Agco parts system????

[JD Seller]

I am surprised that AGCO can even sell anything new!!!! I have an absolutely terrible time getting parts in a timely manner. I have few AGCO supported pieces of equipment left because of poor parts support and parts cost. I have two AGCO dealers that I deal with and the dealerships themselves are good to work with. They just do not get much help from the company, AGCO.

My latest issue is a lift cylinder piston for an Oliver 1655. This tractor was bought new by my Uncle and I bought it from him. It only has 4700 hours on it. The three point hitch "hunts" when it is running and would drop as soon as you shut the tractor off. It has always done it some but slowly got worse over the years. So I had some time last week to look at it. I had a JD that I am overhauling the motor on it the front of one bay of the shop, waiting for machine work. So I had room behind it for the 1655. So I tore into the three point lift. I found the lift piston was cracked. The cylinder bore is fine but the piston has hair line crack in it. So rather than looking for a used one I called the one AGCO dealership and just had them order me a new piston and seals. That was Wednesday the 4th of November. I told them I would be fine with paying for faster deliver of the parts. So the parts man told me the parts would be in on 11-6. I paid extra for this. I called before going to the dealership and I was told the one part( the piston) was not at the closer warehouse and had to come from farther away so it would be the next week. Not happy but understand things happen. I hear nothing on Monday. I call the store Tuesday and the parts guys says Wed. 11-11 everything will be in. He calls me and tells me everything is in. I go down Thursday morning to pick up the parts. He has everything laid out on the counter in a box for me. I pick the box up and guess what??? NO PISTON!!!!! There is a package marked piston but it just had the pack/seals in it. I noticed that the entire box/stack of parts was not heavy enough.

So I MIGHT have all the parts Monday 11-16. So twelve days to get parts. I am fairly sure that this piston is used on other models of Oliver tractors. So it is not a rare part I am needing. I should have just went to a salvage yard but new was not terribly high and I then had a piston that was not scored up.

So if this is the "norm" for AGCO, how would you farm seriously with this kind of parts support???? I know I am spoiled by having a JD dealer 4 miles away and JD has a quick parts service. Why is AGCO lagging behind in this area??? Is it because of all the different brands?? I have also heard that AGCO has Cat doing their parts network??? Is this true??

It seems like AGCO is struggling with handling all the different lines they have. They are combining things across the lines but many times it seems like they go backwards instead of ahead. An example of this is Sunflower. I have a Sunflower finisher. One of the reasons I bought this machine is the shank design on the field cultivator part. The shank is not just a flat bar bent in a loop. Right above the shovel mount the shank is turned 90 degrees so the shank is narrow and deep rather than wide an flat. This makes the shank/shovel leave a smaller furrow for the rest of the finisher to level out. Shortly after AGCO bought Sunflower they changed the shank to just a regular old common shank. I was told because the parts will then interchange would other lines AGCO has. I understand this but this change took away one of the reasons for looking at Sunflower finishers.

So, like Dean down below, I am not a happy AGCO customer. I would be hard pressed to consider an AGCO planter, tractor or combine because of this poor parts support. If one of those machine is down for 10 days waiting for parts your hurting the whole operation.

 

[rrlund]

Why would you even try to get a new lift piston for a 1655? A call to Smitty's or any other place that parts Olivers would have had one there for you the next day. Ell,I've even got one here. Smitty probably would have even included the new o-ring and spacer. It's pointless to try to get some of these iron parts that can be had used,overnight.
As far as parts for anything newer from Agco,if the dealer doesn't have it in stock,I can't think of one instance when I haven't had it drop shipped to my house the next day.
If you're ready to get rid of a family heirloom over something that nobody else in the world would have even thought of ordering new,what do you want for it. I'm interested.

 

[lenray]

Is Massey Ferguson under AGCO?????????????

 

[kevinecwi]

JD, I know rrlund asked first but I'd be interested in that 1655 also if he declines.

