Kind of rant on local JD dealership!!!

JD Seller

Well-known Member
We are having a bit of trouble with a local JD store. It seems they push the service billing to the limit. Then change the bill when/if the customer complains. Some examples of what they are doing. At first glance it seemed like just simple mistakes but there is a pattern to it. Just for information the labor rate is $90 per hour for service calls.

1) This one happened to me/us. The boys bought a JD 8530 with a known transmission problem. Cheap tractor even with the repair. We take the transmission out. I took it fully apart. Due to an oil quality issue the clutch packs/disks where ruined. The bearing and such where in good condition. So mainly just needed the clutch pack disks and separators plates no housing ruined. To really get those packs back together easily it takes some special tools. Since it was right in the middle of harvest we decided to hire the local JD store to come out and put the packs together. I talked to the mechanic and he was fine with doing it for us. I had everything staged. Laid out all cleaned up for assembly. He came out right after lunch and started the work. I had to leave shortly after that. He called me at 4 PM telling me he was done. So maybe 3 1/2 to 4 hours time. Even having to pay for his travel to and from the store it would not have been more than five hours. When we got the bill it was for seven of labor plus a service call charge. I stop in at the store and the service manager corrected the bill after I explained it to him. So just seemed like a time reporting issue.

2) This one happened to a neighbor. He broke the feeder house chain adjusting bolts in his combine. He is up in his seventies with no one to help him on the farm. So he had them come out and replace the bolts plus adjust the chain. He dries his corn with an older manual dump batch drier. You fill it up and it dries the batch and shuts off. You then dump it and refill it and start over. He knows the drying time so he can come in from the field and refill it and keep things going. He had just filled the drier when the JD mechanic got there. He helped the mechanic replace the bolts and adjust the chain. He had the mechanic do a quick walk around on the combine. Nothing big wrong that could not wait until after season. The dryer kicked off right when the mechanic got done. My friend says it takes right at 3 hours per batch. So there time would have been around 3-4 four hours of time depending on travel time. He was billed six hour labor. Complained hours reduced.

3) Another local fellow. He was using a JD 4020 power shift to spray soybeans. He has a hydraulic driven sprayer pump. Plus it was one of the hottest days of the summer. The tractor's hydraulic system started acting up. He called the local dealership's mechanic directly. That tech could not get there until the next morning. That was OK. He called me on the off chance I could helped him out. I talked him through some stuff to check. One them being to check to see if his oil cooler/radiator was clean. I know the fellow and he is bad about running the fuel tank over with his slow filling gravity tank. The fuel runs down the side screens and get sucked into the radiator oil cooler. Then dust and dirt sticks to it. Well it was dirty/blocked again. I tell him to wash it out really well and use some dish sop to cut the oil film. He does that and the hydraulics run fine. He called the dealership and tells them to not send the mechanic out the next day. He was gone the next day. The next months Farm plan bill showed a $200 and some dollar service call charge. He had a copy of the bill and it was for a stroke control valve and two hour labor. He looked at the tractor and could not see anything done. He came over and asked me what the part number was for an if I could tell if it had been replaced. I looked the part number up and then looked at the tractor. Nothing had been done to it. The original paint was on all the hydraulic pump fittings/plugs. So he called the dealership and they told him they would check on it. They cleared the bill the next month.

So there are three accounts of the dealership over billing or miss-billing on service work. This is happening after the dealer closed the local store two years ago and we now have to go to the next town over. All of this is happening to the close store's local customers. I am hearing this complaint from others too. It seems to be getting too common to just be mistakes. So I am not really sure what is going on with 100% certainty.

Our dealing with this store are way down after the way they handled our open account. Nearly 90% of our parts now come from another dealership that is 60 miles away. We rarely have service work done by dealerships. We/I do not know any of the mechanics at the store we are getting parts from. So we/I can not judge if they are good or not. The local store's mechanics are all good but one fellow. I make sure and tell them to NOT send him out to us.

