Rust on our new BX2660

[James Loehr]

No need to rant at me, there's fault on both sides.

I should have been more particular before taking ownership, they should have either prepped the tractor better or disclosed the rust prior to sale.

I posted looking for honest feedback from the larger group to see if I was being over particular, or if this was normal.

I'd say the overall mix is 60/40 with most postings and PM's saying that this isn't normal for a brand new tractor.

Yes, I should have done a better job inspecting it, no doubt, but the rust is not in obvious spots, except for the roll bar, with the safety triangle mostly covered.

I asked the sales person before buying if they had a BX 2660 available to try out. They did not, I'm assuming that the tractor wasn't prepped yet, and was still crated out back. So I never test drove this unit prior to purchase.

In my opinion the dealership should have done a better job disclosing to me the rust and that it's been sitting out through last winter. Better than that they should have fixed it prior to letting me see it. But in their defense, there's a bell curve of owners and some would never have an issue with this. Some like me plan on keeping it forever, so cancerous rust scares me.

The fluid leak is not a checking on level surface issue. It's litterally dripping on my garage floor, and by the time I'd mowed three times, and had seven hours on it, the rear fluid level went from full to below the dipstick. When I parked it so they could pick it up, it was even struggling to make the power steering work.

I do appreciate the feedback. I am much smarter for this experience, and will know what to expect and do better in the future.

Thanks everyone, I'll let you know what comes of it,
-Jonathan

I agree with you 100%.It's the up to the dealer to deliver a new unit in new condition. I purchased a leftover lawn tractor that was sitting outside and pretty dirty. It was a great deal and the dealer said it would be cleaned an set up before delivery. I did not expect perfection but it was delivered in new condition. It looked better than my BX2360 did and that was in a crate when I purchased it. I hope for you this turns out well. Good luck.

 

[harpoonalt]

I think you asked a valid question. While you should have gone over the tractor better at delivery, there's no need for you to get whacked on the head over it. We all make mistakes and miss stuff. You placed your trust in the dealer and you won't make that mistake again, I'm sure.
That rust is excessive for a new tractor. I'd be more concerned about the rust you can't see. Once rust starts it just continues on. In VT, I'm well aquainted with rust. Rust is the killer of equipment and vehicles here. Your equipment may run forever but the rust will cause everything else to fall apart. I routinely spray or wipe down stuff with an oily rag to keep rust at bay. My Back blade gets misted with oil before storage and still looks great. You have to keep after it or pay the price.
I'd shoot for a new tractor even if I had to pay a few hundred bucks to do it. While that rust may not bother some, it would drive me nuts. Check out tractors at other dealers and you'll find that 99% of the stock on the lot will not have that kind of rust unless it's sat for a long time. Good luck.

 

[BlacknTan]

I think you asked a valid question. While you should have gone over the tractor better at delivery, there's no need for you to get whacked on the head over it. We all make mistakes and miss stuff. You placed your trust in the dealer and you won't make that mistake again, I'm sure.
That rust is excessive for a new tractor. I'd be more concerned about the rust you can't see. Once rust starts it just continues on. In VT, I'm well aquainted with rust. Rust is the killer of equipment and vehicles here. Your equipment may run forever but the rust will cause everything else to fall apart. I routinely spray or wipe down stuff with an oily rag to keep rust at bay. My Back blade gets misted with oil before storage and still looks great. You have to keep after it or pay the price.
I'd shoot for a new tractor even if I had to pay a few hundred bucks to do it. While that rust may not bother some, it would drive me nuts. Check out tractors at other dealers and you'll find that 99% of the stock on the lot will not have that kind of rust unless it's sat for a long time. Good luck.

I agree with this completely...

Sometimes in our excitement, we overlook things and depend on the dealer doing what's right. A new piece of equipment is expected to look as new!
Maybe as some say, "it's just a tractor," but I don't see things that way.. If I'm paing for new, I want new, and I want every nut and bolt that's supposed to come with the unit, in proper working order, and looking like new..

I might be difficult, but I think that most people want the same... New is new.. no excuses!

 

[JANDG]

That would be a very bad dealer & you should get firm with them, .. you can see UV damage on the plastic which only means long outside stay,, maybe even salt damage,, You need to get much nasty with that dealer, ..My local JD dealer would have had another one delivered the next day if in stock. My local Kubota dealer would have swapped you out without any hassle, both the local Kubota dealers as I know them both & customer satifaaction is there # 1 priority. You have a crap dealer & you need to treat it as such, do not worry about pissin them off because you think you need them in future, you do not, take your warraty work to another Kubota dealer when all gets straightened out. I would not accept that tractor, in fact I would send the story & photos to other Kubota dealers & see what they would have done, In fact I would be so pissed about the attintude of them I would sue the SOB's.
Joe

 

[TonkaToy]

I am a little bit on both sides on this, including buyer beware. But unless I missed something in a previous response, "newbury" quotes that Dunlapjc saw the tractor, put the loader and MMM on and off the tractor, he also stated at the dealer. So from that point, unless he stayed and watched them load the tractor on the trailer and followed them to his place for delivery, who's to say that what he received on delivery, and what he saw at the dealer is the same tractor? I have no basis to point fingers here, but if the dealer is a slimy SOB, he could have easily shown him a perfect looking tractor, and delivered this tractor which would have been a tougher sell with the apparent rust.

