Local Kubota dealer not honoring warranty

[crazyal]

I understand a dealer, like any other company, needs to make a profit but when you agree to sell Kubota (or any other brand) you agree to making a profit on parts and the sale of new and used equipment and loosing a little on warranty work. Don't complain about the bad while enjoying the good.

Quite frankly I wouldn't buy anything from a dealer that wouldn't do warranty work on equipment they didn't sell. I would also bad mouth that dealer and try to put them out of business or have them bought out. Think about it. What would happen if every dealer took that attitude? Just think of all the times when you may use another dealer for warranty work. If you moved, if you brought your tractor a few hundred miles from your home to do work (who would want to tow it back, get it fixed, then tow it back to where you were working only to tow it home again), or if your normal dealer was swamped and couldn't get to it for a week and you needed it in a hurry.

Like I said, I would be open to working something out so the dealer didn't loose money on a tractor he didn't sell, fair is fair. But any dealer who just will not do it wouldn't get any business from me and would suffer each time the subject came up or the dealers name was said. Being pig headed is a two way street.

 

[beppington]

Nice catch! I missed that. Maybe it's the OP's!:laughing:

I saw Willl's comment.

 

[Martian]

I want to say this as a general statement, no brands attached, no dealers attached.

I grew up with a father as a salesmen. Drove me crazy because anything I wanted or even wanted to do I had to "sell it to him" before I could do it. When I see people in the profession today that simply want your money and could care less about making a relationship, fixing a problem, even if it wasn't bought from them, but potentially making a client down the road because maybe the dealer that he bought it from said no, and now you will, he'll come to you, it drives me crazy. I go to where people who are willing to take the extra step to make it seem as though I'm not buying a tractor from you but more having a friend help a friend get a tractor (with a little money exchange in there) and will be willing to go the "extra mile" to buy the tractor from them. When I bought my last vehicle for example (see truck in avatar), I received a HAND WRITTEN letter from the owner of this large dealer personally thanking me. No, not a automatically generated email, she took the time to get out a pen and paper and put it in the snail mail. That alone made me feel as a more valued customer and made me want to go back there to buy another vehicle. I am willing to pay more money to someone who is willing to go the extra mile for me than to get the internet bargain guy who may give me the best deal but then I will never hear or see of again when a problem comes. Yes, I get the same tractor, but I don't get the same service. For a dealer to not do warranty repair is unacceptable, of course we don't know all of the story, and there simply may have been a miscommunication that what needs to be repaired is not covered under warranty. If it is indeed just a dealer telling someone I'm not taking your warranty repair, then please report them to (in this case) Kubota and say they should no longer be a dealer. Not only does this make the dealer look bad but Kubota as a brand, an I'm sure Kubota doesn't want that. There's no place in the warranty contract that says all repair work must be done at place of purchase, therefore you can go wherever and get repair work done, so refusing it is NOT OK.

 

[ultrarunner]

I realize this is not an exact comparison...

When the Oldsmobile Dealer went out of business because GM killed the Brand... the local Buick Dealership blanketed the area with letters asking Oldsmobile owners to bring their warranty and service needs to them...

They were actually, soliciting via cold calling or writing asking for warranty work on cars they never sold and vehicles they couldn't have sold.

 

[Baldyonthehill]

I, also, had a similar issue and used this site to vent my frustrations as well as hoping to inform those thinking of making a purchase. Don't know about the other colors, but Kubota's warranty isn't worth the paper it is written on. I contacted the regional rep and got the run around and the national office never answered my email, snail mail or phone calls. I felt sorry for those that responded to my posts in support because of the accusations and insults hurled our way by the orange worshippers.

The best thing that came from my run in with Kubota/bad dealer was getting to meet a good service mechanic that sells a different brand who fixed my tractor (while under warranty but I paid). Anything else that comes up that I won't be able to fix, I know where to go.

For me, I would never buy another Kubota because of their lack of support for their so-called warranty. I hope your BIL has better luck than I did.

 

[jejeosborne]

When you need a belt or oil filter, go to the parts counter at that dealership and let them pull all the parts. When it comes time to pay for the item, tell the counter person that "oh, I forgot, I can't buy these parts here!". When he/she questions why? Tell them "I didn't buy my tractor here so I CAN'T buy the parts here".

