What do I do with this 8 month old John Deere tractor and loader

[paulfun9]

You would start a lawsuit with John Deere over paint chips on a loader frame?? You and I are cut from different cloth.

Why not if you missed one payment about equal to the cost of the paint on the loader they would come and take the hole tractor. To me that means it’s worth the trouble and I would bet once they get that letter from your attorney stating ifva reasonable solution isn’t reached within 30 days thier legal team would recommend the fix it. Most likely cost them less to fix it then defend the case in court or deal with any possible bad publicity.

 

[3Ts]

It's all over the front loader. The photos are just a sample of the areas that are flaking off. It would be a constant job every couple of months touching up areas. In my opinion, the entire loader needs to be properly prepped and painted . I'm just wondering if other owners have had similar issues?

Mine has larger areas than yours where the paint just flaked off. Looks like powder coat where the metal was not properly prepared. I'll be fixing it myself. The cost is far less than my time to go to court over it.

 

[crashz]

If the paint is peeling from the loader and not the rest of the tractor, "environmental damage" is pretty weak (though I did see bird poop in one photo). Considering the age of the tractor, I'd want some reimbursement too. I would not want them to paint it though. If you win such judgement, it should be for money that you spend at a body shop to have it repainted.

BTW - that does seem like significant corrosion beneath the paint. Could this be a base metal issue?

 

[metalbender]

Just cannot properly prep the cheap recycled Chinese or Indian metal. See Ship breakers on you tube, the rusted hulks they recycle for material. About the same quality as re-bar.

 

[Lakeport]

So you've won the judgement, now what. You still don't have any reimbursement of your expenses. Now you have to go to court again, at what point does the cost of attorneys exceed the cost of the repair? And attorney costs are not always paid by the losing party.

So you are saying that the warranty should be at the discretion of the manufacturer and they count on the cost to the purchaser being a deterrent? I own a manufacturing business myself and offer a warranty on our products (many of which are painted) and 1), the potential warranty claims are baked into the pricing of our product, and 2) I would never risk the reputation of my company over such a small (in this case to JD) issue. That they would speaks volumes about their business practices, and they deserve any bad publicity they get out of it. Perhaps if more people were willing to hold their feet to the fire they'd be more responsive. Apparently some of us have to pull the wagon so folks like you can get a free ride. You can thank me (and others like me) anytime.

 

[Ford850]

It really comes down to what your warranty states doesn't it? Does it cover paint or finish? I'd hold JD to their warranty and if they say they back their paint quality with the warranty I'd push hard for them to resolve this. It is kind of funny how many people say "you're paying for their green paint" when buying a JD, and then you see things like this.

 

[fried1765]

No attorney is required in small claims court.
Usual state maximum award is $5k, which certainly should cover the cost to refinish a loader.
If Dealer or JD fails to pay, they will be in contempt of court, and will face other penalties, which certainly should include attorney fees if you do actually incur any.

The surrender theory is not something that I am familiar with.

 

[Industrial Toys]

First I don't believe, nor ever believed that recycled steel has anything to do with RUST already in there. Not if you know anything about making steel.

I refuse to allow my equipment anywhere near manure. It is highly corrosive. A tiny paint chip exposed to that will cause the metal to rust and creep under the paint. Keeping it in a nice warm place will hasten that. Not sure if that figures into it in this case.

My deere did get paint damage on delivery with being chained down and on subsequent warranty transports.

I had very slight hood damage on a new Dakota once. Sure, the dealer would repaint the hood, but that finish is worse overall than the little damage. I just got the dealer to sign a paper saying they would address the issue in future if the damage got worse, or started to rust.

I read about the JD Electrostatic paint process, but those pictures sure look a lot like (in my opinion) the biggest garbage forced on us of all time, powder scab!

 

[KennyG]

I would go back and have another discussion with the dealer. Paint on the loader may not be the biggest deal in the world, but you have a right to have John Deere quality for the price you paid. If the dealer won't come around on this, he's not a very good dealer.

