LEMONS!

[Dr_Zinj]

You know what I mean. You bought a brand new tractor and you had nothing but problems from the moment you got it. Who's got the best (or is that the worst) lemon story? Manufacturer & model, what went wrong, what happened to fix it or make it good?

 

[Thomas]

If garden tractor counts??..03 purchase new Sears garden tractor w/mower,had service twice come to adjust rpm's than third time service took it to shop.almost month later I return and got full refund...whew.

 

[Gator6x4]

Depends..........Most States restrict the "Lemon Law" too passenger carrying vehicles that travel from point A to B on public highways. Some don't. Just about have to retain an Attorney to determine where in the mine field you are standing, State wise.

State By State Lemon Law Summaries

 

[Ford tractor]

The only real "lemons" that I've heard about round here were the Belarus tractors from Russia. Real steaming piles. One guy had an oil drip that turned out to be porous differential housing that had been slathered up with body filler, painted and shippped. It sat at the dealer for 9 months waiting for the replacement casting.

 

[crazyal]

I remember seeing a Belarus for sale with a broken rear axle for real cheap because they didn't make the axle anymore.

 

[ultrarunner]

Thankfully, I've received good service from each of my tractors... sometimes I wonder why other things can't be made as reliable???

 

[Opti-Mist]

The only real "lemons" that I've heard about round here were the Belarus tractors from Russia. Real steaming piles. One guy had an oil drip that turned out to be porous differential housing that had been slathered up with body filler, painted and shippped. It sat at the dealer for 9 months waiting for the replacement casting.

I remember when those things first showed up here, talk about crudely designed machines!

 

[papavillars]

Not really a tractor although they call it one a L130 john deere lawn tractor. The blade spindles do not have a grease zert and the tranny is good for only 200 hours and then must be replaced. You can try and remove the tranny drain it and sometimes it works sometimes it does not. What a piece of junk.

 

[RCL]

I have a New Holland that was a horror story. If you search posts under my sig you will find the original 2 threads on how the problem started.
It went on for almost 2 years before it got repaired.
I always wanted to come back and post the full story but I would get soooo angry thinking about it that my family did thier best to keep me from ever talking about it. A few members on this forum ended up knowing the full story as they had talked to me by phone and they and others on this forum were a big help in trying to steer me in the right direction to allow me to bypass the dealer and try to contact someone at New Holland themselves.

Over time I have calmed down and think I can write the following without having a complete meltdown ! This is a short version as it would be a book to cover the whole sad story.

And the short part of the tale is the dealer had repaired the tractor putting in a new rear axle bearing. The unit failed again within a short time. They would not cover thier work or the parts. They did evertything they could to stop me from contacting New Holland includeing lying and sending me threatening phone calls... I ended up taking it apart myself. I found the rear bull gear houseing was cracked at the bottom exactly where the axle bearing race rode. I payed $1458 for parts to repair this. As I was taking the unit apart I found the dealer had installed all the brake discs and wear plates inside the brake drum assembly backwards when they had supposedly fixed the tractor the first time. Also when they replaced the broken bearing they had not checked the axle for straightness and had not installed the preload shims on the axle bearings.

New Holland did eventually come to my house and see the cracked housing and repaid me for that only. And in 3 way talks between the scum dealer and me and New Holland a number of not so wonderful things also transpired. The dealer pointed out that I had found another New Holland dealer 600 miles away from me and had bought all my repair parts from them instead of him. He spent more of his time at that meeting crying at New Holland about stopping other dealers from selling stuff in his territory than he did worrying about my problem.

It still did not end easily or right away. New Holland for whatever dumbass reason on agreeing to pay me back for the housing had instructed the loacal dealer to repay me. 6 months later and lots of phone calls I never recieved anything. And when I would contact the New Holland customer service center (they new me very well by this time), well the Customer Service center told me that the Dealer was not returning thier calls about my money !

I did finally get my money for the housing. I still buy all my parts from a dealer 600 miles away. The tractor has not eaten any more axle bearings since I repaired it. In those respects I am at peace now.
Thank you everyone who had assisted me back then.
WOHOO I did this without ranting or throwing something or worse!

 

[pitt_md]

It's to bad this is about Tractors. I have a Ford AreoStar story that would make grown men cry.

 

[johnvickl]

Bought a new Branson cab last year what a piece of junk send back to dealer 4 times
85 hours on it, finally with a attorney Branson bought it back, bought a kubota
M7040 cab what a difference

 

[Builder]

My neighbor has a '07 Jinma that's sitting along his back fenceline rusting into the ground. Say's it's the biggest pile of crap he ever wasted 7 grand on....
He said the fit & finish was terrible.

 

[TheSheriff]

My neighbor has a '07 Jinma that's sitting along his back fenceline rusting into the ground. Say's it's the biggest pile of crap he ever wasted 7 grand on....
He said the fit & finish was terrible.

Buy a Jinma and complain about fit and finish? That's kinda funny.

 

[mjncad]

Not really a tractor although they call it one a L130 john deere lawn tractor. The blade spindles do not have a grease zert and the tranny is good for only 200 hours and then must be replaced. You can try and remove the tranny drain it and sometimes it works sometimes it does not. What a piece of junk.

