JD service

At the end of last summer I bought a new JD X370. The salesman delivered it to my home for free. I live about a mile from the dealership, and I just spent 4K on a new GT, I would expect them to deliver it for free. It states in my Operators Manual that the initial oil and filter change should be done at 8 hours. The tractor currently has 7 hours on it. I figured I would contact the dealer this spring, have them pick it up, and take it in for service Even if I had to pay for pick up and delivery. It has a 4 year warranty, I believe. Anyway I thought it best to have them do the service, so it would be documented, and there could be no question about the suggested service work being done, to protect my warranty. Not too complicated. But then.... I got a flier in the mail today from my dealer, suggesting I book an appointment early, to avoid the spring rush. They will change oil and filter. Fuel filter. Spark plug, plus “check” a whole host of other things. Including, (but not limited to) check steering linkage, adjust carburetor, test and check battery, check out the deck spindles and so on, and so on. The tractor only has 7 hours on it. I don't think I need all these extras. The KICKER is; $175 MINIMUM SERVICE CHARGE. I do not want to pay $175 for an oil change. If I have to, in order to protect my warranty, I suppose I have to. Is this what the rest of you do with a new GT purchase, or do you simply change your own oil? Seems like a racket to me. Thanks Greg

Before passing judgment on this, I would call the dealership and ask the same questions you are asking our opinions on here.


Here's another point of view:

At the Lawn equipment dealer where I work, which is not a Deere dealer, a regular service on a lawn tractor has gotten to be about $150. That includes change oil, oil filter, air filter, pre-filter, fuel filter, sparkplug(s), check tire air pressure, grease all grease fittings, and sharpen blades. We charge an hour labor to do all this. Our labor rate is $75/ hr. and parts usually average about another $75. You have to really keep at it to pull all the parts and do that in an hour. We do assess somewhat the operation of the mower as we bring it into the shop.

For our customers who only have a few hours on their mower, less than 10 hours, and they bought the mower from us and just need what we call a 'first service' which is only an oil and filter change and sharpen the blades, we only charge 1/2 hour labor plus the parts, oil and filter.

We also charge to pick up the mower. $55 up to 5 miles, $65 from 5 miles up to 10 miles, $75 from 10 miles to 15 miles.

I am going to guess that you are now on their customer mailing list.
And you received the same flier that every other JD customer within 30 miles of the dealer received.
Even if they bought theirs from a different dealer and their JD is 20 years old. And it crapped out 15 years ago.

Yes I am sure I got the same flier everyone else got. I am going out tomorrow and talk to the service guy and see what he says concerning my tractor.

Just change the oil & filter at eight hours & forget all the drama.
I change the oil & filter every 50 hrs. on my newer machines.

The bulk of the time service specials are a waste of $$ for anyone with the skills and ambition to do it himself, most certainly so on a tractor with 7 hours. What exactly happens during one of those pre season service deals depends entirely on who is doing it, their skill level and their moral standards. We have 3 dealers local and after seeing who they hire to do such work I wouldn't let them PM a tricycle. For the most part checking steering linkage = wiggle the wheel. Checking deck bearings= wiggle the blades and listen for noise when running. Almost no carburetors are adjustable these days due to EPA regs thus setting carb = checking idle speed. Check battery= looking for corrosion and seeing if the idiot light goes out when running. That is 5 minutes worth of work if your slow about it. Now add all of that to your oil change and you have spent an hour and kept $150 of that $175 in your pocket. Who changes the oil isnt going to affect your warranty one little bit in my experience, as a matter of fact I do believe that is the law?

I am surprised they want the first one that soon ? 8 hrs. is hardly anything ?
But I "try" to follow the manual on things like this for my equipment that gets used regularly.
Now on an old ragged out high hour mower that service special might be a good deal ?

About twenty years ago. My uncle bought a new JD push mower. He
had it one month before he took it to the dealer for an oil
change and blade sharpening. The dealer told him it would be
cheaper to buy another new mower. They were going to charge him
$135 an hour.

After that I got the job of servicing his mower.

Just buy the filter and oil from Deere and do it yourself. I
myself would not worry about the warranty. Most warranties are
worthless.

My Dixie Chopper bought in 2015 required an 8 hour oil change.

change your own oil and filter and document the date and hours in your Operators Manual.

Just buy the filter and oil from the dealer and keep your receipt,write the service interval in the back of the manual and you will be covered.If that suffices on
a $60,000 truck I'm sure it will work for your mower.

You could drive it over! We bought a new JD zero turn from Home Depot and the JD dealer from 60 miles away delivered it, no charge. I had
him bring me 2 filters and the oil, I do all my own service, and document. It.

I went out and talked to the service manager. He told me for them to pick up mower, change oil and filter, look it over, return it to me, about 40 bucks. I can live with that.

Good for you standing up on this.

I bought an X570 last year and after the power flow bagger and a 44' snowblower attachment and a soft winter cab I am around $8K. I just went to the dealer and got the oil change kit for it at the 8hr mark. They have the record that I bought that so we are covered.

I have been quite disappointed in the JD experience so far because of design shortfalls and almost no way to find parts on-line. The shear pins in the blower are the smallest I have ever seen and I have replaced 6 of them this winter. Had a Cub Cadet before this and almost never sheared a pin.

Belts and other key spares are expensive and if you have any questions you are always referred to the dealer. He's 20 miles from my house so it's an hour round trip to go get things. Nice guys, wonderful to deal with but I feel like I am held hostage.

I could go on and on about the poor blower design and the lousy lift mechanism but maybe another time.

I agree with others, just buy the oil and filter from the dealer and document the date and hours for the oil change.
It is always a good idea to change the oil/filter on a new engine (lawn mower, garden tractor, car, pickup, etc.). There can be "built-in dirt" even in a new product. Oil and filter are cheap insurance. This is especially important if the engine does not have a filter. After the first oil/filter change, change them according to the maintenance schedule.

Your #570 uses the same filter my Cub Cadet Tank uses, Son has
a #570..... Thought I taught him better.... Filter is about
$8-$10, Kawasaki number ends in 8010, and 2-1/2 quarts of
Rotella 15w-40, recommended in the Kawasaki engine manual, and a
gallon of oil for $14.

Your choice, let the dealer do it first time, then change it
yourself. Who's going to grease it?

I will let them change oil the first time. Can't really beat the price. After that, I can do it. I can grease it as per manual.