Lack of response from Kioti on loader repair program

CT_Jeff · Jan 26, 2007

Has anyone received a Kioti notice yet? I have not as yet, and every day that goes by is one less day to get this fix completed.

I like my Kioti, but this issue should have been better handled by Kioti Corporate. Keeping the customers in the dark is (IMHO) the first step towards losing future sales.

I have been thinking about trading in my CK20 and getting a CK30. However after sitting back watching how Kioti Corporate has handled this issue, I may rethink my trade in idea.

I do want to thank the Kioti dealers who are active on TBN and always very helpful. As a customer of Kioti, I feel for the dealers who seem to be getting squeezed in the middle on this issue.

Good luck to Rick on your visit with Kioti.

CT_Jeff

HODAK · Jan 26, 2007

CT_Jeff said:
Has anyone received a Kioti notice yet? I have not as yet, and every day that goes by is one less day to get this fix completed.

I like my Kioti, but this issue should have been better handled by Kioti Corporate. Keeping the customers in the dark is (IMHO) the first step towards losing future sales.

I have been thinking about trading in my CK20 and getting a CK30. However after sitting back watching how Kioti Corporate has handled this issue, I may rethink my trade in idea.

I do want to thank the Kioti dealers who are active on TBN and always very helpful. As a customer of Kioti, I feel for the dealers who seem to be getting squeezed in the middle on this issue.

Good luck to Rick on your visit with Kioti.

CT_Jeff

I don't think you need to wait for the letter. Call your dealer and schedule an appointment. If you have the right serial #, that should be all you need.

Steverino · Jan 26, 2007

jk96 said:
While not a Kioti owner, I can clearly see the reason behind all of the frustration. My only thought is that by doing your own repair job, what happens to future claims if some other part of the loader begins to fail. Would it be reason to invalidate future repairs. Just a thought.

I would agree that you are probably correct in this assumption. However if you put this in the perspective of simply money you will see my point. It all boils down to economics. Kioti is proving that! Anyway if money were no object or concern to me I would not have purchased a Kioti in the first place. The dealers are for the most part remotely located form me, especially the superb ones here on TBN. So at the onset of purchasing a tractor I inconvenienced myself by purchasing this brand, but I did so because I believed it was a value purchase e.g. a lot of machine for the price compared with the other colors. Having little experience with the compact tractor market, I relied mostly on what I found here on TBN and the personal testimonial of my brother-in-law who has an older model. That being said I jumped in and bought a Kioti CK30 with the Kioti BH/FEL. I figured I
would hedge my bet in that if I ever had to switch from the dealer from who I purchased my tractor and equipment, which I did have to do, I would prefer to be able to go to any Kioti dealer and have all my warranty and other necessary work done on the whole package. Therefore I bought all Kioti attachments to simplify my life. Apparently that has not happened, as you can see from my recent posts and I have apparently lost on my bet.

So getting to the point, if I was to simply buy a Woods loader for instance, all my Kioti loader problems would be liquidated on eBay for some discount because of the defects and I would return to USING my equipment for the intended purposes for which I purchased them. So I only need to compute a number and figure out how much my aggravation it is worth to repair this and weigh that against using that money for some new tractor toys.

I don’t know what Kioti thinks it costs them to bring in a new customer by way of advertising, etc., but I can tell you if there are others out there shopping for equipment as I did in cyberspace, I am sure they will eventually come across this site, see the postings on this subject going back almost a year now and have doubts about a company that has such a blatant disregard for their existing customers. So in this scenario we both loose. As for me it is only a matter of a little money any which way this goes. As for Kioti, I bet it is going to cost them a lot more in lost sales and prestige. Also, as for Kioti having a value edge over their competition, it now has been debunked and their customer care motto has as many cracks running through it as my FEL. I have to wonder what kind of patch they will come up with for that?

