webbmeister
Gold Member
New TC25D Falling Apart and I\'m Angry
I make my living managing technical support for a school at a Midwestern university. I'm the manager rather than the worker-bee because over the years I've learned to ensure top service and put on a calm and pleasant face pretty much no matter the magnitude of an issue or how unreasonable a client might be. Honestly, it takes something extraordinary to make me lose my cool, and today that happened. Caution, a vent follows:
My neighbor has an old Craftsman riding mower and 5 acres of land similar to my three. Today was the second time in a row that he finished more than an hour sooner than I did with my $18,500 tractor. How could this be? Because of the time I had to spend (again) putting the belt back on the MMM. Not once, mind you, but TWICE, having to undo and redo the gearbox both times.
As if that wasn't enough, when I finished mowing and tried to raise the deck, only the right side of the deck went up. I got off the tractor to look, and what did I see? The left large black spring from the MMM hanging down, the entire tension rod assembly hanging down and horribly mangled, and judging by the looks of the other side, a pin, washer, and collar missing. Heaven only knows how much damage has been done beyond what I could see.
Now add all this to existing issues:
1. front axle fitting still leaks, even after I tried to tighten it.
2. The tractor still occasionally and unpredictably goes into fits of high and low rpms before stalling and refusing to start for the next half- to full hour.
3. It has thrown two blades
4. The manuals weren't delivered until weeks after I got the tractor, and the repair manual, for which I paid, has never been delivered.
5. Bucket hooks, promised as part of the setup, were not installed and have never been shipped.
6. When delivered, the tractor - which was sold to me as NEW, had clear signs of having been used. For instance, dozens of paint chips, down to metal, on the FEL; the draw bar had clearly had a ball attached and removed (paint gone and rusty) and the arms of the 3PH and the top link had many dings that were rusting. All I asked of the dealer to square this away were a can of blue and a can of grey paint. Promised, never delivered.
7. As part of the deal, the dealer promised to send me an extra front FEL guard to use in place of a grille guard when the FEL is off. Never delivered.
I now have a 30-hour tractor that I cannot use until it is repaired. My neighbor, as understanding as he is, shakes his head as he passes me on his $1995 Sears special. I'm embarrassed about that, and jumpin' out of my skin angry about the shoddy assembly and performance of my TC25D.
The dealer is ... in Virginia. I am in a Chicago suburb. The closest dealer wants $150 to transport for the warranty work. He doesn't know about the MMM mount failure yet - I don't know whether he'll fix that under warranty or not. The way things have gone with this tractor, I expect he'll charge me for the repair.
Anybody have any thoughts? Suggestions? Do I need to contact NH? I gotta tell ya - the way I feel right now, I will never, ever buy a New Holland product again, and I would sell this tractor to the first person who offered the going price for a slightly used lemon.
I am *SO* angry!
Jim
I make my living managing technical support for a school at a Midwestern university. I'm the manager rather than the worker-bee because over the years I've learned to ensure top service and put on a calm and pleasant face pretty much no matter the magnitude of an issue or how unreasonable a client might be. Honestly, it takes something extraordinary to make me lose my cool, and today that happened. Caution, a vent follows:
My neighbor has an old Craftsman riding mower and 5 acres of land similar to my three. Today was the second time in a row that he finished more than an hour sooner than I did with my $18,500 tractor. How could this be? Because of the time I had to spend (again) putting the belt back on the MMM. Not once, mind you, but TWICE, having to undo and redo the gearbox both times.
As if that wasn't enough, when I finished mowing and tried to raise the deck, only the right side of the deck went up. I got off the tractor to look, and what did I see? The left large black spring from the MMM hanging down, the entire tension rod assembly hanging down and horribly mangled, and judging by the looks of the other side, a pin, washer, and collar missing. Heaven only knows how much damage has been done beyond what I could see.
Now add all this to existing issues:
1. front axle fitting still leaks, even after I tried to tighten it.
2. The tractor still occasionally and unpredictably goes into fits of high and low rpms before stalling and refusing to start for the next half- to full hour.
3. It has thrown two blades
4. The manuals weren't delivered until weeks after I got the tractor, and the repair manual, for which I paid, has never been delivered.
5. Bucket hooks, promised as part of the setup, were not installed and have never been shipped.
6. When delivered, the tractor - which was sold to me as NEW, had clear signs of having been used. For instance, dozens of paint chips, down to metal, on the FEL; the draw bar had clearly had a ball attached and removed (paint gone and rusty) and the arms of the 3PH and the top link had many dings that were rusting. All I asked of the dealer to square this away were a can of blue and a can of grey paint. Promised, never delivered.
7. As part of the deal, the dealer promised to send me an extra front FEL guard to use in place of a grille guard when the FEL is off. Never delivered.
I now have a 30-hour tractor that I cannot use until it is repaired. My neighbor, as understanding as he is, shakes his head as he passes me on his $1995 Sears special. I'm embarrassed about that, and jumpin' out of my skin angry about the shoddy assembly and performance of my TC25D.
The dealer is ... in Virginia. I am in a Chicago suburb. The closest dealer wants $150 to transport for the warranty work. He doesn't know about the MMM mount failure yet - I don't know whether he'll fix that under warranty or not. The way things have gone with this tractor, I expect he'll charge me for the repair.
Anybody have any thoughts? Suggestions? Do I need to contact NH? I gotta tell ya - the way I feel right now, I will never, ever buy a New Holland product again, and I would sell this tractor to the first person who offered the going price for a slightly used lemon.
I am *SO* angry!
Jim