The local store manager and the parts manager have been both been out to see us trying to get our parts business back. The store manger was just out last week. I did talk to him about the service billing issues and he made it out to be all book keeping errors. I am just not sure. I also am not going to switch the parts back anytime soon. It would not be fair to do that after the other store stepped up and gave us very good service. They will deliver parts to us three days a week, if we have any ordered. They are using our shop as a drop point for any other customers in this close area. I know this is hurting the local store's parts numbers some. Makes things complicated when they never needed to be. If they had left their open account alone they would not have lost business. Now they are offering to go back to open accounts it that will get the business back. In my mind too little too late.

It has got me to thinking about trying the other store for service work too. What do you fellows think????
 
I think this is the reason I won?t own anything I can?t fix myself with the help of that factory manual the i&t manual the parts manual and the fine fellows at the yt service department . I can?t afford to pay anyone to work on my stuff one because you can?t Trust em And B I cant afford em
 
If the other store will run you on an open account then reward them for their parts support with your service work. There'll be more travel time of course.
 
Things have changed in this great country of ours. I am not going to go in great detailed, but the idea of those who we did business with we trusted and never worried about getting billed incorrectly. They we're considered an extension of our operation. Today, it seems that some businesses will do anything to make a buck! One must check and double check every transaction that you do. There are exceptions, some are very trustful. My father always said, screw me once and it was there fault, screw me twice and it was my fault! Me, I would do business with the Dealership that treats me like the way, I feel I should me treated.
 
SVcummins: We are having to up date to newer equipment as there just are not older MFWD high HP tractors. Just running one of the modern corn planters takes 200 HP. Plus a lot more hydraulic capacity than most older tractor take. Heck we had to pull the JD 4960 off the finisher this spring as it just could not handle the one we got last winter. We got a heck of a deal on a new Sunflower 6331 that had never been put together but set outside for four years. We already had a 28 ft. and thought the JD 4960 would handle the 31 ft. one. It just could not in the hills.

We have stepped into a full four wheel drive. So for the heavier jobs we more than likely will be going that way. So that allows us more choices in tractors. Sadly the days of a JD 4020 being a main line tractor are long gone around here. Heck even grain augers and feeder wagons have out grown a 100 HP tractor.
 
Gary I will agree with you on this. I really think it is the service department trying to increase their bill out rate/hours. I know JD is pushing for 80-85 percent bill out from JD service shops. That is about impossible to do and not inflate billable hours.

The trouble is the dealership we are getting parts from is owned by a Doctor out of Oklahoma. So I really do not see that lasting long term either. You really do not have much of an relationship with these mega chain dealerships.
 
Some of the Deere dealerships in this area are moving to flat rate billing like car dealerships use. The challenge is it is hard to cover up the actual time when doing service calls.

I work with a large number of ag dealerships of all brands. Several have management and billing that is that bad. Some won't even acknowledge it when you call them out on it.

I have also been asked several times if I would consider working for some of these dealerships as a service manager. No way, no how, it ain't ever gonna happen.
 
When the implements get bigger so must the tractor and big farms need bigger equipment. I doubt most guys on modern farms would even think of driving a tractor without a cab heat ac and auto steer .
 
I haven't needed any work, but it seems all the JD dealerships have been consolidated under just a few large combines. There used to be a good JD dealer a little to the south of us in Tecumseh, MI that had some old timers that knew about 2 cylinder parts. All the older guys gone, replaced by millenials. They know nothing except to look at a computer screen. It's all real cold now, no reason to visit the dealerships any more...
 
I think you have a crooked JD service Manager and a Mechanic that thinks the world owes him something because he is a mechanic. Just like all well most of them are primadonnas. I think if you talk to other farmers they probably have the same problems with them. That service manager is getting probably a bonus check if he hits a certain Labor Rate per Hour. And to help him get it he has a just as crooked mechanic padding his labor hours . This is nothing new car dealerships are the same way. So talking the the service manager will fall of deaf ears. He got caught so sorry mister customer ill change it. He will make it back on the next tractor he works on. At a labor rate say of 120.00 per hour and that mechanic does 3 jobs a day and each one gets charged an extra hour that a potential extra 120,000 a year for the dealership so his taking off a couple hours on your service because he got busted is nothing.
 
its just not tractors it every where. my daughter took her car in for routine service. oil change, filter. car has 35000 on it and under warranty. she got a bill for 500bucks. they said she needed a radiator flush and that wasn't covered. women are really duped at a lot of these places. I suspect the service manager at that jd place ought to get another job. I have found farmers are a dedicated bunch of fellows who always will use there dealer ships as long as there treated right. there also like an elephant. they don't forget. guess that service manager hasn't figured that out yet.
 
