A little update on the 26 EFI Exmark, kinda long

[Keith]

Well as you probably know I have been having ongoing problems with my 26 EFI EPS Lazer :o It's still dead and think I have eliminated the coils from the equation. I swapped them Friday night and the same cylinder is still dead :( I checked the oil after 3 hours since being changed and it has made oil, or rather it appears to have :rolleyes: Seems like the fuel is washing right through into the crankcase since there is no spark. I noticed this the last oil change as well.

My concern with this mower is the engine mainly. If you have a engine washing the cylinders with this much fuel, what are you doing to the durability? Will it last 2000 hours? Maybe a 1000? Either way I feel the longevity has been compromised. But, heck, by then it will be out of warranty anyway :rolleyes: Also, how many more times in the shop is it going to take them to get it fixed? I talked with someone at Exmark today on the phone and they want it back to the last dealer who did repairs. He did say Roberts' Supply, the distributor has offered to pick it up so I don't have to make the two trips (100 miles round trip each) to take it back. I guess I should be grateful for that. I still have no idea that next time will make it perfect.

The worst part about this whole mess is that I have to explain this POS to people. I have customers every week and ask where the new mower is. I don't use it unless I have a lawn that requires it. I have recommended Exmark to countless numbers of people, and it has come back to embarrass me. Recently I had an old friend of my Dad's come up to us while we were at a mower shop. He was looking at other brands and I suggested he go elsewhere and look at Exmarks. He bought a Great Dane instead and as luck would have it, I ended up cutting a lawn across the street from his 4 months later. Two separate weeks (two when it was not in the shop :rolleyes: ) he witnessed this temperamental POS act up. The dude had to look at me like an ----- for recommending this mower to him :o

I guess I expected some kind of resolution that has never come. This damn thing has screwed up my business this summer. I like to act like the big shot, nothing bothers me. I got plenty of backups. Well, no, I don't. There are certain lawns that only this mower does well and I need it. I gave up one the other day because I felt I could no longer do the job I should. I used to look at my work and think it looked as good as it could and hopefully better than anyone else's. I look at some lawns now and think "someone else could do better" :o Not all of them, but there are a few. I also "hide" it if I see other mowing crews in the area. As much as I like to stand behind Exmark, I can't do it no more :mad: When will they fix it? This time? Next time? When?

[ULTIMATE LAWN]

You should Never have to Rely on 1 Mower to run your business.

Occasional Problems are a Given even w/ new units.

Consider this a lesson learned.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by ULTIMATE LAWN
You should Never have to Rely on 1 Mower to run your business.

Occasional Problems are a Given even w/ new units.

Consider this a lesson learned. He does not have just one mower.

You comment was inappropriate.

So I guess, you should have problems with your "new units" that's what you said bunny bread...

Further more this unit is not a new design, came out in '99.

Well Keith, check the CDI, and call kohler, don't hesitate anymore.

[ULTIMATE LAWN]

Originally posted by Keith

This damn thing has screwed up my business this summer.

You are not paying attention.

IMO one mower gone bad should not affect your biz.

Regardless, the issue should have been resolved but not surprisingly has not. I've had New Units go bad from the get go & it always takes time to resolve.

[Scag48]

That's a bad deal, I feel for you. I had many problems last year and the year before that with a Toro I had. Nothing I had to take to the dealer to fix, but small things that kept it out of action for the rest of the day or week. It's quite embarassing, I'm with you there. Being recognized as a professional who has moody equipment that doesn't run looks very unprofessional to the customer or the passer-by. Good luck getting it fixed!

[John Gamba]

Keith
I Have emailed Exmark Again On this. I Told them If It Was Me This would Be In Court And The Reason Is NOBODY Has Offered You A LOANER.
I think Thats The Least They Could Do.
As For Ultimate Lawn, You should Have Back Up But Not everybody Has The Money. I Have Had No Problems With the 02 None At All. But I Would expect A Loaner for Something Thats Taking two Months Or More.
John

[ProMo]

exmark said they would take care of my machine I took it to roberts and all i was told is that i rolled my machine and they werent going to fix it . my dixie rolled into it on the trailer and raised the handle a little but there is no way this bent the frame on the mower hopefully they have a brighter guy to look at your machine as for me no more exmark

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by ULTIMATE LAWN
You are not paying attention.

