Dealer Dealer Pride and Prejudice...they may not support you!

[imajeepnut]

TMC!!!!!! I'm still laughing!!!! Thanks for that!!!! funny funny..... I love it!

I may try that!!

 

[imajeepnut]

TMC.....I've laughed so hard that I'm crying and my side hurts!!! whew still laughing and no one knows why! lol *$%! of a Deal!

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

Messick...I don't understand why you would not be compensated the same for the "same" warranty work as would the selling dealer?

For the recall, yea.. but the problem is that we as dealerships are responsible for our customers (as we should be). We did not even really know these guys had this mower, it was the responsibility of the dealer hours away to back them up.. and they failed to do that. Had they bought it from us the problem would not have happened in the first place.

We got burned because we almost never recover the full amount that we spend when doing a warranty repair, that's been covered a thousand times on here. Its not unique to Kubota, its the reality of being in this business.

I'm not sure you really got scammed on the deal. Just like me, the person you mentioned might have found a better deal and he shouldn't be convicted for that. It's just business. You sell to people all over the map from what I can tell, and that speaks volumns...but again...you can't sell them all. It seems you have a good thing going.

If this person DID buy their tractor from you, and the engine hit the fan before the bulletin went out....wouldn't you still be in the same position regardless of where he bought his tractor? If not, it should revert back to the selling dealer who failed to correspond in a timely fashion, or Kubota. The customer is still the innocent person here as I see it. They carry no fault.

Good questions. We did not get 'scammed'... more I was a bit hurt because I thought we had a good relationship with this guy and they did not give us a fighting chance.

Yea, had they bought the machine from us it would not have broke in the first place because we would have done the repairs, as we do for all machines that we sell even though those a few hours away. You'll see our equipment all around the north east, but not out in California, Texas, etc even though we get loads of phone calls from those areas. Beyond that, not recovering the $$ from warranty work is a cost of doing business so its not a huge deal when you made money on the initial sale.

I think Kubota corp needs to take some ownership in this. I agree they should be notifying consumers directly.

I could not disagree more. We are in a service business. A tractor is not a commodity item. When you buy a machine, your also buying the dealership you bought it from. As much as people many want to, the two can't be separated.

 

[imajeepnut]

I'm not sure where the last quote came from, but I would have to think about that a bit. I guess I can see where the dealer should keep in touch with their customers...which takes a load off Kubota. But I'm not so sure that the sale of the tractor should begin with the dealer....if that makes sense. I'm not ready to challenge that just now in this thread, but it seems Kubota loses too much control over their product this way. But then again, maybe that's what they want.

The automotive industry is different I know, but GM and/or Chrysler sends me every TSB or other such recall notice. Or....at least it appears that way. It does have my dealer's name on there, or says I can take to any dealer to have the problem resolved. They are still in control, and want you to get it fixed no matter where you take it.

 

[medicshawn]

I could not disagree more. We are in a service business. A tractor is not a commodity item. When you buy a machine, your also buying the dealership you bought it from. As much as people many want to, the two can't be separated.

Neil
The issue I have is sometimes you don't really find out about the dealership until after you own the tractor. If you have a dealer that isn't up to date on recalls and service issues the consumer is pretty much in the dark. The seats on the B's is a good example that recall/change has been going on for quite a while and people are still having to ask about them as opposed to the dealer calling them. By all means it's not a safety issue. But it sure does seem to make people happy.

I think Messicks is the model most people want. You do take care of your people and make people choose you because you are providing service people can't get anywhere else despite the cost. In the example you gave it sounds like you did the repair instead of telling the people they would have to take it back to Bob's tractor or charging them some ridiculous amount of money. You participate in forums. Your website is pretty spectacular both in information about maintaining you tractors oil changes etc. You parts department works well wether you phone in or order online. If we had more people like Messicks there wouldn't be much to complain about.

 

[CDsdad]

I'm in the group of more manufacturer responsibility. Let Kubota, or in my case AGCO, or Deere or whichever notify the customer. I know there have been a couple of service bulletins, not necessarily recalls, that have gone out about my tractor. Not a word from my dealer. And he'd "have to check into it" if I brought it up to him. Why didn't AGCO contact me? I bet if I missed a payment or let insurance lapse they would.

I guess I have a burr for my dealer and AGCO. I fortunately have a good piece of equipment, and a good dealer not much farther away, or I probably would despise both.

Messick's and the other guys on here you read good things about are the exception.