Deere seller your last sentence said it all and answered all your questions to begin with. It's 2018 not 1950.
 
Can you use another supplier for your JD parts ?? Dont use the mega chain if possible. I would image if you hooked up with a small town dealership and talked to the owner and tell him ill give you all my business if he gives you some kind of break on parts ,labor and shipping . I dont know the size of your operation but from the things i read on here that you talk about and say sounds like its sizable operation. So it could benefit you. Its Just a phone call ,you never know till you ask. If i was a Dealership and a farmer come to me with that i would be all over it.
 
As I understand the issue you're facing you are wondering if the repair billing inflation is a department issue or service center issue or even more wide spread. Don't shift all your service business to the "new" parts supplier and if there is another service center not far off try them too.
there are 3 possibilities 1) one department is "cheating"/ trying to look good 2) One or two stores or owners are the problem or (god forbid) 3) JD has a new policy.

I stopped dealing with our local JD store when they didn't deal with a problem I had with the a gator after they indicated they would, what really took the cake was when they got huffy cause I insisted on loading it and taking it away--They didn't have the guts to bill after doing nothing. That turned out to be an owner problem. How did I figure that out? He owns an AGCO parts store next door, I asked about a part and the cost. Was given a number and I placed the order then they doubled the price when I stopped in to pick it up, got upset cause I wouldn't pay that price and therefore wouldn't take the part. How did I know AGCO hadn't raised the price?--Mailed ordered from Michigan at the original price. The JD store was sold to a different individual and service improved.
 
I sure miss the days of having the smaller, CARING dealers of ANY brands. Used to be for example an IH dealer within 15 miles around here and they all tried harder back then. Some Mega dealers have forgotten those times..
 
What really sucks is when the dealer only will pay an employee when he is on billable hours even if service manager fails to arrange work and I know this is a fact at one of my local dealers. I try to repair as much as possible on my own but this newer equipment is getting very difficult to do that. My JD dealers are all about 30 miles away any direction and 3 of them are different owners , so yes I have a choice still.
 
I bought a new gator a few years back for the kids, a 550S. Its slow and big enough for all of them to ride at once. The next spring I was moving equipment and had my 9 year old daughter take me with the gator to bring the tractor back to the farm. I got back and she did not. The motor locked up on her on the road. Took it to the dealer and they said the warrantee was up by a few days, then to really pizz my off they said it a know problem with that motor,still no help. Talk to the manager and he sold me a motor a cost and I put it in but it ran ruff so I took it in. They had it 3 months and finally put a high altitude jet in it. I got a bill for $500. Went in a raised hell and they said we don't know how to bill warranty parts on it since it was thru parts,so they tried to stick it to me. I talked to the manager again and got it taken care of. We talked about trade in on a new one and he offed me a great trade in price. WE agreed on a price and I said I will be in right after the first of the year.( its Christmas time and we were going to the Bahamas for a week) Went in first week of the new year to find out they were bought out by a big outfit from Kentucky and all trades have to be approved thru the mother store. They would not honor the deal we had made and offered me half for my trade and wanted more for the new one. Left there mad as hell and drove to the Polaris dealership and bought me a new ranger.
 
A friend went to the Case IH dealer about a combine repair that he could do himself. He just needed some info on installation. The service manager said no help and they would send a tech out at full rate per hour from the time he grabbed the truck key until he went to the next job or back to the dealership. My friend spent a day working at it and had to change a couple of things where if the manager was willing to listen the job could have been done right the first time in ten minutes. So that dealer was/is hardly a heaven sent saint. Just within the last two weeks I had to change a relay on the JD 4250 and first off I was not sure that was the problem. After 5 minutes with the shop manager I knew it was a relay, he told me where and how to access, and then wrote down the part number so the parts guy would not have to spend several minutes trying to look it up. All in a pleasant tone and a smile on his face. I'll take anybody at their word here if they have a problem but for some to say that JD is the evil empire that is not true every place you go.
 
