What would you do? 2540-several major problems - dealer issues?

[Aaron0187]

The front tires are the wrong size (too short or tall, not sure) but I dunno if the original dealer installed those or if the other owner did. Either way, I bought it that way. Never thought i would have to check it. Seems like it would have been obvious if it was in that bad of a bind but maybe not....

I plan to get away from the company for sure. I like the tractor (as did the former dealers) but the parts/service issues are too much.
Have stopped by the local Kubota dealer but the MUCH higher cost and attitude made me leave before even making a lap around. The local dealer does not have the best rep.
Going by used prices, a l4701/3901 which would be comparable apparently(?), go for 6k to 10k more. That is too much of a difference in my opinion.
New the prices are even more drastic. Comparable LS being 20-23k new vs ~30k. Kiotis seem about the same, if not a tad more expensive than LS stuff.

 

[Aaron0187]

Latest Update: Mahindra is going to replace the whole front axle assembly. 5 week MINIMUM ship time, dealer says he'd be impressved if it got there sooner than 7+ weeks.
Nothing more they can do, they are frustrated as well since its hogging up space at their shop. He is changing brands due to parts issues and apparently Mahindra wanted him to have me come pickup my tractor and not let him finish the job. He said he argued with them got got them to agree to let him finish my tractor and another one thats in there in pieces also. Wtf?

Customer care lady again said the only way out of this is to beg the original dealer (who has new owners that don't want to deal with me) to call Mahindra and ask them to give the dealer money/permission to buy my tractor back. Obviously they will tell me to go to ****.
Anyone else having issues? I cant be the only one, the customer care lady said they are over-run with calls like mine.

Edit*
I called the sister-dealer to the one I purchased it from, the lady there said that the original dealer wouldnt be able to help me right now (??) but that she would talk to some folks there and call me back.

 

[Aaron0187]

Latest update:
Sister dealer never called back (SHOCKER!) So I called just now. Was transferred to what seemed to be the owner. Told him of my issues.
He says to let the other dealer replace the axle so it can be moved and do nothing else to it. Do not operate it, etc.
Then tow it to him, he will let me TRADE it in on something else and he will worry about fixing the rest of its issues and resell it on his own time.
I told him I want away from this thing and this company and want to sell it back outright, he said he wont do that because then he would be out $$ and stuck with it.
He then asked me to email the VIN# to him so he can check out the records and warranty details. So i sent it along with an email explaining that I don't feel this is right that this unit has been basically down since I bought it and now Iam eating the downtime, depreceation, tow bills, and will soon take a royal beating on trade value from no fault of my own.
Not expecting any kind of good reply, but we shall see.
The saga continues!
Off to work, ill post up if anymore updates.

 

[Aaron0187]

Not much of an update.

Spent weeks trying to get the owner to talk to me on the phone after ignoring the email he asked me to send.

Eventually a guy who said he was a manager ran interference and said he would allow me to trade it etc etc etc same story as everyone else.
So I sent another email to the owner, detailing my issues from start to finish, detailing how ive lost the entire summer worth of work needing done due to these problems(nobody cares) and the dumpster fire that is his dealerships. I told him how absurd this whole situation is, and that I wanted to avoid it but have considered seeking legal counsel.

He replied the next day or two saying that he is not obligated to do anything other than warranty work on my 'used equipment' and that If I am 'so disappointed' in my unit that I should just sell it and also not to contact them any further.

So far a few lawers ive spoken to either know the owner of the dealer, or don't want any part of it due to my inability to get paperwork FROM THE DEALER. There are a few others to speak to still.
Contacted the 'consumer protection/ trust of wv' as recommended by a lawer have only gotten a letter saying they were going to send a copy of my complaint to THE DEALER which I am sure he will wipe his *** with.

Ive contacted Mahindra north America several more times by email - They will not answer at all now.

No parts have showed up, no timeline on when/if they ever will. Tractor still taking up space at the far away dealer. They are cool about it thankfully.
The front tires are factory size (had service writer read the size to me over the phone just now) - he said I would have to call back during the week to talk to a mechanic to learn whats wrong with the tires when I told him they were the factory size.

Now 4 other dealers Ive went to have told me (without me mentioning it) they used to sell Mahindra but got away from them due to parts/warranty issues. They all agreed they made good tractors, just the parts were the problem.
I cannot find ANY dealer who will even consider taking mine in on trade, even after its fixed due to the horrific reputation the company has around here. Ive been advised to take it to a big field and torch it if I ever get it back.