 

[Dick2]

After Allis-Chalmers went bankrupt, several executives from the south started AGCO. When they started buying up other manufacturers, I thought that would be a good opportunity to take just the best models from each line and build a really good line of equipment, along with a good dealer organization. However, they just kept buying up short line equipment manufacturers and selling as much product as they could without building a strong dealer network. The AGCO dealers that I knew were reluctant to put much faith in the company because of the enormous debt that the company took on, which they are probably still paying on.

Basically AGCO is just a sales organization, with very little support organization in the other departments. Some companies have managed to stay in business that way during good times, but tough times usually take the company down. Time will tell.

 

[JD Seller]

Lenray: Yes MF is under AGCO now. The MF from years ago is nothing but a name on the sheet metal now.

 

[JD Seller]

rrlund: You misread my intentions. I am not interested in selling the Oliver tractor. I will not bet my serious farming on anything that has AGCO supplied parts. The Sunflower finisher and the Oliver 1655 are the only AGCO supplied parts I will need.

As for used I tried that route first. I assumed the piston was the trouble. My Uncle had a four bottom fully mounted plow on this tractor. He hit a hole with the plow up. It broke the top link and after that the three point hunted. So I kind of assumed trouble in the piston/seals. I looked at the two local salvage yards yards and the ones they had where all scored on the sides. My time is worth something too. The new one was only $40 more than I was being asked for the used ones plus shipping. I needed the gaskets and seal kit anyway so I just thought buy all new and save me time looking for a good used one.

As for the age of the tractor. It is a 1975 model. That is not old. I am sure that piston is used on more models that just the 1655. So it is not rare. You say you have a used one on hand. So it seems like a common part.

I know I can have the same lift piston out of a 1975 JD tractor in my hand the NEXT DAY!!!! If I am willing to wait 2 days I can have it without any additional freight charges.

Around here parts availability is JD 1-2 days, CIH 2-3 days an AGCO 3-4 days if you need it and the dealership does not have it.

 

[VADAVE]

JD you don't have a problem with the dealership where I do.
I have 3 Olivers, one of which is a 1655. When I ordered some parts, I don't remember what exactly, the parts man quoted a price and a delivery time which, while high was acceptable, would get them here in a reasonable time. I still had to pay shipping. When the parts arrived, a week late, the dealership, not the parts guy, doubled the price. I refused to take the parts and the lady running the parts section was very upset. I will only order from them when I absolutely need the parts and pay the whole bill up front with documentation. If I can wait I just order from Maibach as they really do treat a customer right.
On the new stuff I watch the local farmers that have/had AGCO equipment keep it for couple of years then it either DEERE or lately CASE/INTERNATIONAL.

 

[JD Seller]

rrlund. Do you know where the AGCO parts ship from to you??? You say you can get them next day. Here it is two day at the best and usually three. Also I did not expect the piston next day. It was ordered Wed. morning an I as told for an extra $10 bucks they would have it and the other parts on Friday.

Around me here there is just not any close Oliver salvage yards. There is two that handle all lines but mainly IH and JD. I have few dealing with Oliver tractors anymore so I have not kept up with who is the go to yard for parts. There just are not many Oliver around here. This is also true for MF tractors too.

 

[rrlund]

