First, Thank you all for your support and advice, your replies. Dave, I wrote Mahindra and told them you are an incredible asset to that company. THANK YOU for all the emails, posts, and assurances.
There were at least 7 hydraulic leaks and a few of other line re routing that had caused loader hoses to leak because of sloppy assembly.
Separately, The suction tube was leaking due to dry rotted rubber hoses, that I know of.
Another line from the hydro pedals to the transmission leaked cause it was kinked in half like you were trying to stop water on a garden hose.
Another problem it had is that the machine would "tick" forward when parked on an incline unless the bucket was down and digging in. After a couple of days the Backhoe would be on the ground presumably from a rear remote leak, but the causes could not be verified by myself.
That doesn't get into the electrical short, fuel line(s), and incidental/superficial issues like the hood support strut failure and the throttle control cable adjustment. It's getting hard to remember all the different problems there have been so many.
From the loader line schematic in my owners manual and the online parts diagrams, I could see how there could have been confusion getting some parts, but it has just taken too long. From what I gather, the dealer has to get approval for the warranty repair which may take a day or two, then they have to order the part, takes another 3-5 days, then they have to install it, then they discover another new puddle on the floor and the process starts over. I put together a list of the leaks I could find and flagged the hoses with orange surveyors flagging so they could get as many ordered in one shot as possible, but after it left my possession, I don't know if they found more than I listed. In this respect, I have some sympathy for the dealer who has to operate in such a cumbersome procedure on such poorly assembled equipment, and an apparently terrible parts availability and supply. I can't imagine the Mahindra customer service person's job in Texas. Certainly wouldn't be like the Maytag repair man.
I don't think it's fair to be without the tractor not to mention have it count against my warranty. Quite frankly, I would like to extend the everything warranty out to the full 5 years in order to keep and prove this tractor which is contrary to my lesson learned about buying something because it has a warranty. With all that said, I do think some sort of an equitable adjustment is in order. THis has taken an incredible amount of time away from my life to deal with this, not to mention ratchet up the stress level for something that was supposed to make my life easier and make chores more efficient. It has done quite the opposite and been an absolute headache taking time away from family, friends, and work.
Some of more reputable dealers here say the powertrain is solid on this machine with no know issues, but how could one experiencing a multitude of warranty issues feel comfortable with that assertion? What do you think the wait time would be if an engine or transmission component went out? What do you think my level of confidence is that if the hoses are dry rotted and sloppily assembled, or so cheaply designed to save a few cents on hard lines, that the hydrostatic transmission, engine, axle internals didn't get the same short cuts? Sure they look beefy and weighs a lot, but is a fat kid strong? Likewise, if an athlete has great statistics, but is always sitting on the bench because of some injury or suspension, how is he contributing to the team?
One of the reasons I went ahead with the purchase of the tractor was because of the warranty. A year later that seems like a foolish consideration to have merit in a final decision, though I am glad it has one and appreciate Mahindra standing behind it. One of my lessons learned in this experience is "don't buy something because of the warranty it comes with" (I think the late great Chris Farley said something like that in "Tommy Boy", only it was a little more colorful
. A warranty is hollow assurance of the quality of the tractor or whatever you are purchasing. Make sure the merits of the machine alone stand alone as being a superior product first, the warranty is just incidental to the purchase. The second lesson learned is do not assume that a NEW tractor has been manufactured with modern twenty first century quality assurance or in a modern facility.
Kiwi, Grind, spydr, others, thank you again.
