07/26/2023
Ewald Kubota - I have been a loyal supporter for over 25 years, between tractors, and who knows how many zero turn mowers- probably 15 or more, along with small equipment from sthil. recently i brought my latest purchase ( ZD1211 72” deck in for service) just wanted an oil change and fuel filters changed. my normal service for the hours on machine- which was 540, dropped off the machine- was told a week or more to get it done but will send estimate to approve, remind you i’ve had all my mowers serviced and never questioned them, so sure, send estimate and i’ll approve, it’s a oil change and fuel filters change. 3 days later i get a message about the upcoming work and an estimate is on the way, it’s for 900+ i tell them it’s a oil change and fuel filters only, so 3 more days go by, and i get a call from a service advisor asking what i wanted to do, told them to re-quote my simple ask of oil change and fuel filters. so then i get an estimate for 700+
i call them back and ask why is it so high, it’s a simple job, told he would ask his mechanic and see what he can do. re- sent quote for 572.
so i tell them that’s highway robbery and i’ll be by in the morning to pick my machine up. this morning i went to seguin to pick machine up, used my key, loaded it up, went inside to buy parts. stopped by sales office and talked to an old friend, asked what happened to service, said nothing is in our hands anymore and that people don’t like it. well i went to parts, ordered my oil filter- 3 fuel filters and 5 quarts of oil, total came out to 88and some change, so that’s almost 500 for labor to change oil and fuel filters on a mower. as i’m paying the service advisor comes to me to ask to settle up the $160 fee for diagnosing the mower, i simply tell him that it was in for oil change and fuel filters, no diagnosing was required, he walks off and i walk out, stopping by the sales office and saying i will never buy anything from any of the ewald stores, and to please let Mr- John Ewald ( which we know very well) know. his locations have become money hungry. my John Deere zero turn mowers can be serviced around 140-200 for same work, a new ford diesel runs around 275 for oil change 13 quarts, oil filter and fuel filter , a kenworth is running around $600 for 20 quarts of oil and 2 fuel filters, so don’t tell me i don’t know my research. I ( not being a mechanic or had all my tools in a quick place, serviced this mower, including oil change, 3 fuel filters, one hydraulic filter, 3 new blades, 2 air filters and greased the machine in an hour and half, so 500 an hour is Ewald Kubota rate for servicing equipment. Go Green and Buy John DEERE. Won’t support them anymore!
