Reasonable service charge?

[SnowRidge]

Rolling weight vs non-rolling weight makes a big difference...

Use one of these to get your tractor on your trailer...

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

This thread is months old. I'm not sure why sandman2234 decided to revive it, but that HF winch looks like a toy. There are other, stouter portable winches out there. They might cost a little more, but if you are going to carry a portable winch, it might at well be a decent piece of equipment.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Catman is exactly right, go to the sales department. Every dealership has about the same accounting methods. The service department could bill the sales department for the repair rather than the customer. All the service department cares about is the service department getting paid for it's time. They could care less who pays.

What gets me, is that my friend recently bought a new Kubota from a dealer 1/2 hour away. Tractor develpoed a leak, dealer came out and tightened a loose fitting, no charge.

There are many ways for a dealer to get reimbursed for this time from the factory. All they have to do is get a little creative. The service guy could have written up anything to cover his travel time. The service manager could have dressed up the warranty claim to cover travel. I worked on forklifts on the road for 22 years and I did this more times than I can count. Show me a dealer that says they don't do this and I'll show you a liar.

 

[SnowRidge]

The time to find out if field trips for warranty work are free or not is before you buy the machine. Some dealers do charge; some don't. Often, their prices reflect it.

 

[SnowRidge]

There are many ways for a dealer to get reimbursed for this time from the factory. All they have to do is get a little creative. The service guy could have written up anything to cover his travel time. The service manager could have dressed up the warranty claim to cover travel. I worked on forklifts on the road for 22 years and I did this more times than I can count. Show me a dealer that says they don't do this and I'll show you a liar.

When I was an employee in the service business, that would have gotten me fired and possibly prosecuted. In any event, I would have refused. I am amazed that a business owner would post that sort of statement in a public forum.

 

[sandman2234]

Yikes!!!
It was me that pulled this old post out. I have this terrible habit of not looking at dates when reading posts. Sorry for that. However, I would be interested in knowing what the outcome was, and if anything was resolved.
David from jax

 

[Wayne County Hose]

We were encouraged to do this and was endorsed by the factory. It is called "Good customer relations".
And, like I said, any dealer that says they have never done this is a liar.

 

[BTI]

I'm not agreeing necessarily, I'm just going to state a few facts.
This market is very competitive, this is quickly driving dealers profits down, that said:
Most tractor manufacturers do not pay for travel time or for a service call.
They pay based on the hours you work on the tractor, in this case 15-20 minutes.
This forces the dealership to get the money back in some way.
His truck cost him money, the mechanic cost him, the travel cost him.

I'm not saying this is how we would do it, I'm also not saying this dealer did anything shady as far as we know.

Now if the dealer charged you for the switch and the labor, now that IS wrong.
The switch and time spent changing the switch should be covered under warranty.

BTI

 

[SnowRidge]

We were encouraged to do this and was endorsed by the factory. It is called "Good customer relations".
And, like I said, any dealer that says they have never done this is a liar.

That is not "getting creative" as you put it. That is following a standard procedure to bill a service call in a prescribed manner. Your statement, "Show me a dealer that says they don't do this and I'll show you a liar" speaks volumes.

 

[Rara Avis]

This thread is months old. I'm not sure why sandman2234 decided to revive it, but that HF winch looks like a toy. There are other, stouter portable winches out there. They might cost a little more, but if you are going to carry a portable winch, it might at well be a decent piece of equipment.

Snowridge...I'm as guilty as The Sandman on dates...When I opened the forums, it was an unread thread at the top of my list...so I read thru the thread and responded where I thought I could save someone some money...

I was trying to save the guy some money, by thinking outside the box...he's complaining about loading a CK20, which he said weighs in at 3000lbs. with loader and mower. And he said he couldn't imagine how to get it on his trailer without from it's own power. So I thought he draw the line at the price of a real winch...

In my case, I have enough JD equipment that the dealer will make house calls and my equipment trailer has a real winch just in case I have to take my old Farmall in for major work or am picking up stuff from an auction...

And in terms of responding to an old thread...your fingerprints on this reopened thread are pretty evident as well...

Have a nice day...

 

[SnowRidge]

And in terms of responding to an old thread...your fingerprints on this reopened thread are pretty evident as well...

What, no absolution for pointing the finger?