Local Kubota dealer not honoring warranty

[beppington]

When I broke my tractor my dealer came right out & picked it up, fixed it in a very reasonable amount of time, & returned it right away. Couldn't have been happier ... well, except for not having broken it in the first place

 

[TripleR]

After reading this post, this has also happened to me.

I purchased a machine from a dealer several hours away because of the price. Several issues have occured with the tractor, but the dealer closer to me says that he will do the work, but will charge me. He states that he has to charge me because the other dealer should have done it and if I want the work covered under the warranty I need to take it to the dealer that I purchased it from.

I have called the Kubota district representative and he told me the same thing.

I guess Kubota does not pay enough for their warranty work and the dealers do not want to take the hit for a machine that they did not sell.

Makes me wonder if I should not have bought GREEN!!

We have Orange, Red and Green and it makes no difference, it goes to the quality of the dealer.

Yes, there is less payment on warranty work at least on cars, but a dealer has to look long term. I now buy all of my cars and trucks at one dealership because of the way in which a warranty issue was dealt years ago on a truck I bought out of state. The money they have made on our business and referrals has long since made up for any reduction in initial warranty cost.

 

[keyman1808]

We have Orange, Red and Green and it makes no difference, it goes to the quality of the dealer.

Yes, there is less payment on warranty work at least on cars, but a dealer has to look long term. I now buy all of my cars and trucks at one dealership because of the way in which a warranty issue was dealt years ago on a truck I bought out of state. The money they have made on our business and referrals has long since made up for any reduction in initial warranty cost.

EXACTLY If you treat me right I will be back and recomend you till the cows come home. Screw me and I will bad mouth you till I'm 6 feet under

 

[Ken45101]

Screw me and I will bad mouth you till I'm 6 feet under

Be careful saying that to a guy who has an inventory of backhoes! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Ken

 

[LD1]

I too wish messicks (or any other kubota dealer on this board for that matter) would chime in here and possibly set us all straight.

Because I was under the impression that a warrent is a warrenty and that ANY kubota dealer is obligated to fix it. And that if you didnt buy from them, the only thing they could do was make you wait MUCH longer than normal.

If these rumors are indeed true, it is news to me. But a kubota warrenty is just that, a KUBOTA warrenty. Not "joe schmoe dealer warrenty". So one should NOT have to take it to the selling dealer.

Same for about anything. Tools, chainsaws, etc. Look at how many of them are bought online and warrented at local places. Buy a craftsman too online, and it can be exchanged at ANY sears. Whats the difference.

 

[buckle97]

And how did the conversation with the dealer go??? Something like this.....

"Mr. Dealer, I have a kubota Bxxx that is under warrenty and I am having some problems and what you to take a look at it"

"Mr. Owner, Where did you buy it at? .....Oh, well we cannot honor the warrenty because you didnt buy here....click"

From what my BIL told me, that was the conversation verbatim. He did try to tell him that he couldn't help that he was in AR when he purchased the tractor and the dealer basically told him tough luck, he wasn't helping.

 

[buckle97]

But out of curiosity, what symptoms/problems are you having that you suspect the voltage regulator?

He parked the tractor and it was running fine. Now it won't start. He has checked all the sensors, made sure the treadle was in neutral, PTO lever not partially engaged, and it still won't start. I read a little here and on another forum which pointed to the voltage regulator if all the above checked out. Still not 100% sure though.

 

[LD1]

From what my BIL told me, that was the conversation verbatim. He did try to tell him that he couldn't help that he was in AR when he purchased the tractor and the dealer basically told him tough luck, he wasn't helping.

Keep us posted on what the reigional rep when you get ahold of them

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

I wish someone from Messicks would chime in and give us an answer. If it is true I may rethink my next tractor purchase.

Not sure what your looking for me to add here. Yes, this happens. As a business person, I understand why. Its difficult to get your money out of some warrenty jobs. Very often we hear of 'internet dealers' and regional cost cutters not supporting their customers after the sale. A real world example was 5 mintes from our store, a ZD331 and L3940 was dumped into our back yard for a $500 gross profit (no setup, trucking, etc). There was an engine mount campain for the ZD that the selling dealer never did, which caused the engine to slide into the radiator. Of course the machine came to us, which we fixed, at about a $300-400 net loss to us. For us, who sell lots of tractors we can absorb this kinda stuff, but a small outfit may not be able to. So I totally get it. That said, its crappy customer service and anyone with a long term perspective of their business should understand that its pennywise and dollar foolish.

This is not a Kubota problem, its an industry problem. Equipment dealers lack the same legal protections that car dealers have when it comes to paying for warrenty, lemon products, etc. Our dealer associations have been trying to get us the same legal protections that auto companies have, but at this point Deere (according to NEDA) has the legislation stalled (here in PA, its a state level thing). So any comparison to car dealers does not hold up. You can't imagine the mess we can get into with $400,000 combines and getting warrenty claims paid for things like diagnostic work.

My suggestion, call one more time and explain that you just moved to the area, the tractor came with you, and your looking for a new dealer to call 'home'. If they still give you crap, take it somewhere else. Do you really want to give a place like that your business?

As for contacting the manufacturer, I would, simply to add to the paper trail. But again, do you want to go there under that senerio?

 

[crazyal]

If that's true, and I have no reason to doubt you, I would think that the dealer would try to work with you. Simply showing the difference between what Kubota's labor rate is and what the shop normally charges and offer to do the work if the customer was to pay the difference would go a long way towards winning a new customer.

If I feel like someone is being honest with me I'll go out of my way to make sure they do not loose money, whether it's a friend or a business. I'll also buy stuff from them, like oil and filters when needed. I guess if the dealer is happy knowing that his name could get dragged through the mud without even trying to compromise then I guess everyone looses.

Back in 94 I bought a new camaro. It had a vibration at about 75 miles an hour. The local dealer (who I didn't buy the car from because they offered me about $5k less than another dealer in the next state for my trade in) said it was the tires and rebalanced them. Of course that wasn't it so I called the 800 number for Chevy for warranty work. The lady on the phone gave me a list of dealers to choose from and offered to pick the car up if needed. Once I picked a dealer they called within an hour to set up an appointment. Since they legally couldn't drive the car above 65 they said they would just replace parts until it was fixed. They thought it was most likely the driveshaft and started there. They were right and were later rewarded by a glowing recommendation from me and a I bought a car from them. I guess the world has changed.