What's reasonable expectations on out of warranty repairs?

Hersheyfarm · Nov 5, 2016

adventure bob said:
Hershey, If I understand correctly, neighbor was going to attempt fix and it didn't pan out. You took it to the dealer based on an estimate, and now you still have a leak?
What was the estimate for? "Fix the leak" or "Replace the seals?"
My point is that if you paid him to replace the seals and he did, but it didn't fix the leak you can reasonably expect to pay for rework. If you paid for him to fix the leak, you have a decent argument for him eating some of the cost for the rework. It has nothing to do with corporate or service managers. It has to do with what you agreed to with him and how far your willing to push it for consideration.

I think I understand your point. Not sure I completely agree with it as a consumer, but as someone who has been in business for 18 years I do kinda get your perspective. Leak vs replace seals is just semantics IMO, but if I worked on these things for a living it would be nice to have an out. Still it would have been nice for them to have said that something doesn't look right if there was something other than the common kubota seal leak going on.

Fxfymn · Nov 6, 2016

Cars/Trucks that don't leak a drop are relatively new in my lifetime...

The whole thread reminds me of the old joke; Why don't the Brits make computers? Because they can't make them leak oil."

In the antique fire truck world, which is my primary hobby and money eater, the saying is if you want a rust free truck buy one equipped with a Detroit Diesel because all of the oil that leaked from it over the years would keep the rust away.