New Holland T1520 BREAKS in Two?

[Harold_J]

Mike - that sounds like EXCELLENT generic buying advice...
~paul

Mike is giving good general advice for sizing up a dealership before you make a purchase. Every dealer isn't going to meet each and every one of his guidelines, but the more the better.

On the other hand I have a feeling that for the 3 or 4 posters in this thread (like others on TBN) who said they couldn't/wouldn't buy Kubota or JD or NH, or use a local dealer, none of those points would have made any difference. It sounds like sometimes the chemistry or personalities are just wrong, can't agree on price, etc.

I'm not a hard bargaining person but I know on 1 or 2 occasions when I attempted to negotiate price on a big-ticket item the salesperson became almost belligerent and threatening, so what could I do but walk away. What is it that would usually drive you away from a dealer to another brand or in some cases to another county or out of state to make a purchase?

 

[Ford850]

Mike sums it up for the initial step of finding potential dealers. I don't go to that extreme but do consider most of his points to get a 'good feeling' about the dealer. The next step is talking to the dealer. I want someone who LISTENS to what I am asking or looking for, and does not try to blindly sell me what they have on the lot. They should ask me questions to get a feel for what they should sell me. My dealer told me up front that he thought I was making a mistake in the tractor I was considering, including tires, loader, implements. But then he stopped by my place to look at a possible trade in, and was quick to tell me after seeing my property he was wrong and that I had the right choices in mind. and after the deal was made, he dug into it and found additional ways to lower the price for me. That's what I look for.
A few things that will make me walk away from a dealer are: Giving me the run-around, Misleading quotes or hiding things, Making it seem like they are doing something for me when they are not, Not returning calls, Giving me an answer they think I want to hear rather than the truth.

 

[davitk]

All this talk about dealers..... last fall when I was shopping for a tractor I called the closest Kubota dealer, got a salesman who must have been in the middle of his coffee and donut. Answered the question of whether or not the particular machine I wanted was on the lot, and then said "Is that all? Can I go now" and hung up. This spring they are having a going out of business sale.

 

[pitt_md]

The truth behind which dealers are good and which are bad is not found out when buying but after you have problems. They might treat you nice and come up with a good deal but not helpful when you really need it.

 

[redneckford]

I wonder how people can be super members and moderators on TBN and not even fill out their profiles. Is that how company employees usually do it to hind the real facts. Clean shop? at the end of the day maybe. organized for who the mechanic or the tractor salesman. sounds like someone that wishes in one hand and hopes the world is flat cause most good tractor mechanics just worry about getting that piece of equipment repaired so that they can get the boss off their back. Who can afford to pay a $35 per hour tractor mechanic to sweep the floor? We do it in this business cause he better clean up his own mess!!!

 

[MikePA]

I wonder how people can be super members and moderators on TBN and not even fill out their profiles. Is that how company employees usually do it to hind the real facts. Clean shop? at the end of the day maybe. organized for who the mechanic or the tractor salesman. sounds like someone that wishes in one hand and hopes the world is flat cause most good tractor mechanics just worry about getting that piece of equipment repaired so that they can get the boss off their back. Who can afford to pay a $35 per hour tractor mechanic to sweep the floor? We do it in this business cause he better clean up his own mess!!!

Moderators are not 'company employees' and I'm not 'hinding' any 'real facts'. Actually, I'm not sure what a 'real' fact is, maybe the opposite of a 'unreal' fact? Please, tell me what part of my profile I should fill in to reveal some 'real facts'.

TBN is about sharing experience and opinions. If you believe the sign of a good dealer is a shop that's a mess, so be it.

 

[AndyMA]

Rightly or wrongly, I crossed NH off my list based on these reviews when I made my purchase recently. I'm sure there are stories and explanations as to why it happened in each circumstance. But you just don't see this level of dissatisfaction with a JD 790 or Kubota B3030 - you'd have a hard time finding a single dissatisfied customer for either tractor.

I'm glad youi made a purchase you'll be happy with. I think you made the decision with bad information regarding New Holland. It is so easy to post "garbage" on the internet and people who have no other source of information "fall" for it.

I would suggest that even though you dismissed New Holland to set your mind at ease with some credible information that you visit a couple of larger New Holland dealers, perforable those that deal in Kubota also. Visit the service shop and talk to the service manager and see what he has to say.

When I do this, including at my own dealer. and also look around at what is being repaired (typically about 10 machines at once), it is invariable the very old Fords (split open for things like clutches with castints still very much intact) and the much newer Kubotas that have casting breaks.

I'm 58 years oid, grew up on a nursery, have been operating tractors since I was 8. I've had 6 different recent (last 30 years) compact/utility tractors all of which except one have been Ford / New Holllands. The most recent a 1987 Ford 2120 (same frame as a TC55) and 2002 New Holland TN75D.

I push them hard on my 75 acre farm and residential property as well as a significient number (hundreds) of part time paid jobs. Not one has broken a casting.

In my day job, I am an electrical/mechanical engineer with many years experience both designing products and analysing failures.

Why am I rambling like. Just to state that as I read this site and many others which I have been doing for years there is just so much misinformation spread which gets passed on (and build upon) over and over again. (creating old wives tales)

And much of the electrical information professed on this site and others is just so wrong to be scarey.

As an engineer we were always taught to check out sources, and then verify the information though at least one other additional "independent" credible source. Also to apply a test of reasonableness to everything we do.

I think following a similiar rule would help us out on this forum.

Just my thoughts, take them for what there worth.

Andy

 

[tjkadar]

Well said Andy.

 

[EX3200]

I'm glad youi made a purchase you'll be happy with. I think you made the decision with bad information regarding New Holland. It is so easy to post "garbage" on the internet and people who have no other source of information "fall" for it.

Andy

I guess the question is this: Are there or are there not a higher number of these New Holland models that experience a very similar failure (breaking in half) compared to similar tractors from other manufacturers? I'm not making a statement, just asking the question.

Whether the individual cases were the result of misuse is irrelevant IMO. All other things being equal, I'm sure the same precentage of owners of other tractor brands misuse their machines in the same way, so the failure rate should be comparable, unless there are factors that I'm unaware of.

What caught my attention was not that there were people out there who had problems with a tractor. What caught my attention was the number of apparent first hand reports of failures that were the same type of failure. That looks like a design flaw unless it's a disinformation campaign.

 

[kmg]

I guess the question is this: Are there or are there not a higher number of these New Holland models that experience a very similar failure (breaking in half) compared to similar tractors from other manufacturers? I'm not making a statement, just asking the question.

Whether the individual cases were the result of misuse is irrelevant IMO. All other things being equal, I'm sure the same precentage of owners of other tractor brands misuse their machines in the same way, so the failure rate should be comparable, unless there are factors that I'm unaware of.

What caught my attention was not that there were people out there who had problems with a tractor. What caught my attention was the number of apparent first hand reports of failures that were the same type of failure. That looks like a design flaw unless it's a disinformation campaign.

I have a T1520 and can tell you it's a work horse. You can look at a 1988 T1720 and they are the same other than color, this design has been around a long time. One thing that has changed is the horsepower, from 26 to 35, so it can do more. A full loader with a 3 point BH is probably the cause of the failures. These are great tractors, like the Fords of the 80's, all metal, same gauges, layout and controls.