DO NOT BUY TC40/45

[LoneCowboy]

The lack of attention and service to what was clearly a cascading failure is mind boggling. If I was Brian, after receipt of the new TC45 cab, I would not return to that dealer for any item under any circumstances

Trust me, as soon as this TC issue is over, they'll be wondering where I went.
ridiculous how poorly this has all been done and i've spent a LOT of money there over the past year.

 

[Z-Michigan]

9 pages concerning "Important information for all new M series owners" seems that Kubota sent tractors out without dash warning lights working and bad loader hydraulics. ALL makes have their problems, none are exempt.

Chuckle... that was a major factor in why I didn't end up with an M5040. Not so much that it was a really big issue, but that Kubota didn't seem willing to acknowledge the issue or lift a finger to help out early purchasers who were PO'd. But I digress...

 

[Bob_Young]

Thanks for reminding me MtnView. I expect to look at some M5040s at the Empire Farm Show in a couple of weeks. Hafta review that thread and make sure everything's working on the show ponies.

For the record, I think NH, like Deere, makes very good tractors. It's just that their bread and butter is the Big Iron; where Kubota doesn't even compete. Consequently you'd expect Kubota to work harder to keep folks on the short side of 100HP happy; at least I would. As the M-series and L2800 threads point out, not everything's perfect with Orange.
Bob

 

[DavesTractor]

Interesting thread. This happens occasionally with any brand. Then once a customer gets truly dissatisfied, I am not sure there is any way to recover. Let's say they get the tractor working perfectly, then 2 weeks from now he is mowing and a twig mysteriously reaches up and pulls a wire loose up under the side panel. Then it doesn't start. I assure you the first thought in anyones mind would be to blame the tractor. Then two weeks later he accidentally gets some fouled fuel, "stupid tractor". So a little thing becomes a big thing due to the history of the machine. So the writing on the wall, so to speak, is that the machine needs to go away, regardless if they can fix it to perfection or not. The faith in the machine is gone, so why own it?

I don't see this thread so much as a NH quality issue, although there have certainly been a number of real issues, but I think more can be learned regarding how a dealer handles a customer when everything starts falling apart and a customer loses faith.

 

[Haneyrm]

Having upgraded from a Kubota to a NH, trust me when I say Kubota is no different than JD or NH. They ALL have their problems. It's the nature of the beast. LC deserves his money back and should look at green or orange at this point. NH does not deserve his business. For those who believe Kubota makes the perfect machine, below is a quick list of Kubota problems from the past few days.

Mike

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ng/104307-kubota-engine-cooling-problems.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...1-b2410-hydraulics-wont-lift.html#post1188090

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/104889-l4310-wont-move.html#post1189981

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...00-3-point-shudder-problem-6.html#post1190254

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/104830-b7500-fel-problem.html#post1189076

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...0-losing-power-today-while-2.html#post1188231

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...104785-my-dealer-told-me-lie.html#post1188490

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...2-fuel-gauge-problem-l4400-2.html#post1187848

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...4-broken-speed-monitor-l3130.html#post1187779

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...2400-slipping-power-take-off.html#post1187125

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...21-kubotas-b-bx-seat-issue-4.html#post1186290

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ransmission-stil-jerky-after.html#post1184541

 

[schmism]

so does anyone else think im crazy for thinking "glad i bought used"

i mean if you stick to 200-300 hrs its just enough for the machine to have been "broke in" all the ticks and widets that didnt get tightend right are fixed by the first guys headaches....

Im left with a machine thats had a bunch of the bugs worked out and is ready for daily use with little to no problems....

 

[MikePA]

Brian's experience is hardly typical of a new tractor.

You're happy with used, great. Lots of others are happy with new.

 

[jinman]

so does anyone else think im crazy for thinking "glad i bought used"

That's pretty funny when you think about it Steve. If nobody ever bought new tractors, your supply of used ones would sure be limited.

 

[Haneyrm]

Like many, I've bought both new and used. To be honest, I've had more problems with the used tractors than the new ones but the problems have all been minor. LC's problems are the obvious exception rather than the rule. His run of bad luck with NH is incredible. NH owes him something for his aggravation and the inability for their dealer respond satisfactorily. They should be begging him to remain a customer at this point and offering incentives along the lines of 50% off a replacement machine, free extended warranty, etc.

Mike

 

[LoneCowboy]

UPDATE
Got the new tractor last night, they ran it in about 6 hours (no fuel left in gas tank though ) and they said they had no problems.
took it out today on 2 big jobs and one smaller one. (with the TN so when the TC broke I wouldn't be totally hosed)

NOTHING BROKE
It's a new world record
3 jobs in a row with nothing on a TC45 breaking.
Personally, I'm excited, hopefully it will continue to work.

Just in case you think all my bad luck is gone, I ate a nail in the front tire, but that's reasonably cheap. (although it's a loaded tire, so I'll have to go to the tractor place, they must have switched the tires on the two TC's, cuz my old one was loaded, they normally aren't).
I might have actually come out in the positive this week.
woohoo.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

This is great news. Hopefully this TC45 has had ALL the bugs removed.

Good luck

 

[dynasim]

Brian,

Was the ride as bad as you remember? Did the air conditioner work(it has been hotttt here)?

Chris

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'm glad it didn't break on you.. but the fact that you still had a flat on it is.. well.. just astronomically bad odds. If I were you.. I wouldn't do anything even remotely risky till this passes... Like standing outside in the rain ( lightnening ) .. etc. Yor run of luck here lately would be like a whole plane load of sky divers all having double shoot failures and all of them hitting/landing on a single 10' x 10' concrete slab covered with 3' razor edged spikes in the middle of a 200 square acre field otherwise completely covered with padded foam rubber mats.. except for the one guy that hits the one small patch of water that is infested with aligators and snakes...

In your honor I think I'm going to add a Wikipedia entry for you under 'worst case scenerio'

Soundguy

OR... There's another way to look at it A person can have only so much bad luck in a certain period of time by the law of averages. Then the good luck's GOTTA kick in. Brian, go invest a fortune in Powerball tickets NOW while things are on the other side of the curve

Glad things are on the upswing!

 

[AlanB]

As a small business owner, Man, am I glad it is working for you. I sure hope it all works out to your satisfaction. If you can stay blue, great, but really, as long as you can get a machine that will do the work, and they do not leave you hanging for $, you are ahead.

Hope this one is your lucky charm.

 

[LoneCowboy]

This machine runs WAY better than the other one, it's not nearly as noisy either. The other one made all kinds of weird sounds, would run out of power when making hard turn, you could hear the PS pump just whining, weird.

It's faster, doesn't bog down on the hills (and we did some SCARY stuff yesterday, one had a hill/cliff, if you had slipped off the edge, nothing would have stopped you for 100's of feet (up in the foothills,) SCARY ), rides better, A/C ran COLD all day (although it was cooler yesterday, still way better than before), even the wife noticed how much better the machine ran. (her machine, she feels the TN is too big for her, no, I don't know why )

She said she ran on cruise control all day, worked fine.

I'm still crossing my fingers, but perhaps the worst is over. This one, in 2 days, already has more hours on it than the last one managed to get in over a month.

 

[schmism]

may the force be with you

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Brian, did you say this machine came in from another dealers lot? So all your local dealer had to really do is take it off a truck and give it to you. That may be why your luck as seemed to turn around. Very little hands on involvment from you local dealer

If something does happen I would honestly take this tractor to another dealer. Ask some of the local farmers who run blue tractors who they go to and that will give you a good indication of who works the best on equipment.

 

[rback33]

Sound's like you are on the right track finally.