FarmTrac Troubles

[case1570]

MessickFarmThe constant bashing of textron is getting a bit old. That company bankrolls probably 2/3 of the smaller equipment companies. We deal with them daily, they certianly are not crooks. When an individual ceases to pay their mortage you don't blame the lender. Its not textrons job to question the way Farm-Trac was managed. Farm-Trac got themselves in this hole, now textron is left to dispose of the mess. They're going to do it in their own best interest, as any lender would... and frankly should. I do have sympathy for all those who are impacted by this, but whats happening here is pure and simple business.

Oh my friend you do not know the whole story. I have never been lied to by any company as much as I have been by the above mentioned floor plan company. DIRECT LIES AND MISINFORMATION!!! If this is business as usual may God help us all.
PS: What is a man worth without his word?
Case

 

[SESS]

The constant bashing of textron is getting a bit old. That company bankrolls probably 2/3 of the smaller equipment companies. We deal with them daily, they certianly are not crooks. When an individual ceases to pay their mortage you don't blame the lender. Its not textrons job to question the way Farm-Trac was managed. Farm-Trac got themselves in this hole, now textron is left to dispose of the mess. They're going to do it in their own best interest, as any lender would... and frankly should. I do have sympathy for all those who are impacted by this, but whats happening here is pure and simple business.

I appreciate you as a fellow consumer and equipment sales company to follow this thread-but the end result with Farmtrac will effect you as well because eventually these tractors 3,000+ tractors are going to be moved from their current locations and DUMPED into the hands of potential buyers and that will be money out of your pocket. You do not have all the facts. You could read every one of these 76+ pages of posts and still not have the complete sad, ugly, lied filled story that the dealers, tractor owners and Farmtrac employees are living with daily. I agree that the lender is entitled to payment for money that they have paid out, but there are many things that were done (and for lack of a better word) illegally and flat out wrong. Every individual knows you do not get into the deep financial problems that Farmtrac is having right now over night, it takes time and my friend Textron knew about it because Textron was giving money to Farmtrac to try and keep them alive. I will not say anymore because this site is viewed by many people that know exactly what is going on and what has gone on. If this is the kind of business that is happening in other parts of the United States and no one feels that it is wrong, than frankly I do not wish to do any kind of business with the fellow men and woman in the USA. This is my opinion and I am entitled to it, because I am living it.

 

[swines]

I'm sympathetic to the Farm Trac dealers and owners...

But, something being "wrong" doesn't equal it also being illegal. My best guess (based upon my own experience with court proceedings) - is that Textron is fully in compliance legally. I'm sure they have a legal team that has reviewed all of the contracts with every dealer and Farm Trac - and they know exactly where they stand and what they can legally do.

Now, if you can prove beyond any doubt that they have, in fact, violated a law....well then, that's a whole different ballgame. Being that their business crossed state lines makes it a federal offense - and the federal DA would be mighty interested.

However, as I've previously stated, I'd find it really hard to believe that Textron's legal advisor would let them do something that stupid....

Anyone can file a law suit as a civil action, but, you need to have a viable complaint other than, "I think this is wrong" - if you want to get very far. Otherwise, you'll need to have a nearly endless supply of spare, cubic dollars.

 

[swines]

MessickFarmThe constant bashing of textron is getting a bit old. That company bankrolls probably 2/3 of the smaller equipment companies. We deal with them daily, they certianly are not crooks. When an individual ceases to pay their mortage you don't blame the lender. Its not textrons job to question the way Farm-Trac was managed. Farm-Trac got themselves in this hole, now textron is left to dispose of the mess. They're going to do it in their own best interest, as any lender would... and frankly should. I do have sympathy for all those who are impacted by this, but whats happening here is pure and simple business.

Oh my friend you do not know the whole story. I have never been lied to by any company as much as I have been by the above mentioned floor plan company. DIRECT LIES AND MISINFORMATION!!! If this is business as usual may God help us all.
PS: What is a man worth without his word?
Case

I can only say that in my case, I was sitting in court with my attorney while the manager of a company directly lied to a federal judge. I could not prove it because the subpoena we served on him did not reveal the piece of paper I knew was in a file - the piece of paper couldn't be found. Where was it? Either destroyed or in his brief case sitting on the table in front of his attorney.

The moral of this story? Life's lessons often come with a price (call it tuition in the college of life) - yes, it's painful but - you end up learning to be a lot smarter so there is no "next time."

 

[Tim C.]

Public forum.

Tim

 

[rascoil]

Public forum.

Tim

All I can say is that So Far The men at Agri Long Parts in S.C. are doing all they can for me. I have had 3 follow up calls checking to see if all is well. We got the last of the parts we needed to day, as far as I know any way. But I can not say any thing bad about them. Mr. Council and Mr. Parker have went way out of there way helping me. I know it sounds crazy but I am looking at buying another Farmtrac next week. YOU just can not pass up a good deal. Plus I think sooner or later some one will get the ball rolling again for them. I do love the fact that there are so many that want to comment on this topic that have not been effected in any way. But for Textron, I would NOT let them finance a dog house for me. That is all I can say about them. I will all you dealers the best and you have my full support.

