What do I do with this 8 month old John Deere tractor and loader

[Slowpoke Slim]

OP,

I would try again at both the dealer, and Deere. Everybody has a boss. Everybody. Escalate your issue to the next level at each. Not saying it's the case here, but some organizations employ an initial layer of "deny all claims" to try and see how many they can weed out before they actually have to start spending money to fix stuff. Shouldn't be that way, but there it is.

And yeah, I would frankly expect better from JD. They do still have the reputation of being the "premium" brand.

As far as the other issues with your tractor (Hydraulics), the dealer should fix that without hassle. Separate from the paint/cosmetic argument.

 

[crazyal]

You would start a lawsuit with John Deere over paint chips on a loader frame?? You and I are cut from different cloth.

Apparently we are. What's wrong with expecting what you paid for? If it was one or two spots I would have no problem with it. But I bought my tractor assuming I would keep it for 30 years or more. If after a half year it's that bad who knows what it's going to look like in 10 years. Cleaning and painting a surface that's easy to reach wouldn't be too hard but what about places that are hard to reach? Do you know how think the metal is? If not then you would have no idea how much it could rust before it fails. It's not a car and I don't expect a showroom shine. I know that I have much better things to do with the limited amount of time I have than repeatedly repairing something that I shouldn't have to do. Letting Deere off the hook just means it'll happen more often in the future.

 

[metalbender]

One must remember the manufacturer's motto. "Cheaper, faster, means PROFIT" If they can save a dime per unit, it will be done in the name of PROFIT. Much of their R+D time and effort is spent on reducing build cost.

 

[5030]

GVo buy a 2 buck can of JD Green spray paint and sandpaper and fix it yourself and chalk it up to......... I should have bought a Kuboota.

 

[fried1765]

GVo buy a 2 buck can of JD Green spray paint and sandpaper and fix it yourself and chalk it up to......... I should have bought a Kuboota.

NO! and NO!

 

[Ford850]

GVo buy a 2 buck can of JD Green spray paint and sandpaper and fix it yourself and chalk it up to......... I should have bought a Kuboota.

Yeah but if he had bought a Kuboota, he'd have to decide which shade of pink he needed to do touch ups.

 

[Diggin It]

If he'd a bought a 'Bota, he could be facing a total disassemble/come-a-part and put back together to fix a loose bolt inside the trans.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I gave this a little thought. Really, if it is in fact a QC issue, there are mostly just several finishes on the tractor. Castings which can be easily cleaned and touched up, metal panels that they could and should replace if it's their fault and plastic panels and fenders which don't play into this discussion.

 

[jeff9366]

I have a background regarding paint and powder coating, and there is no excuse for the poor quality of the paint. The metal wasn't pre-treated properly, and frankly, when you have equipment like this the material should ideally be e-coated, or at least primed, rather than just running bare metal through the powder coat line. E-coat is very environmentally friendly, and there are lots of primers available for powder coating bare metal. If I have to repaint it myself, I can assure you it will be more durable than the OEM topcoat, and seriously consider retaining an attorney to sue the dealer and Deere if they don't take care of all of these issues.

If you start this as a Class Action law suit, with the "class" everyone that has received sub-standard paint on one component of a Deere tractor, you will scare the bejesus out of Deere. Deere, however, has a nasty history of litigating plaintiffs with shareholder's money till plaintiffs drop or case is decided against Deere in the US Supreme Court. Re: Kinze.

 

[5030]

.... and Kinze has way deeper pockets than you do. Think I'd just man up and have a rust bucket. No attorney in the right mind would take on that potential suit. Would have to be pro'bono and it won't happen.