Kubota M5660SUHD caught on fire (60hrs)!

[Torvy]

@LD1 that all makes sense except for the fact that the OP is in default. Essentially, Kubota can call the loan right now, payment in full, not simple monthly payments. If we pretended that the OP was self-insured, he would be required to get the tractor to 'like-new' condition whether he wanted or needed that. It is the collateral for his loan.

Again, using a self-insured model, the OP would be 100% responsible to hire and pay for a fire investigator to determine the cause. This is in addition to any attorney fees. (Though injury lawyers like to take a cut, so that may be gratis).

The dealer is not going to put more money into fixing this until or unless they get paid and there's no way they do a partial job due to the lender.

This is a tough situation as we just cannot know for sure what happened. The dealer is stuck in the middle here. They seem to be doing exactly what they can. From their perspective a customer burned up his tractor and failed to insure it. They have no obligation or incentive to investigate further. In one sense, they stuck their neck out selling him a new tractor given he did not meet his obligations with the first one. (May or may not be someone else's failure)

 

[2manyrocks]

Haven't seen Kubota's loan docs, but generally most equipment financing terms require the customer to make all payments on time, maintain full coverage insurance naming the lender as loss payee and to maintain the equipment in good working condition. Failure to do any of these is normally a loan default for which the lender may declare the entire loan due in full at once.

Haven't seen Kubota's loan docs, but often loans are cross defaulted meaning that any default of any of the loans entitles the lender to declare a default on all of them.

If the fire was due to a defect in the equipment itself, however, Kubota could be opening themselves up to trouble if they call the loan(s).

None of us know what caused the fire or what the outcome of this is going to be because it depends on facts yet to be determined.

I wouldn't want to be in this situation no matter which side.

 

[fbitz777]

Not really sure what you were meaning to say that got autocorrected?

Are you trying to imply they WONT let the tractor out of their shop unless you are prepared to spend $29k?

That dont seem right.

I can understand them maybe not wanting to amend their estimate. Maybe they are answering to kubota corp.....and that $29k is EVERYTHING that is needed to make it back to previous condition and protect the interest of the lien holder.

But as long as you are still making payments on the machine and are not behind, I dont think they have a right to prevent you from taking the machine and doing the bare minimum to get it running....although not cosmetically perfect. But again, I can understand their willingness to deny that type of service. Ya know....sometimes a $5 roll of ductape or $2 pack of zip ties may solve a problem that requires $300 of parts. Which route do you think a reputable dealer would take?

Honestly, I dont think there is much more you can get from this forum. This is between YOU, The dealer, and your attorney now. We do appreciate the updates.....and hopefully one day soon this will be resolved and we can have an update to the final outcome. But at this point, I am sure there is far more going on than we know. Too much missing information. I'll stay subscribed to hear the outcome whenever it happens. But dont think there is anything left to say

I agree this forum has exhausted all the angles on this.
I should probably have not sent the tractor to the dealer as again they have NO interest in helping. There are other issues at that dealership and I expect a change of ownership in the next few months. They have huge turnover and unhappy workers.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Maybe you could buy the dealership ...

Then you could make sure the dealership covered it... There's always another angle

 

[fbitz777]

Maybe you could buy the dealership ...

Then you could make sure the dealership covered it... There's always another angle

yes!

 

[dodge man]

My insurance is with State Farm and my understanding is my homeowners insurance would cover my tractor if it was in a building that caught fire. If I was using it and it caught fire, I’m probably not covered.

 

[Sid Post]

Without knowing the cause of the fire, all we do on the forum is speculate at this point.

Not having the tractor covered by insurance while it has an outstanding lien puts the OP in a pretty bad situation anyway this thing gets sorted out.

Even if it is a mechanical fault, the OP didn't have insurance as required. I'm surprised he got a second Kubota financed considering it has become clear he didn't not have insurance as required by the contract.

 

[number two]

Didn't the OP request insurance from his agent?
And it was never provided,as he was never billed?
Doesn't that count for anything?

 

[Torvy]

Didn't the OP request insurance from his agent?
And it was never provided,as he was never billed?
Doesn't that count for anything?

Nope. He may be able to sue his agent, but it is his responsibility to be sure he has coverage. If he was never billed, he knew he didn't have coverage.

