Deere vr John update

[john in la]

I posted last week about my troubles of trying to get a complete new deck for my X320 mower.

So since it has been 5 weeks and the part is supposedly still on back order waiting on the factory to build one; I went into my local dealer today. I was working with the branch manager because the parts guy and new sales guy could not find the part I wanted even to order it.
While I never once called the corporate office for this dealer the branch manager was talking to them because even she did not know how to order this part.

A few things I found out from other big dealers this week that I did not tell my local dealer.
A dealer in Mich has the part in stock and ready to ship.
Do JD dealers not have access to a nation wide dealer search for hard to find parts.
A dealer in Ill and Ind told me they do not have the part but had checked and it was in stock at the factory.
Now someone is lying to me or just does not know what they are talking about.
My local dealer keeps insisting the part is not available and needs to be built but another dealer tells me the factory has it.

My conclusion with dealing with my local dealer in the past and over the past few weeks on this part.
I was in WAY over their head looking for a not so common part that most do not know is even available because it is not listed in the parts book. Heck I did not even know it was available until some on this site pointed me in that direction.
When I first called both the parts guy; new sales team; and even branch manager could not find the part I wanted.
I had to give them the part number I wanted and have them look it up that way.
Even with a part number the only way they knew it was a good number was by seeing it on other JD dealers web site.
It was not until my branch manager got the corporate office involved that we started to get somewhere.

So any way I just asked for a refund and figured I would go work with one of these other out of town dealers even though I hate ordering large expensive parts from out of town. If there is ever a problem your only recourse is yelling at someone over the phone.

To my surprise the branch manager agreed to give me a refund as I told her I needed to do something today to get my grass cut.
She even gave me a 100% refund with no special order restocking fees.
This put me in a very good mood and showed me while they may have been in over their head she was willing to work with me.

So now all I need to do is find my wife that tagged along with me and go home and order the part from another dealer.
But where is my wife. Oh there she is out in the parking lot test driving a new mower.
The boss has spoken. We are cutting grass today!!!!

They give her a good deal on a new X350. JD has 0% for 24 months and $200 rebate on 300 tractors right now.
The fact that they give me the 100% refund on the part made me give in and agree.
They only had 42 in decks in stock but another store 25 miles up the road had the 48 in deck X350 in stock so we drove over there and picked it up.
While it cost me more the wife is happy; I got a new 48 month bumper to bumper warranty; and I got to cut some grass today.

 

[2x4]

some days you get the Deere & some days the Deere gets you.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

And the dealership got you to buy a new mower which may have been their goal from day one.

 

[4520BW]

Back when i was working for the local dealer(early 90s) we ordered alot of decks and seem to get them fast. I can not rememeber the number i changed but it was alot. Deere came out with the mulching blades and our area is realy sandy soil so the mulching blades lifted the sand and inturn sandblasted the decks.

 

[rrlund]

"I'm gonna buy a John Deere 'cause I know I can always get parts for it.".

 

[Traditional Farmer]

(LOL)

 

[johnlobb]

Randy! You are bad! Hee Hee Hee!!

 

[IanC]

If that item is ordered through whole goods, then PAID inventory probably would not show on the locator, only stuff still on floor plan, at least that is how CNH worked.

 

[rrlund]

Ya,you told me that in person didn't you. LOL

 

[JD Seller]

Well I am gald that you got the Wife happy and mowing again. LOL

I still do not know why the local dealership is having so much trouble over just ordering a deck. One thing I do know is different JD branches handle things just a little bit differently. Since your last post I had a friend at a local dealership do some looking at the number/bundle you needed. Yes the factory shows that bundle in inventory, kind of. LOL I think they are building them right now. Because if you look they show it in stock but show a delivery date of 3-4 weeks out. So I think the factory has a glitch in their inventory system right now. I called an old friend at Horicon Wi. He still works at the factory there. He knows a fellow in the warehouse. There are no decks in inventory there, but the computer shows that there should be. LOL All they can figure is that they are in the current build schedule and are being build ASAP.

