Henry Rifle Forums

I took delivery today of a 2023 tractor/rotary cutter combination from a local dealer. Although a 2023 model, it had only 2.4 hours on the clock when I accepted it and the rotary cutter was new. To avoid being chastised for brand bashing, I won't identify the make.

In any event, I trailered it home and decided I could get in a few hours of seat time to gain experience with a new machine. Also, the field around the house was (and still is) in desperate need of mowing.

After maybe twenty minutes or so, it bogged down and shut off. It restarted easily but it continued to bog down and die and but each time, it became just a bit harder to start. I got off of the tractor and looked at a fuel/water separator located between the fuel tank and the fuel filter and there was probably a half inch or so of water standing in the bottom of the separator. I guess the tractor sat out in the open too long with moisture building in the tank.

I drained the separator until red diesel fuel flowed but I suspect there may still be water in the tank and/or the fuel filter. I called the salesman and explained the problem. I told him that possibly, draining the fuel tank until red diesel flows and replacing the fuel filter might be a fix. He agreed and said a dealership mechanic would call in the morning. He said if that doesn't work, they will transport it to the shop.

Rats! A brand-new piece of equipment and I got about twenty minutes of use out of it. I am sure the problem is minor and temporary and will be fixed but I didn't get much mowing done today.

HenryFan wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 17, 2024 4:13 pm

I took delivery today of a 2023 tractor/rotary cutter combination from a local dealer. Although a 2023 model, it had only 2.4 hours on the clock when I accepted it and the rotary cutter was new. To avoid being chastised for brand bashing, I won't identify the make.

In any event, I trailered it home and decided I could get in a few hours of seat time to gain experience with a new machine. Also, the field around the house was (and still is) in desperate need of mowing.

After maybe twenty minutes or so, it bogged down and shut off. It restarted easily but it continued to bog down and die and but each time, it became just a bit harder to start. I got off of the tractor and looked at a fuel/water separator located between the fuel tank and the fuel filter and there was probably a half inch or so of water standing in the bottom of the separator. I guess the tractor sat out in the open too long with moisture building in the tank.

I drained the separator until red diesel fuel flowed but I suspect there may still be water in the tank and/or the fuel filter. I called the salesman and explained the problem. I told him that possibly, draining the fuel tank until red diesel flows and replacing the fuel filter might be a fix. He agreed and said a dealership mechanic would call in the morning. He said if that doesn't work, they will transport it to the shop.

Rats! A brand-new piece of equipment and I got about twenty minutes of use out of it. I am sure the problem is minor and temporary and will be fixed but I didn't get much mowing done today.

Also, get some water remover additive for your fuel type.

Nothing more frustrating than a brand new item not functioning as it should. Hope the dealer gets it worked out in short order.

I hate to say it, but this drives me crazy. When I buy a major purchase from a dealer, I expect it to work and work properly. I certainly hope the dealer makes this right quickly. I would also hope he offers you a freebee as an apology for your inconvenience.

Paul

When I read the first sentence, the first thing I said was "wonder what brand he bought" lol.

In a similar comparison, I just bought a "brand new" Lawn Tractor that was used just one time. It's a 42 Inch Cut, has a Clutch Pedal (what I wanted), is Loud and rides Rough as heck. I got the paperwork with it and the first buyer was a female. From what I stated above, I believe I know why she returned it, lol. She also may have thought it was a hydrostat. I wear Ear Plugs anyway, but was puzzled to why it rode so rough. I said "I'm going to just lower the Air Pressure some". When I checked it, it was almost double. Fronts are supposed to be 14 and they were 25. Rears supposed to be 10 and they were 18. Rides much better now. Who ever assembled it really pumped up the tires.

It ended up well for me. The dealership salesman and a technician came to the house fairly early this morning and first, removed the drain fitting on the bottom of the fuel tank and discovered that an in-line strainer was clogged. Also, there was some water in the fuel tank but actually, not much. They cleaned and replaced the strainer and then replaced the drain fitting. Next, they installed a new fuel filter and again drained the water/fuel separator. If there was water in the fuel filter, I was not told so but I speculate water may have been present and filter replacement seemed to be a wise precaution.

Later in the day, I used it for about two hours to bush-hog some of the field around the house and it ran like a champ. No problems whatsoever.

I got a good deal on the tractor (at least I believe I did) because it is a 2023 and it sat in the sun to the point that the seat needs replacement. Somehow, the user's manual got adrift. The dealership has ordered a new seat to replace the sun-bleached seat and, in the meantime, put a seat cover on the existing seat. A user's manual is also on order.

