Service Nightmare - Need Advice!

[sweep]

For the record - I have had a very good relationship with this dealer, which is why I'm hesitant to even press this. Just wanted to see how best to address the issue. Many thanks for all of the responses. I realize there are more important things in life to worry about, but I'd like to proect this investment as best I can.

I know where you are coming from. I wax my tractor 3 times times per year and keep it in a temp controlled environment. I have even used 303 protectorant on the tires to keep them from dryrotting as I want to keep the tractor as a family heirloom.

I had the dealer widen out the rear wheels and when I got it back there where scratches all over the wheels. Looked like they used a chain to hold them up. I was sick. My dealer could not understand why I was so disapointed.

Too him it's just a machine.

The only thing I got out of it was a can of spray paint to match. I did that but it never really matched-and I'm good at this stuff. After it dried and was rewaxed i you can see the difference. I may have the centers sprayed at a body shop this winter.

I realized there was no use in fighting it. Learn and go on. As others said it's not worth fretting about..just try to find the right coating you can use to stop the rust and discoloration.

I always tell my wife people laugh at how I keep the tractor now but in 50 -60 years people will be fighting over my tractor.

 

[MikeD74T]

TripleR, I think your quote/byline (which I really like) might be applied to your dealer. If he thinks you can do him no good & so would treat you without respect he's not anyone I'd deal with. I'd not badmouth any customer that was willing to pay more for better service. Maybe Weedbo's dealer just didn't communicate with his transportation guy but he agreed to the job, set the price, & it was paid. MikeD74T

 

[Weedbo]

I know where you are coming from. I wax my tractor 3 times times per year and keep it in a temp controlled environment. I have even used 303 protectorant on the tires to keep them from dryrotting as I want to keep the tractor as a family heirloom.

I had the dealer widen out the rear wheels and when I got it back there where scratches all over the wheels. Looked like they used a chain to hold them up. I was sick. My dealer could not understand why I was so disapointed.

Too him it's just a machine.

The only thing I got out of it was a can of spray paint to match. I did that but it never really matched-and I'm good at this stuff. After it dried and was rewaxed i you can see the difference. I may have the centers sprayed at a body shop this winter.

I realized there was no use in fighting it. Learn and go on. As others said it's not worth fretting about..just try to find the right coating you can use to stop the rust and discoloration.

I always tell my wife people laugh at how I keep the tractor now but in 50 -60 years people will be fighting over my tractor.

Thanks sweep. Perhaps there is a support group out there for us OCD tractor folk! Glad to hear I'm not the only one.

 

[Weedbo]

Not sure if this will work, but here are some photos:

 

[Bill Hoffman]

I'd be really PO over the hydraulic couplers. That's one
place that corrosion is unacceptable.

Bill

 

[TripleR]

TripleR, I think your quote/byline (which I really like) might be applied to your dealer. If he thinks you can do him no good & so would treat you without respect he's not anyone I'd deal with. I'd not badmouth any customer that was willing to pay more for better service. Maybe Weedbo's dealer just didn't communicate with his transportation guy but he agreed to the job, set the price, & it was paid. MikeD74T

You raise some interesting points which I hope I can address, but no guarantees. You will note that I have not addressed the subject of paying extra for special handling as I did not see that anywhere; must have missed it. If the service contract so states, I agree it should be honored.

I think it probably has something if not a lot to do with the area and type of dealers and customers. I am from a farming background and live in a farming community/area where tractors are tools and the dealers in general have farming back grounds. Again from the OP, "And it is a tractor after all". Here tractors are for work, not looks or recreation; nothing wrong with that, just not the norm.

Many farmers if not most simply don't have the room to keep their equipment under roof. They do the best they can, but it simply isn't economically feasible. I know no one personally who has ever waxed a tractor. It is simply a foreign concept as is worrying about a few scratches or dents.

There are times here that you simply can't get a tractor worked on unless you are a real farmer because there simply are not enough mechanics or service trucks. We had a tractor in an independent shop for almost a year because the dealer couldn't figure out how to fix it. We don't use the dealer or brand anymore, but still have the tractor. On another, we waited over four months on a service truck with repeated assurances they would pick it up any day. We no longer own that tractor or have anything to do with that dealer.

You will note in one of my posts that I said it may be different in New York and certainly concede many other places. Subsequent posters have pointed out that it is.

As to the dealer I use, they probably would do as I requested if at all possible, but they would not stop laughing when I hit the door. We have a great relationship and I enjoy good natured ribbing and it goes both ways.

I endured years of ribbing from MSHP about my wife, better known as "The Blue Flash" and now I and the parts department get a kick out of how many tail light and hazard flasher lenses just seem to disappear off my wife's BX2660.

One final observation, I am not making fun of or trying to belittle anyone and if I have done so, I apologize. Also, while some may make fun of the tractor waxers or OCD owners, not my term, we ALL love them when shopping for a used tractor.:thumbsup:

 

[sweep]

Not sure if this will work, but here are some photos:

I can't see the pics???

 

[xtn]

I believe if I were that picky about the delivery I would deliver and pick it up myself, I believe your request to the dealer was unreasonable

It may have been, but that is not relevant. It does not excuse the dealer who AGREED to the request and then failed to deliver, causing real and undue damage to the owner.

If it is well know in that part of the country that one shouldn't haul unprotected in those conditions, I imagine any group of - oh I dunno let's say twelve - reasonable local people might agree that the dealer made a bad move.

xtn

 

[ustmd]

I am still not sure where I come down on this issue.

As an OEM service manager (in a completely unrelated industry), I want to give great service to my customers, but I also have to run a business and make a profit.

Many other posters from that geography have said that it is common practice not to haul to protect a load when the roads are slushy.

If that is the case, then it would seem this is not a special request, but common practice and the dealer should have offered it as part of the normal service package.

Yet, he didn't or didn't follow a common practice--which is a problem.

The OP also stated:

"I could not pressure wash the tractor because the temperature was well below freezing. A few weeks later, on the first above-freezing day we had, I pressure washed the tractor..."

Which makes me think that the tractor would have had to sit on the service lot for service weeks before it could have been hauled--which seems excessive, especially if the OP expected the tractor to be stored inside, as it is at his place.

Finally, the OP did spend $40K on this tractor, but it was 5 years ago and it was "a once in a lifetime purchase". Also this was the first significant (maybe only) use of the service department. Granted, he spent $1000, but it is only $1000 which is most likely a "noise" number at the dealership. So as a businessperson, I have to think how much time and effort I am going to spend accomodating the request from the OP versus a special request from a regular/high revenue customer. If it is a busy time and there are lots of other special requests, this one is not going to get very much attention.

 

[Degolyerent]

It may have been, but that is not relevant. It does not excuse the dealer who AGREED to the request and then failed to deliver, causing real and undue damage to the owner.

If it is well know in that part of the country that one shouldn't haul unprotected in those conditions, I imagine any group of - oh I dunno let's say twelve - reasonable local people might agree that the dealer made a bad move.

xtn

You really need to find something to do with your time, all of you OCD people probably never had a job that got your hands dirty, they are probably as soft as your wives. It must be nice to have nothing to worry about except scratches or future rust!!