When you order a clutch for a 20 series Deere,call them the next morning and are told it's in,then drive an hour to pick it up only to be met with a sheepish grin and are told "oops,that's not even available from Deere anymore. We can get it from A&I if you want us to,but it might take a week",like happened to me,then you've got something to complain about.
You might as well be complaining that they can't get you a rear wheel hub for a Massey Harris 101jr overnight as to complain that Agco can't get that piston for a 40 year old tractor,on a brand that hasn't even existed for that long. It's not like it's a common part,like a clutch. Yours must be the only Oliver ever to have cracked that piston. I can't even imagine it.
But yes,the 1550,1555,1600,1650,1655,White 2-70 should all use that same part. Call Smitty's in Dalton Ohio tomorrow morning and I have no doubt he'll have a good one sent out to you later in the day,along with all the gaskets and O-rings that you need to put it back together. I needed a part from him a year ago for my 1850,UPS had already been there,so he took the part to a place where he knew they'd be later in the day,so I'd have it the next day.
I needed a power steering cylinder for my White 2-135 a year ago to. It came the next day along with a plastic bag with all the new quad rings and O-rings.
As for that 20 series Deere clutch,my son had to take it to work with him and drop it off at the clutch shop next door and I had to have it made. For that matter,when I overhauled the engine in that tractor the last time,it took me 10 days to get all the right parts together. Every box I opened had the wrong part. My fault for not opening them all and inspecting them I guess,instead of opening them as I got to the point of needing them. I never had to do that before though. Last Oliver I overhauled,I called Maibach in Creston Ohio at 2:30 in the afternoon and all the parts were here at 11:20 the next morning and were all correct.
To each his own I guess,but the last time I walked out of Deeremart,everybody in the place knew that last Deere that I had was on it's way down the road because I had cattle to feed every day and couldn't keep putting up with crap like that.

 

[JD Seller]

Dick2: I also thought that AGCO would have taken the best and made a GOOD product line. Made Gleaner the combine line, both rotors and conventional. Oliver tractors with Cummins motors seemed like a good paring. The White planter and implements. MF utility tractors. Hesston for hay tools.

Drop the following: MF combines, MF larger tractors, White combines, AC tractors, AC and MF implements/hay tools.

Then focus on the remaining lines.

They chose a different route. I think their interests are too wide to be successful long term. The overhead is HUGH. In a long term down turn they will not be able to service all the debt.

I think tis also will be the case with Fiat and CIH/NH. They need to pick one color and group of equipment an support the heck out of it.

 

[rrlund]

Agco formed to save the Gleaner combine line. Allis Gleaner Corporation,that's what Agco means. The White combine line pretty much died a slow death anyway. Massey had bought the design for the White rotary combines in the bankruptcy.
I didn't know AC ever had a good hay tool line,and I believe MF sold a lot of rebadged stuff. The larger AC tractors were just White's with a different engine,going back to the 80s or early 90s.
The new MF hay tools are Hesston. Hesston by Massey Ferguson I believe is how they're advertised. The larger MF and Challenger tractors now days I believe are just a progression of the White line that was sold as Agco Allis or Agco White.

 

[JD Seller]

rrlund: It seems like it still boils down to location nation wide and local dealerships. I know many of you are treated like step children by JD with the mega dealerships. So far the dealership chain that is around here is not changing much at the local level with parts and service. It is the knowledge of the parts people too. The fellows that are behind the local JD store are older experienced fellows. When they are gone we may very well have your issues.

As for AGCO here it must be location nationally effecting the local parts delivery. I can't get anything next day from AGCO. It is 2-3 days. Also I am not running enough older AGCO stuff to really build a network of parts suppliers other than OEM. It seems like you have done well in the after market suppliers.

I know those suppliers for the JD stuff and that is just because of the need for it. If I was running a lot of older Oliver or MF I would need to know your suppliers.

As for the crack in the piston. I explained that I think it was the mounted plow accident that did it. It also could have been a bad casting from the factory. It is really a hair line crack. I put new seals in several years ago and I did not see it then. I actually rigged up my prota power and bench tested the lift housing to find it this time.

 

[NY 986]

Just for conversation sake AC did have a decent forage line if not great back in the day. They probably sold more than did the Oliver, MM, Ford, and Case dealers in these areas if the previously mentioned dealers did not have a hot short line such as Badger or Gehl which a fair number did not. Back in the 1960's AC was a big conglomerate of diverse interests (not unlike IH) but if it did not turn a certain profit level they lost interest in handling it. They should have paid attention in that for JD and IH having diversity in the product line kept customers walking in the dealership when tractor and combine sales were slow. That gave the dealer salesman a way to maintain contact with some farmers that did not care for on farm sales calls. Anyways, AC should have kept and developed the forage and other lines as a marketing effort. Even if they could not afford an assembly line for it they could have contracted with somebody and built it to their spec which if done right would have given a reason for the farmer to look past NH, Gehl, or whoever. The bean counter's short term objective kind of sold the whole organization down the drain. What good did it do as a lot of the former AC employees who most likely went to a crappier job when the downsizing hit in the 1980's. I'm a Cornell guy but sometimes these executives were nothing but educated fools.

