32hp Vanguard problems???

[PLS-Tx]

It's on a Ferris is3100, less than two years old and a little over 700 hrs.

It has been at the dealer that we purchased from for over two weeks.

A few weeks ago it stared making a tapping sound. We brought it in to have it checked out, they could not find anything wrong with it and said the sound would not hurt anything.

Not long after this it lost power, so we brought it back to the dealer.

They are telling us the camshaft is wore and needs to be replaced, also, a bent push rod.

They are saying this is due to improper maintenance and not covered by the 3 year warranty. We change our oil every 50 hours like clock work, they said we should be doing it every 25 hours or whenever the oil starts to look dark.

The manual says to change the oil every 100 hours.

They are wanting to charge us over $500 for this repair.

What are your thoughts.

[cgaengineer]

Originally Posted by PLS-Tx

It's on a Ferris is3100, less than two years old and a little over 700 hrs.

It has been at the dealer that we purchased from for over two weeks.

A few weeks ago it stared making a tapping sound. We brought it in to have it checked out, they could not find anything wrong with it and said the sound would not hurt anything.

Not long after this it lost power, so we brought it back to the dealer.

They are telling us the camshaft is wore and needs to be replaced, also, a bent push rod.

They are saying this is due to improper maintenance and not covered by the 3 year warranty. We change our oil every 50 hours like clock work, they said we should be doing it every 25 hours or whenever the oil starts to look dark.

The manual says to change the oil every 100 hours.

They are wanting to charge us over $500 for this repair.

What are your thoughts.

Call B&S
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[Patriot Services]

Originally Posted by cgaengineer

Call B&S
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+1 the dealer will catch hell from BS for besmearching the name and ducking their obligations.
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[FMC1959]

Sorry to say, but your dealer sounds like a dick. "They are saying this is due to improper maintenance and not covered by the 3 year warranty"...improper maintenace? They need to say more than that.

Unless they see evidence like your oil is a black sludge, or anything that really shows lack of maintenace, a decent dealer should submit the warranty claim and won't get any kickback from the MFR.

I haven't had any Ferris equipment so I don't know what they are like as a comapny, but I would reach out to the local Ferris rep, the guy that is your dealers account manager. If he deosn't help, contact Ferris directly, their customer service, or if they have an ombudsman office.

I know, this takes time and it sucks, so you need to decide if the downtime on the machine and the time and effort you put into it is worth it or if it is easier to bite the $500 bullet.

In the early 80's I brought my Toyota Tercel to the dealer for an oil change, about $20 back then, I got a $110 bill. They said they rotated the tires and did a bunch of other crap I didn't ask for, but was needed to keep the car properly maintained and keep me in warrany good standing. I wrote a letter of discontent, made 4 copies and mailed(way before PC's) it to the regional office and the national HQ for Toyota, and also let them know that a copy was going to the BBB, and the local news cast that always had a segment on consumer issues with bad MFR's. About 3 weeks went by and then I got a call from my dealer, appoligizing for the misunderstanding and they would refund my $110 + the next oil change would be on the house.

You can get responses quicker these days with e-mail and internet, but it still takes time and energy, which you need to decide if it is worthwhile for you. Ultimately, it all comes down to what kind of customer service Ferris has, if it is crap, you will be SOL. It probably wouldn't hurt to at least contact the local rep for Ferris...and also find another dealer.

Good luck.

[FMC1959]

My bad, there are many machines where the warranty is done by the engine MFR, so calling Briggs might be the first step. If they don't help, it's Ferris's above Briggs that has their reputation to consider, they should do something.

[cgaengineer]

Originally Posted by FMC1959

My bad, there are many machines where the warranty is done by the engine MFR, so calling Briggs might be the first step. If they don't help, it's Ferris's above Briggs that has their reputation to consider, they should do something.

I think B&S owns Snapper and Ferris...so one call to B&S should do the trick.
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[FMC1959]

Everybody is owned by someone, but who actually makes anything? Not sure it is still the case today, but years ago Briggs was was having problems with OHV technology. They were having Vanguards made for them, by Yanmar or Daihutsu, or some other Japanese/Korean builder.

Maybe they should do the warranty work

[puppypaws]

Originally Posted by PLS-Tx

It's on a Ferris is3100, less than two years old and a little over 700 hrs.

It has been at the dealer that we purchased from for over two weeks.

A few weeks ago it stared making a tapping sound. We brought it in to have it checked out, they could not find anything wrong with it and said the sound would not hurt anything.

Not long after this it lost power, so we brought it back to the dealer.

They are telling us the camshaft is wore and needs to be replaced, also, a bent push rod.

They are saying this is due to improper maintenance and not covered by the 3 year warranty. We change our oil every 50 hours like clock work, they said we should be doing it every 25 hours or whenever the oil starts to look dark.

The manual says to change the oil every 100 hours.

They are wanting to charge us over $500 for this repair.

What are your thoughts.

Call 1-800-999-9333 and tell them you wish to speak with a member of their corporate customer support team, then explain what has taken place with the engine as well as the dealer. Make sure to get the persons information you are dealing with, this way they realize they must perform their duties responsibly. Please let us know what transpires!

[PLS-Tx]

Thanks for the help guys, we will be contacting the factory this coming week and will update thread.

This is a family run business, three brothers one of their wives and son all work their. The son is the one that works on lawn mowers. He is not there half the time, very frustrating. Several things he has worked on for us we had to bring back because it was not right, sometimes more than once.

Needless to say we will not be purchasing any more ztr's from them. We were wanting to get another 3100 but not after this.

Looks we have two choices. There is another Ferris dealer that I have talked to, they seem like they have things together. Problem is they are a little farther away than I'm comfortable with.

We may be changing over to Scag, demoed a Cheetah a few weeks ago and we liked it a lot.

[PLS-Tx]

I called & things are in motion. Looks like it will be covered, B&S has already called the dealer. Will give more info as soon as I have time.

Thanks again for all the help!!
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