 

[stephanadams]

9 month old tractor and I run it for maybe 10 minutes and notice that it has less power than usual
Anyhow I see smoke out in the hood area on top of engine. I open the hood and flames spread out all the way to fuse box and the dashboard (plastic)
I manage to douse off the fire and all the wiring is now bare and burnt to a crisp. The quote to repair is at least 30k which is close to what I paid (actually I still have 40 payments due)!


Question: What could have caused it (it was plastic/ wiring burning and super hot!)...not fuel related.
The dealer told me I need to turn to insurance co; i.e it is not covered by warranty!
Showbox jiofi.local.html tplinklogin
Obviously I don't want to spend as much as a new tractor on this; besides the wiring and the dashboard cover everything looks like new! I am getting a 6060HD delivered in a few days as I can't wait to get a resolution to this....

I highly doubt you could finance through Kubota and not have KTAC. You really should check on that.

 

[Torvy]

I highly doubt you could finance through Kubota and not have KTAC. You really should check on that.

Kubota cannot legally require KTAC. They can require you have insurance.

 

[dodge man]

The OP has responded to the insurance issue more than once.

 

[fbitz777]

Ok here is the latest:

My lawyer was able to write to Kubota and they are sending a fire investigator tomorrow to the dealer where the tractor is. I am allowed to be present so I will update after the visit,

In me meantime the dealer keeps hitting me for storage fees.

 

[LD1]

Ok here is the latest:

My lawyer was able to write to Kubota and they are sending a fire investigator tomorrow to the dealer where the tractor is. I am allowed to be present so I will update after the visit,

In me meantime the dealer keeps hitting me for storage fees.

Looking forward to the outcome.

But the dealer is trying to charge you storage fees.....while not allowing access or retrieval of the thing they are storing???? I am sure you lawyer is gonna have a hay-day with that one

 

[thelanterns]

Unfortunately i did not insure (never had any claim in 30 years) but I should have since this was financed by Kubota

I bought a new BX last year May 2022. Financed through Kubota. They would have denied the financing without insurance. I not only had to have it, I had to prove it. I added it through my home insurance.

 

[fbitz777]

So the Kubota guy came and spent two hours inspecting the machine. He also had a corporate guy (taking notes in Japanese). They did not speak much but the issue of insurance or lack of it was not an issue for the inspectors. Took hundreds of picture and confirmed that the fire propagated along the wiring harness. The fuel lines in path of fire did not even burn. A major (40A) fuse next to battery was definitely blown.

They promised to get back to my lawyer shortly. Again they had a poker face but asked a lot of questions.

As I was going over all the parts with them it seems like the expensive parts would be the glow plugs (4k) and wiring harness.

 

[johng@imbertconstruction.]

9 month old tractor and I run it for maybe 10 minutes and notice that it has less power than usual
Anyhow I see smoke out in the hood area on top of engine. I open the hood and flames spread out all the way to fuse box and the dashboard (plastic)
I manage to douse off the fire and all the wiring is now bare and burnt to a crisp. The quote to repair is at least 30k which is close to what I paid (actually I still have 40 payments due)!


Question: What could have caused it (it was plastic/ wiring burning and super hot!)...not fuel related.
The dealer told me I need to turn to insurance co; i.e it is not covered by warranty!

Obviously I don't want to spend as much as a new tractor on this; besides the wiring and the dashboard cover everything looks like new! I am getting a 6060HD delivered in a few days as I can't wait to get a resolution to this....

Possibly mice... If you bought the machine on time , with payments I am surprised the dealer didn't insist on Insurance, just like when you buy a car or a house. 30K sounds ridiculous IMHO.The dealer should go to bat fro you as a warranty issue ...

 

[Torvy]

Possibly mice... If you bought the machine on time , with payments I am surprised the dealer didn't insist on Insurance, just like when you buy a car or a house. 30K sounds ridiculous IMHO.The dealer should go to bat fro you as a warranty issue ...

Huh? How are mice a warranty issue? We don't know it's mice, but given your premise (and, frankly, the most likely situation) that would not be warranted.

 

[mcfarmall]

Huh? How are mice a warranty issue? We don't know it's mice, but given your premise (and, frankly, the most likely situation) that would not be warranted.

Mouse damage is considered "vandalism" and in the automotive insurance business, is a covered loss. Perhaps the poster typed warranty instead of insurance?

 

[WinterDeere]

Mouse damage is considered "vandalism" and in the automotive insurance business, is a covered loss. Perhaps the poster typed warranty instead of insurance?

... and since uninsured, there's no coverage for vandalism. We've come full circle, again!