Warranty Work, Distribution, Better Understanding!

[Junkman]

Have you tried to purchase one of the new front loading washing machines recently? Every place that I looked, they all had the same price and no one was willing to go any lower. The universal comment was that the minimum selling price was determined by the manufacturer, and if they went below that price, they wouldn't get any more to sell. I know that "fair trade" pricing was declared illegal, but some how they are getting around the law and setting minimum selling prices and holding the dealers feet to the fire to keep them from going any lower.... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
So this is tractor related, I use the washer to wash my Sunday best tractor driving clothes... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[gsxr1100]

Junkman--BINGO When we bought our Weber grill no matter where we looked it was $499. I called all over and looked on the net, same price.

Same thing when my wife bought here Nepture washer (yup, front loader). I called all over and same thing, I went locally and they said they would deliver for free. Thank god since it is a two man lift (one heavy unit). Nice unit until it breaks. The thing sounds like a f-16 when it goes to spin up. It does have some bad points.

The only BAD point about the min sell price is that if all the local dealers are jerks, most people will buy another brand.

I think Kubota Corp needs to address this issue before it gets WAY out of control. If the dealers start doing this, the prices will keep going up and up and nothing can stop them. What happens if I move across country? Out of USA???I can't service the unit?????

 

[ByronBob]

Mike hang on buddy!!

Competetion with other Mfg's keeps things in check to some degree. I don't have the attitude that I'll buy orange no matter how high they go. You can't survive that way. Nobody would shop at your store. I do think Kubota in a long term agenda should be concerned at how the dealers are marketing their product through customer satisfaction. There's a bump in every road in life. We like to accentuate the negative many times as a society. Would it be boring to argue good opinions only on Bota?

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

I don't think this problem is as serious as it seems.

And to take a jab at the competition. Deere dealers have a reputation for being arogant jerks who will willingly admit that Green paint sells their tractors and raises their prices. Yet they don't seem to care so much. I am not sure they can do much about their dealer network as a whole.

 

[Yankee]

"Deere dealers have a reputation for ..."

That wasn't my experience. Although I ended up buying Kubota, it wasn't because I wasn't treated well at the Deere dealers I visited. They were all great. In fact, I still visit one periodically for some things he carries, like Fluid Film.

 

[Junkman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Deere dealers have a reputation for being arogant jerks who will willingly admit that Green paint sells their tractors and raises their prices. )</font>

I believe that it is wrong to make a generalized statement like the above. This type of generalized statement can be applied to any color or brand. Deere, Kubota, Kioti, New Holland, Case, Massey Ferguson, etc. all can and do fit this statement at some time and place in sales and service. There is no brand that has a 100% perfect dealer network. When I was looking for a tractor, I found many a good dealer and some bad dealers that couldn't care if they sold a tractor to me or anyone else for that matter. The dealer that I purchased from was above board in all of our dealings and even included some items such as filling the tires without my even asking. A brand is only as good as its representative.

 

[terpdog]

I agree, I went with the Kubota because of the price and I like the local dealer. I liked some of the other dealers as well. They were great to work with when I was buying the tractor.

Of course Service is a whole other issue. At the dealer I bought mine from I somehow was able to talk to the owner after not getting a return call about some warranty work.

Of course I did get some warranty work done last year. They asked me to drop of the tractor on Friday which I did(luckily I have a friend with trailor) It was 2 weeks before they even looked at the tractor.

So in the fall I buy an implement and the dealer delivers it and I show him another problem and he agrees that it is warranty issue. I call the service dept. and for 2 months don't get a call back to bring in the tractor. Was just a bad light switch but fact is they didn't call back ever. I finally get a call after leaving a message with the owner and they say they will pick up the tractor on that Friday. I ask when they will work on it, oh 2 weeks we will get a chance to look at it, then we will order the parts needed and hopefully get it back to you within 3 weeks. I tell them to let me know what day they will look at it and I'll drop it off. Well 3 weeks and waiting. Here it is I went and bought local, granted their price wasn't bad, but the service is awful. I'm actually disapointed that I've had these problems at all but sometime it happens /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I've been seriously considering trading it in and getting something else but haven't had the time to do that yet. Love the tractor, hate the problems, and hate the lack of respect the dealers service person has at leas for me. If they worked for me they would have been fired long before now. Well now I've vented I feel better /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[DannyD]

Ask the dealer if they can put it in the line up for service and tell you what day they will get to it. Then have it there that day. My dealer 75 miles one way, does this for me. If the problem is not work stopping, then I can let him know I need service, he will schedule it to be done, and tell me when to have it there. Most of the time if they know it is this or that part, they will order it and have it there also. When I get to about 45 hours on my new 23, I will call them, schedule the 50 hour service, then when they are ready, I will trailer it up there and have it back the same or next day.

 

[ByronBob]

Terp
I'm mad just listening to your story. It's understandable they're busy and being honest from the beginning is fine also. It's not unlikely they're busy so a week or 2 for a non-life threatening problem is understandable. But at some point in the order of things you should have gotten some attention. And why should you just leave your tractor there to sit in the rain or whatever while you can use it at home in the meantime.
My dealer told me right off "hey I'm shorthanded this week" can you wait til next week and call me. Reasonable situation. I call the following week and he says I'll call you in a few days to see where it fits in the schedule. I call and leave a message on Thursday come home and my tractors gone. Calls me Friday and it's home that night. Not that painful and everyone is happy at the end of the day. This doesn't sound hard does it?

 

[terpdog]

I agree it doesn't seem like it should be hard to do.
The techs are fine, the parts dept. is fine but the person
who does the scheduling. Doesn't ever call back, I
began calling in March, it's not work stopping so waited a week, never got a call, called again.

Kept this up until May when a quick connect for the FEL
started leaking and I hate to say it I couldn't get it off
I was just going to get a new one and do it myself and
since I couldn't get it off I called them again. Finally, I
got the owner and he apologized for the problems, actually
sent someone to my house(of course the tech couldn't
get it off either) Took the hose to the shop and came
back the next day to fix it. The owner said they would
give me a call in a week to make sure everything was
ok and to schedule me for the other(non work-stopping)
warranty work.

Of course I didn't hear anything, even after I call service.
Of course I got a bill for all the warranty work, even though
the owner assured me that there wouldn't be a charge for
the quick connects even though they came to the house.
It was all warranty work. I called about the $300 bill and
he said no problem it was taken care of and not to worry
about it.

Well I've now gotten 3 invoices and still no calls even
though I try and call once a week. If there was another
dealer in the local area that I could get to, I use a friends
truck to move the BX and don't want abuse his rig by
taking the tractor somewhere else I would. Plus, I got it
locally just so I'd have an easy time for warranty work.

I'm stubborn enough to keep at it even when I know better!


ARRGH!

Chris