 

[redneckford]

It may be legal (who writes the laws) but it will never never ever ever be morally or ethically right. In a capitalist system those with something(money) has to lose something for someelse to get it. I know other dealers of other brands that have received equipment that they never ordered and they had to deal with it or go out of business(Just not at this magnitude). Life is not fair.You can bet that if someone at ---- would have said something about things not appearing right they would be hunting a job right now(Like all those FarmTrac Zones Reps that knew something was amiss with free floorplanning never come due; things that are too good to be true usually are not. There is no whistle blower protection in the country!!!!!

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

I have followed all of this thread from start to present, and I just want all of you Farmtrac dealers to know that I as one of your competition wish you all well, and hope that big business doesn't get out of paying for their share of this mess. Good luck to you all!

 

[veno]

Textron may have followed the letter of the law... may have skiped around the spirit of the law... However they were complicit in over stocking dealers when Textron was very aware on the financial situation of FarmTrac and knew what farmtrac was doing to the dealers....Textron's Sole interest is in recouping money from the dealers owed.... and when Farmtrac Closed..... where is Textron going to Recoup losses? Dealer Stock... and Since they are the Floor plan financier... the dealer is... well kinda stuck...legally.. to a degree... In Texas no NEW tractor can be sold with out a factory warranty... and Textron is aware of this... Like wise I would say that any lending institution that is involved in the sales of new equipment... Knew that FarmTrac was in dire straights... and allowed the Less than Zero Financing to perpetuate... Which will make any lender Complicit as well...


Follow the Money, the Lending Paper train.... there are Internal MEMO's... from all whom had dealings with FarmTrac in the Executive level.... They were very aware of FarmTrac's situation... Therefore are complicit in the collusion directed at the Dealers and Consumers alike......

 

[Tim C.]

Veno, shoot an email my way.

trcook@logantele.com

Tim

 

[taxpayer]

I have followed all of this thread from start to present, and I just want all of you Farmtrac dealers to know that I as one of your competition wish you all well, and hope that big business doesn't get out of paying for their share of this mess. Good luck to you all!

Thank you,lawallstractor, for your kind words, at times such as these a word of understanding and symphothy go a long way, especially coming from a competitor.this event will no dought have a negative impact all across the industry,reguardless of what name is on the tractor.it has created a mistrust between the dealers, the tractor companies, the finiancial people and most importantly the customer. a mistrust that will be hard to repair and will take some sacrifice on the part of all, if it is to succeed.what must be remembered, is that neither the dealers, textron nor the customers created this situation. it was brought about by a foreign company, who through mismanagement,greed and possiblely fraudently activitives,brought this company down.that it has been allowed to do is indictivitave of the failure of the united states government to protect the rights of it's own citizens,when foreign companies want to come into this country to do business.it should be alarming to all tractor companies and dealers, reguardles of the brand name. it only points to the reality,taking into account the dire condition of the american economy, that this type event could very well be repeated by other companies.what we need now is good comunication between all parties.the simple truth is,the more you have,the more you stand to lose. be careful what you demand, it could be more expensive than is necessary.

 

[California]

Thank you,lawallstractor, for your kind words, at times such as these a word of understanding and symphothy go a long way, especially coming from a competitor.this event will no dought have a negative impact all across the industry... it was brought about by a foreign company,... indictivitave of the failure of the united states government to protect the rights of it's own citizens,when foreign companies want to come into this country

First, I'll repeat lawallstractor's good wishes for the affected dealers. It is clear after reading this thread that the dealers are victims of surprise same as customers, certainly not a cause of the problem, and are doing what they can to serve customers while trying to save themselves from disaster.

Second, this gutting of a company isn't unusual and really isn't a foreign issue except that's where they took the proceeds this time. Pacific Gas and Electric, California's big utility, got gutted the same way 10-15 years ago. Some Wall Street financiers created a new PGE Corp for themselves and left the old one with all its debts and no assets. Nearly identical to this instance. I've read of many other smaller guttings like this. 'Corporate Raider' used to be a term for it. Buy a company, strip it, sell the empty shell. In many of the cases where pension funds disappeared, this was the reason. Enron was similar, nobody realized it was an empty shell until it collapsed. So I doubt there is an issue here for the Federal government to get involved in, a least as a foreign relations issue.

 

[Slacker]

Local dealer is selling new farmtrac tractors with full warranty. He states:

"Textron has secured a 3 rd party who is handling warranty on only new
tractors. Still do not know about warranty on existing tractors yet."


Is this legit? If so, I may buy a smaller (w/full warranty) machine as a dedicated lawn mower (at a good discount).

 

[hurliman]

After reading the nine page fax from Textron i recieved yesterday, i concluded the following. They expect us to sell distressed merchandise at full price, then expect to charge an extra $400.00 or so for warranty, with NO explanation of where the parts will come from to perform the warranty! Ity ain't gonna wash folks.

 

[redneckford]

What is the difference--- when someone doesn't pay the morgage they sheriff sale their house to the highest bidder at the court house. Why can't the FarmTrac dealers sell their inventory at auction or sheriff sale(the true worth that day in that condition per the letter of the law, not the figure on some paper work or invoice) and pay Textron what they receive less cost of auction and shipping and handling to get it to auction. (They may try to make life heck but you can bet they are the last people that want to go to Federal Court and explain what their knew and when they knew it,oh yea they will be the ones having to pay all the court cost not the in-o-cent dealer)Get some other line like deutz-, Mcormick, Montana etc so that you can service your customers and get on with life. (does GE or Textron floorplan these units) The only person that is going to gain by waiting is the floorplan company and other new tractor dealers that are afraid of the dumping of 3000+ tractors. Some Dealers are already moving in that direction the ones that wait on a knight on a big horse are the ones that will be left holding a empty bag. Tim C I know this is a public forum but the calavary is not on the way; each day that passes is a lost opportunity for the smaller dealers to dig out of this situation. Big dealers have many options small dealers are at the mercy of the MAN. Sell the stuff and let the Big dealers keep saying it is just business when they have to start paying floorplan interest on their other lines because they can't sell them because of all those "cheap" tractors on the market. Bet when the shoe is on the other foot they will not call it "Just Business". That has a nice ring to it when you have nothing to lose.

 

[Tim C.]

The question you ask and ideas you offered are a point of view that can be defended with logic and reason. The point you miss is that after the sale on the courthouse steps someone has to pay or file bankruptcy.

I respect everyone's opinion on this matter. But we have to be careful that things are not said that damage legal standing or crash current lines of communications. Emotions are running high on all sides now.

I don't think everyone has grasp the number of people reading this.................and printing off pages for later.

Tim

 

[redneckford]

Tim C I understand completely I have done been through that meat grinder a few years ago. I have heard that statement "Just Business" until it makes me sick to my stomach. Go ask the Chicken how he feels about a egg and ham breakfast and I bet he says it's "just business". Now go ask the hog how he feels about a egg and ham breakfast. I bet he will not answer "just Business, Heck he had to give his life for "JUST BUSINESS" to take place. I understand that the dealers have to be careful but heck they done took everything i ever had and I just hate to see it happen to other people when their "Friends" standby and watch Business as usual!!!! By the way Bankruptcy is suppose to be a legal defense of unfair practices. It is not intended to be used as the easy way out. Chapter 11 and 13 allows someone to reorganize their business to survive. I am sorry if you feel that it is a dirty word but culture and a mans word (gos-up)has that affect. But how many people's handshake word is being kept in this situation. I can tell you that the biggest loser in this situation will be the working man both the small dealer and the customer. A whole life time of work up in smoke "Just Business" my behind!!!! Hurry up and wait!!! competition doesn't. Sorry for the rant but i know how all the dealers feel but they can't speak out because of consequences and repercussions. Let them print this out and use it ever how they like. Sometimes the truth just plain-o hurts!!! They do not call me a redneck heck raiser for nut-un!!! Remember the saying "I here from the government and I'm here to help. Just remember Bush said that Brownie was doing a heck of a job while people in Louisiana were Drowning!!! Just facts sir? Bitter yes quite NO!!

 

[case1570]

SERPECO...... SERPECO ARE YOU OUT THERE?

 

[Tim D]

I have been with this post since it first started and have read every post. At this time, I am almost scared to post anything for fear of saying something wrong. As stated in my prior posts I am not a dealer, just a satisfied Farmtrac owner. Wanted to point out that after reading that Textron was the banker for Farmtrac it jarred my memory as to the Homelite chainsaws and generator that I own. The labels on these items state " HOMELITE TEXTRON" which leads me to believe that Textron was the banker for Homelite and if memory serves me correctly, Homelite got into financial trouble hence "HOMELITE TEXTRON." I always had good service from Homelite equipment and I think that John Deere saws and weedeaters are Homelite. If Textron liked a good brand such as Homelite, maybe they should read all the posts about satisfied Farmtrac owners and do the right thing. I will apologize now if this is wrong or offends anyone.

 

[dgl24087]

Textron sold Homelite to Deere & Company in 1994. Homelite was acquired in 2001 by a company named TTI (Techtronic Industries, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong), which also owns Milwaukee, Ryobi, Hoover, and Dirt Devil as the major brands in it's portfolio. Textron currently owns Jacobson.