IMO one mower gone bad should not affect your biz.

Regardless, the issue should have been resolved but not surprisingly has not. I've had New Units go bad from the get go & it always takes time to resolve. Seeing, that I have actually talk to Keith, your assumptions are not what they seem.I got plenty of backups.

Hard to keep taking a mower to get fixed to someone an hour away and still run a business. That's why Keith swapped the coils out himself. Dealers are not always the best for diagnostic repairs. If it won't do it for them, they can't find what needs fixing.

So with your repetitive rudeness, time for you to vanish.Certified Does this mean you are certifiable?

[ULTIMATE LAWN]

Originally posted by Keith
I got plenty of backups. Well, no, I don't. There are certain lawns that only this mower does well and I need it.

You missed the second part of that quote Miss Manners.

Regardless, I would not be surprised if we Hear about a New engine Soon.

Keep Complaining.

[John Gamba]

Wait Till You see the New Mower For 2004. Thats All I Have To Say

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by ULTIMATE LAWN
You missed the second part of that quote Miss Manners.
So I am a miss now...UMMM ok.

[Envy Lawn Service]

OK now I have to jack my jaw a bit about this!

Reguardless of what anyone has to say about this I will never change my view on what I think about situations like this! Personally I don't care if you have 50 Exmark Lazers in the field and only one of them is having a problem like this...it should still be taken care of "fastlike"!!!!

We are talking a $10,000 lawn mower here! This mower should have been fixed long ago, no excuses! One time in the shop and it's still doing the same thing....ah pretty normal moron mechanic deal, they must give out these certifications in cracker jack boxes. But after the second time....well both Exmark and Kohler should have been directly involved in seeing that the problem was fixed right them in a timely manner, no matter what it took to get that done.

Why so harsh you ask? Well...umm...we are talking premo dollars spent here for a piece of equipment that is intended to work and make money right? Now $10,000 for a mower that won't mow...now that's a new one on me!

Hey, if Kohler can make and sell this engine they ought to be able to see that it get's fixed or replaced. They should stand behind their product and make it right. But if they don't Exmark should.

Now you say why? Well....it's the classic thing that happens all the time, the old "pass the buck" routine. Exmark says well, this is not an Exmark problem it's Kohler's problem. Then Kohler says just the opposite. Well, I am here to tell you, it's one or the other's responsibility to make it right!

Now which one you ask? Well, at this point it ceases to matter who's responsible. It's been far too long. After a mower has been down a while you could care less really. I mean it doesn't matter if it's a Kohler or a 350 Chevy on the mower. Bottom line, the mower don't work.

At this point the support network has completely failed in every aspect. Once this happens, the MFG of the mower, Exmark should step in and say "OK this has gone on long enough." In the end it may be a Kohler issue, but the consumer does not care where fault lies, he just wants a mower that works. So if you build a mower and sell it, you should see to it that it works like it should for the customer.

The way I look at it is this is no longer Keith's problem anymore, it's Exmark's. They should either install a replacement engine or replace the mower and take this issue up with the dealers that failed to repair it and Kohler, who failed to step in and replace it themselves.

Why?...Well lets all face it, Exmark certainly has more pull with Kohler than one individual customer and they should share that leverage with their customers.

So to Exmark I ask, what is so hard about this? What is so hard to uderstand about the fact that your mower will not mow without a good engine? Also what's so hard about sending a new EFI engine to one of these "part changer" service departments? I'm sure they can handle an engine swap at least. A new engine would make the rest of that $10,000 mower operate.

Now don't whine about the cost of the of the engine. If it had been replaced already it would have cost you far less than what it already has, severe damage to the Exmark reputation.

