[Bill Schwab]

We are on a project where there is alot of drive time on the Cats. The materials are over 1/4 mile away, up and down some pretty long sweeping grades and there is no other way to get it in. So, yesterday about 4, our newest 257B stated spewing oil from the right side drive motor. We managed to get it to a flat spot up the hill and shut it down.

I called Hawthorne Equipment (our dealer) imediately and got the service managers voice mail. So, I'm thinking great, one machine down, how long will this set us back and how do I shift a few people around so they can all work?

A few minutes goes by, Matt from Hawthorne calls, a service truck was dispatched AND 35 minutes later, it arrives. The machine was fired up, and the tech sees the leak. So, he unbolted the tracks retainers (two bolts), and slides the tracks out on the torsion bar pins. Undoes the drive lines, replaces an O ring, puts the machine back together. 75 minutes later at 6:15, the machine is back running. No charge.

We have had similar experiences with Patten tractor, in Illinois.

If any machine company out there has a service department like Caterpillar, I would love to hear a similar experience. This one litterally blew me off my feet, because I figured for sure we were going to loose half a day just getting a truck there the next day.

[chesie]

You are right Bill...our local Cat dealer (Alban) provides great service and are very responsive. They are also great to deal with for rental equipment. Cat really has their dealers under control.

[Pelican]

That's what you pay for when you buy Cat and why I'm always touting my machine. My dealer is 10 minutes away and has a full service shop including a machine shop. Everything is done in house. They've also got a fleet of full service trucks ready to roll on a moments notice. Plus there's a PM fleet to do on site PM work. None of the other dealers in the area have anywhere near the facilities that Cat does.

[jwholden]

I took my shiny new Dingo to my Bobcat dealer to attach some hydraulic hoses for my new Nursery Jaws, fix a leak, and change the oil fileter. I got no crap about buying the competitions product and got a call the next morning saying the machine was good to go. The invoice for the work was in no way inflated and again no crap.

I can't guarantee I'll always buy Bobcat machines, but I'll look at their product first.

[jwholden]

My 763 was feeling sympathy pains today. My goal was to get a lawn graded so we could put down the seed tomorrow. Got about 1/2 way done and within about two minutes all the hydraulic fluid came a gushing. Looks like I blew a hose to one of the wheel motors.

[Stone Art, Inc.]

I know I'd posted this same story in another thread, but what the heck, I like to type.

One of my knuckleheads jacknifed down I-35 about 2-3 miles away from our Cat dealership. At 5 minutes till 5, I called the service manager and within minutes they picked my 236 up from the wreckage and had it fixed by 8am the next day!

THAT'S SERVICE!!

[Bill Schwab]

I wrote a letter to the general manager of our dealership, and to Caterpillar in regard to the service we are getting. It is one thing to drop it all and run to one customer if they own a half a dozen D-8's and an assortment of other yellow irron, it is quite another to drop and run for a small operation doing a fraction of what the big boys do. In comparison to a large scale contractor, in the case of our blown seal, with that machine downed, it would be the equivelant of having half a fleet of 50 dozers downed. They continue to amaze me every day from all areas of the country..

[Pelican]

I wish we could find a truck manufacturer with the same support team!! I'd buy it in a heartbeat regardless of cost. When my machine or truck is down, I'm out of business!