So it goes these days.That is why I laugh when I see prospective buyers of tractors and equipment on here fretting about have a dealer close by.What good are dealers these days when
what you describe is what you get from them? Nothing new of course repair places have been ripping off customers for years just a little more brazen these days with
most customers having no idea with what is wrong or what it takes to fix a problem they are easy pickings.Doesn't affect me I have way more tractors and equipment to finish out any
farming years I have left and the older stuff is getting cheaper all the time.
 
It was a sad day when James River bought out Whitsel in Harrisonburg,other dealerships are mostly owned by New VA Tractor many say they are worse.I only buy corn head grease at JD
anyway these days so it doesn't matter to me.
 
I knew a mechanic at a tractor dealership. The owner would tell him to leave the time clock running on one job and send him to do something else. He got so upset about that, he left the dealer and went into business for himself.
Richard
 
I ran my own repair shop for 27 years,, I was the only one who did all the work, answered the phone ordered all parts and shortline equipment I sold, setup delivery sales and billing paying the bills ect I did it all, while I did not mind the call for what you are speaking of,, it did cut into my billable shop time ect a LOT. You seem to think its ok to call and talk with a shop manager/mechanic ect and get free advice any time you want it. Step into our shoes and do that 100 times a day while you are trying to do a overhaul or a transmission rebuild and see how you feel about spending 10 min to a hour on the phone explaining to someone who knows just enough about something to be dangerous. I may sound a bit calloused here but until you walk a day in those of us who did or do this day in day out you have no clue, to you its a pleasure for us to listen to your issue on a machine you bought from a auction, buddy neighbor ect and then expect us to tell you how to fix it on our dime and time. NOW if I sold it to you that can change things 100%. I used to waste 5-10 hours a week on calls like yours,, did it help the callers Sure DID did they ever stop by to by parts, a piece of equipment I had for sale or ever bring me something to repair? 9 times out of ten Nope they just took the Free advice something I have worked to learn and do as well as I do for the last 50 years and ran with it, was I Nice for doing this Sure I was,, did it ever make me any money doing it? 1 time out of ten yes it did. Now I ask you if you was at your punch the clock job and I called you about something,, would you punch out and talk to me on your free time? how about I call you on your only day off, say Sunday at 9 pm at night? Would you be happy I did? i always Loved the ones who showed up at the shop in the evening say 6,7 8 pm while I was working on something of my own and say to me,, I was driving by all week but I never had time to stop till now to ask about,,,,,, Happened a Lot and then they would get all kinds of pissy with me when I told them to come back during my business hours. Go figure right what a Jerk I was being. In being self-employed if my hands are not doing a job I am not getting paid, same goes for the big dealer too, if the SM is on the phone to you a customer who never bought a thing from them giving out free advice and repair info how do they stay in the black? I shut down my shop to the public 7 years ago now,, and yet I still have folks come by I have never seen in my life that say,, I hate to bother you but I see you have all these Case tractors and I just bought one at auction ect and I need some answers about such and such.. are you understanding some of our side of things now? For any shop to charge bogus hours or repairs in unacceptable and stealing no matter if its a huge chain of big name brands or the guy who works out of his small shop. Part of my point here is it COST me money and a life time to learn what I know, but some seem to think I should just hand out that info for free Ok end of my Rant lol
cnt
 
(quoted from post at 21:10:16 12/08/18) SVcummins: We are having to up date to newer equipment as there just are not older MFWD high HP tractors. Just running one of the modern corn planters takes 200 HP. Plus a lot more hydraulic capacity than most older tractor take. Heck we had to pull the JD 4960 off the finisher this spring as it just could not handle the one we got last winter. We got a heck of a deal on a new Sunflower 6331 that had never been put together but set outside for four years. We already had a 28 ft. and thought the JD 4960 would handle the 31 ft. one. It just could not in the hills.

We have stepped into a full four wheel drive. So for the heavier jobs we more than likely will be going that way. So that allows us more choices in tractors. Sadly the days of a JD 4020 being a main line tractor are long gone around here. Heck even grain augers and feeder wagons have out grown a 100 HP tractor.

