallen that far off the wagon that they ignore you.

I guess it kind of goes towards what we haved talked about on here with regards to Walmart and the likes. They have great prices but their service and such is deplorable.

tdenny,
I believe that the profit margin does figure in with regard to how much service you can supply. Obviously if the guy hired more competent people then his costs would go way up. Or maybe this guy just isn't organized that runs the business. So the only way he does maintain any kind of profit is by hiring sub-standard employees and selling for less than anyone else. Perfect example of this is where I buy my horse trailers from. This guy is the absolute worst when it comes to customer service and relations. Everyone knows this about him but he will sell you a trailer cheaper than anyone else in the country. Forget about after sale support either. Phone calls never get returned, etc. But if you know what you want and just want to sign the papers you can save a ton of money. He sells trailers all over the country doing business this way. No it isn't necessarily right but it's the way he does it. Bill certainly did deserve better no doubt but unfortunately the dealers that sell for the cheapest price aren't the best overall.

 

[blurrybill]

Thanks for the support, Golfgar. I don't know about breaking records, but I do believe that TBN members and others deserve knowing "the rest of the story." I held off for a while, but as I have communicated privately to others, JD should move on this quickly. I believe that I have been patient, especially given the effort and investment required to acquire the tractor. It doesn't seem reasonable to have to drive to KC Canary in Fultonville, NY to have the thing serviced. I haven't even mentioned yet the problems with the tiller -- more on that later.

Bill

 

[Boondox]

Bill, I am so sorry about all the trouble you're having!!! Way back a couple of years ago I nearly bought a 4300, but the dealer seemed a lot like the one you describe so I went orange instead. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it could get so bad.

I'm sorely tempted to dial the JD customer support line and tell them my future tractor decisions will hinge on how well they treat my friend on TBN...

Pete

 

[ethiojazz]

As an owner of the Orange version, I am sorry that you have had so much trouble. Previous post have accurately pointed out that indeed you have a fine machine and has all the necessary equipment to handle any projects.

Before I found TBN and with the advice and guidance I recieved here, I had also gone to my local JD dealer. Infact I went there a total of three separate times. I was interested in a 400 series at first and then asked about a 4000 series and a 4-TEN series. The first and thrid time I was there the sales people did not even want to address me. The second time I was there the fellow who was more helpful was intent on steering me towards a used tractor they got on trade and did not want to discuss any of the new ones.

I also walked towards their shop and the fellow back there was just "nasty". Kind of convinced me to look elsewhere and I must say I am glad I did.

I hope it works out for you, but I would not hold out too much hope. You should also file a complaint with BBB on the dealer and JD. Sometimes that works better than calling the complaint line.

Good Luck

 

[blurrybill]

Chapter 6: Attempts to contact the selling dealer.

I neglected to mention that before contacting the JD customer center, I faxed a letter on June 19 to the salesman. The next morning I sent a hard copy both to the salesman and to the four owners of the dealership. Salient portions of the letter follow. If anyone likes I can transcribe the entire text of the letter. Because I have detailed problems with the setup in earlier posts, I decided to simply include communications to the salesman.

NOTE: ALTHOUGH I SPENT OVER $26,000 WITH THIS DEALER, NEITHER THE SALESMAN NOR ANY OF THE OWNERS HAVE RESPONDED IN ANY WAY TO MY CONCERNS AS A CUSTOMER. NOT ONE WORD, AND AFTER CORDIAL COMMUNICATION FOR TWO MONTHS.

June 19, 2002

(salesman name, dealer address)

Dear ----:

I hardly know where to begin, but I wanted to immediately address problems with my tractor purchase associated with the lack of appropriate dealer preparation.

(two paragraphs detailing the problems)

In brief, it was determined that the tractor was not prepared properly for delivery. Because I couldn't use the tractor in that condition, I contacted a dealer in Ames, Ia (dealer name) and they picked it up on Monday of this week. Today I received word that the PDI and other repairs were completed and these were documented on a service invoice. During the thorough PDI, it was found that some zerts were not greased and the cruise control was not adjusted properly and was not working. The $61.94 charged for that repair was billed to John Deere under warrantee.

In summary, the dealer in Iowa charged me $440.04 for preparation and repair of the tractor. Obviously, that expense was not anticipated when I negotiated the purchase of the tractor and implements from your dealership. As with any consumer, my expectation was that (dealer name), as a certified John Deere dealer, would turn over the tractor to me in working order meeting John Deere standards for dealer inspection and installation of purchased equipment. That clearly was not done.

I don't feel that I should be held responsible for the above charges and I would like to be compensated $440.04 as soon as possible. I have genuinely enjoyed working with you on my purchase, Mark, and I am hopeful that this can be resolved easily and quickly. The local dealer indicated they would be happy to address any concerns that you might have relative to the work they performed to get the tractor in working condition.

I do not take an expeniture of (purchase price) lightly and I am hopeful that this matter can be resolved without a need to contact JD representatives or through other procedures. Copies of the enclosed invoice will serve as documentation of the expenses to setup the tractor properly, including statements of the repairs by the mechanic.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience so that I might know how you will resolve this issue. I'll fax this to you today (Wednesday) and send along copies in the mail for your records.

Sincerely,

(my full name)

cc: (four owners of dealership)

As you can see, I attempted to give the salesman and dealership an opportunity to resolve the problems without even contacting John Deere.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I have to agree with Cowboy, here. You guys are pretty naive if you think there is any "free lunch". Certified dealers- give me a break! How many purchases have you transacted in your life times? When negotiating a deal I do it in my own community. If something goes sower I want to be able to get to somebody responsible quickly. One reason I didn't purchase from Carver, etc. Also, I don't want to waste a lot of my time shopping all over to get the lowest price. I (& I'm sure all of you)have better things to do with my/your time.