 

[RBoots]

Their prices are stupid expensive, I know that. $475 for the steering cyl seal kit on a Duetz I worked on last year. Matched them up at a hydraulic shop for $60. Blower motor for that same tractor, just the motor, was $950 or $1200, depending on which one I had. I fixed it with $12 drill motor bearings and 1/2 hour of machining.

Ross

 

[rrlund]

Trouble with the AC forage line was that it was all left handed. I even saw a newer AC flail chopper one time that ran on the left.
Have you ever read Walt Buescher's book "Plow Pedler"? I think you'd love it. He worked for AC from 1935 til 1975. He started in the Allcrop combine factory riveting levers and wound up as blockman for northern Ohio and eastern Michigan. You don't have to be a big fan of AC to get a big kick out of that book,and you'll learn a lot about the farm equipment business too. It's a great read.

 

[rrlund]

I'd be more than willing to bet that if one of the two nearest dealerships that I dealt with had been turned in to Deere chain stores,things would have been pretty seamless,but they closed them and forced us to drive a long ways to where we didn't know anybody and they didn't know us. Some of the biggest operations around here are running CaseIH now. The smaller livestock operations are getting more and more blue.
The Agco dealer that I've been dealing with for decades now lost their franchise on October 31st,so I don't know how things will turn out for me either. The big reason they were shut down was that the 75 year old owner passed away and there's a much larger dealer in a better location and newer facilities about 12 miles from them. Bad part of that for me is that it's 12 miles further away. I've done some business with them,even got my 2-135 White from them,but it's a fair distance over there.
The nearest dealer to me for anything now is a new Agco dealer,15 miles or so away. They're the third in a whole new chain of stores that started out with Challenger. The owners family used to have a Deere dealership. Their old dealership is part of a chain now. I've talked to him,he told me he can get parts for everything I own either through Agco or A&I and that he'll beat anybody elses price on Agco parts.
I spent about half an hour in the managers office this spring talking to him. He used to work at a Deere dealership too. He said they're there to stay and to get every dollar in business that they can get. I haven't had to find out yet if they'll put their money where their mouth is,I hope so. Time will tell. If not,there's still three other single location Agco dealers that I can go to if need be.
I wish I could tell you where these parts are coming from when I have to order,but I don't have a box or packing slip right in front of me to know. It wasn't that often that I even had to order things. The old dealer that I dealt with had been Oliver/White and New Idea going way back and had most everything in stock.

 

[NY 986]

Sounds interesting. Anyways, I think it was about the mid-1960's that the forage harvesters went to right hand feed. I do not think they ever changed the flail chopper which no doubt hurt. I've seen the wagons and blowers in operation. The newer blowers were not power hungry unlike some other makes. I think in at least a dairy state such as New York was in the 1970's having an upgraded forage line could have only helped AC here as many dealers here did not have a New Holland or Gehl franchise. The dealers that had nothing but the tractor line and a couple small shortlines were the first to fold in the 1980's. Sadly, the bean counters probably found other comparable work when AC went bankrupt but for many former AC men that meant the golden era of earned income came to an end. It probably did not help that the economy in general peaked about 1980 here.

 

[massey333]

Everything was AC until 1985,when the name was changed to Deutz-Allis but the larger tractors stayed AC design until the AGCO line was formed in 1990 and then the White rear ends with Deutz engine started as Agco Allis.None of the AC tractor line ever used anything White other then both companys tried to sell small Fiats which most dealers refused to sell.

 

[rrlund]

I stand corrected,but it was Deutz-Fahr that retired the Allis designed tractors in favor of the German built Deutz-Fahr tractors. That move was what pretty much ended loyalty to Allis and the agreement with White to supply the power train and cabs for the larger Deutz Allis tractors.
It's hard to keep up with the progression and mergers of these things sometimes.