LOL JD, we are seeing a lot of the same here. Nieghbor ran a 10" auger to fill his bins for years. Ungraded to a 13" 75' auger. His Farmall 706 Diesel wont run it at capacity. He's got his 1086 on it now. When I worked the custom harvest circuit in 73 most of the guys we combined for were farming at least several thousand acres. They were using 4020's, 1070's and 1265's for chore tractors and running augers back then.

Rick
 
I stopped by the local John Deere dealership the other day, and their lot is jammed packed full of new farm tractors and equipment. I do not know if that is good or not....prices are high on stuff.
 
JD Seller, Your post a couple of days to my comment on the JD 5055 helped me to make the decision to not go with a Deere and stick to Kubota. I've been wanting another newer cab tractor in the 50 hp range, I currently have four Kubotas and have never had any problems with the 3 Kubota dealers I deal with. I even have the personal cell phone number on the one I deal with the most. I have allot of JD dealers around me but they are all owned by the same 2-3 people and I've had very little dealings with them. I sold my JD Grinder Mixer a couple years ago after I walked in a JD dealer and the parts guy looked at me like I was nuts asking about parts for something he didn't even know JD ever sold. I decided to stay with what I know.
 
BAHANAS????$$$$$-You must of had a bin buster!-Here is a recent pic of the wife and kids-times are tuff in Iowa!--Tee
cvphoto5410.jpg
 
Gee,ten years ago it was all my fault wasn't it? Everybody just knew I was some ornery SOB who walked in with a chip on my shoulder just looking for trouble. Sure feels good to be vindicated when that kind of crap finally went nationwide. From day one when I had to walk in to that place after Mother Deere cancelled the local dealer's contract,I felt like a red headed step child. They all but said "Step aside,we've got our regular customers to take care of,we'll deal with you when we get time.".
 
Talk about coincidence. The last straw for me came when I tried to get a part for my 700 grinder mixer.
 
ditchwitch: The only single location dealership I know of is 175 miles away. I have bought some equipment from him but nothing big.
 
It is sad to hear these comments, not that I don't believe them.

To balance the comments a little, like NY986 the JD Store/Service Manager here in Western WI gave me the advice I needed, printed instructions, and the part numbers I needed for the parts counter. On one occasion he even went and helped the Parts Guy find the part.

I am just a hobbyist but I buy most of my parts there and bring the entire place a box of dounuts before break once in a while. Maybe this helps.


Paul
 
JD it s the almighty dollar they care about not the CUSTOMER. I will say no more might git in trouble. RB
 
Case Nutty, your explanation makes since to me. Some people think the whole world revolves around them.
 
I removed a transfer case from a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I had a dealership repair it. They charged me $300. After I left, I realized that they must have charged me for the entire job, which would have been the removal, repair, and replace. They actually stepped back away from the counter after they handed me the bill.
 
Have to keep the wife happy! Don't remember if it was a bin buster or a good year at work.
 
I get you and appreciate you telling the dealer's side. The thing is my repair and my friend's are repairs the shops don't want anyways in part because they don't want to work on old junk. One more story about the sainted Case IH store is I stopped to look at a used tractor a few years back and once I found the only salesman on duty he said "it's out there" and then left. No kidding!? Since the tractor was parked by the roadside it was pretty obvious it was in stock. I obviously wanted to ask questions about it. Further, it would have gone down easier if the salesman said he was on the way to an appointment but I could tell by the look on his face this was too small of a small potato for him to be bothered with.
 
(quoted from post at 11:32:32 12/09/18) Gee,ten years ago it was all my fault wasn't it? Everybody just knew I was some ornery SOB who walked in with a chip on my shoulder just looking for trouble. Sure feels good to be vindicated when that kind of crap finally went nationwide. From day one when I had to walk in to that place after Mother Deere cancelled the local dealer's contract,I felt like a red headed step child. They all but said "Step aside,we've got our regular customers to take care of,we'll deal with you when we get time.".

