Kansas mechanic needed

notjustair · Feb 29, 2020

I?ve had it without local Deere dealer. Had it! We?ve done business with them since the very first day they opened, but they have gotten too big and have no customer service left. They have also turned into parts throwers. I?ve always dealt with the owner and talked with him many times about the frustration - he always makes it right, but now he has 17 locations so he?s not there so much anymore.

Does anyone know of a good farm diesel mechanic that knows Deeres in northeast Kansas (specifically near Ottawa)? I run mostly aged stuff I?ve had since it was new, nearly new, or had many years - all Deere minus a few randomness. Everything from combines (a 9500), to an old 8430, a 4020, a 4440, a 7800, etc. everyone just uses the dealer here so I know of no one. The lawnmower just cost me a grand to ?fix? and I still have to use ether to get it started if it sits more than a few days after it ?needed? new coils. When I went to pick it up after the first time it wouldn?t start to bring it home and the mechanic got mad and picked it up with a forklift and then got to fix the deck height adjuster. It has 400 hours. My old Marty J mower with over 2000 hours starts no matter what. Everything that comes from them has to go back to get refixed and I?m tired of giving them tens of thousands of dollars a year for nothing but frustration. Anyone know someone?

Tech 7 · Feb 29, 2020

Love to help but the travel from east of Detroit would not be good. I understand your frustration, it's why I left the dealership about 7 years ago. Today I look after daily operations on a cash crop farm and do outside repair work as time allows. Repairs include working on everything from 2 Cylinder tractors through to the later 10 series. The farm utilizes a 9600 combine, a 7700 tractor and an 8110. I am happy with that. There were some good people at the dealership but most of the service staff are puppets. A long sad way from the days when ownership knew its customers.

SVcummins · Feb 29, 2020

That is why I do not and cannot pay anyone to do my mechanic work . The last couple jobs I checked on price they quoted near 200$ an hour to do because they bid flat rate which I understand but I ain?t paying it .To many parts changers and to many people I can?t trust to do a decent job . What do they have to lose ? As you?ve found out they don?t give a crap if it?s fixed right or not sure you might complain and get them to try to fix it again but it probably still won?t be right and they?ll just throw more parts at it to try and fix it and it?ll just cost that much more and still won?t be right . Those machines are all really simple ones I think if I was in your shoes I?d start learning how to do most of it myself .

Bruce from Can. · Feb 29, 2020

Not just a JD thing, but all equipment dealers are really interested in is selling new equipment, and servicing the late model equipment that the have sold. Dealerships don?t give two hoots about some guy that buys used equipment, and drags it in expecting them to make it like new. Particularly if there is little chance the customer will ever buy another piece of equipment from them. There?s no money in that, and it?s not their racket. Their business model is selling New equipment, and providing warranty and service on the equipment they sell. That is why their shop charges are so high, they don?t want to fix old stuff. Customers with older equipment expect that the dealers mechanics should be able to fix a 40 year old tractor, while the guy may not have even been born yet at the time the tractor was new. Many of the mechanics that where factory trained to fix these older tractors are either retired or dead.
And the companies that manufacture tractors and equipment call most anything over 20 years old obsolete, and no longer support the equipment with parts. It really tics me off, but this seems to be the way it is.

jimg.allentown · Feb 29, 2020

You guys have just told the story of how I became a mechanic when I was a teenager. Too many ham handed incompetent scobes that charged plenty and did a lousy job of repairing anything at best.

I found out early that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. I remember working in a few shops where the "flat rate artists" would short cut every job to beat the book time. Then they would brag about turning 70 hours in a week. By stealing it from customers by doing slipshod poor quality work.

Some thing I commonly saw were leaving out fasteners that were difficult to reach, failure to properly locate wiring harnesses and fuel lines, and even leaving parts out entirely. Some got away with it, others did not. Personally, I refused to work that way. That was why I chose to do the work that the flat rate artists turned up their noses at - automatic transmissions. No room for compromise there.

It will be a cold day in hades before I let one of those ham-handed idiots touch my car!

Gambles · Feb 29, 2020

The local Deere dealership fired the main office help who answers the phone because he was giving out too much repair advice over the phone. The techs in the shop stay for a few years and then move on to greener pastures. A neighbor also had his combine in their shop for 2 1/2 days and couldn't get it fixed because the diagnostics on an electronic sensor on the header was above their ability. I feel your pain.