 

[tomstractorsandtoys]

I have that book and it really gives an insight into what happened at Allis Chalmers. Home office paid very little attention to the customers or the dealers. Walt said they rescued failure from the brink of success many times. Allis was first in many things like the round baler,they had corn heads for the all crop combines, front unload manure spreader and they started the road to no-till with their corn planters. I have all Deere equipment but my dealer has been bought out and things are not like they once were here either. Tom

 

[rrlund]

Ya,Walt really went in to customer loyalty to dealerships too. He told why people would drive right past an AC dealer in their hometown to go to one in the next town,and vice versa. Everything from the religion of the owner to social standing in the community.
That book should be required reading for everybody in the farm equipment business from the corporate offices to the kid who mops the floors at a dealership after hours.

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 14:15:11 11/15/15) I have that book and it really gives an insight into what happened at Allis Chalmers. Home office paid very little attention to the customers or the dealers. Walt said they rescued failure from the brink of success many times. Allis was first in many things like the round baler,they had corn heads for the all crop combines, front unload manure spreader and they started the road to no-till with their corn planters. I have all Deere equipment but my dealer has been bought out and things are not like they once were here either. Tom

OK saying AC had the first round baler is stretching things a bit. How about the first, widely used round baler. The Roto Baler was anything but a widely used, long term successful baler. Few years back I looked up some production numbers and for just one year with only one model NH sold 10 times as many square balers as AC did their round baler. In fact one years production of NH square balers was more than the total production of the Roto baler. Now add in what JD, Case, IH and others sold the Roto baler had a tiny market share. AC did not have the first turbo tractor, Cat did by about 6 years and yes, they sold that model as both a dozer and AG tractor. SO what if it had steel tracks. CHI didn't invent the quad track. Cat did that too back in the early 60's. Sure was just experimental but they developed and tested a quad track design for their articulated loaders with steel tracks. Improvements in mining tires did away with the need before Cat could put it in production. For others who claim first's, Cat was selling AG crawlers, farm tractors in other words with diesel engines in 1933. Yea they beat IH there. I believe it was Cockshutt that had the first live PTO and JD has IPTO available as an option on the 1948 R. First power shift was Cat too in the 50's on the D9. Granted most if not all of those sold to the construction industry.

But getting this back in line with the OP's comments: I wonder what management at AGCO is thinking. When you start loosing whole areas because selling a new piece of equipment is more important than supporting what you have already sold then your future isn't nearly as bright as one could hope.

Rick

 

[G.Fields]

JD I know what you mean. When I first started in 06 I went with Agco, because of my local dealer. One of the best parts guys ever. Fast forward to 2013, the owners retire, sell out, and the guy that bought it had to close the doors with in a year. Now I have a White planter, Gleaner combine, and a Allis tractor, with no local support. Luckily when I still traveled for work we replaced crossties right in front of a Agco dealer by the name of B Equipment in Waynesboro PA. I had some time to kill, so I went in talked with guys and grabbed a business card. Im glad I did! Since my local guy retired every Agco specific part that I have had to have has came from there. Just call Kent tell him what I need, and the UPS man brings it in a day or two depending on how big of a hurry Im in. They have yet to not have anything in stock either! Just had to get a switch for my L2 a week ago, and it was on the shelf. I think that its insane that I have to ship my parts from PA to KY, but I am thankful that I can still get them for the antique's that I run. There are several other Agco dealers in Ky, and surrounding states, but when you call them, and say White 5400, Gleaner L2, or Allis 7000, you can hear the disdain in their voice, and you get"let me get your number and Ill call you back" which never happens.

 

[Brown Swiss]

I'm just north of you, there is a slug of Olivers around here yet, plus I can get any part for any of my AGCO stuff within a day or two, but I farm with them so I know where to start looking!

