Have you ever sold a tractor due to no dealer support?

[rScotty]

Just because it is a John Deere does not mean it must use John Deere parts. The parts you have talked about so far are universally replaceable. U-joints that will fit can be found many places, hydraulic hoses made up while you wait in many places also. I get many wear items from NAPA since they are closer, 15 miles vs 50 miles for the dealer, and have never had an issue. I would stay with the machine you say you are happy with and don't worry about what may never happen.

I agree. Well said.
A lot of parts are common and universal. You can get better, closer, and less expensive parts other places than the dealer. Couple that with the internet and I'd stay with a machine you like rather than an unknown.
rScotty

 

[ddbackhoe]

Have you ever sold or traded a tractor due to no dealer support? Meaning out of practicality. Not out of frustration or anything else.

Six years ago, we bought a brand new John Deere locally. Specifically went that route so that I could drive to get parts same day if something broke. And there are some repairs I'd be afraid to tackle, so wanted a local dealer for that.

Here's the timeline starting after the purchase (which we are very pleased with the purchase and we love the tractor).

What do you all think?

Just in time logistics (overnight shipping) combined with an “I dont care” attitude have severly crippled the service industries.
Seeing and hearing the same story everywhere I go. No help and no one can get stuff. We built a system to fail and it appears we did good.

 

[Cougsfan]

I have never counted on a dealer for servicing or repair. I know of several small shops that can and will fix most any tractor from a rare Lamborghini to a Belarus. If you sell your tractor because of no dealer support, you probably aren't trying very hard to deal with your issues, or are needlessly insistent on the dealer who sold you the tractor be the only one who can service or repair it. I could see selling a tractor because it is to expensive to fix it, or breaks down too often, which are different issues.

 

[CliffordK]

More hobby use than commercial use. It makes a difference for a person's demands.

Nothing I own is new. My Ford tractor is only about 30 years old, and pretty new for me.

I'm not expecting much dealer support to get my Oliver running.

Not sure about the Massey Harris once I start working on that one.

Talking about Deeres, I just picked up a John Deere 440ic. So far I've been avoiding John Deere when hunting for parts. There is a tractor boneyard about 30 miles to the north, and I'm hoping the engine I just picked up will actually run.

Fortunately there are a huge number of aftermarket parts, or cross-referenced parts. Pretty extraordinary that the aftermarket bits and pieces seem to be better than the name brand parts.

Long Live E-Bay!!!!

I did try to buy a replacement axle for a self propelled Freeman baler a couple of years ago. Unfortunately mine was "too old", and while the company still exists, they didn't have my part. So I had to muddle through making my own.

As far as hydraulic lines. There is a local truck company that will make them. Or, at the Caterpillar dealer. Brand new hose made while one waits. The truck company was worried about matching sizes of hoses, but I'm not sure it matters that much. Generally incompressible fluids.

Even if John Deere stocked hoses for the 440ic, I'd fear they'd have been sitting on the shelf for 50 years. And Deere didn't make many of the accessories (at least in that era), so a lot of things like hydraulic lines would still need to be custom made.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

The dealership started out as a mom and pop dealership. And I mean to the point where you would see the owner's family at the local school events.

Sounds like you could be in my area. We have a similar situation. What had been a family operation is now a mega-corp. Not a lot of personal service anymore from what I've been told (I use a different brand, so it's not an issue for me).

 

[ddbackhoe]

Working on a JD5205, the instrument cluster (fuel, temp, hourmeter and tach) do not work. A replacement cluster is listed at $790.20 (RE232256). The customer wont pay that much (cant blame them) but it will end up costing him almost that much for me to plug in analog guages.

 

[Hard Knocks IV]

(LOL) most of my tractors the companies that built them don't exist anymore much less dealers.The internet and my spare parts machines are my 'dealer'.

