Messed up bearings on chipper: VIDEO

Nick, can’t really tell how it turned out in the end by re-reading the last pages. Do you mind sharing so I (we) can use the insight when we go to buy new machines?
 
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  • #129
So this drama just finally came to a close this week. Keep in mind it started in October....about 4 months ago.

Here's the summary.

Bearing broke- I called dealer. He said its an easy repair and me doing it doesn't void the warranty. I have to buy the $420 part, ship it and then send back the old bearing for a warranty review. If approved I'd get reimbursed plus some labor.

The part arrives, we spend about 6-8 man hours on it and it is just not budging.

I contact the dealer, they put me in touch with Milton who I think runs the service department. He was supposed to clearly explain how the thing comes off. He basically laughs at me. I am taking notes as we talk. Some of his gems from the conversation:

- oh you don't have a crane. How bout a fork lift.
-you better have your grinder ready, you're gonna need it
-with my experience in my fully stocked shock that repair would take ME 5-8 hours. It's an all day job for an experienced tech
-did the part come with tissues. You're gonna need them it's gonna make you cry
-I think they out loc-tite on at the factory. That thing NEVER wants to come off

It was at this point I realized I had been given some bad info and was wasting my time attempting to self repair. I talk with the sales guy again and he says we can bring it in the next day and it will take a couple hours it's not hat big of a deal so out of blind trust, I book a half day job in the afternoon, pay one of my guys to drive the chipper out. Couple hours into it he texts me pics of them using forklifts and says its gonna be all day. I cancel the afternoon job.

When the truck comes back, the chipper works. I notice 3 things are different:
1- the bracket that holds the pin that holds the chute at the angle you want is bent. Now it's a pain the ass to change the angle the chute chips at.
2- the cover that goes over the disc (the big semi circle shield) is bent and we now have to slam it shut, have someone lean on it, then have another person use a big hammer to pound the pin in place to keep it shut.
3- the bearing is not on "clean." As it was before. It sits out further than it did. It's working fine, so I'm not gonna F with it.

So a few days go by and I contact the dealer about the warranty. He explains the warranty takes time and they have to review it. I ignore it for a while. A month goes by, I call morbark and talked to a nice helpful guy that said it seems like a straight forward thing that WILL be covered, but it has to be handled through the dealer. I send another email to the dealer. He says he'll follow up.

Then a couple weeks ago I called the dealer to ask what's going on and he said he thought it was taken care of. He said he'll have the right person look into it. Earlier this week I get a check. I spent $470. I got $417 back. I called the dealer and they said that the warranty doesn't cover shipping and that is standard. No manufacturer covers shipping for the warranty parts. And they would not cover anything for the labor my guys spent on it. That was apparently a decision I made on my own.

Through all this, the dealer said a few things I wasn't sure of, so I started doing homework and asking him about things. One- I called him out on telling me it was an easy repair and asked why the tech said it was so challenging. Dealer responded that their tech wouldn't have said that. This was a one time isolated incident. Yet I'm looking at my notes right here. I wouldn't make that crap up.

And the second thing: when I asked why they won't pickup the chipper or provide a loaner, he responded that people don't actually do that and that it's a myth. It sounds nice but isn't real.

My local Vermeer dealer is about 15 minutes from my house. I went with Morbark because of the reputation they have had, and my previous experiences using their machines at other companies. I called the local Vermeer dealer and inquired about their warranty. He said that first of all, it comes in writing and her is what they provide: they come pick it up. In 24 hours they will either bring you the repaired machine or a loaner. That's it.

So- I'm done with the situation. My final decision- I love the machine, I regret the choice in dealer. I don't need to deal with this dealer any more. I originally opted to use Direct Edge even though they were not my closest Morbark dealer. At the time of purchase they seemed like the right choice. They seemed to get that I was a small company focussing on pruning and event though they are an hour from us, I was happy to PAY IN FULL, NOT HAGGLE THE PRICE, AND WAIT SO friggin' PATIENTLY FOR A BRAND NEW MACHINE. In the end, I regret it.

So by all means. Get a morbark. But get it from an awesome dealer and. Get he terms of the warranty in writing.

And take notes of phone calls. It makes threads like this much more fun.

I'll make a vid showing the three things on the chipper that got messed up during the repair.
 
NickfromWI said:
So this drama just finally came to a close this week. Keep in mind it started in October....about 4 months ago.

When the truck comes back, the chipper works. I notice 3 things are different:
1- the bracket that holds the pin that holds the chute at the angle you want is bent. Now it's a pain the ass to change the angle the chute chips at.
2- the cover that goes over the disc (the big semi circle shield) is bent and we now have to slam it shut, have someone lean on it, then have another person use a big hammer to pound the pin in place to keep it shut.
3- the bearing is not on "clean." As it was before. It sits out further than it did. It's working fine, so I'm not gonna F with it.
Click to expand...

