Update to my snowblower nightmare...

[Jerry/MT]

So if you were following my last thread at all, I had a brand new woods sb72 delivered with an auger drive gear that was welded on crooked and off center. Was kinda peeved but messicks had a driver out the next morning to pick it up (3+ hr round trip mind you), that was a tuesday 2 weeks ago. So all was well. Was told augers were instock and it would be later that following week the expected it in. Well a week goes by and nothing, so I called and they said they were still waiting on it. So now were at this past tuesday, exactly 2 weeks after the pick up and I get a call from the service manager saying that he spoke to his parts manager and somehow all 3 augers woods had in stock got shipped before my order went in. Now they are on back order and have to be made by the factory. Hes saying it wont be in till after the first of the year and didnt really garauntee me Id be getting this production run.
So I guess Im getting pretty peeved. I mean how do you go two weeks and just find this out? And obviously woods has some issue going on and i wasnt the only one with a bad auger, as 3 go out at once?? Now im worried ill wait till january and find out there is some other delay. Bear in mind I ordered this unit in july and here it is dec 21 and I still sit blowerless. I dont know if its even worth calling higher ups at this point or just waiting it out. I hate to say it but this could and may be my last woods purchase/reccomendation :thumbdown:

Have you considered asking the dealer to provide a loaner or to provide a different brand in exchange? I've heard a lot of good things about Messick's and I would think they would want a happy customer. This problem is neither their fault nor your fault. It's Wood's fault. If Wood's can't deliver, they are not the only game in town especially if you're back East. There are a lot better snowblowers from what I've seen besides Wood's.
Keep a civil tongue with Messick's and try to work it out with them and cut Wood's out of the picture. Five months to get a blower that's is a quality escape from Woods and then an indefinite time till they can send the replacement part in the middle of the snow season would not be acceptable to me.

 

[CurlyDave]

I have to agree with the different brand idea.

Woods has a good reputation, but they obviously are having problems with blowers.

Buy from someone who knows how to make them...

 

[arsenix2001]

Well spoke to them today, and supossedly my name is on the picking list for the new auger production that should be finished this week, so by the time they get it and deliver it, it will be the first week in january. I stressed the importance of this as my patience is wearing thin and told them if we missed the stock of this run i would be exploring other options such as a refund. The service manager understood and was appologetic and said they had put priority status on it. Being its the christmas season and it is 50 degrees outside, I decided to give this one last chance. But we both understood weather could change any week. Keep your fingers crossed for me and i will report when I hear anything. Merry Christmas!

 

[Mike_VT]

Another thing that happens with dealers is that they wait for the woods truck that is going to a specific region so they do not have to pay special freight charges. A few years ago this Happened with a wood subframe that I ordered for a new tractor. After waiting for several weeks withot action, I loaded up my tractor and brought it to the dealer and told them to take it back. I was going to buy one from a dealer that could help me. They had the frame shipped in 2 days.

Recently I heard that woods is not keeping much inventory on the shelf. More costs savings.....

 

[arsenix2001]

Another thing that happens with dealers is that they wait for the woods truck that is going to a specific region so they do not have to pay special freight charges. A few years ago this Happened with a wood subframe that I ordered for a new tractor. After waiting for several weeks withot action, I loaded up my tractor and brought it to the dealer and told them to take it back. I was going to buy one from a dealer that could help me. They had the frame shipped in 2 days.

Recently I heard that woods is not keeping much inventory on the shelf. More costs savings.....

Thanks for the info, ill bear that in mind when my self imposed deadline comes.

 

[hawkeye08]

It is frustrating when a good dealer gets caught with a defect in the product they sell and the Mfg has delays. Snowblowers this time of year are not so plentiful and of course have premium prices. Normally, we have had a foot or more of snow by now, but only a couple of skiffs so far...

I might have expected the dealer to take a local approach and when the auger was not available in reasonable time, had it repaired locally. Growing up, if we got something that had a problem like that, we would have just fixed it and moved on.. not worth the hassle of the dealer trying to fix it... of course Pa could cut and weld with the best of them and he had mechanical engineering degree to fall back on in case farming did not work out..