[Keith]

Another little update here. I called the guy at Roberts' Supply, the distributor, who was going to pick up the mower and take it back to the dealer and save me a few hours, toll money, gas, and about 100 miles. Well, I got what I expected from him. He offered to pick it up Friday :rolleyes: Most likely it would sit at Roberts' over the weekend and would wind up at the dealer on Monday. Best case scenario, the dealer gets to look at it at the beginning of next week :mad: So, I ended up making the mad, 80 mph rush and took it back myself. I made it with 10 minutes to spare, they were rolling the doors down as I pulled up.

The counter guy told me no harm is done running a little raw fuel down the cylinders, I guess I'll find out if I am right down the road :mad:

As far as the backup mower thing goes. Yes I have what I call backups. They serve that purpose. When it stretches out more than a few days, like the 16 days the first time...the backup is now primary. I'd love to have another brand new EPS (or something else) to run along side that one, but it would never sit idle as a backup.

The lack of a loaner from some party involved me baffled :???: The worst cutting mower I ever owned was quickly picked up by the distributor and I was delivered a loaner. I had that loaner for four months while they figured out what to do with mine. They finally ended up replacing mine with a new one. It still was not the greatest, but I was treated really well by Scag, the distributor and the dealer. I have missed that ever since. After that, was the Grasshopper disaster, where I had a similar experience with a down machine for two weeks then again for another 8 days or so. No loaner there either...and I had no backup at all :eek: I ended up renting a walk behind that time.


I called about a rental ZTR yesterday and the only dealer that does that wanted $140/day. I may end up having to do that Friday to catch up. I talked to the local Hustler/Husqvarna dealer today and he said if I bought a Hustler and it was in the shop for more than 24 hours, he would give me a loaner. He said if you buy a Husqvarna, anywhere, and it is down for more than 24 hours they are required to give you a loaner. First I have ever heard of that :eek: Loaners equal faster service. If I had a loaner the first time mine went to the shop, I bet it would not have been there 16 days :mad:

[Husker1982]

I thought for sure Exmark had a promise of a loaner if your mower was going to be in for 24hrs.

[Premo Services]

Keith:
Thats a shame, I would think they stand behind their products better than that. I would think that you would have had a loaner and yours fixed.

Mabey the problem is with the dealers.

Good luck with the problem.

[Westbrooklawn]

Where is the Exmark response to this issue? I'd like to hear their side of the story (can't imagine it would be a very good story however). I have a LZHP and love it....no problems, but this situation has really shaded my perception of how Exmark responds to someone who DOES have a problem with their product. As someone said earlier the damage to their reputation has cost thousands more than if they had stepped up to the plate and provided a new motor or a complete new mower.

COME ON EXMARK.......MAKE A REPLY........DO WHAT'S RIGHT!!! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY??!!

[John Gamba]

West Brook
Ask Them The same Question On There forum. You will Get An Answer.
John

[Westbrooklawn]

John,

I think you are missing my point on this one. Sure I know there is an Exmark Forum, and yes, I imagine they would post some sort of response if I posed the question over there. The fact is, however, that all the history is in this thread, and this is the thread that hundreds of potential Exmark customers are reading. Exmark is remiss if they aren't monitoring questions/issues about their products and jumping in with some explanation. A lot of the folks who have read this thread aren't going to see an explanation over in the Exmark forum.

Again, I'm not bashing Exmark.......I'm trying to help them!! I love my LZHP and would buy another in a heart beat, but I might really shy away form the 26efi unless I could be sure that Exmark would stand behind it and make a timely response to any problems.

Again, let Exmark reply to this thread and show the professionals reading this website that they will react quickly to a problem at whatever the cost.

[John Gamba]

Westbrook
I should Have said it Better. They don't Respond Over Here, They Will Only Respond On There Forum. They (Exmark) Have Never Responded To Anything Over Here.

I Already Asked Them And i Got a Reply. I will Not Give Out Second Hand News(Not that I don't Want to).

and I do know where you are coming from. I Would Like To See how Others Are Going To Handle It On There Mowers?

Good luck Keith You've Got My prayers.
John

[Westbrooklawn]

John,

Good reply. Thanks for the insight. Keith, I wish you the best luck.