At the end of the day, everyone has their opinion, but for the money I pay for this tractor, I would not be happy. I would want something to be done by the dealer, or Kubota. I sort of agree with what JANDG said, but before taking any steps of this measure, I think you need to see what both the dealer and Kubota will do for you first. You need to be firm in letting them know that you are an unhappy customer and you are expecting them to take care of this, but don't be threatening right away....see what they will do. They could be real champs and fix things up to your satisfaction.

If they don't, they you have to get down and dirty. First find out legally what kind of recourse you have based on the laws for where you live. Also, appeal to Kubota's regional office, then HQ and if you have no legal ground to go after them, you need to attack their integrity. many companies will not take action until they are pushed, and sometimes you need to push a little harder. Kubota is big and have a reputation to hold on to. If you go high enough, question them having disreputable dealers, file complaints locally (Radio, newspapers, TV all have some type of local consumer advocacy), I think they would prefer to fix you up than the PR problems that can arise.

In the end, I hope it works out for you. You need to be able to sleep at night, being happy with your purchase, not having dropped this kind of cash and being miserable about it.

Best of luck!

 

[SPYDERLK]

Picture 4 looks like a bad place to see rust. I cant id exactly what that is but I perceive scaly rust on a shaft right up against a seal lip. Cant tolerate that!
larry

 

[Dunlapjc]

Here's the latest update:

After picking up the tractor, the dealership called me and said they put a lot of time into repairing the rust and wanted to deliver it back to me.

I told them no, I did not want it returned, and explained again that I was suspect of this unit which is proving itself to be a lemon. I explained again that I don't believe that rust repairs in the field at the dealership will ever top the quality of a factory finish.

I did say I was willing to take the 2 hours of my time to drive to the dealership and inspect it.

I did that on Saturday.

The dealership put a lot of work into reparing the rust, and put a lot of new paint on the tractor, but did not go into details as to how much grinding they did... We compared this unit to a different new BX2660 on the lot which exhibited the same rust conditions mine had.

The dealership wanted to make it clear that they did not sell me a used unit, and weren't pulling anything over on me. I sincerely don't think they are, and have never thought that.

While I was there, I took that opportunity to compare it to a new "B" series unit sitting next to their new "BX" on the lot. The BX was all rusty, sun faded and looked bad. The "B" series unit was pristine and in show-room condition.

Back on "my" unit, I pulled the plastic insert molded nut off of the air inlet screen and the mower deck shroud and looked at the white galvanic corrosion on my BX and the pristine zinc trivalent chromium plating on the new B series unit.

I told the sales manager that I did not want this BX, and am still requesting a new, non-corroded, non-sun faded, non-repaired unit.

He said we'll have to wait for "Larry" the regional Kubota rep. to come back from vacation on Monday, and we can discuss this week.

Thanks everyone,
-Jonathan

PS: Holy Cow guys, Google Kubota and rust, and this thread comes up 4th on Google. We do live in an amazing world...

 

[harpoonalt]

Good for you! Stick to your guns on this one. I've never seen rust like that unless something has been left out for extended periods or exposed to salt air. I'd guess that it occured in the shipping of the units. Like I said earlier, the rust you can't see would worry me more than anything. My 3 year old BX has no such rust and a new one should definetly not. No amount of cosmetic work can fix all the rust that is probably present on that machine in places you can't see. I went to my local dealer and looked at his new BX machines and they have no rust. Even his used stuff doesn't have the rust you have and it's been sitting out for awhile.
Car companies routinely trash cars that have salt air damage due to the liabilities involved.
You're doing the right thing comparing your tractor to the "B"s on the lot. You may want to get some photos of some other brands to prove your point further. The sad part is Kubota should figure out what happened and not let them be sold as new. The internal rust can cause early failures of many parts and once you own it for a length of time they can blame you. Let's hope they respond better than they have on my abrupt stop issue.

 

[Kubota 2350]

Keep on them, when I bought my Kubota, they had a whole lot full of new tractors that had set outside, when I decided witch tractor I wanted to buy, I had them take a new one from the crate and put it together for me.

I insisted on a NEW tractor, not one that had outside for a year.

 

[Lyrch75]

Keep on them, when I bought my Kubota, they had a whole lot full of new tractors that had set outside, when I decided witch tractor I wanted to buy, I had them take a new one from the crate and put it together for me.

I insisted on a NEW tractor, not one that had outside for a year.

Which is why my local (orange) guy uses a couple old greenhouses as his lot. All of his new tractors and implements live underneath the cover. Another (AGCO) puts all of his stock well away from the road during winter and keeps the higher $items under a roof (but no walls), then there is a third place that seems to get them in, park them, and they sit there until sold.


I tend to deal with the first two.