May or May Not Be A Hustler Owner

[Dunrollin]

A few weeks ago I bought a new Limited from Lowes, absolutely love it. It now has 3.4 hours and I finally had a day without rain, so I got busy.

Suddenly I hear a loud rattling on the deck and I could see sparks, so back to the shed. The photo shows what I found.



I sent a question on service to Hustler but no answer. I am not that interested in hauling it to the nearest dealer, it is a long way. So right now I may just take it back and go with a JD, dealer support is in my county. So I guess this may be hello and goodbye! We will see what the weekend holds. By the way I took the pulley off and the spindle is stripped too. Sad thing is I love the machine.

 

[cpurvis]

So...did you have a question?

 

[Dunrollin]

No, just sharing random thoughts. If I replace the spindle and pulley it is pretty straight-forward. Just not sure if we want to do that or not.

 

[Boobala]

Was the belt guard in place ?? you can always TRY for warranty ......

 

[Darryl G]

Did that stick get wedged between the belt and pulley?

 

[Dunrollin]

Cover was in place, not sure if the stick had anything to do with it.

Warranty may not be an issue as the nearest dealer is a few counties over. I want to fix it, wife wants it returned. Maybe tomorrow I will get my thoughts together. Not complaining, just sharing. Thanks for listening!

 

[bertsmobile1]

Well it is an assembly defect.
Either the nut was not tight or the spacers was missing from under it.
A problem with buying from big boxes

 

[Mr. Mower]

Wow!...that's sad. Sorry to hear about what you encountered with your new mower. That should have never happened.

But with that being stated, whether purchased from big brand box store or authorized dealership, still that could happen to anyone, at anytime, purchased from any place. Because bottom line, if it's going to happen, then it's gonna happen, regardless.

Yea, I know all about the "extra detail" given to a mower before purchasing it, if from a authorized dealership, etc. but really that doesn't fly. Because I've heard/read stories where individuals have purchased their mower directly from an authorized dealership and still encountered problems, even basic simple problems, with their mowers when they first started to use it. Problems that should have been caught, checked and corrected by the dealership prior to selling it and didn't.

Examples, one was that the mower didn't even have oil...another was the mower was missing a spark plug.....and another was that the tires weren't even inflated, they were flat...and these mowers were purchased straight from an authorized dealership. Of course those mowers were not Hustler, they were different brands but still purchased straight from a dealership.

So really that's just a phrase, IMO.

Still though, even after experiencing that, I wouldn't even mess with it. I'd just take it back even if an authorized sales & service place was a couple of counties away.

But that's just me.

 

[cpurvis]

It isn't that there aren't problems with mowers purchased a local dealership. It's how the dealership handles the problems when they happen.

Let me tell you about my experience with a new motorcycle that I didn't buy locally.

Within the first 100 miles, the alternator went out. The first Honda dealership I took it to gave me a six month estimate to repair. They said, "Our customers are given priority." The second dealer told me basically the same thing. The third took it in and fixed it in about a week. I guess their shop wasn't busy.

I saved about $200 by buying at a far-away dealer. I'll never make that mistake again.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Except that bought from a dealer i the predelivery they fire up the deck.
The loose pulley should have been obvious and been corrected before it left the dock.
Lowes predelivery consists of checking that the item is the one listed on the invoice any your payment cleared.