[John Gamba]

UPDATE
Today Or tomorrow The Sun Will Appear. John316. I hope its good News Keith!
John

[Keith]

There is an update today. Keith bought a Super Z. I could not take this chit no more :o

[MARYLANDMOWER]

Keith,
You may remember I had serious problems with mine as well. Well, the dealer I bought it from, just totally useless, don't grasp the concept of downtime???? Anyway, take it to my local Toro dealer, Kohler Authorized, so doesn't really matter. I was standing next to him while he was ordering my intake manifold, which is what they think the problem is on my machine, he ordered it as Unit Down status, that was about 6 weeks ago, part just came in 2 days ago, luckily for me the machine has been running O.K. not great. Now the mower is back at the Exmark dealer cause my 500.00 seat broke and it has taken those morons a day and a half to try to fix it.
P.S. To all the Smart A's out there......We buy new equipment so we won't HAVE DOWNTIME, so don't lecture the man (Keith) about not having enough equipment, Exmark should have put a new motor on the machine and been done with it!! One moter won't hurt them right???? Guess what Keith and myself are not the only ones having problems, I can guarentee that!! There are some major issues here and Exmark better deal with it!!

[Keith]

MARYLANDMOWER, how could I forget you? :) It was your thread that demanded so much attention over the last month. Like I mentioned in that thread, it was an intake manifold that had put the one at the other dealer out for 2 months. It was only 6 serial numbers away from mine :o I hope you get some resolution to your problem. I just could not wait any longer. I need the mower back, but at least having the Super Z will fill the void, I hope. Like they say...vote with your wallet :eek:

[John Gamba]

Keith
Did you Get A Kaw? And Good luck With It. John

[Gravely_Man]

This is awful to say the least! I wish you the best of luck in getting this problem resolved yesterday! As previously pointed out this thread is influencing a lot of future Emark buyers.


Gravely_Man

[Keith]

John, I just got the 27 Kohler. I started to get them to order a 27 LC Kawi, but I needed it then. I did take your advice and had them add a QwikChute to it :)

[mowerconsultant]

Keith,
Thank you for purchasing a Hustler Super Z.
The Kohler 27 hp on a Super Z is a great combo, it is a very productive mower.
Who did you buy your mower from ?

Later
Pj

[John Gamba]

Keith
Good Luck With your New Mower. You Don't Need the L/C I think You Will Be Happy With The 27. Great news on the quickchute they work just fine. One thing look at meg-mo blades he has a 30 day money back garenty that you should look at. it might help the super z to chop up the grass so you don't have to double cut all the time.
John

[John Gamba]

Keith
Great new on new mower. I'm glad you got the quickchute it will help you out alot. Look into meg-mo blades he has a money back gurentee. I think it will help so you don't have to keep double cutting with the super z. I have them on the lazer and i do like them so far.
John

[yardman1]

Kieth, let us know how you like that super z, I am considering buying one.

[Keith]

Pj, I bought the mower from H&M in Leesburg, Florida.

John, I'll look into the Meg-Mo.

[brucec32]

I had an engine problem on my new lazer z hp, and despite a bad start, Exmark and my dealer did come through and provide loaners, delivered to me to save me the time of a long drive over, and eventually after 3 tries replaced the Kawasaki 21hp POS with a 23hp model that so far is running fine. The whole process took about 6-7 weeks, I think. Far too long to be w/o a loaner. I think it all depends on how good a dealer you have, and how good you are at making it clear to that dealer that you will share your experiences with them (good or bad) here and elsewhere. Unfortunately, some people have no inner guidance, and respond only to a cattle prod. They can't see the big picture and think only short term gain.

[Keith]

I talked to the tech at Commercial (the dealer where the mower is at) today and told me they replaced something and the mower is running good now. I guess I will drive over this afternoon or tomorrow and get it. Seemed like it was something minor that they really never determined was bad, but that was the only thing they could figure to go with. But this mower has had a history of problems that come and go when they please...so we will see. I will keep you up to date.

[eXmark]

Keith:

Your mower has been fixed for two days now, and the dealer has been trying to get in contact with you. It's sounds like you got the message. You might want to call the dealer and let them know that you received the message and will pick up the mower.

