Labour content over-charge

[JD 2140]

Labour content over-charge?

Hi guys

I hope this is in the right category, if not mods please move.

Bassically I sent my John Deere 2140 SG2 cab tractor to a JD workshop here in New Zealand and I was wanting your opinions as to whether I was over charged for labour content of the job. Below is the invoice I have received from the dealer and note I have blanked out some parts of it that are irrelevent. I am charged around 80 hours of labour to cover the work thats quoted, do you think this is excessive?

 

[NHmitch]

It seems like they did just about anything possible to the tractor they could have, so they were either thorough, or trying to rack up the labor. On the other hand, I am not sure what the exchange rate is, but if the entire job only cost you just over $200 then that was a great deal. What was the total expense, and should the work have been covered under the warranty? I know that it is a huge job to split the tractor, so that may have been where the majority of the hours came from..

 

[JimRB]

Nope.

 

[JD 2140]

It seems like they did just about anything possible to the tractor they could have, so they were either thorough, or trying to rack up the labor. On the other hand, I am not sure what the exchange rate is, but if the entire job only cost you just over $200 then that was a great deal. What was the total expense, and should the work have been covered under the warranty? I know that it is a huge job to split the tractor, so that may have been where the majority of the hours came from..

Whoops not sure why I blanked out the total cost. Basically the $234 NZD was to transport the tractor from my property to the workshop and again to bring it back to my property.
The total cost of Labour alone is around $8200 NZD, I'm not too sure what the labour rate is but I would say I'm getting charged close to $100 an hour.
Parts were around the $4200 NZD mark. I will try to upload the rest of the invoice pages soon.

 

[NHmitch]

Wow, thats a different story, I hope that they quoted the work before they performed it. It just seems to me like a lot of the work was excessive. I mean did they really have to put new grease fittings in, how much labor did they charge you to change the bulbs? It just seems like they did a complete retrofit, and rebuild of the entire tractor, and may have gone way overboard. What was the original issue?

 

[jd110]

For the work performed, the labor seems about right. that was quite a lot of work. Did they do work that you requested or did they do more?

 

[JD 2140]

Wow, thats a different story, I hope that they quoted the work before they performed it. It just seems to me like a lot of the work was excessive. I mean did they really have to put new grease fittings in, how much labor did they charge you to change the bulbs? It just seems like they did a complete retrofit, and rebuild of the entire tractor, and may have gone way overboard. What was the original issue?

I originally purchased the tractor in March from a fellow who had sold his farm for $17,000 NZD.

The faults the tractor had were and the reason why it was originally sent to JD:
-engine oil leak, req new rear main seal and sump gasket.
-diesel leak from fuel lift pump.
-leak from PTO, new PTO seal req.
-Loader Hydraulic return hose leaking (hose doctor fixed this at workshop)
-Outer Tie rod boots.
-Muffler had pretty much rusted off.
-3 pt linkage arms were slow to raise.
-Req a Service.
To fix these I was quoted around $5500 inc parts. I was then told as they were going to split the tractor there were other items such as the clutch that were going to be inspected and decide whether replacement would be best option.
In the following weeks I did get a call that the clutch was worn, waterpump had a lot of play, front axle had play, 3rd service valves required new wiring. Hi/lo clutch pack and PTO clutch pack was also worth doing. I didn't get a price as I didn't know it would cost me so much but I told them to go ahead with the job, thats why I'm wanting to know whether the prices are reasonable or not. I wouldn't have spent all this money on a tractor I originally purchased for $17000 only a few months earlier.

Please note all prices are NZD.

 

[beenthere]

About a 30 yr old tractor?
Sounds like it was in pretty rough shape, but also sounds like the service shop was in slow down mode, or had a newbie working and racking up hours.

If me, I'd go sit down with the owner and service manager and have a heart to heart talk about the tab. Either they will recognize some overcharge or not.

Unfortunate we don't know more about what is going on inside before we take cars, trucks and tractors in for mechanics to have a field day.

 

[JD 2140]

About a 30 yr old tractor?
Sounds like it was in pretty rough shape, but also sounds like the service shop was in slow down mode, or had a newbie working and racking up hours.

If me, I'd go sit down with the owner and service manager and have a heart to heart talk about the tab. Either they will recognize some overcharge or not.

Unfortunate we don't know more about what is going on inside before we take cars, trucks and tractors in for mechanics to have a field day.

I think its built in 1985.
Yes was pretty rough when I first purchased it, had a lot of leaks. Engine wise not to bad, haven't had to touch it yet.
Will definitely have a word with the Service Manager within the next few days.

Here are some recent pics that I took

 

[rambler]

You took a bit of a sow's ear to a top of the line repair place, and told them to tun it into a silk purse.

Yup, that's gonna cost you.

The bill is not really excessive for what they did.

You coulda taken the old tractor to a mom & pop repair place, and had the work done for 75% of the labor costs, and perhaps thought over what is and isn't needed to cut down on the whole bill quite a bit.

But - you took it to the high-priced place, and told them to keep fixing.

As such, the bill doesn't seem too high for the situation.

You sorta got taken on more repairs and add-ons than needed, but sorta your fault for that, so you need to pay the bill. In my opinion.

--->Paul