I did this exact same thing to a Cub Cadet dealer after experiencing the same thing you did. Great thing was that the owner was working the parts counter that day. I left with nothing and drove 10 miles to dealer who did accept the warranty work.

I don't get it, don't they make money on warranty work?
Jeff

 

[jimbo64]

You should put that on a sign and stick it out in front of your shop.

not in the front yard-can think of a more approprite place

 

[TripleR]

When you need a belt or oil filter, go to the parts counter at that dealership and let them pull all the parts. When it comes time to pay for the item, tell the counter person that "oh, I forgot, I can't buy these parts here!". When he/she questions why? Tell them "I didn't buy my tractor here so I CAN'T buy the parts here".

I did this exact same thing to a Cub Cadet dealer after experiencing the same thing you did. Great thing was that the owner was working the parts counter that day. I left with nothing and drove 10 miles to dealer who did accept the warranty work.

I don't get it, don't they make money on warranty work?
Jeff

We buy supplies once a year in February when our dealer offers 15% off. We have three tractors for which to get assorted filters etc. from every year. The order is pretty sizable and can't imagine why any dealer would want to pass on repeat business like that.

 

[LD1]

I understand a dealer, like any other company, needs to make a profit but when you agree to sell Kubota (or any other brand) you agree to making a profit on parts and the sale of new and used equipment and loosing a little on warranty work. Don't complain about the bad while enjoying the good.

Quite frankly I wouldn't buy anything from a dealer that wouldn't do warranty work on equipment they didn't sell. I would also bad mouth that dealer and try to put them out of business or have them bought out. Think about it. What would happen if every dealer took that attitude? Just think of all the times when you may use another dealer for warranty work. If you moved, if you brought your tractor a few hundred miles from your home to do work (who would want to tow it back, get it fixed, then tow it back to where you were working only to tow it home again), or if your normal dealer was swamped and couldn't get to it for a week and you needed it in a hurry.

Like I said, I would be open to working something out so the dealer didn't loose money on a tractor he didn't sell, fair is fair. But any dealer who just will not do it wouldn't get any business from me and would suffer each time the subject came up or the dealers name was said. Being pig headed is a two way street.

That sums up how I feel 100% to a TEE.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Well said crazyal:thumbsup:

 

[Delphicoder]

This has all been very enlightening.

I recently bought from a few hundred miles away. I shopped around, and really wanted to stick with my local dealer since I bought my first tractor from him (as well as a rotary cutter and box blade). He was a little higher than some, but close to most. I pretty much knew I was going to buy my second tractor from him.

I decided that I would try Barlows, and just get an idea of what their price was like. In the end, they saved me about 3K on the tractor. Now to me, if my local dealer had been 1K in range, then I would have still gone local without a second thought, but 3K was a big difference to me on a small tractor. I thought about the service and warranty real hard.

I decided to go with Barlow's, and I knew the risk I was taking. I sent an email to my dealer explaining that I had found a tractor that better aligned with my budget needs, and hoped that I could still frequent there for supplies and equipment, and was not burning bridges. If I did burn the bridge, then I apologized in advance. I was kind of hoping he would have responded back with a second offer, but he didn't. That was tough for me, and I did not even know at the time all this information that has been exposed in this thread.

As it turned out, I did have a few small issues with the Barlow's tractor. However, to their credit, they sent me the parts free of charge to replace anything, and I did the labor. I don't mind doing the labor, since then I know exactly how the work was performed. Brady was very responsive to any issues I had. I think he realizes the situation, and tries his best to make it work out for the customers the best he can. I have no complaints and have heard nothing but good things about them.

My local dealer did reply back, and although I could tell he was disappointed, he pretty much said they would be there if I needed them in the future. They would not be able to do the free things like pickup and steam clean, but certainly there for normal work. I told him that was understandable, and I have been back to his store several times since then to buy supplies. Last week I was there and bought a new leaf blower. I plan to but a rotary tiller soon from him as well. He seems fine, and I hope it stays that way. He is a really nice person, and now I really feel guilty, but I am a pushover for people's feelings.

In retrospect, my only regret is that I should have been more direct with my local dealer, saying if you can meet me somewhere in the middle we have a deal. But, I think it all turned out ok in the long run. If I can get the parts under warranty, I like doing the work myself (within my limited abilities that is!)

That's my take on it.