The guys over at Commercial Lawn Equipment found that the temperature switch was bad, and there was a bare wire on the wiring harness. I believe they have replaced both components. They ran the unit for 4 hours just to make sure everything was okay. 1.5 to 2 hours were spent running the machine at idle, and the remainder was spent cutting grass. According to the mechanic, he experienced no performance problems during this time. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Please keep us up to speed with how this machine performs.

Dustin
Exmark Customer Service

[Keith]

Originally posted by eXmark
Keith:

Your mower has been fixed for two days now, and the dealer has been trying to get in contact with you. It's sounds like you got the message. You might want to call the dealer and let them know that you received the message and will pick up the mower.



I realize that, and I have talked to them. I called Danny (the tech) back within a couple hours of when he called and told him I would get over there as soon as I could, probably Thursday. Don't forget this is a 100 mile roundtrip. I got a call back yesterday from a woman that worked there telling me it was done. No, I did not bother calling her back. I see no need in having to call everyone at Commercial and telling them I got the message. Danny knows, I talked to him. I will get over there is soon as I can.

Edit: So I don't stir up any more trouble, I will go unload and head over there now. I was going to do it tomorrow morning, but I don't want anyone telling you I'm not doing my part.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Originally posted by eXmark
the temperature switch Dustin, what exactly does this control, and how is it set up for future references.

Thanks..LGF

[lazer9284]

Dude, I've been following your history with this mower

Sounds like it sucks for you the way you put it.
But i would be willing to bet that there is more to the story than we all know.
What I mean is " the squeeky wheele gets the grease".
I bet you return your shoes to wal-mart when they wear out too.
All jokes aside looks like from your history of calling distributors and manufucturers you love attention.
You said it yourself dude " I called the Scag distributor and he gave me a new mower"

Bottom line is Yes you may have had ISSUES with your mower but it sounds like you wanted something to go wrong and could not wait to complain.
Just how many days of downtime did you have that the mower was actually done and you did not go get??????

For those who actually have sense.......just remember you buy local to get service......not just the best price...
This fool went 100 mile round trip to save 100 bucks i bet ...no wonder the local dealer is blowing him off.

[hustler1]

Thanks to your post I bought a new Hustler yesterday instead of an ex mark (and it was $200 cheaper too and with a better warrenty). Maybe ex mark will "feel the heat" from guys like me.....

[eXmark]

LAWNGODFATHER:

What I was referring to was the oil temperature switch or sensor. If the switch is bad and not sending the proper signal to the ECU, the ECU will have a tough time determining the correct fuel mixture. It's a sealed, non-serviceable item.

Hope this helps,

Dustin
Exmark Customer Service

[Keith]

Originally posted by lazer9284
Dude, I've been following your history with this mower

Sounds like it sucks for you the way you put it.
But i would be willing to bet that there is more to the story than we all know.
What I mean is " the squeeky wheele gets the grease".
I bet you return your shoes to wal-mart when they wear out too.
All jokes aside looks like from your history of calling distributors and manufucturers you love attention.
You said it yourself dude " I called the Scag distributor and he gave me a new mower"

Bottom line is Yes you may have had ISSUES with your mower but it sounds like you wanted something to go wrong and could not wait to complain.
Just how many days of downtime did you have that the mower was actually done and you did not go get??????

For those who actually have sense.......just remember you buy local to get service......not just the best price...
This fool went 100 mile round trip to save 100 bucks i bet ...no wonder the local dealer is blowing him off.

I'll try to answer your questions by paragraph.

I never said I called the Scag distributor. You just made a quote that does not exist. I have never even talked the Scag distributor that I can remember. The dealer took the mower back and the distributor got a loaner and never could figure out what was wrong with the first one, and replaced it months later. The dealer looked at how it cut, put a new deck on it and did just the same. That's the reason it had to be replaced. Everything went through the dealer. Another thing, this thread was started in the "Commercial Forum", it got moved here to the Exmark forum last week, I didn't even post it here. Guess what? This is precisely why I did not post it here. I did not want to come look like I was bashing Exmark in their own home.