 

[sixdogs]

I used to have both JD and Kubota. Then JD started with dealers swallowing up other dealers to become mega-dealership chains and the personal contact and competitive pricing seemed to suffer. The big dealers seemed to have more personnel turnover and newbie parts guys didn't know this or that and service was hit or miss but at top dollar and on their terms.

So, I evolved to Kubota. They rarely broke anyway and when they did, the dealers were local people that would jump through hoops to be helpful. I've got night and weekend numbers for emergencies and if I was desperate, they would bring it to me. Kubotas break so rarely that it's mostly preventative issues. Need emergency call to ask a question is no problem. At the other place I'm stuck in voice messaging.

So yes, I've swapped dealers but mostly because dealers swapped me.

 

[inchman]

I purchased a Montana Sub compact tractor that I loved! Never had an issue with it. But the dealer network completely dried up. So I had to sell it before I had problems with it and couldn't fix or sell it.

 

[Doing things!]

I don't want to throw any dealerships under the bus, since there's a bunch of 'em pretty close to where I keep my tractor. But as someone who knows their way around a machine, I usually just search for parts online and bought a service manual that way too. Plus, if you're handy with tools, it's a great way to really get to know your equipment.

 

[Grumpycat]

The good news is I can sell my tractor and get back almost everything I paid for it.

But what will it cost to replace?

 

[Hay Dude]

If KRONE service gets any scarcer around my area, I might sell my Krone square baler.
Probably the best baler you can buy, but Krone needs to decide if they want to give the support necessary to adequately service customers in the USA.
I can barely get service here. There’s only 2 technicians (that I know of) available in Eastern PA, NJ, Northern VA, WV, DE and N. Maryland.
What happens when one is sick, has family emergency, etc.?

 

[Flogger]

When you get that kind of service from an employee it reflects heavily on management and basically you should hear "here's your sign" echoing in your head. I oversaw 10 shops at one point and would have fired any employee I heard treating customers that way. Customers signed my paycheck for 39 years.

 

[rocco611]

My Local Kubota dealer went out of business 5 years ago . I bought my Kubota used (lease return) from them in 2004 . Only parts I have needed have been fluids and filters. I buy those online now. My local auto parts store makes hydraulic hoses, mine are starting to crack so I may need to have some made soon. We have a great local John Deere dealer, but I didn't have enough green to buy green when I bought my tractor back then. I could sell my tractor for what I paid for it 19 years ago but the replacement cost would be really high. Unless you find a great deal on another brand, its not worthwhile to sell to buy another brand. greenpartstore.com is good to deal with I have bought paint from them for a lot less than I can get it locally. They ship fast too.

 

[2manyrocks]

Only thing about custom hose sizes is they charge pretty good $ for making them compared to buying hoses in stock lengths. I spent about $120 for two custom 36" long hoses a couple of weeks ago because I couldn't find any with JIC 90 degree fittings on one end and 1/4 straight NPTs on the other. It's just part of normal maintenance cost. Hoses go bad over time.

 

[jhuntsman]

Have you ever sold or traded a tractor due to no dealer support? Meaning out of practicality. Not out of frustration or anything else.

Six years ago, we bought a brand new John Deere locally. Specifically went that route so that I could drive to get parts same day if something broke. And there are some repairs I'd be afraid to tackle, so wanted a local dealer for that.

Here's the timeline starting after the purchase (which we are very pleased with the purchase and we love the tractor).

1) Went to pick up extra keys for the tractor, just to have them around. Dealer handed me two keys and I thought I'd test the keys before putting them with my other spares. The keys didn't fit. No problem, the dealer swapped them out the next day.
But if I hadn't checked, I could have been in a bad spot thinking I had extra keys when I didn't.

2) The U-joint on the John Deere (Frontier) brush cutter gave out. I'd like to keep mowing so I call the dealer to see about picking up a U-joint.

