Trans Cross brace broke. Anyone else?

mhavanti

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edl,

Hustler isn't going to send you that brace directly. They may send it to the dealer to give to you. However, I doubt that as well as I've seen several emails from Hustler stating their legal team's perspective of a DIY installation and their liability in such an event.

They will sell that part directly to you for sure. If the dealer has been shady, I'd not trust him to hand over the part even if they do send it to you in your name.

I'd get over the Butt Hurt, order the part or take the one off the mower, take it to someone with a welder, reinforce the original, reinstall it and get on with it. You just gotta stop trying to kill that woman! lol Once you get the mower the way you want it, you'll fall back in love with it. Once I got over the incompetent dealers that touched my mower and the damages the second dealership did to mine. I've really come to love it and now I can alter, modify, upgrade or play with it any way I like and I'm now using it to show others how they can do the same while making improvements that will give longevity and ease of operation to their RSDs along the way.

Sorry about the term "Butt Hurt". However, that is what we feel in these situations.

Max
 

EDL

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Yep, ordering the part tonight. Hustler is running me in circles. They've stopped replying to my messages and now they say my mower "was never registered." They won't give me a straight answer on whether they will send the part or not. I asked directly "yes or no, will you send the part or not" and they wouldn't answer that.

I'm done with them. First and last Hustler I will ever own. I'll also make sure anyone that mentions getting a zero turn to avoid Hustler.

I have a welder (a nice Lincoln MP-210) and I know how to weld and fabricate, but it's a time issue (I work all day and and do online college at night using my GI Bill). I barely have time to take a dump much less try to fab up a replacement bracket. I don't have the right steel stock on hand to fix and beef up the old bracket anyway.

Due to the issue (which is known and apparent since they had to create a new much beefier part) it should have been a no-brainer, but if that's how they want to treat their customers, so be it.
 

John Fitzgerald

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As with anything that's out of warranty, the consumer is on their own. Unless there's an official recall, they cannot be expected to. If the machine makes it through the warranty period without covered parts failing, the factory has completed its implied contract with the consumer. I wouldn't personally expect any recourse against Hustler. It would be the same with any other manufacturer, cars included.
 

Mower King

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Yep, ordering the part tonight. Hustler is running me in circles. They've stopped replying to my messages and now they say my mower "was never registered." They won't give me a straight answer on whether they will send the part or not. I asked directly "yes or no, will you send the part or not" and they wouldn't answer that.

I'm done with them. First and last Hustler I will ever own. I'll also make sure anyone that mentions getting a zero turn to avoid Hustler.

I have a welder (a nice Lincoln MP-210) and I know how to weld and fabricate, but it's a time issue (I work all day and and do online college at night using my GI Bill). I barely have time to take a dump much less try to fab up a replacement bracket. I don't have the right steel stock on hand to fix and beef up the old bracket anyway.

Due to the issue (which is known and apparent since they had to create a new much beefier part) it should have been a no-brainer, but if that's how they want to treat their customers, so be it.

I have seen Hustler mowers come into our shop ( we were a Hustler Dealer at that time, we have since, let them go ) that needed warranty work, that was bought from a box store, these box stores don't do any repair, only sell them ( Home Depot, Lowes etc.). Once we ran it through Hustlers system before any repair is made, we found out the box store did not register it, thus NO WARRANTY on these mowers until they are registered, if they can be registered. This has happened more then once, It is a lot of trouble for the owners and a headache for us. The moral of this story is, buy a mower from a reputable dealership and not a box store or online....it will pay off in the long run!
 

mhavanti

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Mowerking,

Truer words were never spoken.

EDL,

Good luck on getting back up and running. Hate that you've had the problem.

Max
 

EDL

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Well, yet another update. I didn't order the part the other night (got late and decided I'd do it next day). I decided to call Hustler again to see if I get a direct answer instead of the vague ones I got before.

Interesting conversation. After getting passed around to several people, I ended up on the phone with the same guy who responded to my original email that started the entire ordeal. He started telling me that I never told them it was out of warranty (oh, but I did), he said the machine was never registered, and he said there was nothing they could or would do. He went on to tell me the issue is not a recall item because they've had very few issues with that brace (huh, yeah, right, that's why it was totally redesigned and beefed up, huh?).