Total days down....28. 16 the first time, 5 the second and 7 the third. And no, I am not counting the one day that I could not go get it the second time or the two days it took me to go get it the last. Why would I want to complain about a mower? Please make sense of that for me. I was the proudest Lazer owner there was, go back and look at the threads dating to March. We've probably gone through 20 Exmark caps, some shirts, I even have an Exmark clock on my wall. I paid for them all out of my pocket. Does that sounds like someone who bought a mower just waiting to have problems?


I went out of my way to buy Exmark, we have no local dealer. Everyone of them is a pretty long haul. I bought it from the dealer I felt comfortable buying it from, not the cheapest. I could have saved money buying it elsewhere that was no farther away.

Where in the hell did all this come from? You registered here just for this? I wish you could walk in my shoes, as far as this mower has gone, before I return them to Walmart :rolleyes:

[mowrman]

I will have to agree with lazer you should always buy from the closest dealer who will give you the best service.
I paid about $200 dollars more for my lazer to get it from my local dealer but he fixes me up right away i never wait. and once he had to keep it over night he gave me a loaner mower to finish my jobs. something to be said for quality of service not price of the mower.

[Keith]

One more thing to add to what lazer9284 said. This fool drove to a dealer that was 37 miles away to buy the mower. This fool took it back to that dealer the first time it was unusable. To the best of my knowledge they did nothing but let it run for the first two weeks it was there. I think they even forgot it was there. I finally had to call to ask what was up with it. I was advised the second time to take it to the other dealer by someone at Exmark who was told, by the distributor, this was the place to take it to. I complied with that request. When it would not run at all a few days later I was asked to take it back there, I did. Am I a fool for listening to what Exmark has told me to do? As far as I am concerned, the tech at the dealer who has worked on it the last couple of times knows what he is doing, and is a heck of a nice guy that seems genuinely concerned that this mower gets fixed. But it is not there responsibility to give me anything to use while it is down, which puts me in a serious bind.

As far as purchasing locally, there is no dealer within less than a 45 minute drive. The dealer that has worked on it the last couple times is only 15 minutes farther away than the closest because of toll road. Am I a fool to buy Exmark because there is no local dealer? I did not think so. I don't think Exmark thought so. And I do not think other Exmark owners would think so.

[Keith]

Originally posted by mowrman
I will have to agree with lazer you should always buy from the closest dealer who will give you the best service.
I paid about $200 dollars more for my lazer to get it from my local dealer but he fixes me up right away i never wait. and once he had to keep it over night he gave me a loaner mower to finish my jobs. something to be said for quality of service not price of the mower.

Once again, we do not have a local dealer. I bought an Exmark becuase I wanted one. In hindsight, maybe I should have bought something else. I certainly would have thought other Exmark users would have felt the same way. It boiled down to 3 dealers for me. If you go back and read some of my other threads, maybe it will shed some light on why I bought it from who I did. I did not base it on price at all. I could have gotten it cheaper elsewhere. But I have said this all before.

[lazer9284]

Keith,
not trying to pick a fight man.
but if you looked on the locator there are dealers closer to you than 37 miles..... i'll bet you a buck.
Granted I dont know where in central florida you are but give it a try and let me know.

[Envy Lawn Service]

Originally posted by lazer9284
Dude, I've been following your history with this mower

Sounds like it sucks for you the way you put it.
But i would be willing to bet that there is more to the story than we all know.
What I mean is " the squeeky wheele gets the grease".
I bet you return your shoes to wal-mart when they wear out too.
All jokes aside looks like from your history of calling distributors and manufucturers you love attention.
You said it yourself dude " I called the Scag distributor and he gave me a new mower"

Bottom line is Yes you may have had ISSUES with your mower but it sounds like you wanted something to go wrong and could not wait to complain.
Just how many days of downtime did you have that the mower was actually done and you did not go get??????

