Kubota parts and supplies are RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE

[atsah]

Cracked my fuel cap on my GC Massey, dealer took me for $68.00.. They told me they could ship it to me for another $18.00.. Thieves..

Note to self, don't break anything else..

 

[kthompson]

Solution on high price parts. Get the necessary machines to make them and the skill to and just make them. Not being smart. I worked for heavy equipment manufacturer for few years. Been about 35 years back and even then the cost factor was larger than seemed reasonable. When they build the machine they are not making a part, they are not handling a part, finishing painting a part or anything else that is part of the process or nor are they shipping a part. The line is running and they are handling one right behind the other even if options are different.

No idea you will find a shop who makes plastic fan blades for less but some simple metal parts you may. Just to compare this a different way bath room exhaust fan plastic blade went bad in my mother in laws house about two years back. Took about three weeks to find and get one and then it cost as much as the fan did when new. Based upon price only buying new exhaust fan would be lowest price but to have to rewire, recut the ceiling and so forth that would be the most expensive in total cost.

 

[HillStreet]

I use only Kubota fluids and filters in my tractor, as I did on the previous one too. I just don’t want to cut any corners even though that is probably not true. Even so, I have cabinets in my garage with all the stuff I need to service anything that I have.

 

[Ritothebull]

I hate plastic.:thumbdown:

 

[diesel85]

I use all genuine Kubota parts on my tractor and never ever had an issue. Only exception to that is the oil. I use Rotella T6 and K&N oil filters.

Likewise with my truck... I only use genuine Ford Motorcraft parts. That includes the oil and filter.

I always change the fluids out per the manufacturers recommendations. Even if it seems like a waste, I still do it. There is a reason why it needs to be done.

I'd rather spend a small amount of money keeping my equipment working, than putting it off, then it costing me thousands of dollars in major repairs.

I've worked in shops and worked on farms, and I've seen what happens when you don't use the right stuff or you don't do PM work on the equipment. It turns into an expensive mess no one wants to deal with.

I think the most often forgotten fluid swap is the coolant. People run coolant forever not realizing how vital it is to an engine.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I remember growing up in the 60s. My Dad was a steel man and detested plastic. Who in their wildest dreams would have ever guessed it would get to this. If you think about it, few things were plastic back then. We had glass, wood (not OSB and plywood was seen as new fangled junk), steel and good stuff like lead and asbestos. Oh and DDT!

 

[ultrarunner]

Don't forget Bakelite... often referred to the first synthetic plastic... also extensively by Ford starting in the 20's...

Bakelite - Wikipedia

 

[/pine]

...and plywood was seen as new fangled junk...

New?...plywood's been around a long, long time...when steel was in short supply plywood was used for both aircraft and naval vessels...lots of PT boats were mainly made from oak frames and marine plywood...

 

[Oldoak]

Solution on high price parts. Get the necessary machines to make them and the skill to and just make them. Not being smart. I worked for heavy equipment manufacturer for few years. Been about 35 years back and even then the cost factor was larger than seemed reasonable. When they build the machine they are not making a part, they are not handling a part, finishing painting a part or anything else that is part of the process or nor are they shipping a part. The line is running and they are handling one right behind the other even if options are different.........................................................................................

I don't buy all that reasoning. The engineering is already done and the machinery is in place to manufacture all the parts neseccary for a complete tractor assembly. The only additional expense to make extra parts should be the raw material, energy used, and very little labor to complete the manufacturing process. Shipping & handling is usually passed on to the purchaser as an added cost to the buyer.

While it may be not quite as simple as that, it still isn't as costly as you presented it. I'm just referring to manufacturing, not dealership expense.

 

[/pine]

I don't buy all that reasoning. The engineering is already done and the machinery is in place to manufacture all the parts neseccary for a complete tractor assembly. The only additional expense to make extra parts should be the raw material, energy used, and very little labor to complete the manufacturing process. Shipping & handling is usually passed on to the purchaser as an added cost to the buyer.

While it may be not quite as simple as that, it still isn't as costly as you presented it. I'm just referring to manufacturing, not dealership expense.

I don't buy it either...IMO the explanation in post #54 is lame at best...the fact that Amazon can do the same type of handling with little enough labor to greatly reduce the cost of merchandise and getting it to the consumer...

Henry Ford's original business model was to produce just enough trucks/vehicles so he could then just sell parts to keep them running...