ComplaintsforChattanooga Tractor & Equipment, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  04/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  They are saying my warranty doesn’t cover the carburetor but it says it’s covered in my warranty papers. How am I supposed to know if the carburetor is messed up from the manufacturer or something else. It doesn’t stipulate that with it. They are trying to make me pay 300 dollars to fix it and it’s a 1700 dollar push mower I’ve only used 6 to 7 times.

  Business response

  04/27/2023

  Mr. *****, you are correct, carburetors are cover under factory warranty. However the problem with your mower was foreign debris clogging a jet in the carb which is not covered. The Kawasaki warranty only covers factory defects such as a warped or cracked bowl for example. We have worked with eXmark and Kawasaki about your concern and have agreed to take care of this issue for you as a good will poilcey. This means that there will be no out of pocket expense for you. We assume that you filed this complaint before you were made aware of this good will by out team on 4/22/2023. We appreciate your business, supporting our local family owned dealership and hope you are happy with this resolution. Should you have any further questions or concerns please reach out to our vice president Nick T****** at ***********************************

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  01/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Took my mower in for warranty work (fix oil leak). I explained to them if it wasn’t covered I would do the repair myself. They assured me it IS covered under warranty. Two weeks later I was told I could come pick it up, it was fixed and ready to go. Besides the fact the oil cooler wasn’t bolted to the engine everything seamed fine. My mower was no longer leaking. Two months go by and I receive a phone call from Tanner at Chattanooga Tractor. He explains how Kawasaki decided not to pay for the repairs under warranty and now I owe them $861.27! My mower was brought in for warranty work. No repair price was ever discussed. They should have never repaired it if it wasn’t covered.

  Business response

  01/17/2023

  Please refer to attachment ****** for sequence of events. Please note CTE has received no payment from Mr. *******. Invoice #****** dated 12/27/22 in the amount of $861.27 remains open and unpaid. We simply request payment equal to amount of store credit offered to Mr. ******* by Wright Manufacturing through their authorized dealer to settle this invoice.

  As shown in attached email stream, this has been an unusual set of circumstances. Chattanooga Tractor & Equipment, Inc. (CTE) is an authorized dealer for several major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM)s. We regularly perform warranty repairs on behalf of these OEM's then file claims for reimbursement. This particular claim was for repairs to a Kawasaki engine on a Wright lawnmower. We have a relationship with Kawasaki only because they provide engines as subassemblies for some of the other major brands we carry such as Snapper, Snapper Pro, Ferris and ExMark. Most lawnmower OEM's require that warranty claims be filed directly with engine manufacturer. 

  CTE is not an authorized dealer for Wright mowers and did not sell this unit to Mr. *******. However, because we are authorized to file warranty claims directly to the engine manufacturer, Kawasaki, we felt we could help this customer repair his engine at no cost to him. We did mistakenly say that the repairs would be covered under warranty.

  As we learned, this particular failure falls outside the normal realm of defective materials or workmanship. According to Kawasaki, Wright installs a muffler onto the Kawasaki engine as part of their assembly process that is too heavy. This excess weight causes undo vibration that often results in cracked cylinder heads resulting in oil leaks. This anomaly has been acknowledged by Wright as the OEM and they typically generate a warranty/policy exception to reimburse their authorized dealers for repairing this known failure. 

  As stated, CTE is not an authorized dealer for Wright so they cannot issue the credit to us. We have made contact with the OEM, Wright and their nearest authorized dealer in Rossville, GA . We made arrangements for Mr. ******* to receive a store credit at this authorized dealership in an amount sufficient to settle the claim. He states the store credit is of no value to him and he refuses to pay us the the amount of the store credit. This leaves CTE in the lurch for our the entirety of our efforts and cost of the parts installed.

  Customer response

  02/02/2023

  Date Sent: 1/31/2023 6:35:27 PM
  

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I shouldn’t be charged for something I asked Chattanooga tractor not to do. 
  I specifically said if it’s not covered under warranty I did not want the repairs done. They assured me it was covered. 
  I should have been aware of any charges before repairs were made. Not months later. 
  This is there mistake not mine. I shouldn’t be responsible for there mistake.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

  Business response

  02/02/2023

  CTE responded to this complaint on 01/17 with an explanation of the circumstances under which we invoiced the customer 2 months after completion of the repair. The customer whole heartedly rejected our explanation on 01/18 and reiterated his desire to not pay the invoice. CTE subsequently conceded our position in favor of the customer and credited the $861.27 invoice on 01/23.

  I am perplexed as to why he continues to reject our resolution and keep this file active after we met his request to not pay for the parts and services provided. His temporary account receivable balance is $0.00. What else does he expect?

• Initial Complaint

  12/17/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a new Massey Ferguson 4710 a few months ago. After only 2 weeks of possession and approximately 10 hours of use I began having issues. The tractor was returned to the dealer for warranty repairs. The tractor has now been in the shop for 9 weeks with no resolution in sight. I have ask the dealer multiple times to replace the tractor with a new one or to release me from the contract with no success. The tractor in my opinion is no longer a new tractor. It has been disassembled multiple times.

  Business response

  02/15/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/12/30) */ We regret the delays and understand the customer's frustration. We strive to turn all repair work inside two weeks but unfortunately have experienced protracted supply chain delays exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. The parts needed repair this unit are on backorder from the manufacturer but the order is tagged with highest priority emergency status. This ensures parts will be shipped via air freight as soon as possible and ahead of any other stock orders. As discussed with customer on several occasions throughout November and December, we will use all means at our disposal to comply with terms of the warranty agreement by repairing any defects as quickly as possible at no cost to the customer. However, buyback, replacement or unwinding of the finance contract are not part of this agreement nor are they viable options at this time. However, Massey Ferguson has agreed to provide an additional year of powertrain warranty coverage after the original warranty period expires. This good will gesture is in recognition of the untimely failure and uncontrollable delays. This repair remains top priority for our service team as soon as parts arrive. Factory representatives were flown in to our facility to oversee diagnostics and tear down of this unit. They will return and remain present during during the reassembly process when parts arrive. Our team has had all hands on deck since this tractor arrived. Please rest assured that it will be brought back to full manufacturer specifications during repair at no cost to customer. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/01/05) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Unfortunately there is nothing they can say or do to fix the situation at this point. I have lost all faith in the product, Massey Ferguson/AGCO and the dealership. Although the actual repair is at no cost to me, I have incurred additional cost due to loss of use of the equipment. I have continued to make monthly payments for the past 3 months and have not been provided with reliable equipment. Buyback, replacement or unwinding of the finance contract is always an option. Its just not an option they are willing to take. The have decided to wait on parts for the repair no matter the time frame or loss to me, the customer. Business Response /* (1000, 11, 2022/01/17) */ As several parts needed for repair remain on back order, Massey Ferguson was able to locate a complete transmission assembly. The new transmission has been delivered and installed into customer's tractor. Completion of repairs are underway. Testing and final adjustments are expected to be completed this week. Again, we regret the unavoidable delays and look forward to providing continued product support to this customer.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