For those who actually have sense.......just remember you buy local to get service......not just the best price...
This fool went 100 mile round trip to save 100 bucks i bet ...no wonder the local dealer is blowing him off.

lazer9284, You sir are a (can't say on lawnsite)!!!! I'll tell ya, you got some nerve. Your veiwpoint would be totally different if you were in his shoes. But your not. So with that said, I hope with all that I am that you have to go through what Keith has on the next 3 mowers you purchase. That should teach you a little about thinking how others feel.

But the truth probably is that you don't even own a mower yourself and will not be buying 3 more any time soon. Here comes my guess about the truth of it.


Keith, I'd just ignore this guy. My guess is since he is a new member from Florida, that he is probably one of the mechanics that couldn't figure out what was wrong with your mower. So he gets all mad, come on here and blasts you.

[Envy Lawn Service]

These days the problem is that everyone wants to sell something and make money, but no one wnts to stand behind their product and live up to the warrenty they advertise. It's all a sales pitch.

Secondly, when something goes wrong, more often than not everyone gangs up for a real good game of "pass the buck" until you cave in. While doing so they pass you back and forth.....dealer/other dealer/distributor/mfg/another certified engine tech....and so it goes. Mower MFG says it not our responsibility, we pass the buck to the engine MFG to warrenty and take care of repairs, then the engine MFG passes the buck back to the mower MFG saying there is nothing wrong with our engine.

The bare facts are, in most cases like this, the tech can't find/fix the problem, so the easy out is to go behind the owners back and tell all reps involved that nothing is wrong with the mower/motor. So then both MFG's end up thinking they just have a PITA customer on their hands.

The root of the problem is that they must hand out these Tech Certifications in Cracker Jack boxes. Most of these Kohler/Kawi/Briggs certified techs are nothing more than certified part changers. Most of them know nothing about diagnosing a hard to determine problem. But they cn get by with that because the standard is so low these days and the demand for small engine repair is so high.

The next issue is that is you really do get a mechanic that is really qualified and knows what he is doing, you still have a problem getting warrenty repairs done that require diagnostics. Why? Because the MFG warrenty will cover bad part replacement and pro rated labor for THAT PART ONLY most of the time. So what you end up with is a mechanic with his hands tied behind his back because the owner of the dealership does no want to give away free labor and pay the mechanics hourly wage to do such diagnostic work.

But really who can blame the dealer? He is in the business to make money. So he tells his mechanic to shoot from the hip, change a part and hope they guessed the right part, so they can get warrenty pay accordingly and the mechanic can get back to working on those other 236 non-warrenty repairs that are waiting in line to be fixed.

Now if anyone reading thinks this is not the case, then feel free to enlighten me. Give me another suitable reason why any mower should have to be in and out of multiple shops on different occasions and still not have the original issue repaired? There is no excuse and no other reason I can think of.

[lazer9284]

Envy lawn service,

Yes i am new to site but in business for 6 yrs.
And i do own exmark equipment. And fortunatly have never had a problem, ( only 2yrs old)
However......
this is just an opinion, much like others on the site.
In the distant past I have had problems with another brand of equipment and too got the "pass the buck" runaround.
But i also realized the value in buying local so if this kind of stuff happens it is not such a big problem for travel and time to get them resolved.

Oh yes one other thing.... if I were the mechanic that could not diagnose the problem i probably could not figure out how to use the computer either.. so rest assured i dont even try to fix them ,i only try to make money with the equipment.
Anyway , hope keith is happy with the mower.
I know it has engine problems but have not seen any posts from him that say anything negative about the mower..
That is good ..at least for us that still believe in the BEST MOWER OUT THERE..
P.S. mine have kawasaki engines ...lucky me

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Just so some of you whiners know, Keith too the engine off the mower himself on a friday night changed the coils just to be sure that was not the problem.

And there is no dealer any closer than 37 miles from him, which is a combind 1 hour drive "round trip".....

[John Gamba]

Mike
I don't think you have to take off the engine to change the coils.
john

[Keith]

No, the coils were right on top. But here is an embarrasing situation. I really wasn't going to mention this :) On a Thurday night, I went over to my shop, where the Kees was to do a little maintenance. I decided that Friday was not going to be a terribly busy day, so I would tear the 25 off and scavenge the coils to try on the 26. After getting about half way into the job, I drove back to the house to get the Lazer only then realizing, the coils were right on top! :) LOL. I could only sit there and laugh. I had looked right at them 100 times before but completely was not thinking what I was doing, LOL.