 

[massey333]

Randy,95% chance,yours and JDs all come out of Batavia Il..That is the super warehouse for most of eastern US.We get overnight(AGCO) service because our dealer gets stock order shipments daily.Honestly I don't know anyone locally that puts used internal parts in their equipment unless nothing is 100% not available new.Maibach is our only good Oliver source,if Smitties from Dalton is the same Smith whatever from the 90s,I don't know too many people that would even give him the time of day.

 

[rrlund]

Don't know if it's the same one you're thinking of or not,his name is Tim. Seems to be one of the nicest guys I've ever done business with. Never needed anything that he didn't have and couldn't get out to me the same day. Used or new A&I.

 

[NY 986]

AC could have taken the place of Ford in terms of the company that came after Deere and Case IH in the 1980's had they listened to people. I can remember dad talking to a blockman at the dealer one time and there was a lack of enthusiasm at the corporate level for farm equipment as it was less than 15 percent of the overall sales volume of AC during the early 1970's. Other than the late 1970's and the last 5 years here combines were never big sellers to rely on for cash flow. AC needed the 8000 series tractors several years before they came out which meant by 1975. They needed to keep some materials handling equipment such as manure spreaders. As mentioned before they needed to keep and upgrade choppers, blowers, and self unloading wagons. Even though Deere and NH were giants and hay tools AC needed to keep a toe in that market. My understanding was there were patent issues in terms of upgrading the small square balers. Mower conditioners might have meant sourcing something from some other company. If they were cagey enough they should have talked to Hesston about building the Oliver offset (conventional) baler which Hesston did not want to build. I'll have to get the book but I would bet there is nothing there about the bean counters who I think condemned the company to death despite the 8000 series tractors and rotary combines. Like I said before a lot of AC dealers hit the wall after 1980 because nobody was buying tractors or combines.

 

[rrlund]

The whole deal with Deutz was the last nail in the coffin. When they dropped the Allis designed tractors and went to the Deutz Fahr,they didn't even have a "big" tractor. They changed the color to that sickening spring green,and that didn't sit well with customers at all either.

 

[ben brown]

well if you really want a cf are local dealer and several i ky sold to whyane supply cat dealers now it real changeling to get parts the local dealer has a two year deal to help with transition he got year left but time move on

 

[NY 986]

Yeah, I would have hated to be an AC dealer when that happened. The planter upgrade in no way could offset those tractors. Probably not so bad in the grain belts but in the dairy states the whole thing was devastating.

 

[newfarmer9]

I work for a John Deere dealer but have owned several pieces of AGCO equipment prior to working for Deere. I have been seeing parts prices through AGCO that are 2x to 3x that of comparable John Deere parts, lots of discontinued parts on equipment that is not that old (70s, 80s, 90s), and very little stock on hand. What parts they can get take 2-3 weeks to come in. I think part of the problem is they have too many brands under AGCO. White, Cockshutt, Oliver, MM, Massey Ferguson, Agco-Allis, Challenger, Gleaner, Fendt, etc. etc. Whereas John Deere parts departments sell and stock John Deere and that's it.

Just an example I had to go to AGCO for a transmission line for one of my tractors. For a small line with two fittings they wanted almost $300 and it would take 2 weeks to come in (comparable Deere part was around $100 and in stock but had the wrong fittings for my application). I ended up buying some bulk line and fittings and made a line for around $20.

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 16:16:15 11/15/15) AC could have taken the place of Ford in terms of the company that came after Deere and Case IH in the 1980's had they listened to people. I can remember dad talking to a blockman at the dealer one time and there was a lack of enthusiasm at the corporate level for farm equipment as it was less than 15 percent of the overall sales volume of AC during the early 1970's. Other than the late 1970's and the last 5 years here combines were never big sellers to rely on for cash flow. AC needed the 8000 series tractors several years before they came out which meant by 1975. They needed to keep some materials handling equipment such as manure spreaders. As mentioned before they needed to keep and upgrade choppers, blowers, and self unloading wagons. Even though Deere and NH were giants and hay tools AC needed to keep a toe in that market. My understanding was there were patent issues in terms of upgrading the small square balers. Mower conditioners might have meant sourcing something from some other company. If they were cagey enough they should have talked to Hesston about building the Oliver offset (conventional) baler which Hesston did not want to build. I'll have to get the book but I would bet there is nothing there about the bean counters who I think condemned the company to death despite the 8000 series tractors and rotary combines. Like I said before a lot of AC dealers hit the wall after 1980 because nobody was buying tractors or combines.

