With all due respect kcender . . I don't think you understand you own the high ground here. You keep phrasing your posts like you are waiting for a handout of some pittance. The dealer will do what needs to be done to fix this thing . . but he's waiting for you to tell him . . if you wait for him to tell you . . he'll offer the smallest amount he can.
In a prior post you said he assured you your trade and downpayment were safe . . . and you posted like as if you were grateful for that. Again with all due respect kcender . . your dealer has zero power to keep anything unless the product is both delivered and accepted. He has a legal and moral obligation.
I don't mean to sound rude . . but you have to shake off this helpless attitude. I'd guess your dealer has already talked to the other dealer and the trucking company. He knows the story and he knows he didn't do any of it yet but it has to be resolved. And you can bet he's already planning on getting some value from the other dealer or trucking company or both. The question is real simple . . . "What do you need to have happen in action AND in value, to feel good about accepting this tractor"? To be happy you bought it . . to say good things about your dealer in the future . . that is what any good dealer wants to know in these situations. Figure it out . . then talk to the dealer . . if he doesn't accept it . . tell him you don't want it and you'll take your money and trade-in back. Then the negotiations can progress.
My point is simple . . its not about greed . . its about your next 5 years with this tractor . . if its filled with remorse . . you won't enjoy it. If you wait and waffle till he makes an offer . . then you may be disappointed and weaken your resolve to be satisfied. Don't operate with greed or with fear and remorse . . operate with resolve . . you own the high ground here.
kcender,
I agree 100% with what
AxleHub says here, and elsewhere, in this thread.
In terms of contract law, which is based on the idea of "a promise (on your part, to PAY) for a certain, specified performance (on his part, to deliver a NEW Kubota)," your dealer has BREACHED that contract, in that it/he FAILED to deliver, to you, a NEW Kubota.
Because NEW Kubotas are not intended or designed to be delivered in a high-speed, road-salt sprayed environment. (To those who would say "But that's how MOST of them get delivered..." I would point out that the high-speed salt bath is NOT a product benefit, and therefore can ONLY be a potential negative. Nothing on the Kubota website talks about how a "free salt bath" is included and/or will enhance the owner experience. In other words, maybe 99% of tractors ARE shipped on flatbeds, untarpped. But that is NOT what the OP contracted for, so it is NOT what he should be forced to accept).
Salt-corroded electrical connections may not manifest, as problems, in the first few months...or years, for that matter. How long do you want to be "holding your breath," waiting for trouble?
I hear you on the social aspect of knowing the salesman. But this is BUSINESS, and if he's a PROFESSIONAL, he's already learned there's a line between the two. In fact, he's probably done things, for BUSINESS gains, that he would never do personally, and vice versa.
Reject the tractor, and shake his hand, at the next social event you see him at, and BUY HIM A DRINK, if it makes you feel better (and assuming the venue allows it), to show HIM you do not take his
DEALER'S MALFEASANCE PERSONALLY, because it's just...BUSINESS.
Now, if the (higher) price of a new, "unsalted" unit is playing into your decision-making process, that's another matter, and input from this forum may not mean much, in that particular "decision tree."
But if that's the case, I'd seek a sales estimate from the next closest dealer, before taking delivery of that Salty Dawg (no offense).
In the Northeast, we're STILL dealing with cars that were TOTALED, due to salt water flooding from Hurricane Sandy, and have, nevertheless, been found BACK in market place, with their SALT WATER FLOODING history undisclosed/and/or deliberately disguised. Not to mention ATV's, and other transportation platforms.
IMO--AxleHub is correct--you have the "higher ground" (as he put it) and/or are "in the driver's seat" (pick your metaphor) on this one.
Reject/Renegotiate/Repeat (as necessary) and RELAX.
(Please don't misunderstand: I say "RELAX" not because you haven't been reasonable and cool-headed--because you have. Rather, I say "RELAX" because THEY screwed up, YOU'VE not been delivered what's been promised,
and you OWE them NOTHING, IMO).
Regarding your old tractor, that's (allegedly) now owned by a third party, but still in your possession? That IS a problem, but I think it's the DEALER'S problem, and I wouldn't be surprised if what he did, to get you the "trade in allowance," is not within the spirit, if not the letter, of his franchise agreement.
In other words, Kubota might not approve of the dealer's making a third party part of your new purchase, just to get a "trade-in allowance," and the dealer may not want Kubota to find out. (If that's the case, that's another point in your favor,
but it's just a WAG on my part--perhaps others can comment on this?) But in any case, I feel the liability to that third party (the "buyer-in-waiting" of your trade-in) is 100% the DEALER'S, and I would refuse delivery of the "Salty Dawg" and hang onto the old tractor.
Have you received payment for your trade-in? If so, don't cash it (if it's a check), if it's not too late.
Perhaps you should consider photocopying the check (for your trade-in), and mailing it back to the dealer (return receipt requested) with a letter explaining that your (anticipated) trade-in was predicated upon YOUR ACCEPTANCE of a NEW Kubota, and that you have NOT accepted any such thing. So that, you are NOT authorizing the transport of your old tractor off of your premises.
Best of luck!
My Hoe
