What does "take it to the dealer" mean for you?

[bdhsfz6]

To me, it means hold on to your wallet.

 

[MossRoad]

For me, it's a 540 mile drive one way... so I do my own work.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Since I'm not in your league of tractors or businesses, I have it easy. I don't depend on my tractor to make money. it's brand new, little, but packed with electronics. The weight is just above the limit of my landscape trailer, so I'd have to borrow one, drive 45 minutes to dealer. I don't know how much the dealer would charge pick up/ delivery, just guessing at $250.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

How long does you your dealer typically take? I hear about very long waits, but maybe that's not typical? I don't know because I never take the machine to one, and the only recent experience I have is with pre-purchase repairs. That did not go well, and only reinforced my desire to no go to dealers, is at all possible".

I sent mine back for warranty twice, once ended up being a faulty oil pressure switch (light came on while operating!) other time was a oil leak up front ... Turned out to be a power steering hydraulic line that was routed wrong and chaffed through as it went around the front corner of the engine block ...

Both times I dropped it off at the Massey Ferguson dealer, and then left to go back to my long distance trucking, when I came back 3 weeks later, it was sitting there waiting for me to pick up.

 

[Hay Dude]

Lots of responding answers also depend on how much you rely on your equipment to survive.
If you are a hobbyist (which is fine- no judgement) you can take your time and repair DIY. If you are in the middle of a job for a customer, or have crops that needs to be handled quickly well, thats a different story

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

6 hours just to get the tractor to the dealer?

 

[Hay Dude]

I remember not being able to fix a piece of equipment because I had a broken right index finger. Just couldn’t turn wrenches and hold parts at the same time!

 

[Hay Dude]

6 hours just to get the tractor to the dealer?

 

[WinterDeere]

I remember not being able to fix a piece of equipment because I had a broken right index finger. Just couldn’t turn wrenches and hold parts at the same time!

This has happened to me twice in the last 30 years, both times with painful results:

1. Broke my shoulder and three ribs, then the clutch went out on my pickup truck. Had to take it to a local garage for replacement, there was no way I could lift transfer case or transmission out with broken shoulder. Replacement clutch failed one year later, because local garage not only failed to replace the pilot bearing, but damaged the original before apparently giving up on replacing it. So I got to repeat that job myself, the follwing year.

2. My barn/shop was under massive renovation (added second floor), so I had not place to do my annual winter maintenance one year. Took CUT and ZTR to local Deere dealer for service, and I was pleasantly surprise how much easier the CUT would start in the cold after that, so clearly they found and corrected an issue there. But a week or two after service, the fuel filter assembly fell off the CUT, shearing the fittings off the housing and spraying diesel all over my garage. Apparently the tech had loosened the mounting bolt to facilitate a filter change, and forgot to re-tighten it.

 

[arto98607]

Luckily I haven’t needed to take mine to the dealer in many years. That being said if I did it would take about [emoji[emoji6][emoji6]] minutes to hook up the trailer and load secure the tractor. The trip would take [emoji[emoji6][emoji6]] minutes or so loaded or unloaded.
This is for a L[emoji6][emoji6][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]] not a heavy piece of construction equipment. When I had heavy equipment Cat or Case mobile service was the way to go.
I do all my own maintenance now.

Alan,
No offense,

You may not be aware, but this is how your post appears in the monitor of my PC Windows 11!

Is that really your intention?