Local Kubota dealer not honoring warranty

[keyman1808]

I'm glad messicks answered. I really wanted to know if they could just flat out refuse the job. And the ensuing answer explains why. Thanks for taking the time

 

[jimbo64]

My brother in law had an issue today with his B2920. He has all of 20 hours on the clock so he plans to utilize his factory warranty to fix his tractor. He purchased this tractor while in Arkansas but he now lives in north Mississippi. He contacted his local Kubota dealer in Hernando, MS and the first question he was asked was where he purchased the tractor. My BIL told him in Arkansas and without any further questions the dealer told him he did not have to honor the Kubota warranty and therefore would not honor it in this case. Am I to believe that dealers expect a tractor owner to sell and re-purchase a new tractor each time they move if they are under the warranty period? I understand dealers being upset with "internet dealers" selling for less but what kind of business practice is this to turn away warranty work? We read a lot on TBN about having a good dealer-owner relationship but this seems to be a bad first impression from the dealer.

this doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling- i bought my kubota from a relative so i guess no dealer will honor any warranties -right- i always thought that companies reimbursed dealers for warranty work since problem is not caused by dealer or customer but by product, upon reading this i would draw the conclusion that warranties are not worth the paper they are writen on and companies do not stand behind their product. Conclusion is buy what you want, scrap company company claims, find a good local mechanic-not necessarily a dealer and go from there- im really disillusioned after reading this thread- prob won't be buying anymore orange for around here-------sorry

 

[Willl]

anymore orange

I'll bet it's all colors, even my fav green.

 

[Ken45101]

Conclusion is buy what you want, scrap company company claims, find a good local mechanic-not necessarily a dealer and go from there- im really disillusioned after reading this thread-

Generally the first recommendation is to find a good dealer. Don't buy just on price alone, be willing to support a decent dealer even if it costs a little more. Kubota has a number of good dealers around here. OTOH, the only green dealer....well, they aren't really interested in my business. They are more interested in $200,000+ purchases. I had to go 90 miles to find a decent Deere dealer for my skid steer.

If you are cutthroat on your buying habits, don't be surprised if you end up with a cutthroat dealer.

Ken

 

[MHarryE]

Ag machinery and construction machinery does not follow the same rules car companies are required to follow. I don't know how Kubota works specifically, but I know some companies contracts specify the company will supply warranty parts but dealers supply warranty labor except for special programs. Even then warranty labor will usually be negotiated at lower than retail labor. Might be the case in this Mississippi dealership, at least there is an indication from Messicks. That was a major decision as to where I bought my tractor - where I was going to go for service. Now we are dealing with 2 dealers on a new John Deere loader tractor to replace our 6210. We have dealt with both, and found both to give the same excellent service so the business in this case will go to the one that comes up with the better deal.

 

[qstott]

Having worked in a car and truck dealership for 37+ years, I find this outrageous. Yeah, warranty work doesn't pay as well as customer pay, but, work is work. Everyone seems to be concerned about work being slow, business being off,etc. Would a dealer rather have a tech working on a job that pays something, or doing nothing waiting for a better paying job. It is good to have the understanding that the manufacturer is offering the warranty and not the dealer. However, As a franchised dealer we cannot refuse warranty work if the customer is more than 50 miles away from his selling dealer. And, as stated, even though we are very careful with "visiting" owners, we do have to make sure the customers that spent their hard earned money buying vehicles from us have first priority.

With some brands, the selling dealer may have some funds that allow them to assist a customer when the problem may be a questionable warranty repair. (water in fuel is a poor example). Those funds are very limited, and I can assure you most dealers will only use that money on their own customer.

Even if we could refuse warranty service, It just wouldn't make any sense. How does a business gain new customers? Advertising (expensive), word of mouth (free), or having customers that are treated fairly (again generally free), that were customers at another dealership.

I can tell you that customers that are treated fairly, and with understanding of their problem, will usually become cusomers for life. TRUST is what it is all about. If our customers trust what we do, at a fair price, and what we tell them, everyone is happy. If you once set off a customers BS detector (and you all know what I mean), it's all down hill from there. We have customers that drive 40 to 75 miles right past another dealer with the same brand to come to us, because they trust us. That trust has to be earned. You can't earn it by telling someone "We will fix it, you pay us, and try to get your money back from the dealer that sold it".

I'm not bashing the tract0r dealers at all here. I'm just saying the manufacturer should support the dealers by paying them to perform warranty work, and the dealer should do the warranty work if he gets paid for it.

If the manufacturer states there is a warranty, but dealers are not required to do the work, what good is the warranty? What do you have to do? Send it back to the factory? Man! I'm for once, glad I'm in the car business.

 

[ultrarunner]

I was in the Navy and had the same issue with Kawasaki dealers for my motorcycle.

Over the years i have found that if you physically go to the dealer and explain your situation to the Service Manager so he knows that you are not a local that bypassed him on a sale they tend to change their attitude and take care of you from that point on.

When i had this issue with a local Kawa dealer in Texas i called the Kawa 1-800 number and talked to the regional rep, unfortunately according to Ma Kawa the local dealerships are privately owned so even though they are Kawa dealers Ma Kaw can not force them to take warranty work.

I would go talk to them in person and if they still resist, go find a better dealer.

They may not be able to Force in the conventional sense... they can pull the Franchise and Ford's threat to do that to a Dealer quickly brought the Dealer into line...

Also, depending on your State... there may be very strong Consumer Protection Statutes on the Books... whereby the Manufacturer is forced to participate... such as California.

Note... these are consumer protections... they do not normally apply to items used in business.

 

[ultrarunner]

Generally the first recommendation is to find a good dealer. Don't buy just on price alone, be willing to support a decent dealer even if it costs a little more. Kubota has a number of good dealers around here. OTOH, the only green dealer....well, they aren't really interested in my business. They are more interested in $200,000+ purchases. I had to go 90 miles to find a decent Deere dealer for my skid steer.

If you are cutthroat on your buying habits, don't be surprised if you end up with a cutthroat dealer.

Ken

This doesn't always pan out either...

There were several Kubota Dealers in my county and the two adjoining one... now there are none.

 

[jcummins]

What is going on with all these ******* when referencing the machine in question? Is that some kind of censorship?

 

[Mr. Ace]

It is disturbing, but sadly not surprising, that Kubota owners are being hosed for committing the "crime" of trying to get warranty service from a "foreign" dealership. If the Kubota dealerships have every legal right to refuse warranty claims if the machine was purchased elsewhere, and have no other incentive to perform the service, then this abomination is squarely on corporate Kubota.

Just as sad, is how the tranquilized populace is so accepting of being perpetual victims of global corporatocracy and tyranny.