Warranty? You're Going To Need It
Model Year: 2015
I bought my tractor May 1, 2015. It was delivered to me with 2 dry rotted rear tires. I called the dealer and they said, "send pictures, we'll contact Kioti and see if they'll replace them." Really? You should have pulled the tires off while it was sitting on your lot and then fought with Kioti. 10 days later, two new tires arrived at my front door. I called the dealer, and said "The tires arrived, I can't put them on, what it I tear the bead?" It was like pulling teeth to have them come get the tractor, mount the tires, and return it to me two days later. By the way, the dealer is only 8 miles away. Issue number 2: There has been a constant struggle to attach and detach the loader bucket. The kick stand retainer pins are a joke! I had spent 30 minutes trying to attach one of the hydraulic lines, come to find out the line was holding pressure and I had to smash it on the side of a bucket to get it to release the fluid so it would snap back into the coupling. Issue number 3: the diesel fuel return line under the hood. The fine piece of engineering wonderment has a plastic connector held in place by two spring clamps - no big deal, they work fine in many applications, but not here. The plastic connector is not straight with barbs on the ends pushing into fuel lines, nope, one end is straight and the other bigger end is cone shaped and pushed into a 3/8s inch line with tiny ridges around it. So, it works its way out of the line and sprays diesel fuel all over the engine compartment. Issue number 4: hydraulic line near right rear tire. This line is zip tied to a piece of tubular frame. By the time all the hydraulic fluid had sprayed out, killing 130 feet of my lawn, the tractor quit moving. We shut it down and noticed that the hydraulic line had pulled out of its crimped fitting. It was not hooked on anything, just separated. I called the dealer and asked about the warranty. This is clearly a defective part, manufacturer's defect. I ask, is this covered by the warranty? Dealer: I don't know, (name removed) is out of town, but I can call him. I receive a text message from the dealer, "(Name removed) said if you can get the line off he can make you a new one" What? Is this how Kioti handles warranty issues? I contact Kioti via "comments and concerns" on their web page on 8/12/16. On 8/16/16, I sent it again because no one contacted me. On 8/18/16, (name removed) responded with a generic customer service touchy feely "I'm so sorry to hear of the frustration you are experiencing with your equipment. I agree that this could be a daunting task to remove hydraulic lines if you are not familiar with the technical aspects of your equipment." What? She should have said, by no means should you be doing any work on a 1 year old tractor still under warranty. She went on to say, "I recommend that you speak with the manager at the dealership and let them know this is unacceptable, they should be able to help you reach a satisfactory resolution." She must have missed the part about them having me pull the line off myself! She ended with, "feel free to let me know if I can be of further assistance." I emailed right back with,"Is this under warranty? If I remove the line is my warranty void? Who covers the cost of replacing the hydraulic fluid that killed my lawn?" That was 6 days ago. I've just heard crickets, no response. I had to rent a U-haul trailer and ratchet strap it up into the trailer. Because they ultimately said, "If you can get it here, we'll fix it." It is now fixed, I asked how much would they charge to deliver it to me, and I quote, "We don't do that, but you can call a towing company." I guess the price would be $15,000 since they delivered it when I bought it! What should have happened: Kioti calls the dealership, they go get the tractor, make it new, and return it to the customer, and bill Kioti for all charges.
Pros: Looks good
Cons: Poor quality, expensive/hard to get parts, and zero customer support
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