As for looking at the national dealership inventory. IF you have high enough clearance you can look at what other dealerships have in new inventory. This clearance is set by the dealership. This is one area that is very dealership/chain dependent. The BIG chains around here do not let the individual stores order any new whole goods directly. It is all handled by the MAIN store personal. So even local store sales managers could have a very limited access to the national system because of how the main branch has things set up. While this would drive me nuts, as I was used to handling things directly with JD, I can understand why the BIG chains have done this. Example: The dealership around me has 10 locations. IF they had it set up to where each store ordered their own stuff they would have ten people ordering stuff. With it all in the main store they can control what is being ordered better. Mainly to make sure that all the correct programs/discounts are being used. Also to keep stores from just ordering stuff that may well be already in another store.

There are still hard feeling between many stores at times over things. This is caused by how the owners think it is all one big happy family. It is not. You bust your butt and get a good trade-in. Lets say it is a the right price or just in super condition and in high demand. You have to enter it into the inventory program. Before you even get to show it to your own customers some other store's salesman cherry picks it selling it to someone. One local store has salesman that always has full market value in his trades. So his trade-in set on the lot for a LONG time. I know of times he sells some thing like a grain head. He has one at the local store but he has a LOT of money in it. He will sell one from another store just because they have less money in it. So far the upper management has been letting him get away with it.

These type of games/issues is one of the BIG reasons I did not go to another dealership and keep selling. It just is not fun to have to deal with all the politics at JD and the dealership chains. Then you add in the BTO attitude of many farmers and your getting hammered from both sides. Too much BS for me to deal with at my age.

 

[Mike M]

Yesterday while walking around a local lawn mower junk yard I spotted a fairly newer looking 48" deck. I thought of you and how hard of time you were having finding one and I almost fell over one. lol.

 

[DoubleO7]

(quoted from post at 02:03:03 09/23/18)

Just imagine how much business is lost by JD because their parts system is a mystery to many dealers.

I am betting the dealer in Michigan does not actually have the deck either but can order it for you. The bait and switch thing.

So you now have a new mower.
Are you still going to get (or rather pursue) a new deck assembly for the old one?

 

[4520BW]

I was in the process of trading in my gator when the local dealership got bought out. The sales man told me someone from 150 miles sets price on trade ins and since we did not sign the papers yet he could not honor the deal. This gator was a lemon from day one and the salesman know all the trouble I had so he was trying to make me a good deal. I went and traded for a Polaris instead and only buy parts from them now.

 

[tim s]

Traditional Farmer has pointed out what the Grand Plan was...Our Local Mega Dealers do a similar plan,,Over charge for an older tractor repair, and then tell you that you should have bought a new one...and be sure to tell you neighbor...so he don't make the same mistake...

 

[ss55]

That seems like a very reasonable solution. Even up North there are still one or two months of mowing and leaf chopping left in this season.

Did you trade in the old mower? The dealer can fix it up whenever parts do become available.

 

[john in la]

Are you still going to get (or rather pursue) a new deck assembly for the old one?

Maybe not this month but yes I think I will eventually put a deck on it.

 

[john in la]

JD.....

I think this was the perfect storm.
The local dealers are not educated on main store dealings.
Only the main store does whole goods ordering
The factory shows the part in stock but really does not have it
It is sugar cane harvest season and I only want a mower deck

 

[M-MAN]

In the old days the whole goods catalog was right there under the counter with the parts books. The parts man knew how to use them too. Everything changes and not always for the better. I still have some from day's gone by and it's interesting to look through them just to see all the stuff I had no idea was available.

 

[Two Dogs]

"She even gave me a 100% refund with no special order restocking fees." Why would there even be a question of restocking fees on a part they didn't have? Or did I not comprehend something?

 

[Will Herring]

And they wonder why some of us have started ordering parts online...

 

[SVcummins]

Never had a problem with parts yet . The idiot behind the parts counter that?s another story

 

[ss55]

Was it a special order?

 

[john in la]

From the way I understand it I canceled the order and wanted a refund.
The dealer can not cancel the order so the part will eventually be delivered to them.
This is not a normal stock item so they will have to sit on it till someone happens by looking for a deck.
With the price of the deck 1/3 the cost of a new tractor many may do like I did and just buy a new unit.

 

[DoubleO7]

(quoted from post at 16:02:05 09/23/18)
This is not a normal stock item so they will have to sit on it till someone happens by looking for a deck.

Wait until March and then have your friend walk into the dealership and ask for a new deck for X320.


:twisted: