Tiller king kutter tillers

gamble77 · Feb 18, 2005

I won't comment on CCM, but I will once again say that I believe anyone who buys a KK piece of equipment from a TSC store is just about as smart as someone who buys a lawn mower from Home Depot or Lowes...who is going to fix the thing when it breaks?!?

Again, KK are decent machines but there are MANY that are better. Go to Befco's website and see if there are any dealers in your area. We have sold Befco tillers for ages and have had all of 2 chains ever break, and they are all side-shift.

Of course I believe the best tiller on the market is Bush Hog's revers till tiller...but they require lots of HP.

DK35vince · Feb 18, 2005

( I won't comment on CCM, but I will once again say that I believe anyone who buys a KK piece of equipment from a TSC store is just about as smart as someone who buys a lawn mower from Home Depot or Lowes...who is going to fix the thing when it breaks?!? )

I'll fix it MYSELF.
I can order any part I'll ever need from the King Kutter website.
You don't need to be a rocket scientist or brain surgeon to fix a tiller.
My King Kutter works just fine Thanks !!!

gamble77 · Feb 18, 2005

Again, not trying to call anyone out by saying they can't fix things, your right it doesn't take a rocket scientist to fix any piece of equipment, but these days a lot of people buying compact tractors aren't your "traditional" farmers and most aren't sure as how to fix equipment...every case is different, I'm just telling my side as a dealer who hears people complain about TSC at least once a week.

JJT · Feb 18, 2005

"I won't comment on CCM, but I will once again say that I believe anyone who buys a KK piece of equipment from a TSC store is just about as smart as someone who buys a lawn mower from Home Depot or Lowes...who is going to fix the thing when it breaks?!?"

I've had mine for 5 years and have easily tilled 50 acres with this, could be closer to 100. I've done nothing except grease the fitting, change the gearbox oil and adjust the slip clutch. I think the KK was a great value and would purchase the same unit again.

gamble77 · Feb 18, 2005

I am a KK dealer, not knocking their equipment...

Alan L. · Feb 19, 2005

According to the prices on the website, the CCM tillers have really gone up in price in the last year. Wish I had ordered one then.

Cactus · Feb 19, 2005

( I won't comment on CCM, but I will once again say that I believe anyone who buys a KK piece of equipment from a TSC store is just about as smart as someone who buys a lawn mower from Home Depot or Lowes...who is going to fix the thing when it breaks?!? ) 

Come on now....everyone who buys a lawnmower from Lowes or Home Depot is stupid ??? Or who ever buys a King Kutter from a TSC is stupid....???
We have a new Home Depot in my area and I was talking to my John Deere dealer and I asked him about the warranty and service on the JD lawn mowers sold at home Depot and he said the John Deere dealer would honor the warranty on the JD lawn mowers sold at HD...he told me buy a lawn mower at HD or buy one from him and either way he would service the thing or fix it if I ever needed help...he told me as long as it said John Deere on it and it was under warranty he did not care who sold it to me he would fix the same as I bought it from him(of course not every manufacturer is as good as John Deere in backing a product either)
Besides that if someone is not mechanically inclined to fix something themselves in my area there are people who work on lawnmowers etc...as a side business who are more than capable and are not factory trained etc.... I have had stuff worked on by so called "factory trained" people and sometimes that does not mean squat...
What if someone buys a used piece of equipment from an individual...does that make them stupid for buying from an individual rather than a dealer ???

HayDR · Feb 19, 2005

Alan L,

Steel prices went up 400% and the weak US$ lost 20%. When a consumer gets a product like a tiller that unit was actually priced and contracted 6 months to a year in advance. During changing times there can be some pricing lag time.

HayDR · Feb 19, 2005

Cactus,
I can tell you from first hand experience. If you purchase a JD mower from a JD dealer not a Home Depot you will be purchasing service and will have greater product satisfaction in the long term from the JD dealer. When the JD dealer gets busy the HD stuff is always at the end of the line and gets bumped back all the time. This is the course of action for some dealers not all dealers but I'd say the majority feel this way.

Indydirtfarmer · Feb 19, 2005

Absolutely NOT TRUE! At least not with a reputable dealer. I deal with 2 different Deere dealerships. I know several of the mechanics, the "service writer" at one dealer, and the owners. They take in repairs from individuals who purchased from HD, and from private sellers all the time. Thoses repairs are run through in the order they came in the door. Business is business. No ones money is better than anyone elses.

I have NEVER bought a brand new tractor, mower, combine, or any other piece of farm or lawn equipment in my life. Yet on the few occations I needed service done at a dealership, I was treated just the same as someone who bought EVERYTHING they owned from that same dealer.

Like any product, Deere has good dealers and bad. Most BAD dealerships don't last.

And as a matter of reference, my FAVORITE Deere dealer has a seperate shop that will work on anything that you bring to them, regardless of the fact it's not a product line they carry. That's how they managed to become the largest (and most successful) Deere dealership in the state of Indiana.

Customer service at an affordable price......

KiotiDK35 · Feb 19, 2005

) I, Mark Carter call the shots and what I say goes, the buck stops here. ) 

WOW, I am impressed. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Cactus · Feb 19, 2005

( I can tell you from first hand experience. If you purchase a JD mower from a JD dealer not a Home Depot you will be purchasing service and will have greater product satisfaction in the long term from the JD dealer. When the JD dealer gets busy the HD stuff is always at the end of the line and gets bumped back all the time. )

I can tell you from 1st hand experience such has not been the case for me...

gamble77 · Feb 19, 2005

Listen guys...from a dealer stand point I will honor any and all warranty items from Lowes, no questions asked. In fact right now I am the service center for 4 Lowes and 1 TSC (all MTD prodcuts). What must be understood is that during the busy season I have an average of a week to a week and a half backup in the small motor shop (usually 2-3 weeks for tractors). If I pick up a two lawn mowers on the same day, one from an individual who buys from Lowes and one from a customer that bought from me...I can assure you that the person who bought from me will be serviced first.

Its a matter of taking care of your customers 1st...I can say for a fact that every dealer I know has that same mind set. Of course I am going to fix the Lowe's customers machine correctly, treat him with the same respect I would anybody else in hopes that he will become my customer in the future...but they aren't priority, and they shouldn't expect to be.

If you had two locations in your area that sold brand new Chevrolet trucks. One offered warranty, personnal service, and knowledgable emlpoyees and the other just offered the truck with no warranty service, and most of the time the people selling the product didn't know anything about it...and both offered the truck for the same price while at the same time knowing if the truck breaks you would have to take it to the first location who would you buy it from?

HayDR · Feb 19, 2005

We service equipment in the exact same manner as you do. Speaking about hay tools every farmer in the area mows hay the same day and usually bales hay the same day. So it is not uncommon for a months worth of work to show up at the dealership all within 2 hours time. How do we pick and choose who gets their hay up and who doesn't? We have all our used equipment in field ready status so we loan it out. Also we have our own equipment usually loaned out to customers. We have to work 12-18 hour days and 6-7 day weeks from late April to Late June and then we cut back to work load.
Most every MFG's equipment works so the only difference in CCM and the next dealer is our work ethic and we are really selling service not Iron.
Good people work at the Wal-Marts, Home Depots, etc but these companies are not ready to put their blood & sweat on the line to get the job done like your local dealer. Not ever dealer works this hard but the successful ones do.

Cactus · Feb 19, 2005

( but I will once again say that I believe anyone who buys a KK piece of equipment from a TSC store is just about as smart as someone who buys a lawn mower from Home Depot or Lowes...who is going to fix the thing when it breaks?!? )

Do you tell those people buy from Lowes and bring there tractors to you for repairs they are stupid for buying at Lowes instead of buying from you ?
( ...but they aren't priority, and they shouldn't expect to be.

 )

( If you had two locations in your area that sold brand new Chevrolet trucks. One offered warranty, personnal service, and knowledgable emlpoyees and the other just offered the truck with no warranty service, and most of the time the people selling the product didn't know anything about it...and both offered the truck for the same price while at the same time knowing if the truck breaks you would have to take it to the first location who would you buy it from? )

There is a BIG difference from buying a lawnmower and a truck...the nearest John Deere dealer is 75 miles away and the Home Depot is 5 miles away....I will gamble on a $1500 lawnmower and buy at the Home Depot.
No one said anything about being a priority,it was whether the dealer would honor the warranty or not.

 ( I can say for a fact that every dealer I know has that same mind set ) 

But you don't know MY dealer...

Tryno · Feb 19, 2005

CCI where is Missouri is Hood & Co located. I'd like to stop by and look at the tillers. Thanks Terry

thegreatrandini · Feb 21, 2005

Maybe they are a permanent offset but I doubt that their website is lying....

thegreatrandini · Feb 21, 2005

Yes, it is not rocket science....

tnmx · Feb 22, 2005

( Cactus,
I can tell you from first hand experience. If you purchase a JD mower from a JD dealer not a Home Depot you will be purchasing service and will have greater product satisfaction in the long term from the JD dealer. When the JD dealer gets busy the HD stuff is always at the end of the line and gets bumped back all the time. This is the course of action for some dealers not all dealers but I'd say the majority feel this way. )

i thought this too - until i purchased my JD lawn tractor from the JD dealer - has to go back again as "that deer will not cut grass" - engage the blades and the engine stalls - going kobota for the next one!

lynxpilot · Feb 26, 2005

Just left Orschelin with a KK TG-72 tiller. Price before tax was $1119.20. All gear drive with slip clutch transfer. Looks pretty sturdy. Only whine thus far is no oil in the 2 gearboxes or grease in the joints (probly a condition of shipping). If it breaks, I'll get the parts from Orschelin and fix it myself. I've never trusted any dealer of mechanical things, especially car dealers.

As for the argument at hand (warranty/other repairs and what order the dealer does them). . . How do you dealers treat customers who bought from a dealer but moved? Being retired military, I'm used to moving a lot (every 1 to 3 years in the last 25). If I took my vehicle or farm implement or whatever to a dealer for a warranty repair and he moved my repair order because I bought the part at my last duty station, I'd sting him real bad (I'm mean that way). Same goes for buying it elsewhere in the local area. Warranty is warranty. How much do you value your franchise? I'd surely have the complaint on the manufacturer's CEO's desk. There's 2 dealers right here on this thread who have demonstrated that they do bad business. Holy Cow! you two can't hold it in or what? I can't imagine EVER focusing my public statements on the negative like that (buy from me or yer screwed). C'mon guys. Tell us what nice things you do and leave the rest to experience.