I took my tractor to Kubota of Ashville to get the PTO clutches replaced. I dropped it off Monday…read moreJuly 7, 2025 to be looked at. Paul Glover the service manager called me Friday July 11, and gave me an estimate and time frame (3 to 4 weeks) to do the repair. I told him I would call Monday and let him know if I wanted it repaired.
I called Monday July 14, and spoke to Paul and authorized the repair. He told me they would get the parts ordered.
Monday August 1, (3 weeks later) I get a call from Andy. He asked what I had decided. He told me he had spoken to me and had left messages for me. I had never talked with him before and checked my phone for messages while we were speaking and there were none. I don't know if he dialed the wrong number or the messages were lost in space, I just know I didn't get them, and 3 weeks is a long time to wait to follow up if you don't get a call back.
At this point I think he is confusing me with someone else. I asked him what machine are we talking about and it was mine. I asked if it was fixed, and he said no, they haven't ordered the parts (Paul had told me they were ordering them the 14th). Andy said some of the parts were not available, which I already knew because I looked at the parts manual and checked on-line part houses. I even called and asked the supplier about that, and they told me all the wear items in the clutch pack were available.
I told Andy this, and his reply was "you can't put worn parts back in". I told him every part in there is worn, I'm not replacing every part. At this point I think maybe he doesn't want to do the repair. He said several times he wanted to close the ticket. I asked how can you close the ticket when it's not fixed? I decided I would pick it up.
I picked it up Monday August 4, Paul Glover was on vacation, so I spoke with co-owner Evan Wise, about the situation. He got the ticket and could not believe what happened. Evan agreed to order the parts (and even left a message to tell me they were still waiting on one part) and when they had them and someone available to work on it, he would call me and I could bring it back, and they would have it fixed ASAP.
Evan called Friday August 15 and said they had the parts and were ready to do the repair. I took it back Monday August 18 and left it with Evan. Since I expected it to be done in about a week, I called for an update Friday the 22nd. Evan was busy so I left a message. No call back, so I called again Thursday the 28th. Evan was out or busy so I told the person I was talking to (Jessica I think), that I'm trying to find out about the status of my tractor. I get transferred to Logan, I asked him what his job was, and he said sales. I said I'm trying to find out about a repair. He told me he had heard the story and would go find out for me. He went back in the shop and told me they are working on it. He would find out the details and call me back in 2 minutes, and he did.
In fairness, it would probably have been done a week earlier but they had to order another part. A call back with an update on the status would have been nice.
Got a call Tuesday September 2 from Paul telling me it was done and I picked it up the 3rd. Met Logan, I thanked him for his help, he is a very fine young man.
Just when I think the ordeal is over, as I'm loading the tractor, I notice wires hanging all over the place and laying on the tire. I get Logan and show him, I had fortunately taken a video of the tractor the day before I brought it back that showed the wiring, etc. He had a tech to come and work on the wires. It looked to me like they didn't route the wires under the bodywork as they were putting it back together. The tech got the worst stuff rerouted. When I got home, I found more wires zip tied to levers and not behind the wire guards and routed incorrectly. I had to fix them myself.
Unbelievable.
In conclusion:
Most of this could have been avoided if the person calling me that supposedly left messages, had followed up in a couple of days after not receiving a call back from me.
However, there is no excuse for the mess with the wiring. I expect better from an OEM dealer service center.
Let me say, I think Evan Wise, was sincere trying to make things right. It just seems like following up with people is not a high priority. I left multiple messages with a real person, and they either didn't get passed on, or were ignored. The only person that I thought was really helpful was Logan, and he was a sales person, not service.
Overall, a bad experience and I cannot recommend Kubota of Ashville.