VN Tractor

[bruce60]

Bought VN tractor from Mesquite. Yanmar 2000. Took two weeks to deliver. Used front end loader for one hour and blew head gasket, I believe. Called and they said to try a couple of things before they come pick it up. I kept telling them it was a blown gasket. Finally convinced them. They said they would replace with Yanmar 2000D. Been two more weeks waiting on delivery. Talked to finance company which in turn called VN. Still waiting on delivery. Beware of these people in Mesquite, Tx.

 

[clemsonfor]

Lots of stories similar to yours. Sorry to hear that.

Is this you? i was thinking you had a used ym2000 that you purchased? Is this the same tractor as all the other posts you made?

 

[bruce60]

Yes Sir

 

[kenmac]

Bought VN tractor from Mesquite. Yanmar 2000. Took two weeks to deliver. Used front end loader for one hour and blew head gasket, I believe. Called and they said to try a couple of things before they come pick it up. I kept telling them it was a blown gasket. Finally convinced them. They said they would replace with Yanmar 2000D. Been two more weeks waiting on delivery. Talked to finance company which in turn called VN. Still waiting on delivery. Beware of these people in Mesquite, Tx.

Good luck.... Plenty of information on this site about VN tractors....You should have known better

 

[bruce60]

Were you born an ******* or did you have to work at it?

 

[California]

Hey lighten up - everybody.

The posts I've read here indicate the VN refurbs are a roll of the dice. Many customers got what they wanted, a few got a nasty and unresolved surprise, and I recall a few buyers who put in some work themself and then had a nice tractor.

I was disappointed to see the VN importer in N. California go under, about five years ago. They got buried by honoring their warranties and taking back too many unrepairable units, apparently to the degree that it killed them. While it lasted they were a great source of minor parts I bought to refurb my YM240, headlights, knob covers, etc, salvaged from their yard of failed units. I think currency exchange rates have shifted now and there isn't the profit in refurbs now like there was before.

 

[bruce60]

Thanks for the info Cal.

 

[careyo63]

I was thinking the same as Clemsonfor that this was a used Tractor. I believe I made a comment of the Bad HG. and being doubtful. Sorry about That! It just went from Doubtful to Probable.

 

[winston1]

Bruce, I have a vn 2002D that dealt me much misery for a period of time but is now a reliable machine. I am hopeful yours will turn out to be a success story. :thumbsup:

 

[careyo63]

Success? He bought it refurbished and it's has several problems. The only thing that wasn't Successful is another VN'er Scam Job. I give Bruce credit who was smart enough to catch the problems and hopefully they will to stand up to it's Warranty.

 

[bruce60]

They are supposed to swap it out with a 2000D for the same price.

 

[clemsonfor]

Are you near the dealer or are they having to truck it to you? That may have to do with the delay, if they are waiting on a delivery in your area?

Sad thing is they will probably call all this time your warrenty period. Document all this so that if you need to you can take them to court over reduced period of coverage and delay in replacement or repair.

 

[bruce60]

I am seeking legal counsel now.

 

[bmaverick]

Bummer. Yanmar makes a great tractor. Sad that you got one that was probably over worked and only had a few more hours left in it.

From what I have deduced, the VN tractors are already used imports from Japan. The people in Vietnam use them up until it's nearly ready to fall apart. Then it gets shipped over here with a new paint job, decals and maybe some safety ROPS if you are lucky. Some of the VNs still are strong enough to function as a hand-me-down third owner tractor while others are not worth the funds to even send over here nor worthy of being parts machines.

I had found this thread dated 2005. Interesting read. Maybe it's the same outfit. The first two pages are a good read, the last two jump the tracks into a different related subject. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/yanmar/61246-grey-dealer-tx.html

 

[normde2001]

Bummer. Yanmar makes a great tractor. Sad that you got one that was probably over worked and only had a few more hours left in it.

From what I have deduced, the VN tractors are already used imports from Japan. The people in Vietnam use them up until it's nearly ready to fall apart. Then it gets shipped over here with a new paint job, decals and maybe some safety ROPS if you are lucky. Some of the VNs still are strong enough to function as a hand-me-down third owner tractor while others are not worth the funds to even send over here nor worthy of being parts machines.

I had found this thread dated 2005. Interesting read. Maybe it's the same outfit. The first two pages are a good read, the last two jump the tracks into a different related subject. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/yanmar/61246-grey-dealer-tx.html

Wrong, the Viet Nam rebuilders only buy tractors that are not saleable as is and mix and match parts to make a useable tractor, then paint them up to look nice.

 

[kenmac]

Wrong, the Viet Nam rebuilders only buy tractors that are not saleable as is and mix and match parts to make a useable tractor, then paint them up to look nice.

Correct norm,, These so called tractors, are /were in such bad condition, that someone like Fredricks, and all the past good dealers IE, lmtc, Ernie, & buck at EFC , Dave's @ Dave's tractors would cull..

