Internet Tractor Purchase

[hayden]

I disagree in the case of warranty work. Kubota MUST perform warranty work. Their warranty says any authorized dealer. Not the one you bought from, not one that wants to do the work, buy ANY dealer.

Same is true for cars. Consider this example. You buy a tractor at a local dealer. Next month you move across the contry. Your tractor breaks. Kubota has to fix it, but how? Send you to the new local dealer.

 

[scruffy]

Hayden, I agree that the dealers must honor warrenty work. I have never (accept once or twice) taken an auto/pickup to the dealership where I bought it. Mainly due to the scenario that you mentioned, I had moved out of the area where it was unfeasable to go back to the dealer where purchased. I bought my pickup in Oklahoma, and its been serviced in Kansas, Georgia, Florida, and Louisana, as well as a dealer 200 miles away from where I bought it in OK. Same with a 71 Ford Ranchero that I bought new years ago. It was serviced everywhere but, and was the biggest piece of JUNK ever built!! Couple others that had similar experiences but not to the extreme that the ford was. That thing had me on a first name basis with 3 or 4 different dealerships!

 

[glennmac]

Well, we are all just speculating as to whether a dealer must perform warranty work, but none of us really knows. The answer will be in the dealer agreement, which could be different for different manufacturers and could even change over time with the same manufacturer, as any contract can.

This is a question that comes up often and is important to tractor purchasing. I will try to find out the exact legal answer for Kubota when I get back to the office next week.

Glenn

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>Re: 71 Ford Ranchero was the biggest piece of JUNK ever built!!</font color=blue>

Scruffy, it had to have been next to the biggest because my brand new 1966 Ford Fairlane 500 sedan had to have been first (the only lemon I ever got). It would have made a Yugo seem like a luxury car. And I didn't buy another Ford product for 25 years./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif And now both our car and pickup are Fords./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[scruffy]

Bird, that 71 WAS the biggest JUNK ever built new! I kept it until the day the warrenty ran out and sold it (12 months). At that time, it had been in for 73 warrenty repairs to include all drive train replacements, and most other mechanical items. In the following 6 months, 3 more people bought it, and got rid of it...last time I saw it was sitting alongside the highway between Auston and San Antonio broke down again. Never saw it after that. I STILL haven't bought another ford product.

P.S. - I bought a new 72 Chevy 1/2 ton to replace the ford, drove it 23 years, and sold it for $300 more than I paid for it new! Hard to outdo that one. This Dodge has been good, but I'm afraid the oil problem has shortened its life span.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by scruffy on 10/28/00 09:44 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[Bird]

Well, scruffy, I'll concede that it may have been a tie./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif The owner of Miracle Ford in Dallas used to loan me his personal car while mine was in the shop. I kept my Ford two years and 24000 miles, the dash board came loose, it had a valve job, transmission overhaul, carb. overhaul and replacement, electrical wiring all replaced, water pump disintegrated, heater and air-conditioning replaced, and many, many more things, and the worst part was that they never got it to running right. But I got that V-8 running on 6 cylinders one day and traded it for a new Plymouth Roadrunner. A week later I saw that Ford sitting on the City Hall parking lot, the attendant told me a lady in the City Attorney's Office had just bought it, so I went by and gave her another set of keys I had. She asked whether I'd had any trouble with the transmission, I told her it had been overhauled, and she said her husband was a mechanic and thought he could fix it. I thought he'd better be but didn't say it./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

 

[scruffy]

Bird, that 71 was in the shop for repairs with 12 miles on it, drove from dealer to DMV, and a door handle fell off one door, and exterior chrome strip on the other. Next day I left for Colorado, bottom resevoir blew off the radiator in eastern Oregon, engine blew a rod in Buffalo Wyoming, carb had to be replaced in Denver (it was found to be a REBUILT carb that was on it), altenator in Colo. Springs, pwr steering pump also, which was a REBUILT GM pwr steering pump. Axle froze up in rear housing, had to be machined out. All brake drums got out of round at the same time, padded dash fell off, window fell down in door, all instruments in dash quit working, master cylinder went out when stopping for a red light, (pinto in front didn't fair to well), trans went out - replaced...I can't remember all the rest, but it was a bunch!!!

 

[Bird]

OK, scruffy, you win!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif They must have both gone down the same assembly line at 60 mph on a Friday afternoon./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[scruffy]

Bird, FORD's official excuse was the car was one of the first off the assembly line on the first monday after a union strike. I guess that explained the beer can and chrome strip that rattled inside the inspection well in the bed. Believe me, I was so irritated that I have NEVER bought anything that said Ford on it again.

 

[hayden]

Glenn,

You're certainly right that the answer is in the dealership agreement, and what without seeing that we don't REALLY know.

However, put yourself in Kubota's shoes, or any other manufacturer who sells through dealers in a similar manner. Would you ever have a delership agreement that doesn't require the dealer to deliver on your obligations to your customers? After all, that's a big piece of what the dealer is there for (aside from selling for you). It just wouldn't make any business sense. This is why I'd be willing the bet a nickle (or maybe a coffee cup) that servicing any warranty claims is manditory for all dealers.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you find from Kubota, if they even tell you. I did look at my warranty and it says problems will be resolved by me taking the tractor to any authorized Kubota Dealer. Is doesn't specifically say that they must then fix the problem.