"I have several in stock. $950"
"No, thank you. I just need the U-joint. Not the whole shaft."
"It doesn't come that way. We only sell the whole shaft with both ends. $950"
"I have the schematic and part number. I'll bring it in."

I brought in the part number and he found the U joint in stock. But ONLY because I brought the part number to him.

3) The kids called to report a hydraulic hose started leaking. I told them to take it off and carry it into the dealer for a new one. I forgot about this because they had it under control. A week later I find a Kubota (gasp!) box in my truck. Why is a Kubota box in my truck?

"Because the John Deere dealer said they don't stock hydraulic hoses. They told us Kubota makes hydraulic hoses and we should take it (the John Deere hose) to Kubota because they could make a hose in one hour."

They were right, by the way. Kubota made them the hose on the spot.

Sooooooo. . . .

We're not mad or upset in any way. This has been a great tractor and these are small parts that are expected to wear out over time. But I'm worried that if I really need something done that I cannot do, the dealer won't be able to do it either.

To put a finer point on it-- This tractor is running great. But we are thinking of trading it for another brand NOW, so if it breaks later we won't be stuck with a tractor that nobody can fix.

What do you all think?

I've had a JD for 24 years and if I experienced the problems you are having I would locate an independent hose distributor that can make a hose while you wait. If the dealer is not responsive I would call or email JD factory and voice your concerns to a regional or national sales manager. A company like John Deere won't put up with a dealer that is unresponsive. Your complaint will be taken seriously I believe. Jim

 

[rScotty]

Only thing about custom hose sizes is they charge pretty good $ for making them compared to buying hoses in stock lengths. I spent about $120 for two custom 36" long hoses a couple of weeks ago because I couldn't find any with JIC 90 degree fittings on one end and 1/4 straight NPTs on the other. It's just part of normal maintenance cost. Hoses go bad over time.

A lot of times I don't mind paying for convenience and guarantee of buying same day hoses. But they sure are a lot less expensive on line. That combo with adapters would cost about a third as much online.

Like a lot of rural families I grew up buying from Sears and Roebucks. Nowdays it's parts from Amazon.

 

[OldArmy]

I have a John Deere and found the two dealers near me and night and day different. The smaller lawn and garden shop is closer but the big ag shop has better help and knowledge.

I recently needed a new battery for my little 3032e. The small shop didn’t have one in stock and told me to go get one at NAPA. I had already looked at that option and the NAPA recommended battery was only about 2/3 the rated CCA and cost $50 more. They told me they could order and get it in a week or so.

I then called the big Ag shop. They had three Strongbox battery with correct part number in stock. So I drove the extra 10 miles in opposite direction and picked it up same day brought it home and installed it. Total cost, including tax was $159.40. The NAPA was $209 before tax.

All dealerships are not the same. The farm shop is huge and focused on keeping local farmers/ranchers going. The other guys are more focused on lawn and garden with a small parts department. I use both now. I just call before I go.

 

[hosspuller]

...

All dealerships are not the same. The farm shop is huge and focused on keeping local farmers/ranchers going. The other guys are more focused on lawn and garden with a small parts department. I use both now. I just call before I go.

This tidbit about Deere dealers bears repeating. Any Deere dealer can get ANY Deere part. There're three divisions... Lawn & garden, Ag and Construction. While many Deere parts are common across many machines ... (filters, bolts, fittings,etc.) just don't expect the large construction dealer to stock lawn mower blades. But, I've gotten blades there, in a few days. No shipping charge too !

 

[2manyrocks]

A lot of times I don't mind paying for convenience and guarantee of buying same day hoses. But they sure are a lot less expensive on line. That combo with adapters would cost about a third as much online.

Like a lot of rural families I grew up buying from Sears and Roebucks. Nowdays it's parts from Amazon.

any suggestions where I'd get them on-line? Part of my trouble was identifying the JIC connectors. The local auto parts dealer immediately identified what they were and the correct size. However, I don't like paying $120 for two small hoses.