BTW, Right now the Exmark is running fine. Hope it stays this way.

[brucec32]

Originally posted by Envy Lawn Service
These days the problem is that everyone wants to sell something and make money, but no one wnts to stand behind their product and live up to the warrenty they advertise. It's all a sales pitch.

Secondly, when something goes wrong, more often than not everyone gangs up for a real good game of "pass the buck" until you cave in. While doing so they pass you back and forth.....dealer/other dealer/distributor/mfg/another certified engine tech....and so it goes. Mower MFG says it not our responsibility, we pass the buck to the engine MFG to warrenty and take care of repairs, then the engine MFG passes the buck back to the mower MFG saying there is nothing wrong with our engine.

The bare facts are, in most cases like this, the tech can't find/fix the problem, so the easy out is to go behind the owners back and tell all reps involved that nothing is wrong with the mower/motor. So then both MFG's end up thinking they just have a PITA customer on their hands.

The root of the problem is that they must hand out these Tech Certifications in Cracker Jack boxes. Most of these Kohler/Kawi/Briggs certified techs are nothing more than certified part changers. Most of them know nothing about diagnosing a hard to determine problem. But they cn get by with that because the standard is so low these days and the demand for small engine repair is so high.

The next issue is that is you really do get a mechanic that is really qualified and knows what he is doing, you still have a problem getting warrenty repairs done that require diagnostics. Why? Because the MFG warrenty will cover bad part replacement and pro rated labor for THAT PART ONLY most of the time. So what you end up with is a mechanic with his hands tied behind his back because the owner of the dealership does no want to give away free labor and pay the mechanics hourly wage to do such diagnostic work.

But really who can blame the dealer? He is in the business to make money. So he tells his mechanic to shoot from the hip, change a part and hope they guessed the right part, so they can get warrenty pay accordingly and the mechanic can get back to working on those other 236 non-warrenty repairs that are waiting in line to be fixed.

Now if anyone reading thinks this is not the case, then feel free to enlighten me. Give me another suitable reason why any mower should have to be in and out of multiple shops on different occasions and still not have the original issue repaired? There is no excuse and no other reason I can think of.

One of the most on-point posts I've read here in a long time. You've got the situation described very accurately. Thankfully in my case Exmark was one company that did the right thing, though it took a while, in my case. Too much in American business has become a get-rich quick scheme where sales is everything and service is an afterthought.

[brucec32]

Originally posted by lazer9284
Envy lawn service,

Yes i am new to site but in business for 6 yrs.
And i do own exmark equipment. And fortunatly have never had a problem, ( only 2yrs old)
However......
this is just an opinion, much like others on the site.
In the distant past I have had problems with another brand of equipment and too got the "pass the buck" runaround.
But i also realized the value in buying local so if this kind of stuff happens it is not such a big problem for travel and time to get them resolved.

Oh yes one other thing.... if I were the mechanic that could not diagnose the problem i probably could not figure out how to use the computer either.. so rest assured i dont even try to fix them ,i only try to make money with the equipment.
Anyway , hope keith is happy with the mower.
I know it has engine problems but have not seen any posts from him that say anything negative about the mower..
That is good ..at least for us that still believe in the BEST MOWER OUT THERE..
P.S. mine have kawasaki engines ...lucky me

Lucky you. My Kawasaki had to be replaced at 92 hours. So much for anecdotal experience.

What makes a local dealer better than one 30 miles away? I get better service at a dealer I've bought nothing from in nearly 10 years than one I've bought several big items at. That "buy it where they service it" argument is also anecdotal and not always true. A good dealer gives good service, period.

Finally, I've found that people who rush to defend their mower manufacturer from complaints are the type who have "p$$$ on Chevy/Ford/Dodge" stickers on their trucks. Blind chauvanistic brand loyalty won't make things get better for anyone.

(I love my Exmark)