This dealer should be shut down. I don't even have the right words to express how pissed off I would be. Have you contacted anyone at Morbark headquarters to tell them what kind of shit show that dealer is? I think you have more power than you're aware of.
 
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  • #133
I mentioned the damage to him and he said to bring it and they'll take a look at it and we'll figure something out.

No thanks. I'll just deal with it.


love
nick
 
That sucks man. I'd bring it back to them and make them fix everything. Leave it there and demand a demo chipper to use while they fix yours the right way. Total Bs!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 
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  • #138
Emr- I'm sure they would look at it. They told me flat out they don't do loaners. I've got to weigh the cost of a days labor for a guy to drive it out there, come back, then go back and get it.

They won't give the loaner. It's not what they do.

This is worth sharing with morbark. Let me get some pics or vid of the messed up parts first.


love
nick
 
I think if they wrecked it, they should give you a loaner. That's different than you just bringing it in for repairs that you caused.
I see your point about the drive time. I'm not sure what to tell you on that one. That's the reason we have all Vermeer, so we don't have to deal with the distance issue.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 
What a cluster! Catch 22 and the blame game at the same time. Wow! What a costly and frustrating learning experience if there ever was one.

Manufacture's should assume some responsibility for their dealers at a certain point. Passing the blame back and forth shouldn't go on that long.
 
I agree with Jerry and I think the POINT is fast approaching. Social media (Arb Forums) means that a lot of people hear about something quickly AND it doesn't just go away. I promise you that Morbark will loose some sales that they would have had over this and most of them they will not even know they lost.

Is everyone familiar with the fact the one of Tree House’s members got thousands back as a refund from a used equip. co. that was jerking him around - and they don’t give refunds? Have you noticed how big arb suppliers are being even handed with inventors on things - even when not required to do so by law? (All being talked about on this site and others.)

Nick, thanks for telling us what is going on, sorry it’s so frustrating. When you have some video and pictures ready can we call the main Morbark co. rep. and tell him what we think of you being treated this way on a new chipper? Anything else?
 
I'm not in the market for one, but if I were, and if someone were to ask me to advise them on purchasing a chipper, I would certainly tell them to drive right on by the Morbark dealer just from the way this was handled!
If they had treated me like that I'd paint the SOB lemon yellow and put a sign with my phone number right in front of that dealership! IMO you need to shove that hunk of shit up someones ass Nick!
 
FireFighterZero said:
Sounds like a bad situation. If they gave you that much trouble on a warranty claim I doubt that they will admit to damaging the machine while trying to repair it.
Disgusting.
Click to expand...

Video the machine before going into the dealer at a nearby parking lot, then keep the camera rolling as you come in to the dealer to drop it off, if you ever need proof. Too late, of course, but for others.
 
sawinredneck said:
I'm not in the market for one, but if I were, and if someone were to ask me to advise them on purchasing a chipper, I would certainly tell them to drive right on by the Morbark dealer just from the way this was handled!
If they had treated me like that I'd paint the SOB lemon yellow and put a sign with my phone number right in front of that dealership! IMO you need to shove that hunk of shit up someones ass Nick!
Click to expand...

I've always figured that if the bridge was already on fire, this approach would do the trick. Have a list of expectations (demands) ready to hand to whoever comes to address you.


thread a bunch of lemons like garland, and decorate the chipper, rather than paint it.
 
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  • #147
Here it is. Would love to see what y'all think about each part. I have high expectations, so not sure if they are unreasonable- but I'm sure y'all you will do a good job letting me know if I am!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7YrJqTIZ_9A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
As arborists and business owners we already have all we can do to take proper care of our equip. and get our men to do the same. Damage to safety housings and such will tend to encourage a person to skip maintenance at times. That machine will have a shortened life if this is not remedied.

It’s obvious that particular Morbark dealer didn’t do right by you, hopefully a Morbark factory technician will give you an honest answer as to whether the extra space on the shaft is an acceptable variance or putting your machine at further risk.
 
i feel for you Nick. Your getting taken for a bad ride.I'd document every $ lost because of this and talk to a lawyer. This should have all been worked out to your satisfaction long ago. Both the dealer and the manufacturer are at fault here IMO.

Your expectations are not to high. It should have been fixed right without damage to the machine in the first place.

Most dealers don't make the bulk of their $ from sale of new equipment, but from the repairs of sold merchandise. He is after keeping that small profit and I'm betting you won't get anywhere with him without upping the game/stakes.

Situations like this remind me why I love dealing with Vermeer here, where the dealer IS the manufacturer. During the First year i owned my mini the sales rep stopped by my place no less than 4 times to ask how it was working etc. I had a small issue with two muffler nuts not being tight early on and one got lost. They offered me a demo for a day as they didn't have the nuts in stock, and would put them on for nothing - for tightening two nuts! Now that's service that will bring me back again and again.

I did just pick up the nuts (for free) the next day and do it myself, but the offer said a lot to me about how they roll at Vermeer.
 
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