yanmar grays

[georgia plow boy]

I was talking with a local yanmar dealer today about where he purchased his tractors he said they come for Vietnam he said it like that was a good thing I thought I read some where to stay away from those but he seems to be very honest and trustful any info would be appreciated

 

[mark777]

Hello GA plowboy,

There are some that have purchased and are happy and there are some that have purchased and felt cheated and very disappointed. Same with after sales support as failed parts have been shipped in a reasonable amount of time, and other new owners have been stalled to beyond the limited warranty, abandoned by their Seller and left to fend for themselves.

Many dealers won't import them, support or repair them or spend long hours locating difficult parts that may, or may not fit them. Other dealers buy as many as their initial investment will cover, turn them quickly to the unsuspecting or uneducated consumer, then leave town -

If you are really interested, I would urge you to search the Yanmar forum and use key words like Refurbished, Rebuilt, Reconditioned AND Vietnam. There are many threads and hundreds of posts concerning owners input and their actual experiences, some good and some, well, you'll understand better as you read on.

Mark

 

[georgia plow boy]

Thanks for the information

 

[shvl73]

You might also ask for the names of customers that have owned for more than a year. Ask if you can call or see them. There are dealers on this site (non Vietnam refurb) that would provide you names to contact.

 

[California]

You should do ok, if you go into this recognizing you are looking at a fabulous, museum quality paint job on a 20-30 year old tractor that may have had no other work done to it. Expect it might need the radiator rodded out, and maybe an axle seal etc. Budget enough to repair the same stuff you would expect to need attention on any 30 year old equipment to figure the total cost of putting it into service.

Chances are, it won't need any of those repairs but you won't know until you've used it for a while. I think the worst case we read about here was where the customer paid up front and it took the driver an hour to get the tractor started to move it off his trailer when he delivered it. The customer should have refused delivery but for some reason he accepted it then came here to ask what to do next. I think that was the same customer who kept finding his dealer was 'on vacation' and couldn't return his calls, until the very short warranty ran out. He soon sold the tractor. I saw several hundred $ of spares and diagnostic tools for that model sold on Ebay shortly afterward, from his location so I assume that was him.

Or just buy from a reputable dealer with a real shop where you can see the 'before' condition of the tractors he is cleaning up to sell. That guy's price will be higher but I expect his warranty will be better, and you may be less likely to ask for warranty replacement parts.

As shvl said, you need to talk to previous customers to predict how you are going to feel about the dealer after a while. And as Mark said, do your homework reading old posts here so you know what to look for. If you go in with your eyes open you might find a great tractor for a fair price.

 

[BruceR]

Hello GA plowboy,

There are some that have purchased and are happy and there are some that have purchased and felt cheated and very disappointed. Same with after sales support as failed parts have been shipped in a reasonable amount of time, and other new owners have been stalled to beyond the limited warranty, abandoned by their Seller and left to fend for themselves.

Many dealers won't import them, support or repair them or spend long hours locating difficult parts that may, or may not fit them. Other dealers buy as many as their initial investment will cover, turn them quickly to the unsuspecting or uneducated consumer, then leave town -

If you are really interested, I would urge you to search the Yanmar forum and use key words like Refurbished, Rebuilt, Reconditioned AND Vietnam. There are many threads and hundreds of posts concerning owners input and their actual experiences, some good and some, well, you'll understand better as you read on.

Mark

Welcome GAPlowboy,
I'll echo what Mark says and add "VN Recon" to your search terms. Politcal Correctness dictates I not give my full opinion of Recons.

Bruce

 

[georgia plow boy]

I was asking more about the quality of the tractors as for the dealer I go to church with a number of the dealers relatives and have know them for years and they are as honest as people can get so if it just depends on the dealer I'm going to purchase one as soon as he has one I like thanks for the help

 

[Travis_R]

I was asking more about the quality of the tractors as for the dealer I go to church with a number of the dealers relatives and have know them for years and they are as honest as people can get so if it just depends on the dealer I'm going to purchase one as soon as he has one I like thanks for the help

I wouldn't do that if I were you. Its too much of a risk.

I had a Vietnam Reconditioned Yanmar YM2000. The tractor loooked excellent, and I got it at a good price. I really liked the dealer too (and still do) as far as being nice and friendly people. But.... their products aren't what they are put out to be (the Vietnam Reconditioned tractors).

Im not gonna get into details again, but why should a "factory reconditioned" tractor have a radiator that was 50% blocked internally?
Oh and just to add- right before I got rid of it the starter was going out.

Go back and read my old posts in the Yanmar forum.

It took me a while to 'come around', but I would NOT buy another Vietnam Reconditioned tractor. It was too much hassle that left me feeling insecure about the finished product.

Travis R

 

[Mickey_Fx]

I wouldn't do that if I were you. Its too much of a risk.
Travis R

I'd strongly second that. My understanding is the only tractors that go to VN are the ones that are so poor that no one else will buy. They are sold/bought as scrap. The VN shops don't give it a second thought to swaping any part they can to get a machine running. Have heard of examples of making shims from beer cans. No matter how good/nice the dealer is, how is he going to be able to service your purchase if/when something goes wrong?