So theres my update for this month.

 

[mnscruff]

Let me see if I understand this. You purchased a 4 year old "used" tractor with <500 hours, and it broke? Now you expect the dealer to repair it for you, for free under warranty? And, do it prior to the ones already in the shop? Now your running around to different dealers expecting them to fix your "used" tractor under warranty? And now you want the manufacturer to buy back a tractor you bought "USED"? If they do I have a 1992 used tractor I'd like to sell back also, please keep us updated on how this plays out. and if I read it wrong please feel free to explain

 

[Aaron0187]

1-Tractor **** its self within hours of purchase. This is a problem, I don't care that is was not showroom new.
2-Yes it is under warranty still- so YES they should fix it (why the **** not? Whats wrong with you?)
3-Never, not once, did I even hint at fixing my tractor ahead of anyone elses (read the post)
4-The original dealer agreed that I would be better off going to the next closest dealer for that repair since they had problems with everyone quitting/being fired/stealing/etc at the location I bought it from. We were on speaking terms no problem then, and agreed I would bring it back to them after they got everything sorted out (again, its in the post)

That is all the explaining you are going to get. If you think it is OK for a dealer to sell a unit with a major safety defect (the original problem-which I was willing to work with to get fixed no problem), then when the tractor totally dies (axle mysteriously snapping), along with the other issues, and then only offer to basically make more money off me by putting me further into debt buying a new tractor that I wouldn't be able to get parts or service for, then you must be like most of the compact tractor buyers where I live: Retired with more money than sense, nothing better to do than tool around on their tractors day after day mowing the same grass 3x a week or back dragging the driveway every 13 hours.

I am none of that, I work constantly and need a tractor as a tool. Being nearly $20k in the hole for a tractor that died within hours of purchase is a major issue for most folks believe it or not.

 

[rademamj1]

Aaron, your first post was back on June 17 and apparently you are still waiting for your tractor. Incredible that Mahinda parts systems are so slow. I checked and you have a 6 year warranty on drive train (transmission and axles), and sounds like Mahindra is honoring the warranty repair on axle. But three months waiting, it's really got to be frustrating.

 

[Aaron0187]

Yes it can be.
The longer this has drawn on, of course ive expected things to take longer to show up since the whole world is backed up it seems.
It's just a shame we got to this point and that it took so long to begin with.

 

[oosik]

Hmmm....... Green or Orange is more expensive. Any doubts now, as to why??? Due to a lapse in judgement - I completely wiped one of my turn signal lights off the rear fender. My "Orange" dealer had the complete replacement unit in TWO days.

 

[Aaron0187]

Hmmm....... Green or Orange is more expensive. Any doubts now, as to why??? Due to a lapse in judgement - I completely wiped one of my turn signal lights off the rear fender. My "Orange" dealer had the complete replacement unit in TWO days.

I figured the big names would be better with parts. 2 days is impressive though !

I just believed the dealer when they said it takes a few days to a week to get stuff, most selling tractors in the world(parts would be common) Texas distribution center, etc routine.
*Granted, something major like an axle I wouldnt expect anyone to have in stock.

Most of my issues are with the dealer and probably due to this unit having a rough life prior to my owning it.

I was able to order a cupholder/12v port from a 2638 from a site (cant remember which) and got that stuff in about a week, but that was right when I bought the tractor.

All things considered, buying a lightly used orange unit would have been more cost effective just because it could get worked on anywhere lol.
New or used, green stuff around here is laughably expensive, so I ruled them out early on in my search.
The other Red guys seem pretty decent with parts and service too, according to some coworkers.

One thing that sucks is I havent been here long and don't have a shop built yet so I cant do much work on this stuff myself. Most of my tools are still in storage, so I kinda have to depend on dealers for the time being.
I found a used front axle assembly on Ebay but Mahindra says it has to be a new unit which is understandable.

 

[rademamj1]

I am not familiar with the Mahindra parts network. Maybe Mahindra USA keeps very low parts inventory, and orders their parts from India. Any dealer waiting on an axle for over 10 weeks now definitely sounds like an international shipping item. The part was nowhere to be found in North America. I can imagine the dealer chaos you still face during axle install, testing and final adjustments.