Actually I think AC killed itself when they refused to come out with an IPTO tractor in the early 70's Sales really tanked about then for them. Then the 190 tranny issues were the icing on the cake. Once they got the rear end beefed up the tranny were still not as good as they should have been.

I don't understand how there could have been a issue with a square baler. Case, IH, JD, Ford and others all made them. So the patents couldn't have been all that much of a problem.

Rick

 

[ptfarmer]

AGCO Corp owns
Ag-Chem
AGCO
AGCO Allis
AGCOStar
Challenger
Farmhand
Fella
Fendt
Gleaner
Glencoe
Hesston
Loral
Massey Ferguson
New Idea
Spra-Coupe
Sunflower
Tye
Valtra
White
White Planters
Willmar

Our local "mom, and pop" Massey Ferguson dealer parts department is pretty good. They will call you to let you if a part you ordered won't be able to be delivered when promised so you can decide if you want to wait however long, or cancel the order. Our local CNH dealer is another story, its a lot like the first post in this thread. I think its the way the dealer(s), owner(s) like to operate, and the people that work there. Some may like working there, some may not like working there but they need the pay check so they do as little as they can.

 

[ptfarmer]

The Oliver 1650/1655, and the White 2-78 and 4-78 tractors used the same piston. I found 2 dealers online that are supposed to have 3each in stock.

 

[NY 986]

Obviously, they could build a baler but as they were they were not overly competitive. I don't know the details but to make the changes they felt necessary would have infringed on another manufacturer. As it was hay and forage tools were not important to AC in the 1970's as they were dropped. AC was willing to spend on R & D but often waited until the existing product in question was well past being obsolete. AC was nearly ready to unveil a new moldboard plow when they went under and shortly after Deutz came in the newly designed AC planters came out. The R & D money should have been spent sooner and on more products. Sometimes when designing you hit a wall and maybe best to do something else but they would have helped a lot of dealers here with a full line of products with equipment aimed at dairy farmers in particular.

 

[Mark-Mi]

Good luck with Mark. That's all I will say.

 

[WGM]

Never had a problem ordering parts from CNH. Next morning usually.

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 18:55:43 11/15/15) AC was willing to spend on R & D but often waited until the existing product in question was well past being obsolete.

AC's real trouble in the AG world was that AG products were secondary to them. IH failed because they were operating at too low a % of profit level.

Rick

 

[rrlund]

It's his store manager over here that I'll have to deal with. Time will tell. I can go to Cards if I have to. I've done a fair amount of business with them over the years. The new Depot is closer though.

 

[Bleeding Orange SW Iowa]

FWIW, we get good support from Robinson Implement out of Irwin, Iowa. They seem to cover a large area of western Iowa. We still farm with a small herd of AC D17s and several AC and New Idea implements. Most of the legacy brands over here seem to be AC and White, but there are pockets of Oliver and MF, as well. Their parts guys know the older equipment, and always seem to have parts for it in stock. I don't know if we have just been lucky or if they are just that good, but we have ordered from them many times over many years. Some local AC folks also use DJS Tractor Parts out of Stockbridge, Michigan, but I think they are AC-only, which doesn't help your Oliver issue. HTH.

 

[MSS3020]

yep, I hear ya.. I go online to get parts (filters, etc) for our 1180 Massey Ferg. Great little tractor but expensive as heck just to get basic filters. Some I have been able to cross ref. but still oil filter at oreillies was around $23.00. My john deere is half that..air filters (two) inner and outer are $70 ish each.. oh well it does pay for itself in the long run.. Closest dealer to me is about a 2.5 hour round trip. N.H. and J.D. are about an hour round trip..

Started going to ebay to find dealers with cheaper prices free shipping.