Like most people I believe, when I am aggravated I feel a little hot under the collar and have been known to turn a shade of red or some may say orange, but since I saw this “KIT” and the timeframe they ALLOTTED us to race in for service, I have decided that I am not going to even waste my time doing that. I am simply going to turn a shade of Green or Red or the other Orange when the time comes to purchase a new machine.

jk96 · Jan 26, 2007

Steve,

Cant disagree with anything you've said. My comment was just a thought in case others went the self repair route as well and ran into future problems. I can see why everyone is so frustrated. I especially agree with you that the way they handled the situation will cost Kioti in future sales and PR. The only two tractors I've owned have been Case tractors. Great support, dealer, and tractors. After following this post I'll agree, when it comes time to upgrade I probably wont even take a look at Kioti.

coasterez · Jan 26, 2007

While Kioti certainly could have handled this better: Some sort of early acknowledgment from Kioti is what most say would have sufficed, followed up by continual communication on the progress of the fix. Kioti could have (and should have) done that. But, what is that really worth? It's just a paper tiger, lip-service, with no real $ value (to the consumer). Kioti having done this or not is cause for one to completely discount a manufacturer? Not for me.

So, I think those who completely right off Kioti just because they were seemingly slow to respond are being a bit too critical. It still looks like only a minority of machines are developing cracks (at least up until now). I don't have cracks, and if I did, I would certainly be more concerned. But, I wouldn't go so far as to say I would not buy from a Kioti again. Now, if after installing the fix, my loader cracks, I'll have a different opinion.

When I was researching, I read posts about kioti backhoes and how they were breaking. That didn't scare me away from Kioti, just away from a Kioti backhoe. So, I bought the Kioti with a Rhino backhoe. In the future, would I buy a Kioti backhoe? Maybe, but only after researching past history. Any "new" design can have unforseen problems. It's only fair to give the manufacturer time to fix them. And I think this is the case with the FEL cracking.

coasterez · Jan 26, 2007

Regarding the April deadline. I'm betting Kioti did this without thinking it through. I think they will extend this date after receiving feedback from the dealers. So, until the date comes and goes and they refuse to fix your loader, keep an open mind. Furthermore, most, if not all, have not received official notice from Kioti. If and when we do, who knows what it will say.

I do think Kioti should pay a transportation allowance, or allow owners to do it themselves. I'm several hundred miles from my dealer. Not sure what I'm going to do at this point. Except, that I will remain calm and fair.

jk96 · Jan 26, 2007

Furthermore, most, if not all, have not received official notice from Kioti. If and when we do, who knows what it will say.

Coast, I may be a bit too critical, but the above statement after how long ..... combined with other members stating phone calls and e-mails to Kioti have been ignored/not returned is just enough for me to stick with the big three (Case (NH), Deere, Kubota) next time. If their response to a loader issue is handled this way, how will a larger more expensive tractor issue be handled. I just feel bad for the dealers stuck in the middle of all of this.

Bob_Skurka · Jan 26, 2007

HODAK said:
I don't think you need to wait for the letter. Call your dealer and schedule an appointment.

What about the Kioti owners who do not read TBN and know about the issue? There are probably many owners out there that have never looked under the access panel but still have the start of stress cracks. If they don't get a letter, and do not read TBN, then are they just out of luck?

NewToy · Jan 26, 2007

Bob_Skurka said:
What about the Kioti owners who do not read TBN and know about the issue? There are probably many owners out there that have never looked under the access panel but still have the start of stress cracks. If they don't get a letter, and do not read TBN, then are they just out of luck?

That would be the majority of Kioti owners. If they fail to send an info letter to the owners with the crack prone loaders they will be in the dark. I'm sure they would have to repair it if the unit was still under the factory warranty. If out of the warranty period they may be out of luck?

John

Superduper · Jan 26, 2007

NewToy said:
That would be the majority of Kioti owners. If they fail to send an info letter to the owners with the crack prone loaders they will be in the dark. I'm sure they would have to repair it if the unit was still under the factory warranty. If out of the warranty period they may be out of luck?

John

Well, if you take the letter at face value, April 30, 2007 is THE BIG DAY. Thereafter, you are on your own. If this is not what they mean, then they need to communicate exactly that. I for one do not like to just rely on faith that the manufacturer, out of the goodness of their hearts, will fix their broken tractor on May 1, 2007, even though the formal letter they sent to you states the contrary. Remember, when all else fails, the only thing you can rely on (legally) is what is spelled out in ink. Based on this, I think it goes without saying that if warranty period has expired, you are out of luck.