Had to look it up .


https://www.quora.com/Where-did-the-term-red-headed-stepchild-come-from
 
Some one has to pay for the extremely high over head for the new "Mega" stores, and there lays the beginning of the problem a couple acres of black top, a couple million bucks in a building setting on high cost real estate, then add a fleet of high cost service/pick up trucks...the over head for these big stores has to be way out of control...and it filters down to us.
 
Sounds like the Voelker Brothers. They got "bought out" by the chain that drove me out the door. They opened up their own shop and used equipment business. I think they might do more business now than the new owners do in their two old locations.
Voelker Bros
 
Automotive dealers and automotive shops have been charging "book rate" for repairs for decades.
Why should tractor repair be any different?
What ever "the book" says is what they can charge for the job.
You doing any prep work in advance for the repair job is just more profit as you still get charged the "book rate".

Charging for part and charging for installing said part and not doing so is straight up fraud and should be reported.
 
If they caused you to get a Polaris, they did you a big favor. Much better machines than the 550 you have.
 
That's a Great sight to see when you own a repair shop and shows your quality of work. I was about 10 years in on my repair shop when a car drove in with JD logo on the door, to Very Well dressed guys get out and start looking at the rows of work I had waiting in line to the shop, I asked what i could help them with, the one said we are here to buy you out! I smiled big and said Great write the check. the guy says wow every place we have stopped at got made and told us to leave, why are you so open to the idea, I said well first answer why you want to buy me out? I am a one man operation here I do not see the reason. He said well shops like yours take away form the official dealerships so we are buying you out. Again I said Great sounds Wonderful write the check. He say ok we can do that but you have not even asked how much we are paying yet, Correct I said but then you have not asked what this will COST You either and I can always use another million dollars to spend. They got back in their car and drove away shaking their heads as I was laughing at them driving off due to the look on their smug faces lol Like I was going to take what they were offering, heck I grossed that a month and told them so LOL I had calls from friends who worked and ran owned repair shops around me, they too all had a visit from those boys,, We never did hear of they were really working for JD I doubt it but who knows
 
Butch Gilbert used to say that James River salesmen didn't know how to use the price book, they only knew how to use a match book! What he meant was people would come tyhim for a price, and they would match it, and the undercut him enough to get the deal! Now, with little to no competition, they don't even have to do that! They will quote you a price, and you can pay it, or hit the road!
 
Butch Gilbert used to say that James River's salesmen didn't know how to use the price book, they only knew how to use a match book! What he meant was people would come to him for a price, and they would match it, and then undercut him enough to get the deal! Now, with little to no competition, they don't even have to do that! They will quote you a price, and you can pay it, or hit the road!
 
Don't be surprised when they stop selling you parts. With these mega stores all combining it will be easier for them to do just that. I'm not sure if they legally have to sell to anyone ?
 
Yea a lot of us miss Butch and his place,his father Henry that started the dealership and my great grandmother were 1st cousins.His son works over in Harrisonburg at JR last I heard lives across
US 29 from me.Jim down at Ridgeview did a smart thing when he hired Butch got NH in places they'd of never gotten otherwise.
 
The best thing that happened to me was when JD Equipment took away my little 10% discount,,I set up with Reliance,AP Air and a couple clutch company's and have been getting the same parts for over 50% less,,I have not been to any of the local dealerships for 3 years no,,I do get parts from one of them, but i have them shipped. When you hit the send button when ordering it can go to any where in the States and still get here in a day or so...
 
On #1,
Have you considered how much preparation and cleanup were needed for your repair before the mechanic left the shop and after he returned to the shop? I doubt the specialized tools magically jumped from the tool crib to the truck, or that they and cleaned themselves up and marched themselves back to the crib after the truck returned to the parking lot. Unless the shop was rebuilding an 8530 every month, the mechanic probably needed to looked up the repair procedure and read through it to verify what he needed and then pulled the specialized tool from the tool crib before he left the shop, all to avoid wasting your money on a second trip to the shop.
 
We already has several rangers on the farm just wanted something slower for the kids. I found out there is a key for the ranger to limit the speed but it some how got lost after a few months! We still have the first ranger we bought in 05 plus 2 others.
 
question:

Does "Mother Deere" offer and regulary finace the dealer inventory?

Dealer reduction, creating mega dealers might not be the end result Deere is working towards.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top