Sawyer Rob
Super Member
Which makes about everything else they say, suspect!There are people on this forum that think Powertrac is better than any Compact Tractor ever built.
Power Trac Products
SR
Which makes about everything else they say, suspect!There are people on this forum that think Powertrac is better than any Compact Tractor ever built.
Power Trac Products
How much diagnosis have you done to your Steiner diesel. "Keep it running" doesn't sound like a replacement reason to me...yet.![]()
Well, sounds like you have some pretty good reasons to seek out another machine.It has been in the shop since labor day of 2021. In 2020 it was in the shop for almost three months. The curreny problems (hydraulic) have taken the dealer four tries to fix and it is still not fixed. In 2020 it took them three tries to fix it. Before that, I had lift problems and I also have had bolts on some of the engine parts shear off causing it to completely tear up radiator and all kinds of other stuff. I do not use the machine commercially so it is not worked very hard and does not have an overabundance of hours on it. It is a model 440 which I have been told by dealer after dealer was a disaster of a tractor. The majority of the work is I do is mowing during the spring and summer. It has never made it more than two or three months before breaking down. There has been plenty of diagnosis done on it by the dealership over the last three years. It has not helped. I have finally gotten Steiner corporate to step in and try to help but you can only waste so much time and money on a piece of equipment that will not run.
I don't understand your reasoning. I think having a tractor that does not work is the perfect reason to look for a different tractor. What other choice do you have when the dealer cannot fix the problems with your tractor. I have had these issues for 5 years. So your suggestion would be to keep it and hope it begins to function like it should? That does not make much sense to me.I was thinking the same thing. There are lots of good reasons to get a different tractor, but not being able to keep one running doesn't sound like something that a different tractor would cure. But maybe so....I'd have to know more about the problem and what's been done. Otherwise he might just end up spending a lot of money to end up in the same place.
If you'd like to get work done and your machine is again broke, now your fixing it instead of the job you planned to do. I'd say dump it.I don't understand your reasoning. I think having a tractor that does not work is the perfect reason to look for a different tractor. What other choice do you have when the dealer cannot fix the problems with your tractor. I have had these issues for 5 years. So your suggestion would be to keep it and hope it begins to function like it should? That does not make much sense to me.
Speaking from personal experience, I'd not recommend a tractor like that with no dealer/repair network unless you are willing to do the work on it yourself, or have a very trusted and competent mechanic, and be assured of a reliable parts source.25 HP diesel engine, dual wheels, rough cut mower and ventrac power rake.
I have looked at those and also at Carrero tractors, they are very similar. They come in much higher HP than the steiner or ventracs but the problem is the dealer network. They are pricier than my tractor, but they are much more tractor also. I like the looks of them too. The neatest thing about them it the reversible seat so you can mow either in front of you or behind you.
I don't understand your reasoning. I think having a tractor that does not work is the perfect reason to look for a different tractor. What other choice do you have when the dealer cannot fix the problems with your tractor. I have had these issues for 5 years. So your suggestion would be to keep it and hope it begins to function like it should? That does not make much sense to me.
I agree 100%. Steiner has a dealer network and have used a Steiner dealer to repair it. They can't do it for some reason.Speaking from personal experience, I'd not recommend a tractor like that with no dealer/repair network unless you are willing to do the work on it yourself, or have a very trusted and competent mechanic, and be assured of a reliable parts source.
I have owned a PowerTrac PT425, for 21 years now. They are factory direct with very good tech support over the phone, and excellent parts service via shipping. However, I do all of the work myself. There are no dealers. I enjoy working on machinery and am confident enough and capable enough to do the work, so it's not an issue for me.
So that's just some things to think about with a specialty or unique machine:
Parts
Support
Labor
Not being pissy, just don't understand your comment. If the dealership cannot fix it and I cannot fix it, then for all intents and purposes it is unfixable. They are the ones trained, they are the ones I have already paid for the repair work. At some point, it is time to move on from a machine that does not work. If this was a car and the certified mechanics could not keep it running then I would be a fool to keep driving that car in hopes it will all of sudden get better. I have been trying to fix this model for five years. I have done a lot of the work myself (I am an accountant, not a mechanic) but things like hydraulic or engine problems are above my paygrade. If the experts can't fix it, then it is time to move on.Don't be so pissy. Just because your dealer cannot fix it doesn't mean it isn't fixable. It just means that he can't fix it. What do you do when you hire someone incompetent? Throw up your arms and walk away? Or take the more logical course of either fixing it yourself or finding someone who can?
There are as many good mechanical shops as poor ones. Sometime during those 5 years you must have considered either fixing it yourself or finding someone who can. I gave you some hints on how to evaluate a shop. But I bet you can figure that out yourself.
However, your point is accurate when you say that if what I am saying doesn't make sense to you it's my shortcoming. So Let me try again by saying this:
"Whatever machine you get is going to require mechanical attention. That's the nature of mechanical things. You need to figure out how you are going to provide that mechanical attention or else you will end up with a similar problem."
No, I'm not trying to be mean. You didn't get a very good model last time. I hear that. I figure you can fix that.
What I'm doing is working on the more general mechanical part of the problem.
rScotty