Would you pay extra to have hauling included for "free"?

[MinnesotaEric]

Toyota offered a plan that we actually bought. We paid $4K up-front for a broad coverage 5 year warranty on a new Prius. Normally I scoff at these things but ... IF the warranty is not used, you get a full refund at the end of the term.

We bought this as a safety net and had no plans to ever use it except in the event of a significant repair.

I purchased a 7 year extended warrantee on my F150 for $700. It paid for itself with one power sliding defrost rear window, a $1000 part.

 

[bcp]

... Keep in mind if you offer a "free" service of pickup and delivery, some folks will call you out for a broken headlight bulb, ...

Hauling for warranty repairs is charged at 1/2 regular price.

Bruce

 

[brain55]

It may be a communication problem in the sense that the customer isn't hearing when they're being told, because their minds are a hundred other places thinking about what their new tractor is going to accomplish. They aren't hearing that their tractor may fail during the warranty period and that they'll be responsible for the transport. Their mind glosses over it because "their" tractor isn't going to fail. They are shocked when you show it to them in writing in the warranty agreement and still think the dealer ought to cover it.

I have also been on the other side of this as a fleet manager for a should we say a "high volume" purchaser. I had no problem flexing the purchasing power muscle to get concessions to the "rules".

Brian

 

[Capricious]

We bought a new 2013 Corolla last August, to replace the 1996 Corolla we bought new 17.5 years earlier. Did not buy an extended warranty on either, nor my current Ford truck nor on the 2006 Toyota the wife drives. Nor on the other (3) new vehicles i have bought in my lifetime. Nor the refigerator or any other appliances. I do not consider extended warranties to be a good deal. The ones I have read-over exclude a lot of potential loss, through deductbles and excluded repairs/replacements. I could pay for a lot of repairs on the money saved over the years by not buying these extended warranty plans.

As to transporting a tactor; IF I had a need for a tractor bigger than i could haul, a tractor that would be used where I live, I WOULD consider locking-in my transport costs for a certain period of time, if i then did not have to buy a bigger truck and bigger trailer that i would otherwise have no use for.

But I would not buy an extended warranty on the tractor.

 

[HEC]

I guess all dealers are different as mine told me they would come and get mine for free for warranty work , or I should say that's what the sales person told me ( who knows ) , and I am 1 hr . away . They already came to my place once to repair the a/c unit at my home and didn't charge me anything for that service call .

 

[DavesTractor]

"..To which we respond, "it's not an extra charge, just bring it in and we will fix it free of charge". To which they respond, "we have no trailer". To which we respond "we can haul it for a minimal" charge. To which they respond...."what good is my warranty," and it goes downhill from there..."

I think this is a communication issue. It has to be explicitedly stated @ the time of sale who is responsible for what.

"..It works now..."

When you mentioned "..stop the bleeding.." I assumed there was a income statement problem.

We are clear with folks, but then they say "but it wasn't my fault" so there should be an exception and hauling should be free. We then explain that if it was their fault, it likely would not be warranty anyway. People feel strongly that if they "are not at fault" then they should have nearly zero expense during the first 5 years.

And I gotcha, it might look like this is an income issue on our part. It isn't, we sell a bunch of tractors and are profitable, but if I required the delivery fleet and drivers to show me a profit, it wouldn't happen. It's a loss, balanced out elsewhere.

The key is to have satisfied customers, to do this in a manner that keeps folks happy and causes little or no angst.

 

[Capricious]

"...one power sliding defrost rear window..."


That is an option I would not have bought in the first place; see my post, #42 here:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...19286-how-long-do-usa-auto-5.html#post3864305

 

[murphy1244]

My Dealer does 1 free ride. I've yet to use it.

 

[DavesTractor]

Do you charge for the loaner trailer?
I would imagine if you didn't people would be borrowing it all the time. But if you only loaned it for people hauling a tractor back and forth for repair and the charge was minimal more people might use it.

If the two trips took 4 hours out of my workweek BEFORE I retired that would have been about $300 of my time plus vehicle expenses. I don't know what the average wage is of the owners that you sell tractors to but I bet it's about the same or more.

If I had known it was going to cost me $300 to get the tractor to a dealer after I retired I would have bought a trailer. Oh wait, I did And when I was working I paid them to haul it.

The loaner trailer is no charge, it is not a rental trailer. It is only to haul the tractor to and from our place, and not to also haul the neighbors Jeep to the shop. It's an honor system, and most tractor folks are very honest. It's a great community.

Many folks with a good income will consider the cost of a couple half days off work, fuel, etc., and gladly pay to have their tractor picked up. Some people put zero value on their time and equipment, perhaps they have a ton of free time, and wonder why it costs so much. We encourage those lucky folks to borrow the trailer. If nothing else it requires that they put a value on their time, fuel, etc. Once considered, $100 to get a tractor picked up is often a bargain.

 

[DavesTractor]

I guess all dealers are different as mine told me they would come and get mine for free for warranty work , or I should say that's what the sales person told me ( who knows ) , and I am 1 hr . away . They already came to my place once to repair the a/c unit at my home and didn't charge me anything for that service call .

I like this. Again, it is not free and if a dealer can account for this in his initial pricing and not overprice himself in the market it is the best case scenario.