I call my L-130 the L(emon)-130. Electric clutch and switch went out at 56-hours. On my third mower deck belt, and yes the deck is adjusted properly. The thing has 75-hours on it now. If my tranny pukes, I won't fix it, it gets junked. I didn't expect a full fledged Deere; but geez this thing is disappointing.

It's to bad this is about Tractors. I have a Ford AreoStar story that would make grown men cry.

Sounds like the '83 S-10 pickup I had. That POS cured me of ever buying a GM product ever again.

The biggest lemon we own is our house...that one hurts.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Speaking of houses, after spending many thousands of dollars fixing the last house I bought (tract home builder) I swore never to buy a pre-built home again. I waited over a year to get the building contractor that I used to build my house, just to improve the odds of not getting a lemon. We cant do much about some things, like watching our tractors or cars getting built but we can limit our other lifes "lemon" potentials with a little extra time and thought. I have never read the lemon laws, but I thought they applied equally to anything bought in the state, not just cars.

 

[Builder]

I call my L-130 the L(emon)-130. Electric clutch and switch went out at 56-hours. On my third mower deck belt, and yes the deck is adjusted properly. The thing has 75-hours on it now. If my tranny pukes, I won't fix it, it gets junked. I didn't expect a full fledged Deere; but geez this thing is disappointing.



Sounds like the '83 S-10 pickup I had. That POS cured me of ever buying a GM product ever again.

The biggest lemon we own is our house...that one hurts.

So you held a grudge from 1983-2010. 27 years. Man, I'd hate to be on your bad side. :laughing:
I think all American car companies were building lemons in massive quantities back in 1983. They've improved a tad since then. :laughing:

Too bad about your Deere. I really love Deere equipment and would own all Deere if things worked out differently for me. I was warned not to buy any box-store Deere equipment. Was driving down a local road and while watching a guy cutting his front lawn, he hit a bump and broke his front axle. :ashamed:

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have had good service from all the tractors I have owned. A whopping 3 so not much experience. The biggest POS I have seen is a Cub Cadet ZTR that I maintain.

I have a few truck stories like the rest of us.

Chris

 

[PA hayseed]

I had a cub cadet 28 hp tractor with a mmm and loader. The MM never worked right, threw belts or chewed through belts as fast as the wind changes. 2 years and about 12-14 returns to the dealer, and cub cadet gave me a rear three point to replace the MM. The first two days I owned the tractor the radiator jug cracked. The brakes went within the first month. The most aggravating thing was having my tractor in the shop for about 4 weeks. I had to pay someone to cut my field - talk about mad, boy was I. I wrote and called CC, emailed them, talked to the manager etc etc. The dealer was ok and kept trying to fix it.

I got to know the service guy really well, heck of a nice guy. He now works for a car dealership. Told me that the tractor was the biggest POS he ever saw.

Bought my kioti and have had some small issues, but all in all, it has been a totally different experience.

 

[Builder]

I had a cub cadet 28 hp tractor with a mmm and loader. The MM never worked right, threw belts or chewed through belts as fast as the wind changes. 2 years and about 12-14 returns to the dealer, and cub cadet gave me a rear three point to replace the MM. The first two days I owned the tractor the radiator jug cracked. The brakes went within the first month. The most aggravating thing was having my tractor in the shop for about 4 weeks. I had to pay someone to cut my field - talk about mad, boy was I. I wrote and called CC, emailed them, talked to the manager etc etc. The dealer was ok and kept trying to fix it.

I got to know the service guy really well, heck of a nice guy. He now works for a car dealership. Told me that the tractor was the biggest POS he ever saw.

Bought my kioti and have had some small issues, but all in all, it has been a totally different experience.

Heard nothing but horror stories about Cub cadet. There's a nearby CC dealer with a ~4 yr old nice CC 4x4 subcut with a 60" MMM & FEL sinking into the ground. Only has ~20 hours on it. Owner brought it back to dealer so many times for warranty repairs, they bought it back from customer. I offered to buy it from them thinking I could get it real cheap, he said it was such a POS that they have been forbidden by CC to sell it to anyone. He told me it will be picked up and crushed.

 

[mjncad]

So you held a grudge from 1983-2010. 27 years. Man, I'd hate to be on your bad side. :laughing:
I think all American car companies were building lemons in massive quantities back in 1983. They've improved a tad since then. :laughing:

Too bad about your Deere. I really love Deere equipment and would own all Deere if things worked out differently for me. I was warned not to buy any box-store Deere equipment. Was driving down a local road and while watching a guy cutting his front lawn, he hit a bump and broke his front axle. :ashamed:

I got rid of that S-10 in '95; but yes, I hold a grudge against GM for making crap.

I'm happy with my Deere 4200, and Deere gas trimmer, and Deere rear blade made by Woods. The L-130 is a disappointment. As I might have said, I didn't expect the same heavy construction of a CUT; but geez, having the electric clutch and dash mounted actuator switch puke at 56-hours, costing me around $200 with tax included is not a good thing.