If it sat in the sun long enough for the seat to perish, it seems possible that water accumulated in the fuel tank due to non-use and also, some of the old diesel fuel probably didn't age well. I may be wrong but I think it is worse for equipment to sit idle and unused rather than being exercised and properly maintained.

In any event, I think the dealership provided excellent support and I appreciate it.

When I bought my tractor in 15, we bought it and a bunch of implements. We were told the grapple and the 4-in-1 bucket were on backorder, and it would be two weeks before they could deliver the tractor and the implements. They held the tractor for 12 weeks. I made two payments before I ever heard from them. When I did hear back, it was a return phone call letting me know the bucket and grapple were not in. I watched their website; it showed live tracking of what was in stock. If the grapple was in, we were waiting on the 4 in 1, so they would sell the grapple and vice versa.

I called National. They called the dealer, who lied and said I declined to pick up the tractor (I had paid a delivery fee). I called National back. They called the dealer again, and the dealer called me and told me to stop calling National. This went back and forth for a total of 18 weeks.

Finally, I told National that since I've made four payments, have not received my tractor or implements, and have been lied to, I will contact the state attorney general.

That was on Wednesday afternoon. On Saturday, at 6 a.m., they dumped everything at the end of my driveway. I caught them unloading the last two attachment pieces.

The driver did not say squat. I was supposed to get a rundown on maintenance, etc.

Never spoke to that dealer again.

National extended the warranty and insurance for the full term of my loan at their cost. I never had to use it, but, hey it was something.





As for your problem, check and see if there is debris in the line going into the oil and water separator. I drove around with the gas cap off for 20 min one day, and it sucked in a bunch of gunk that got caught in that area. Burned up two fuel pumps.

Are you ashamed to tell us the BRAND?????????????

I think we all hate that initial period of use with a new thing that isn't working out like we had it pictured in our heads. I'll often do a bit of a mental reset, thinkin that maybe it's my own expectations that were too high, but it seems that this was not the case, given familiarity with the item and it's purpose. Credit to the dealership for making your situation right @HenryFan. As an aside, I've used a product called K100 to get water out of the system on a pair of Jetskis I had a few years back. I am mentioning it because I honestly believed it helped. They do make a diesel specific blend which I have not used, but after reading this, it might be worth it to buy a bottle and add it before it gets too cold out. I've had my fuel filter/separator freeze a couple years ago, and working on that in sub-zero temps is not something I want to relive.

Your situation is completely different @DsGrouse. Good that you let the national end know about it, and I'll bet that it's not the only instance with that dealer. I know we all end up in these situations from time to time, and the big decision afterwards is how much you're willing to put into it at that point. My own path is usually to just completely cut ties and never do business with them again, but when you hear of others having similar experiences, it makes me wonder if my not taking things further is what allows these people and business to continue doing what they do. At this point in my life though, I'm just more inclined to put it behind me and move on.

Kaboomer - I am not sure if your post concerns DsGrouse or me but if it concerns me -

Am I ashamed to identify the brand? No, not at all, but some forums have a policy against "brand bashing".

I don't want to get excommunicated for a policy violation.

I will say this. I have owned a total of six tractors and have two tractors now. The tractor models I have owned have changed over the last two decades as I became more aware of capabilities and as needs changed. I had to teach myself about tractor usage. I no longer own a large tract of land and my food plots are small so I have "downsized". Not only tractors but trailers as well.

In any event, the only tractor brands I have ever owned are John Deere and Kubota.

I think most often, difficulties such as DsGrouse experienced are created by the dealerships rather than the product manufacturer.

Mine is a Kubota L6060 with an AC cab. I don't remember the dealer's name. I tried to find them a few years ago, but nowadays, there isn't a Kubota dealer in the area where I purchased mine. I think the dealership went under and or rebranded to something like Kioti.

I've a local one, Hoober, who has been stellar for help. There is also a local repair shop that will pick up or send out a repair truck. I order some online stuff from Messicks.

This last spring, I broke down and went to a John Deer dealership to purchase my 72" woods land plane. Hoober's price for an orange one was 450 more than John Deer's Green one. To be fair, John Deer also had an orange one for an additional 425. I went with the green one; the sales rep said if I could be flexible on the delivery date, he'd get it to me for 50 bucks. (I am like 65 miles away) He kept me up to speed and it showed up when he said it would.

The land plane has been a game changer for my near 2-mile dirt road and 1/3rd-mile long driveway.

I don't mind "brand bashing" as long as it is not breaking any rules, that I'm aware of on here anyway.