An example of dealer behavior when I bought my 2017 F-150. After it came in the dealer called me and told me I would have to wait another week for delivery. When it arrived they saw a blemish on the hood that they felt was not satisfactory. They sent it over to a local quality body shop and had the entire hood refinished. Three years later, it's all still perfect.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Would it have been possible to get a new hood? But that's when you have some dealership bumblef#$% working on your brand new vehicle. Makes me cringe.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

OP,

I would try again at both the dealer, and Deere. Everybody has a boss. Everybody. Escalate your issue to the next level at each. Not saying it's the case here, but some organizations employ an initial layer of "deny all claims" to try and see how many they can weed out before they actually have to start spending money to fix stuff. Shouldn't be that way, but there it is.

And yeah, I would frankly expect better from JD. They do still have the reputation of being the "premium" brand.

As far as the other issues with your tractor (Hydraulics), the dealer should fix that without hassle. Separate from the paint/cosmetic argument.

 

[crazyal]

You would start a lawsuit with John Deere over paint chips on a loader frame?? You and I are cut from different cloth.

Apparently we are. What's wrong with expecting what you paid for? If it was one or two spots I would have no problem with it. But I bought my tractor assuming I would keep it for 30 years or more. If after a half year it's that bad who knows what it's going to look like in 10 years. Cleaning and painting a surface that's easy to reach wouldn't be too hard but what about places that are hard to reach? Do you know how think the metal is? If not then you would have no idea how much it could rust before it fails. It's not a car and I don't expect a showroom shine. I know that I have much better things to do with the limited amount of time I have than repeatedly repairing something that I shouldn't have to do. Letting Deere off the hook just means it'll happen more often in the future.

 

[metalbender]

One must remember the manufacturer's motto. "Cheaper, faster, means PROFIT" If they can save a dime per unit, it will be done in the name of PROFIT. Much of their R+D time and effort is spent on reducing build cost.

 

[5030]

GVo buy a 2 buck can of JD Green spray paint and sandpaper and fix it yourself and chalk it up to......... I should have bought a Kuboota.

 

[fried1765]

GVo buy a 2 buck can of JD Green spray paint and sandpaper and fix it yourself and chalk it up to......... I should have bought a Kuboota.

NO! and NO!

 

[Ford850]

GVo buy a 2 buck can of JD Green spray paint and sandpaper and fix it yourself and chalk it up to......... I should have bought a Kuboota.

Yeah but if he had bought a Kuboota, he'd have to decide which shade of pink he needed to do touch ups.

 

[Diggin It]

If he'd a bought a 'Bota, he could be facing a total disassemble/come-a-part and put back together to fix a loose bolt inside the trans.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I gave this a little thought. Really, if it is in fact a QC issue, there are mostly just several finishes on the tractor. Castings which can be easily cleaned and touched up, metal panels that they could and should replace if it's their fault and plastic panels and fenders which don't play into this discussion.

 

[jeff9366]

I have a background regarding paint and powder coating, and there is no excuse for the poor quality of the paint. The metal wasn't pre-treated properly, and frankly, when you have equipment like this the material should ideally be e-coated, or at least primed, rather than just running bare metal through the powder coat line. E-coat is very environmentally friendly, and there are lots of primers available for powder coating bare metal. If I have to repaint it myself, I can assure you it will be more durable than the OEM topcoat, and seriously consider retaining an attorney to sue the dealer and Deere if they don't take care of all of these issues.

If you start this as a Class Action law suit, with the "class" everyone that has received sub-standard paint on one component of a Deere tractor, you will scare the bejesus out of Deere. Deere, however, has a nasty history of litigating plaintiffs with shareholder's money till plaintiffs drop or case is decided against Deere in the US Supreme Court. Re: Kinze.

 

[5030]

.... and Kinze has way deeper pockets than you do. Think I'd just man up and have a rust bucket. No attorney in the right mind would take on that potential suit. Would have to be pro'bono and it won't happen.