JK-NY · Feb 29, 2020

I agree with you 100%. A lot of people don?t understand what you stated so well, but times are changing in the ag equipment business just as they are changing in farming. The way I look at it we might miss the way things used to be but it is still better to have some dealer support than none at all. The lack of parts support is an issue but it just forces people who do their own repair work to go online or order from catalogs etc.

DeltaRed · Feb 29, 2020

Our local JD dealership has gotten that way too. What was once(10 years ago) a small/medium sized family dealership is now a mega dealer with 6 stores. They closed two other dealers in neighboring towns and built a huge multimillion dollar building.They control all the JD dealers in western Colorado. Everything from the continental divide to the Colo/Utah border.Service sucks,you don't even get to talk to the mechanic anymore. Parts guys don't seem to care if they talk to you or not.They carry very little to no used equipment,they wont trade unless it is a late model JohnDeere.They got rid of all 'in house' charge accts,you now have to use JohnDeere credit.they no longer sell baler twine,oxygen/acc,welding rod,hardware?the things that brings customers(me) in the door. If it don't say JohnDeere on it,they wont sell it. Now,about 'flat rate'. It sucks. Maybe a useful tool to help estimate a job. But the mechanic who works under it only gets paid for what the flatrate dictates. Any extra time he eats. So naturally he cheats/fudges.But it he comes under flat,he doesn't get paid for the flat,only the time actually used.so any particulary difficult situation(rusted ;broken bolts,etc) he get screwed.I once worked for a shop that did that practice.Both as service writer and mechanic.They could never keep a mechanic,and quality suffered badly.They eventually went broke and moved to a much larger city.

Mike M · Feb 29, 2020

Good chance the guys who fixed your tractor in the past moved on too and found another job or opened their own shop. Ask around and try to find out who was there and where they are now.

jacksun65 · Feb 29, 2020

Same thing happened to big truck dealers a few years ago. Nothing like paying a mechanic $110 an hour to sit around and smoke and drink while he is getting paid to work on your truck. Talked to the owner and he said with internet pricing they don't make what they used to on new equipment so the shop was making the money for the buisness.

used red MN · Feb 29, 2020

...air, the first time I came across one of your post on YT and saw your handle it set off a trigger in my brain saying here must be a person that has an opinion about things and likes that to be known. I would guess this post was put up as sort of a knee jerk reaction following you being upset by one or more of the items you mentioned. Myself, having grown up on a small farm near a town in Kansas ...Marysville... some what smaller than Ottawa, I can not believe that you have checked around within your circle of contacts and could not find a nearby small independent shop to help you out. Here is my suggestion, I will post a link to contact info of a well known John Deere tractor salvage operation near Marysville, Don?s Tractor Salvage. I suggest you talk with Don Nolte himself to see if he can point you to someone in your area that has done business with him. Now I don?t know if Don is still that involved with the business he may be retired and some other family member runs the business now. I only knew him from when he was the service manager at the Deere dealer there 30 plus years ago before he started the salvage business. Hope this helps and best of luck.
Contact info

Tx Jim · Feb 29, 2020

DeltaRed
Reading your comment about dealers canceling in house credit & forcing customers to Farm Plan or other means of credit I thought I'd give so 1st hand experience. Having been employed by a JD dealer for over 20 yrs having been involved in all phases of a dealership can safely state that "in house" credit costs dealer a lot of money & ties up up a lot of capitol. After switching to Farm Plan dealership owner I was employed by was VERY HAPPY but slow paying customers were very unhappy. . That was WAY back in the 60's-80's & I can't envision how much $$$$ would be tied up in "in house credit extension" today.

I've had a Farm Plan acct since '87 when I began custom farming & have always been satisfied with it. I've experienced very few problems & they were always resolved to my satisfaction. Yes Farm Plan charges too much interest very similar to other type credit cards but that doesn't affect me because I always pay my monthly bill in full.