Hmm. Interesting. I reminded him that I still have the original email I sent, along with his reply. I read them back to him and even offered to forward them directly to his work email...again, since he never responded to the reply I sent him before. The guy was a bit of a d-bag.

He then said it wasn't necessary because they're not going to do anything about it. I reminded him too that the local dealer called them (because HE said to have them do so in his original) because they issued a case number and explained to him what the dealer was authorized to do by Hustler. He didn't have an answer for that at all. I finally was able to tell him my entire point of this call was to get a simple yes or no answer if they'd send me the part instead of the dealer. He said no. So, finally, there we go.

Interestingly, later that same day, the dealer called me to tell me he was wrong about his estimate on the labor to put the new brace on. So, long story short, the mower is now at the dealer (took it over yesterday afternoon). I had to go through my receipts and credit card statements to show proof I bought it from Lowes. He says he can get it registered with Hustler and the brace will be no cost, just his labor, which is now $45 instead of the 1.5 hours at $65 an hour he originally told me.

Ya know, I wouldn't have gone down this road with Hustler at all if I hadn't discovered this thread (and others) that this brace is an issue. Sorry, I strongly feel it should have been a recall item and replaced, no questions asked. Any reputable company that stands by its products would do it. They obviously knew it was a problem since it was redesigned and beefed up significantly. I have no problem replacing parts out of pocket, especially when I cause it to break, or it's something you expect to go bad over time, but this is not one of them. It was just a bad design from the get go, and this isn't a cheapy $700 Sears riding mower either where you'd expect something like this.

At least it's getting replaced now for a minimal cost. I'm a little bothered by Hustler's response to this whole thing and the attitude they seem to have. I really like the mower overall, but any future mower purchases, I will be hesitant to get a Hustler.

Lol, ok, rant over.
 

mhavanti

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EDL,

Glad I kept pushing you now. If you hadn't made the call, you would not be getting this replacement I assure you. Now, this forum is a great thing and we all help each other get the best information we can provide each other as we should.

If you want to make sure your 'rant' is heard by Hustler, go over to Facebook in the Big Dog Alpha - Hustler Industries Review page and place all of your comments in there you have here. From the very beginning because I can tell you they do read every post in that page.

Be sure to include every name you spoke to on the call, their titles, etc. because that gets the attention of the Vice-President. The VP doesn't exactly want to hear his customer service is comprised of a bunch of jerks.

Taking into account the reason most companies does not have recalls are that they are not reported to the correct agencies that demands the company recall and replace items both in and out of warranty.

So, to help both yourself and others, run over and place all the information into that review as there may very well be enough information soon to demand the company recall that part in the near future. The 2019 Raptor has several new upgrades as part of their standard features that came from Makers in this forum that was taken into the Review page. Spend another hour or so and who knows, we may all make a huge difference in someone's future.

Here is the link for that Review Page: https://www.facebook.com/HustlerZeroTurn/

Max
 

Mr. Mower

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edl,

......If the dealer has been shady....Once I got over the incompetent dealers that touched my mower and the damages the second dealership did to mine.Max


Not all dealerships are the same when conducting business, that's a fact.

So just because a mower was purchased exclusively from a dealership doesn't really mean or guarantee that your in good hands, in sales or service's, once your purchase has been complete.
 

mhavanti

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I agree Mr. Mower. I didn't say all dealers if you read your quote of mine. I said "incompetent dealers". And there are many more of those today than the competent dealers whether mowers, motorcycles, cars, trucks, etc.

Damned shame that folks in a position to make a profit puts the profit entirely ahead of returning customers or better said, earning word of mouth good graces. No matter how good a competent dealer can be, there are going to be mitigating circumstances outside their control and thus will get bad mouthed. If this happens and the word gets back to the dealer. Best to get in touch with the 'victim' and see if there is any kind of resolution. How often does this happen in this day and time. Not so much.

I am just a Dinosaur apparently.

Max
 
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