Avoid Cumming GA Dealership - At all costs

[atsah]

I am the manager of this dealership and I can tell you Mr. Customer does not have all of the facts listed here. He did indeed call me stating that his fuel gauge and hours meter were not working. Even though he was out of warranty, I called Branson and got them to cover the repairs. He later called back and stated that the tractor was losing power. It was brought back in and we started at the basics. We drained the tank and checked the filter, which fell apart in my mechanics hands. It looked like it had been in there for years. We replaced the filter, and checked the lift pump. It came down to the fuel injection pump. I once again called Branson and got the pump covered under warranty, even though his warranty was expired. We replaced the pump and the tractor ran great. I have multiple emails and texts from the customer stating this. On one of the latest texts, he asked about trading in his tractor for a 3725. I gave him what I thought was a fair quote but he disagreed, not even 24 hours later, he texted me and said the tractor was losing power again. Coincidence?
We went and picked up his tractor and proceeded to locate the problem. This is when we found the rust and debris in his fuel tank. We also determined that the new fuel injection pump was not working. I called the customer and explained all of this. At that time I told him we would ONCE AGIAN cover all costs except the cleaning of the fuel tank and a new lift pump. A total cost of less than $300. This is when he became very difficult. He agreed to pay the fee but then he placed a call to Branson questioning my mechanic and stating that we were trying to charge him fees he shouldn't have to pay. He also started degrading my mechanic to Branson. My regional manager called me and told me these facts.
My mechanic has over thirty years experience and was an ASE certified diesel mechanic for Ford. Upon hearing this, I called the customer and told him that we would honor replacing the second pump at no cost but when finished, he could pick up his tractor and never set foot in my store again. We did everything we could to make this customer happy to the tune of approx. $4k in free work. In the end, he went to Mathis because I refused to deal with him anymore.
By the way, during the process of finding the rust in his tank, we asked him how he usually fueled his tractor and his answer was he used METAL fueling cans but continued to blame us for the rust in the tank. We did everything we could to make this customer happy but sometimes there is no satisfying a person regardless of the measures you take.
This is the last you will hear from me on this issue. My dealership has a multitude of other customers who are happy and rave about our work.

I wouldn't worry to much, it's easy for people to post negative content on forums and then run away, there is very little in the way of consequences in doing so..

 

[thepumpguysc]

WOW!! ALWAYS nice to get both sides.. It sounds as if u did everything that was required & THEN SOME..
"I" would have checked the tank PRIOR to installing the inj. pump tho..
They don't go out for "no reason".. THAT WAY, u could have defended your position on the "tank cleaning"..
Hind site is 20/20.. Thanks for responding & don't blame u AT ALL for sending him down the road.. I've done it myself.

 

[1010]

I think the big take away here is don't use metal cans for re-fueling, I learned this the hard way years ago. It was a metal safety can and had a metal strainer inside, it rusted and the flakes just about ruined my mower.

 

[atsah]

Yup had some of those cans years ago, no good..

 

[Oldpath05]

I am surprised that rust got past the fuel filter,
I would have expected the filter to be plugging frequently. :2cents:

I'm more surprised, the fuel filter should've plugged up so no fuel got by into the injector pump. And how does rust get in a plastic tank, water in fuel maybe.......... Another reason to use this>>>> Diesel Kleen +Cetane Boost - Power Service

 

[Oldpath05]

It gets better when there is three sides to every story, the customer, the dealer and the forum.................

 

[atsah]

And how does rust get in a plastic tank, water in fuel maybe[/url]

Metal cans with condensation will get the job done..

 

[Gafn]

Howdy all,,, So Rich has jumped in and provided a somewhat different account of things - As expected as we all see and remember things differently)
Atash - there is no dump and run here.
1st off - I don't own a metal gas/diesel can (I never have) - so what has been stated is not true from the rust perspective.

From the "trashing the mechanic" Yes I called Branson HQ - This is normal process, and a customer's right if they feel they are not being treated fairly (I was extremely frustrated), and was passed over to the regional manager - I never trashed said mechanic - during the conversation with Branson, the gentleman at HQ stated that Branson dealerships don't get their certification immediately, it takes some time, so my follow on question was - Is the Cumming dealership certified. This part Rich has blown out of proportion - I never said a bad word about the mechanic.... I also never asked for the charge of $300 to be taken off, as Rich stated I agreed to pay the $300. After Rich getting called back from Branson, he left me a rather heated voice mail, stating come get your tractor NO CHARGE, and never step foot in my dealership again. When I picked up my tractor "I STILL PAID THE $300 THAT I HAD AGREED TO", despite the VM.
At the end of it all when my tractor came back and the fuel gauge still did not work and it was down on power, and the bolt holding the injector pump was laying on the frame rail - I then said - I don't trust the work done to the tractor, so I went elsewhere.

The trade in - so Rich gave me a figure of $9000 for my tractor - he said it was low due to not being able to confirm the hours. so after I found the procedure and sent it to him - how to pull the DPF data logger, and Rich sent it to Rome HQ to have it read - My tractor came back with 230 hours on it - total run time. I expected a adjustment to the trade in value now that the hours were verified. There was no adjustment - $9000 was Rich's max offer for a trade in. I simply was not willing to trade the tractor for that value, so I went someplace else.

The emails and texts I wrote to Rich were when the tractor was running great after the initial repair were complementary - however 3 hours at PTO is all that lasted. My main question here is "How did anything get past the new fuel filter that Rich's mechanic installed?" This tractor was new in 2015, and had ran perfectly prior to going into Rich's shop for a Fuel sending unit and a dash board replacement. I really do not believe that I am being unreasonable - I just wanted a working fuel gauge, and a dash board with an hour meter that worked.

And for what it is worth Rich did not send me down the road, the last time I was in his shop - he suggested that someone had "Sabotaged " my tractor. suggesting that someone had poured rust into my tank - at that point I loaded my tractor and left - frustrated and not a real happy customer.

Long Story short - I moved onto another dealer while in communications with the Regional manager. I did not get nasty with anyone, frustrated yes, and perhaps my tone was not the best with Rich and his mechanic - and for that I will offer an apology here and in public, I can be abrasive at times... the old Marine in me comes out...

Rich likes to use the word coincidence... Having two injector pumps fail back to back after having services performed at a shop, is that a coincidence? - however the coincidences induces a HUGE amount of frustration for the customer(me).

Once again - ALL of this is MY PERSONAL OPINION - I share this so others can make informed decisions of their own accord.

 

[atsah]

This is what the problem is.. "Avoid Cumming GA Dealership - At all costs"...

We all get frustrated from time to time but if we all take the time to calm down most people are reasonably and will take care of things. Sounds to me like they ate some of you're problems..

You traded the tractor in because you didn't trust the repair work that was done? That just makes no sense..

 

[Industrial Toys]

What would Judge Judy Say?