Local Kubota dealer not honoring warranty

[JOHNTHOMAS]

What an unbelievable idiot to send you elsewhere. Have these people no business sense of trying to develop long term relationships? The good part is that it's all part of dealer evolution and survival of the fittist. It is unlikely that dealer will survive in today's world.


The internet is great for pricing and a starting point but dealers need to make $$ just like we do. And if one doesn't want to deal or service, I would quietly go elswhere since the lacking dealer will eventually fail and you'll eventually have to go somewhere else anyway. Not that the OP did the internet thing, but if someone doesn't want to deal with me, no problem and I'm not telling Kubota. I'll just go elswhere, no matter the distance or consequence. Just my two cents here.

This is a great summary of what I think most of us will actually do.

 

[lilranch2001]

I don't think as much as covering everything but making sure that what they say is covered gets covered by every dealer. I know what your saying about no free lunch though...

exactly! it isnt going to cost them 20% more to pay a fair wage for a warranty repair

 

[Grandad4]

exactly! it isnt going to cost them 20% more to pay a fair wage for a warranty repair

The point was if a mfr's gets too far out in front of the rest of the industry on warranty coverage, it would give the others a cost advantage. So I wouldn't expect Kubota or any other brand to lead a crusade for better warranties. They'll more likely stay in line with the other brands. (You may have observed that it's typically the newer or weaker competitors in the auto industry, for example, that bring out the better warranties) And, despite a couple of comments here, the way Kubota handles warranties is apparently pretty much comparable to the other brands... maybe even better than some.

The fact that so many small dealers are struggling to hang on is one reason several brands - definitely Deere and Kioti, maybe others - want to consolidate their dealerships.

I have always enjoyed doing business with the small outfits, but, as noted, if you want a market-based economy, you have to allow the strong to grow and the weak to fail. A dealer - or a mfr, for that matter - who can't or won't give good service deserves to lose the business.

But I'd rather talk about R1 vs R4, etc. anyways. :thumbsup:

 

[ultrarunner]

Suppose your CT cost 20% more because Bobcat had a full-coverage, no-questions-asked, bumper-to-bumper, pays for everything including bad exhaust aroma, 5 year warranty. Would you be happy with that? Remember T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L. (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch).

I may have misunderstood... isn't this about a warranty repair requested under the terms of the Kubota new tractor warranty at a Kubota Franchised Dealer refusing to honor the warranty?

I think the original poster only fault was expecting the warranty on his tractor would be honored...

 

[Grandad4]

I may have misunderstood... isn't this about a warranty repair requested under the terms of the Kubota new tractor warranty at a Kubota Franchised Dealer refusing to honor the warranty?

I think the original poster only fault was expecting the warranty on his tractor would be honored...

I'd agree. Had no problem and plenty of sympathy for OP. Long thread wandered quite a ways off topic... probably contributed myself to some of that. :laughing:

 

[doddsjzi]

I wonder what happens to people who buy Husquavarna chain saws or Cub Cadet mowers in the bigbox stores like Lowes and Home Depot. There are no maintenance facilities there.
A local Husquavarna dealer told me that what he got for warranty work often covered only about 40% of his costs. If warranty work was for a saw bought elasewhere, he would explain this to the customer. If the customer still wanted him to do the work, he would do the work after the estimated price of the work was paid in advance by the customer; the customer would then receive whatever money Husquavarna reimbursed for the waranty work and any money left if the work costs less than expected.
Since that time, he has become more interested in working on out-of-warranty Huskies bought elsewhere. He has realized that if the customer is pleased and can see beyond the short-sighted (to me) idea of saving as much money as possible on buying a new saw, he may gain a new customer, and have profitable shop work. Guess this is one reason I stick to Stihl--there's maintenance available where you buy it. You can also learn a lot more about your product and have a lot more options for parts and accessories. Of course, the same would be true if I bought from a local Huskie dealer.
A fellow I knew bought a Cub Cadet mower from the bigbox, then when he developed a problem had to go to a regular Cub Cadet dearer. The dealer did repair it, but put it at the bottom of the list, which I can understand. The buyer used it in his business, so he was not very happy.
To me, there is a lot to be said in deciding WHAT and WHERE to buy by WHO you will be dealing with after the sale. If your purchase decisions are all based on who sells for the least, you may pay for it in unexpected ways.

 

[dennisgw]

Very realistic attitude.

 

[Cobranut]

I would think a Kubota dealer would be REQUIRED to honor the warranty.
I'd report his butt and hopefully with enough complaints Kubota will pull his dealership.

My brother in law had an issue today with his B2920. He has all of 20 hours on the clock so he plans to utilize his factory warranty to fix his tractor. He purchased this tractor while in Arkansas but he now lives in north Mississippi. He contacted his local Kubota dealer in Hernando, MS and the first question he was asked was where he purchased the tractor. My BIL told him in Arkansas and without any further questions the dealer told him he did not have to honor the Kubota warranty and therefore would not honor it in this case. Am I to believe that dealers expect a tractor owner to sell and re-purchase a new tractor each time they move if they are under the warranty period? I understand dealers being upset with "internet dealers" selling for less but what kind of business practice is this to turn away warranty work? We read a lot on TBN about having a good dealer-owner relationship but this seems to be a bad first impression from the dealer.

 

[teg]

I would think a Kubota dealer would be REQUIRED to honor the warranty.
I'd report his butt and hopefully with enough complaints Kubota will pull his dealership.

yes, but that is not the case...

 

[ultrarunner]

yes, but that is not the case...

Management courses always drill in the theory that Management sets the tone and direction.

Manufacturers have the ultimate power and some do use it... all depends on how the manufacturer views the situation.

Complaints are tracked and scored...

Companies like BMW are relentless and bad reviews impact the individual Dealer's bottom line.

It may be this Dealer is serving in an under-served area and has relatively few problems...

The old adage, the squeaky wheel gets the grease is very true...