My lawn guy felt something was awry with the tractor's steering so he hauled it to the repair shop we've been using for decades. This was Thursday early afternoon. Now keep in mind everyone knew we were in for some severe weather as warnings had been issued everywhere about large damaging hail, wind, etc. There ended up being widespread damage throughout the area with hail up to 4".

My Craftsman 14hp Kohler powered 42" tractor was bought within a couple months of my buying our house. So we're talking 26 years old. That said it has been extremely well maintained and was considered to be in near pristine condition.

Well the repair shop assholes didn't bother to put it inside their shop and left it outside for the storm. The tractor has always been stored in my garage. What was a clean seat with NO rips, tears, or abrasions has been totally ruined from the hail impact. There are also hail "dimples" on the metal work as well as some abrasions now on the steering wheel.

When my guy was called and told a 4.5 week lead time Friday morning, we talked and I told him to pick it up and look at another shop in town that had a good rep. He was horrified when he picked it up. So far these assholes have simply ducked responsibility. A replacement seat runs $126 and a decent seat cover alternative in the $40 range.

I am considering what to do about them at this point. We don't have "before" pictures so this may become an "I said, they said" bullshit situation. Regardless these asshats have lost our business.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bald1,

Wow. I'd be seriously pissed too.

Look at Northern Tool or Tractor Supply Company for a generic replacement seat if that works for you.

Hate to tell you this but 26 years old plastic is pretty much "aged out". This means that all the "plasticizer" has basically evaporate resulting in very brittle plastic. To be blunt, no matter how sort of decent it looked that seat was due to be replaced.

Now, I will grant that the shop shouldn't have left your tractor out in the weather. However from a legal standpoint they are not responsible for damaging a seat that probably already had some cracks. Where you do have some standing is any dents resulting from hail, just don't ask them to replace any cracked and faded decals or complain about the paint being faded.

I'll also note that you have a 26 years old tractor and you may want to think about getting a new, or newer, replacement. Truth is the engine probably needs piston rings, a new carburetor, and probably a new cylinder head. Then there are items such as wheel bearings, the entire front axle, the transmission, and the steering components that are "Due. Total up refurbishing every thing that is getting near totally wore out and it will probably cost more to refurbish that tractor than purchasing a new one. IF you want a simple test to prove out it's degree of wear, set in the seat with the front wheels pointed straight ahead and swing the steering wheel with the little finger of one hand. If you have free play approaching a full quarter turn, every single item in the steering mechanism is very near complete and total failure. One thing is for certain, you will find a lot more free play than when it was new.

Scooter you obviously missed the "well maintained" comment. The tractor is NOT in need of all that you listed. In fact it has had not only routine maintenance over the years but replacement parts. The engine has been overhauled in the past and runs great.

As for the plastizer, agreed, but still the fact that the seat was old doesn't excuse the negligence on their part. And FWIW they do have a large indoor shop floor space it could have been put in.

And regarding the steering, that other shop found a simple bushing fixed things. They did a quick check in their lot and said it was an easy fix and proceeded with the repair. My old shop wasn't planning on even looking at it for over a month.

Not siding with the repair shop but X2 on the brittle vinyl.

I have a JD X300 that is ten years old and on it's second seat. First one cracked under warranty, at about three years old. The replacement started cracking last year, now both sides have cracked. Not too happy about that at this point.

I had a Craftsman tractor when I got this one, eight seasons and the seat was fine when I sold it.

Assholes should have put it in the shop.

If they knew bad weather was coming they need to have some plan for keeping customer equipment safe from damage.

Doesn't matter how old it was either, I would be wild about them not taking care of it immediately.

.

.

Ask the shop what they are going to do about the seat.

If it's not what you believe is reasonable, ensure they understand all your friends and acquaintances will know exactly how your tractor was handled by their shop and their lack of service and you'll continue it on social media. If they are on Yelp or other such media, tell them you will write a review.

quote:

Now, I will grant that the shop shouldn't have left your tractor out in the weather.

Damn straight.

quote:

Truth is the engine probably needs piston rings, a new carburetor, and probably a new cylinder head. Then there are items such as wheel bearings, the entire front axle, the transmission, and the steering components that are "Due. Total up refurbishing every thing that is getting near totally wore out and it will probably cost more to refurbish that tractor than purchasing a new one.

Truth? Who are you to tell him what condition his tractor is in? You've never seen it.

Whether the vinyl seat was aged or not is irrelevant. The mower was in the care of the shop. Had the mower been in the care of the owner, this damage would not have occurred.

If the shop will not replace the seat, it's going to cost more to take it to small claims court.

Leave a review on Yelp. Leave a review on other locations.

I'm no internet lawyer, or plasticizer expert, so I'm not going to provide any advice. Sorry you're dealing with this.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
Whether the vinyl seat was aged or not is irrelevant. The mower was in the care of the shop. Had the mower been in the care of the owner, this damage would not have occurred.

If the shop will not replace the seat, it's going to cost more to take it to small claims court.

Leave a review on Yelp. Leave a review on other locations.

^^^This. If a talk to the owner of the shop doesn't help, leave a review on Yelp, Google, etc.

The shop owner may have a "property of others" portion of his liability policy. It is included in our policy, but we carry a separate rider for a much higher valuation. This specifically covers property that belongs to somebody else, but is in our care.

Toyota dealership did the same to my Tacoma when it was recalled for tires. Didn't even offer to recommend a paint less dent repair outfit and they had to hire one for their inventory

I be upset too.

Even though it's an older machine, it's just disrespectful to not take care of it while in someone's custody.

One should never treat another persons property with anything less than respect.

So sorry for your loss because of someone else... Sure wish that I lived around the bend from you . because I have the seat on my old retired riding yard tractor is very servicable (no cracks or tears). 1975? vintage MTD Yard Tractor /36inch cut deck. looks the same style as your seat but back and bottom side metal has some light rust/paint flaking. it mounts to a flat hinge with 4 sliding bolt slots. I would gladly donate it if it would work for you and we lived a lot closer to each other. Maybe you could locate one much closer at a used yard instead of having to purchase a new one. .........drill sgt.

Ask them to pay for the seat. Tell them to pay for the seat. Make them pay for the seat. Small claims court with them paying all court cost. A sternly worded letter with a letter of intent to file suit will probably get you a check in the mail. You dont need an attorney and can do it all yourself.

That being said, a mint condition perfect condition craftsman tractor of that vintage is barely worth $250.

Might be time to upgrade.

drill sgt, appreciate the thoughts

bubba, I'm a septuagenarian who has had a fellow from the local handicapped work shop center tending to my lawn for the past 14 or so years, as I am unable. He finds no performance or reliability issues with the vintage tractor. As said it is well maintained with oil changed, blade sharpening, etc. with full inspection and parts replacement as needed annually. So popping for a new tractor just doesn't pass the sanity check at this point.

Have been unable to contact the shop owner thus far but the effort continues.

I would be furious. I would pay thousands in lawyer fees to get the shop to pay $100 for the seat. Completely unacceptable to leave power equipment outside in general, especially in storms. I hope you can get it resolved.

Managed to talk with them this morning finally. They say they don't have enough space inside to house all the equipment in the queue. Pictures of the damage have been sent and I am waiting to hear what they propose to do to remedy the situation.

I'd be furious, too.

I'd be pissed as well. They probably have this: (or words to that effect)