1948CaseVAI · Feb 29, 2020

MikeM and SVCummins answered your question and gave you two different points of view. Either way might work for you.

ss55 · Feb 29, 2020

March is a little late for scheduling repairs. Everyone and his brother wants their equipment ready for spring work, so shops are booked up. Kinda like walking into a tax preparer's office on April 14th. Spending tens of thousands of dollars on 20 to 50 year old equipment is pretty small potatoes at dealerships now-a-days.

Kansas4010 · Feb 29, 2020

You might look at the shop in Overbook. It's right behind the Napa. I've only taken my truck once and my grain truck there once. Both are still running so that's all the experience I have with them. He always seems busy because there's always a line of things waiting to be worked on. I know I've seen tractors parked there so I assume he works on them.

notjustair · Feb 29, 2020

Actually, I spent my youth rebuilding air cooled VW engines and still own four of them and use those as my only car other than farm vehicles. I?ve farmed my whole life and can make my way around most any engine. Not just air (cooled).

Quite an assumption there.

My area is very dealer faithful. There was a great guy who has worked on several things around here. He retired from Deere and is now 81. So I?m looking for someone knowledgeable.

Thanks for the advice.

ksredneckpullingteam · Feb 29, 2020

Good advice talk to Don

Traditional Farmer · Feb 29, 2020

The dealers probably figure if it costs you too much to repair you'll buy a new machine,I've bought several tractors that the owners got an estimate for repairs was too high for them to have them worked on.Your choice huge repair bill to be paid in cash or $0 down and a bunch of 'easy' payments on a new machine.Any farmers in your area that do their own mechanic work in their own shop? Sometimes they will take on outside work especially the Amish and Mennonites will do other work to offset the cost of their shop.

Traditional Farmer · Feb 29, 2020

I'm fortunate to have 2 fellows that will work on my tractors and equipment if I can't do it.Both work at dealerships but do my work on the side at less than half the shop rate where they work but still make more an hour than they get working at the dealerships.I have plenty of tractors to use so they don't have to be under a time limit to fix mine.Having spare and backup tractors and equipment can save a pile of money not having to get them repair right away.Plus no downtime on my end just go get another one to use.

SVcummins · Mar 1, 2020

That?s how I got my d1000 baler new Holland dealer told the owner it couldn?t be fixed they never could even figure out what was wrong with it . I finally did it took having to get a set of needles put back together but it? will run now

showcrop · Mar 1, 2020

I had this foolish idea about trying to support my local NH dealer. I needed a new sleeve pressed into the back end of a dual power housing. It cost me $1100. I complained to the service manager who told me that he thought it was high but he had verified the time with the mechanic. What could the mechanic have done other than go out back to his truck and taken an eight hour nap?

SVcummins · Mar 1, 2020

That?s the reason I have 3 different balers here If one fouls up I can hook on a different one and go bale I absolutely hate having hay down getting drier by the second and a stupid baler that won?t work . I do a little repair work for people to if I?m not to busy at the moment and it?s something I don?t mind sometime I just say nope I don?t have time automotive usually gets that answer but if it?s a tractor or implement I?ll probably do it. There used to be a few guys around here that would moonlight but they got caught and had to quit

SVcummins · Mar 1, 2020

Sometimes we get our butts royally kicked ! I
remember the first Ford tw30 I did a split on to
replace someo had it almost all the way back
together and went to screw the pto spool valve stop
bolt can?t remember what it was exactly now but it
went into the case from the outside and the spool
valve did something anyway it broke off and I had to
resplit the whole sob again and it was supposed to
go to the customer the next day well it didn?t . I still
have that broken spool here to remind to not get in
a hurry ! Not sure who got the bill but I?ll almost bet
it got passed right on to the customer

SVcummins · Mar 1, 2020

Dealers still have in house credit around here but I
can imagine like you say what it must cost them to
do it I never try to let my bill go longer than 90 days
they charge interest but I always pay it I?m glad
they?ll do it for me . One time got a bill for 7$ late
interest charge I had already sent the payment but
not in time I guess so I went to town and sent them
7$

Blackhole49 · Mar 1, 2020

What did the written estimate say for the repair?

showcrop · Mar 1, 2020

(quoted from post at 07:50:12 03/01/20) What did the written estimate say for the repair?

Blackhole, I didn't get a written estimate. Would you ask for one for a fifteen minute job?

Kansas mechanic needed

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