 

[California]

A while back there was a thread with a comprehensive writeup describing the VN 'refurb' shops and the Yanmar-USA lawsuit.

How to identify a Vietnam refurb?

My cousin was traveling in the region at the time and I asked him for photos of tractor shops.

Parts.

Shop.

 

[bmaverick]

A while back there was a thread with a comprehensive writeup describing the VN 'refurb' shops and the Yanmar-USA lawsuit.

How to identify a Vietnam refurb?

My cousin was traveling in the region at the time and I asked him for photos of tractor shops.

Parts.

Shop.

YIKES. Now that is very scarry. Those tractors look more like zombies vs. the ones that are unload at Fredricks. The Fredricks units coming out of the sea-containers are more like complete tractors with the wheels stacked nicely in the rear.

Yes, if I was a person employed by Yanmar, I too would cringe over here in the USA if those VNs came over as grays.

The Fredricks group of dealers offer excellent restored tractors from good sound machines. Maybe that is why the "agreement" with Fredricks is very positive with Yanmar. It may sound a little harsh from the Yanmar side of them saying the do's and don'ts, but I understand that Yanmar is protecting their brand name and in their culture it more so of the reputation. Something Americans have lacked in the past 40_ years. Glad Fredricks has that knack of keeping with a good reputation.

Oddly, enough though, there is a provision that mentions that adding all the safety hardware and decal notices along with the ID plate as not converted by Yanmar, even the VN tractors would then be "legal" for offering on listing websites. But, why would somebody do that? The ROPS, seat-belts, PTO cover and such would actually be worth more than a VN tractor.

Cal, thanks for the thread link too. Looks like others had commented saying the place looked more like a salvage yard than a restore place. That pix of the man next to the YM2610 like mine really didn't look too bad, but the Kubuta in the other photo was in very bad shape of rust all around and foam rotting out of the seat. If that made it over here, I can understand Kubuta taking action too.

 

[California]

YIKES. Now that is very scarry. Those tractors look more like zombies...
Cal, thanks for the thread link too. Looks like others had commented saying the place looked more like a salvage yard than a restore place.

There used to be a couple of refurb sellers who both used the same photos of the refurb shop in VN that supplied them. Trust me, that refurb shop they were so proud of looked similar to my cousin's photo of the interior of this shop (behind the blue repaint). Except larger and with perhaps 30~50 employees. Same general atmosphere. The paint work on their finished tractors looked superb, while their shop pictures looked to me like a lot of random parts came together to create each tractor.

One of the legitimate importers here said Yanmar wont sell repair parts to the VN refurb shops .... and he said that on his purchasing trips to Japan, buyers from VN were there negotiating to buy salvage junk probably by weight instead of by brand/model etc. For restoration, and for their parts supply.

Note in that thread I cited, I found a business profile declared by one of the largest VN refurb shops. Averaging their numbers shows $2,000 gross revenue to the refurb company after two man-months of labor applied to each tractor. So their cost of input - for tractors to refurb and for parts, must be extremely low for that claimed revenue to include any profit. (Yep, MBA here. + 20 years experience in research and analysis like this). I don't think the numbers they assert are credible.

 

[clemsonfor]

YIKES. Now that is very scarry. Those tractors look more like zombies vs. the ones that are unload at Fredricks. The Fredricks units coming out of the sea-containers are more like complete tractors with the wheels stacked nicely in the rear.

Yes, if I was a person employed by Yanmar, I too would cringe over here in the USA if those VNs came over as grays.

The Fredricks group of dealers offer excellent restored tractors from good sound machines. Maybe that is why the "agreement" with Fredricks is very positive with Yanmar. It may sound a little harsh from the Yanmar side of them saying the do's and don'ts, but I understand that Yanmar is protecting their brand name and in their culture it more so of the reputation. Something Americans have lacked in the past 40_ years. Glad Fredricks has that knack of keeping with a good reputation.

Oddly, enough though, there is a provision that mentions that adding all the safety hardware and decal notices along with the ID plate as not converted by Yanmar, even the VN tractors would then be "legal" for offering on listing websites. But, why would somebody do that? The ROPS, seat-belts, PTO cover and such would actually be worth more than a VN tractor.

Cal, thanks for the thread link too. Looks like others had commented saying the place looked more like a salvage yard than a restore place. That pix of the man next to the YM2610 like mine really didn't look too bad, but the Kubuta in the other photo was in very bad shape of rust all around and foam rotting out of the seat. If that made it over here, I can understand Kubuta taking action too.

Kubota already has. they have a similar suite to that here as well. Have had it 15+ years i think. the tractors if they make it here are seized and or turned around at customs inspections.

NO new to the market grey Kubotas show up here. THe ones that are here are here and fair game but thier parts supply is not near as good as the yanmars and there is a lot of NLA parts on those grey kubotas.