I have a non-tractor one, lol.

By the way, the Lawn Tractor I bought is a Craftsman T110. I know that many have switched to Zero Turns, but I like a Steering Wheel and a Clutch Pedal, lol.

Speaking of not so great dealers when I bought my tractor in 2004 (John Deere) I shopped the local dealer. After deciding on a model and then negotiating the price I was told the price and “not to come back at him for a lower price”. So I didn’t do that but did drive 40 miles to a nearby town with another dealer and bought the same model and implements for considerbly less and paid 3% less in sales tax. Delivered to my place at no charge. I have been back to this dealer several times to purchase other equipment. The local dealer went out of business after many years. It’s no wonder why?

Prior to purchasing my tractor, I had been frequenting the web sites for local dealers. We have a chain of dealerships up this area called United Ag and Turf (UA&T). There's literally dozens of them, and their list of used equipment is extensive. I liked to use them as a way to figure what values were, and since one is about a half hour away, I visited them a few times. We also have a couple Kubota dealers around the same drive away. I started looking seriously and would stop in to talk to a salesman about what I wanted, and it was strange, but more often than not, nobody was available. Not talking about once or twice either. I did sit with a guy at the UA&T place, but he didn't seem very knowledgeable, and was in a kind of a rush to print out a quote and send me on my way.
Had a few instances where I found a 2520, which is what I decided was the right tractor for me, and wanted to go see it in person. I made calls to that dealership and confirmed that it was there, went over specs like hours and included attachments for the tractor, then made an appointment to see it. Both places had my number too. First place told me they sold it when I got there that weekend. Bad luck, but they could have called. Having learned from that, the next place I called just before taking the 90 minute drive, spoke to a saleswoman and confirmed that it was still there, and that we were going to drive up to see it, even got her name so I knew who to ask for when I got there. Arrived, found the saleswoman, then walked out to their lot and could see the tractor off to the side, but let her lead us on a meandering tour of their lot. She clearly had no idea what tractor was the 2520. I walked over to the right one and it had a yellow tag on the steering wheel that said SOLD with a date about three days prior. I asked if she checked on this when I called and asked her to check before we drove up, and she didn't answer. I was so angry I just turned and walked to my car. My GF just walked with me and we didn't talk for like 10 minutes. I do not have anything good to say about the sales side of that organization. I'll balance the comments by saying that I've gone to the local UA&T for hydraulic fluid, and the parts guys are great, friendly and helpful, and even offered me discounts. One even chatted me up about what equipment I have and if I intended to make any purchases in the future. Seemed genuinely interested in helping. I'll go talk to him
I eventually found my 3520 for what the dealerships were asking for the 2520, and mine has less hours, was used residentially, and was garage kept. Benefits of buying privately.

If I visit a dealership/store/office/restaurant or whatever and I sense they don't want my business, I won't visit there again. I almost never say anything at the time, I just leave and never return.

Every time I have visited the dealership where I bought this most recent tractor/rotary cutter package the salesman has always made time to show me what I was interested in and made time to talk dollars. Their service level is identified in my post above in which I described their timely response.

If someone doesn't want my money, I won't force them to take it.

I noticed that this tractor was delivered with Galaxy branded tires on it. I did some quick research and I think they are USA made but I am not 100% certain of this and I can't find anything on the tire to identify the nation of origin.

I haven't bought a new tractor in probably 10 years, maybe a bit more, and I have never heard of this brand. I am used to seeing Firestone, Goodyear and Titan but Galaxy is new to me.

Anyone know anything about Galaxy Ag tires?

Alliance Tire Group (Mubai India) owns the galaxy brand. ATG is a subsidiary of Yokohama. The Ag tires and other off-road tires are made in Mubai.

Don't worry my friends, you can say what you want about your own experiences with any brand, including Henry. We are all adults. Forum rules ask that you remain civil and G rated. I still want a 12 year old to be able to come here unchaperoned and have no worries.
I leave most of my equipment outside all year round. The Mahindra does not even get a tarp. The others get tarps. I only have barn space for my Farmall Cub and now the White garden tractor. None of them have issues with water in the lines. They all get started two or three times in the summer and once in the spring. They each have their own jobs and are used accordingly. The Mahindra gets used all year round, but not hard.
If you want to identify the brand, that's ok.
As long as you are relating your actual experiences, rant away. I really like my local John Deere dealership. They are pretty good people all around. I'm not keen on some of the other brand dealerships I've dealt with in the past. Others would get my business again if I needed their products.

I'm glad they sent someone out promptly to fix your issues. That is good support after the sale.