John Deere

We were able to clear that one up with no issues. Then we set up the warranty work of our tractor which we were told that it was part of the contract. However, that was not the case. You get a 10 year warranty, but in order to have that warranty valid you have to get an annual inspection done to the tune of $301 plus. During this inspection, the mechanic found an item that was needing to be fixed that was a warranty item. Instead of fixing it on the spot we were told it needed to be scheduled at a later date.

We called to scheduled the warranty work, and I later received a call to actually set it up. The lady wanted a credit card to do the work, but when I mentioned that it was warranty work she put me on hold and came back with the fact that it was indeed under warranty and did not need a credit card because it was covered. The repairman came out and did the repair and left without anything being said about any bill.

Fast forward seven weeks later and we get a call that we owe money because of the warranty work. When asked why, the guy came up with the fact that the labor and parts were covered and it was a trip charge. However, he totally skipped past the fact that the service person did not perform the repair when he found the discrepancy. We received the itemized bill showing that the labor was in fact not covered so we are paying for trip and service. When we received the annual maintenance, there was no charge for "trip fees."

I am totally disenchanted with James River Equipment, and will no longer consider purchasing anything further from them as was in the works. Their service department is unacceptable! We bought over $26k of equipment, and was considering over $20k on additional equipment. However, the excellent experience of the sales person will not make up for further horrific treatment from their service department.

Although Andria said she would call me back to see what she could do, she didn't call back until after I called the John Deere company and spoke with Braden who gave me a case number. However, she still was not able to offer any help. So my 70+ husband with health conditions found a video on YouTube and was able to fix it himself. For $130.00 he bought 3 new spindles and installed them on the mower. When I asked if my case could be given to someone else, Braden was not at all sympathetic and just said no. When I asked for his supervisor he refused to even give me the name. On June 24, 2021 Andria said she would see what the company could do. She never called me back. We sent a letter to the CEO of John Deere, John May. Other than a form letter, I still haven’t heard back from the dealer, Ag-Pro, or the John Deere company. I would not recommend this company. Our next mower will not be a John Deere.

The RIO switch must be depressed every time you engage reverse or the blades stop. This is easily defeated by shunting the connector, but then you don't have an RIO at all....should have an ignition position like Cub Cadet allowing temporary override. They use plastic idler pullies on the drive belt system....yes plastic. But, the trigger that started this review was my experience with the digital dash display. The display fogged up during operation making it impossible to read (I'll attach a couple pics), so it was sent back to the dealer for replacement. The new display is worse. This apparently is common. The dealer said they took a chance replacing the original because JD's policy is not to replace them until they literally form water droplets inside the display. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? They charge a pretty penny I'm sure for this garbage feature that's impossible to read after a few minutes of use.

Fortunately, there's a dummy light for the fuel level. For decades mechanical indicators and dummy lights worked flawlessly...at less cost, but now we get this modern "high tech" garbage. Suffice it to say, the dealer won't replace it again until water droplets actually form under the glass. I'm a former Kubota owner and while I realize they can be more costly, you get superb quality. A few extra dollars for a product that's enjoyable to use, reliable, and long lasting is money well spent in my opinion.

If I was trying to stay in the JD price range, I would consider Cub Cadet (made by MTD) as a better option as I have used one of their larger mowers and was far more impressed. JD's 100 series riding mowers use a quick change oil system that leaves up to 30% of the old oil in the engine which basically makes these disposable mowers. This is the standard of quality JD has adopted. This is also the company that recently bragged about having the highest paid employees in the industry. No surprise there given the prices they charge for their products. Simply put.... STAY AWAY FROM JOHN DEERE! Good luck. Cheers. Note: The first pic is the replacement display (labelled New Display) and the second pic is JD's threshold for replacement (labelled JD Standard).