Last year, I was wondering about my TA, which had "skipped-a-
beat" quite a few times out in the field. After following the Vet's instros on adjusting up the linkages, it worked all this season without a single hiccup.Anyway, my point is that I went around to three dealers here to get priceson replacing the TA. I know my heart's good now because I didn't drop dead on the spot. They wanted more than I paid for the tractor! My many years of experience in the auto repair world leads me to some posible conclusion. A) Some really don't want to work on old "POS" tractors, so they jack the price up to discourage you away. B) They make it worth their trouble if you're willing at the price. C) Most of the old timers that really know the old stuff are gone, so the newer guys really have to sweat the knowledge and "tricks" gap, so again, they jack the price up. Case in point: I heard about a local Case/IH dealer that will no longer work on D-358s. Why? One of thier "young buck" techs, with no experience on those engines, made an elemental mistake and the shop had to eat an engine. Expensive lesson, I guess, but retty silly to exclude an engine base on your ignorance Having been both a dealer and a independent shop tech in my life, I know that dealer work is easier. Relatively new, clean things under warranty that usually have clearcut problems are easier that old, dirty, worn things than can have lots of hidden problems D) Shop rates are a lot higher than they used to be.
|
