I’m having a rather poor experience buying a NH from one of the high visibility “Internet Dealers”. The issues are not resolved yet and communications with the dealer have gone from cooperative to poor to non-existent. Apparently they think if they just ignore me I’ll go away. Wrong.
This is not meant as an indictment of all NH dealers doing business over the Internet. I understand Corriher to have a very good reputation and in hindsight I should have gone with them. Unfortunately I chose to do business with the “other guys” and that turned out to be a big mistake.
I purchased a TC55DA with 18LA FEL and 759C hoe on 12/28/04. All items were supposedly in stock. For starters, the shipment was 3 weeks later than they said it would be. The delivery date would have been fine, but the delay was not communicated. I had been paying interest to NH Credit for almost a month and was starting to wonder if I was going to get a tractor at all. So communications from the dealer started out on a poor footing.
Upon receiving the tractor, here are the issues I discovered within 24 hours of delivery:
Hydraulic fluid was 3 gallons low (capacity is 11 gallons). The oil level was well over an inch below the dipstick.
At first I was told they would ship me replacement NH 134G hydraulic oil. Then they said there were shipping restrictions on hydraulic fluid and they offered to send me a check instead (for their cost on the oil, not my cost). I’ve received nothing.
There are multiple hydraulic leaks. Silly me, I expected a new tractor to be pretty much leak free. Two of the leaks were rather obvious and the sources have been identified. But there are at least 2-3 more I still need to troubleshoot.
There was a fitting for the 18LA under the operator platform that was only “finger tight”. This was dripping oil in a steady stream when the FEL was operated. Did anyone at the dealer check to see a trail of oil left under this tractor? Apparently not.
Another leak is due to a manufacturing defect in a hard line on the 18LA. The dealer should have found it if they had checked for leaks. But they didn’t. And they’ve backed away from providing a replacement part under warranty.
In addition to the leaks, the following items where (and still are) missing:
SMV sign not provided. Dealer checklist says it was included.
Only one key provided. These tractors come with two keys.
Bucket level indicator missing from 18LA.
12” bucket for hoe paid for but not received.
I was told several times that these items would be sent. So far, nothing received.
The backhoe was shipped without the swing and boom lock pins in place. They lock pins were present in their storage positions, but not in place. There is a pretty good divit (chunk of metal gone) in the lower boom. So who knows what the boom was doing during transport? But when the dealer loads a tractor for a 3,000+ mile trip, you’d think they could at least install the boom and swing lock pins in the backhoe.
Bottom line...this dealer in particular does shoddy installation work (18LA), doesn’t check for obvious leaks, doesn’t prepare the tractor properly for shipment (hoe lock pins), and doesn’t ship everything that is paid for and supposed to come with the tractor.
To top it off, there is no service after the sale. Once they have your money, they don’t want to hear from you.
My suggestions to would be Internet buyers:
Choose the more reputable dealer (Corriher)
Make at least some of your purchase (down payment, deposit, etc.) by credit card. That way you can dispute the charge with your credit card company should all items not be provided.
Don’t assume that a new tractor is defect free, especially in the case of dealer installed equipment (hoe, FEL, etc).
Inspect for leaks, oil levels, all parts included, boom lock pins in place, etc. before unloading the tractor. If you see such issues, refuse the shipment!
If there’s interest, I’ll be glad to post further updates as this situation plays out.
This is not meant as an indictment of all NH dealers doing business over the Internet. I understand Corriher to have a very good reputation and in hindsight I should have gone with them. Unfortunately I chose to do business with the “other guys” and that turned out to be a big mistake.
I purchased a TC55DA with 18LA FEL and 759C hoe on 12/28/04. All items were supposedly in stock. For starters, the shipment was 3 weeks later than they said it would be. The delivery date would have been fine, but the delay was not communicated. I had been paying interest to NH Credit for almost a month and was starting to wonder if I was going to get a tractor at all. So communications from the dealer started out on a poor footing.
Upon receiving the tractor, here are the issues I discovered within 24 hours of delivery:
Hydraulic fluid was 3 gallons low (capacity is 11 gallons). The oil level was well over an inch below the dipstick.
At first I was told they would ship me replacement NH 134G hydraulic oil. Then they said there were shipping restrictions on hydraulic fluid and they offered to send me a check instead (for their cost on the oil, not my cost). I’ve received nothing.
There are multiple hydraulic leaks. Silly me, I expected a new tractor to be pretty much leak free. Two of the leaks were rather obvious and the sources have been identified. But there are at least 2-3 more I still need to troubleshoot.
There was a fitting for the 18LA under the operator platform that was only “finger tight”. This was dripping oil in a steady stream when the FEL was operated. Did anyone at the dealer check to see a trail of oil left under this tractor? Apparently not.
Another leak is due to a manufacturing defect in a hard line on the 18LA. The dealer should have found it if they had checked for leaks. But they didn’t. And they’ve backed away from providing a replacement part under warranty.
In addition to the leaks, the following items where (and still are) missing:
SMV sign not provided. Dealer checklist says it was included.
Only one key provided. These tractors come with two keys.
Bucket level indicator missing from 18LA.
12” bucket for hoe paid for but not received.
I was told several times that these items would be sent. So far, nothing received.
The backhoe was shipped without the swing and boom lock pins in place. They lock pins were present in their storage positions, but not in place. There is a pretty good divit (chunk of metal gone) in the lower boom. So who knows what the boom was doing during transport? But when the dealer loads a tractor for a 3,000+ mile trip, you’d think they could at least install the boom and swing lock pins in the backhoe.
Bottom line...this dealer in particular does shoddy installation work (18LA), doesn’t check for obvious leaks, doesn’t prepare the tractor properly for shipment (hoe lock pins), and doesn’t ship everything that is paid for and supposed to come with the tractor.
To top it off, there is no service after the sale. Once they have your money, they don’t want to hear from you.
My suggestions to would be Internet buyers:
Choose the more reputable dealer (Corriher)
Make at least some of your purchase (down payment, deposit, etc.) by credit card. That way you can dispute the charge with your credit card company should all items not be provided.
Don’t assume that a new tractor is defect free, especially in the case of dealer installed equipment (hoe, FEL, etc).
Inspect for leaks, oil levels, all parts included, boom lock pins in place, etc. before unloading the tractor. If you see such issues, refuse the shipment!
If there’s interest, I’ll be glad to post further updates as this situation plays out.