Pay heed to those that have been down this road and the reputable dealers here that can tell you the nightmares they've had trying to supply parts to someone unfortunate enough to buy one of the real purdy machines.

 

[LMTC]

There is SOOO much information on this forum and other places online.....I decline to rehash it. Read well or assume the risk. I still get several calls each week (3 years ago or so it was well over a couple dozen calls/emails per week) from people who bought garbage or orphans and are left hanging out to dry. I used to feel badly for them...now I just ask how much research they did and how many references they got from their seller and contacted before buying. Most common answers...none and none.

 

[georgia plow boy]

Thanks everyone for helping I could research this to death but to save a few dollars and not that many I assume I could take a chance with a gray tractor or I could buy a 20 or 30 yr old American made like JD, ford, Massey. etc and have a good tractor that I could find and buy parts for to me this seems like a no brain-er god bless America.

 

[California]

I wonder if the VN 'Factory Rebuilt' era is tapering off.

A local importer/wholesaler affiliated with one of those overseas shops folded, a while after an employee told me the local boss went home to VN to try to get better control over quality. This importer had been good on honoring warranty returns, in fact had several on hand that were being cannibalized for warranty parts. I suspect the uneven quality they were receiving was what killed them. (And maybe killed their retailers too.)

Then the people who were employed there reappeared later, running a smaller operation, retail this time. They proudly advertise on Craigslist that they import used tractors right from Japan. (Example) You can watch them being cleaned up one by one by the local employees. (Their input looks better than my rig!) Their finished product looks gorgeous and I think they have avoided high warranty cost by starting with ordinary used Yanmars (which are near bulletproof) instead of junkers that had been run to death during a second career in VN - or arrived there simply poured into an upended cargo container, as legend has it.

At any rate this second firm consists of youthful and energetic business people and real mechanics who seem to have learned from watching the mistakes of that first firm. They seem to be on the right track. Since they are the only Yanmar specialist in hundreds of miles I've spent money there, and I think they will make this new business model work out. Times change.

 

[BruceR]

Plow Boy,
You can go gray and not get a VN Recon. Lots of good stuff comming straight from Japan still. You could buy a 20 year old JD that is a Yanmar and not get as good support for it as you would a Gray Yanmar.

Bruce

 

[LMTC]

Plow Boy,
You can go gray and not get a VN Recon. Lots of good stuff comming straight from Japan still. You could buy a 20 year old JD that is a Yanmar and not get as good support for it as you would a Gray Yanmar.

Bruce

Indeed. Grey is not the problem. We can support grey market Yanmars from aftermarket sources better than many manufacturers support their own product...the Hinomoto and Iseki made MFs and Agcos come to mind. And early JD compacts. The problem/issue is one of integrity, honesty, and quality. That's why your best protection remains references, several at least, and some more than a year old.

 

[2manyrocks]

Why is it that there appears to be a ready source of these used Japanese tractors? Why don't Japanese farmers run them until they are totally worn out?

My other question is why Yanmar was in the US market with US models, then built private label tractors for JD and now apparently will market Yanmar product again, but under the Cub label while there are all these grey market Yanmars for sale in the US? Why doesn't Yanmar sell its own tractors in the US under its own label?

 

[lens12]

They may be honest people , but not informed of what they are really selling. Buy from someone that's been in business for a while & familiar with their product. It is hard to buy parts tractors form Japan , because the Viet Namaese buy them.

 

[tallyho8]

Why is it that there appears to be a ready source of these used Japanese tractors? Why don't Japanese farmers run them until they are totally worn out? My other question is why Yanmar was in the US market with US models, then built private label tractors for JD and now apparently will market Yanmar product again, but under the Cub label while there are all these grey market Yanmars for sale in the US? Why doesn't Yanmar sell its own tractors in the US under its own label?

From what I understand, the Japanese subsidize the farmers tractors. When they get to be a certain age the Japanese government subsidizes the purchase of a new tractor for the farmer.

When Yanmar contracted with John Deere to build John Deere tractors, the terms of the contract called for Yanmar to stop selling Yanmar tractor in America because John Deere did not want competition from a company that was building its tractors. I wonder why Ford, GM and Chrysler did not make the same no-compete contracts with the Japanese when they were building many of their products? It probably would have lessened their sales in America and made the American manufacturers stronger.

 

[2manyrocks]

Wonder what the terms of the contract were with JD because it seems strange that Yanmar wouldn't be able to sell under its brand name, but would be able to indirectly sell through Cub.

 

[LMTC]

Wonder what the terms of the contract were with JD because it seems strange that Yanmar wouldn't be able to sell under its brand name, but would be able to indirectly sell through Cub.

So how do you know that they aren't able to sell under the Yanmar name?

 

[2manyrocks]

I don't know their contract terms. They may be free to sell under the Yanmar name, but choose not to. If that is the situation, then why don't they sell tractors under the Yanmar name in the US anymore? Wonder if they are content to sell new to Japanese farmers and then let the farmers sell their old stuff to the US?