Broken Deck under warranty, not covered - I purchased a Toro lawn mower a little less than 5 years ago for about $500. There is a 5-year warranty that covers everything and also guarantees the mower to start in two pulls for 5 years. I have always maintained the mower at the beginning and end of every season, I store the mower inside, and frequently clean the under side of the deck. I paid a lot of money for the mower and had intentions of it lasting many years. My yard is a very well-kept yard with large flower beds, a veggie garden, deck, patio, and large walk path. It is only 0.24 acres. It also has a house and garage, and garden shed on the property so as you can tell, the actual grass area is fairly small so there shouldn't be an issue of me mowing a large amount of grass.
The deck of the mower is falling apart. Chunks of the deck are actually falling off the mower into the yard. I took the mower to a Toro dealer and they contacted Toro. Toro claims that I must have hit something or dropped the mower and caused the damage myself! It is very obvious this didn't happen, as you can see pieces of the deck actually crumbling away. If there were a collision (there wasn't), you would see a large broken piece or something like that. I don't mow commercially, I have never taken the mower off my property to mow another property etc. I am the only one who has ever used the mower. I know what has happened to it and how it has been handled.
Toro is denying my claim. I cannot believe a company that is supposed to be one of the best, has equipment that falls apart with such little use! I also can't believe that they can legally not honor the warranty. Can I take them to small claims court or something similar? It is very easy to see pieces of the machine falling off, and I have collected a few samples. I grew up in Montana and running equipment on a farm, and I know that this is a failure and not a user-error. For the cost of this mower they should be bending over backwards to set this straight. Why do they warranty an item if it will never be honored?