 

[mnscruff]

I am sorry you bought an used tractor, that the previous owner abused till the tranny broke before trading up to a bigger machine. The dealer surely should have known not to sell that tractor, and you surely should have researched it further, buying a tractor that was in for a transmission case breakage repairs with low hours, should have been a big red flag. One would guess the dealer really lowered the price on it, so it blinded you into buying it without checking the rest of the machine, figuring hey that's a deal, now not so much, hence looking here for advice how to recoup your losses?
And your plan is to go with another lesser name brand product, expecting better results? will you be buying used also?

 

[Aaron0187]

I am sorry you bought an used tractor, that the previous owner abused till the tranny broke before trading up to a bigger machine. The dealer surely should have known not to sell that tractor, and you surely should have researched it further, buying a tractor that was in for a transmission case breakage repairs with low hours, should have been a big red flag. One would guess the dealer really lowered the price on it, so it blinded you into buying it without checking the rest of the machine, figuring hey that's a deal, now not so much, hence looking here for advice how to recoup your losses?
And your plan is to go with another lesser name brand product, expecting better results? will you be buying used also?

They claimed the transmission issue was a 'casting defect' and that's why the whole unit was replaced.
I believed them, foolishly.
It was not marked down dirt cheap, I paid $16k -was asking 16.5 or 16.9 originally, cant remember.
Obviously I should have been more prepared and did more research. I asked about parts availability and all that stuff, have family who bought from there with no complaints etc. No stranger to equipment but am fairly new to tractors like this, so iam sure I missed stuff.

Had been looking into tractors for almost a year by then, was honestly sick of it, running out of time and thought I genuinely found a good one.

Liked the Mahindra because of them seemingly being simpler "old school" and heavy. Did check out others, but as iam sure you know even during normal times units in that size are hard to come by, atleast around here.

My plans now are to probably sell it if I ever get it back (now the parts are just listed as backorder, nobody knows where they, etc)
I would be tempted keep it if I could get parts or someone to work on it, but both are impossible it seems.

As far as buying used again, I would, but only if a 'name brand' like orange, or the other red guys maybe.

 

[rademamj1]

Aaron, I like your plan. As soon as this tractor is repaired, trade it in for an orange tractor. You need future reliability. Limited headaches. Low stress ownership.

 

[shooterdon]

This is a horror story. I am so thankful I did not purchase a Mahindra. The dealer gave me bad vibes.

One reason I purchased an LS is that they also make tractors for New Holland. Gives me another source for parts.

In fairness, we are left to speculate whether Mahindra is poorly stocked with the parts you need, or they. or the dealers, do not give a **** and are giving you the run around.

If I were you, I would send Mahindra a link to this thread. You cannot post the names of the dealers if you have bad things to say about them, but one good thing about posting your location is that members can easily figure out who your dealers likely are.

You are entitled to have the repairs covered under warranty. They need to pull their head out of their butt.

Thanks for sharing your experience. All companies put out defective stuff....it is how they handle those problems that is important.

 

[Aaron0187]

You mentioning new holland reminded me: when I bought my tractor they had an older TC40 sitting next to mine for sale also. It was listed for 7 or 8k I believe, but it was very, very rough so i was afraid of it even being a big brand.

Mahindra knows what's going on for sure. I think everyone has just washed their hands of it hoping I'll disappear lol.

From the sounds of it even if I can sell it ill have to wait out this virus garbage until anyone has any inventory to look at.

It's all been a learning experience. Definitly go with a good dealer if ya plan to deal with them at all.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

You mentioning new holland reminded me: when I bought my tractor they had an older TC40 sitting next to mine for sale also. It was listed for 7 or 8k I believe, but it was very, very rough so i was afraid of it even being a big brand.

Mahindra knows what's going on for sure. I think everyone has just washed their hands of it hoping I'll disappear lol.

From the sounds of it even if I can sell it ill have to wait out this virus garbage until anyone has any inventory to look at.

It's all been a learning experience. Definitly go with a good dealer if ya plan to deal with them at all.

I’m in the Columbus area, specialty tractors is my nearest dealer and have been around for awhile now. I have been in there and priced a 1538 3 years ago and they seemed cool, I ended up buying a used JD 4320 which I sold last year.

I had my eye on a Mahindra 2018 2655 shuttle with 6 hours on the clock, now idk lol