Toro Lawn Mower
Well after writing up a glowing review of my Toro Lawn Mower, it decided to break… Murphy’s Law strikes again!
Once of the most important points for me when I bought my lawn mower, was that the product had to have some type of warranty. But when I called the dealer where I bought my lawn mower to complain about my problem, he said that my issue sounds like bad gas and that Toro doesn’t include that in their warranty.
This really irked me because the lady salesperson that I bought the mower from said that the Toro warranty covers everything between the wheels. I specifically asked that question twice, and she said that it was all covered no matter what the problem. So I started complaining calling the Toro product junk and while I didn’t swear, I called the product and warranty crap… After a while the guy (I believe the owner of the store), caved and told me to bring it in and that they would look at it and fix it for free.
During the phone conversation, he told me all kinds of reasons why the problem wasn’t with the mower. Problems like the gas, the EPA changes, and how I must have used old gas, etc… I went to the two gas stations that I typically go to fill my gas can and asked them directly, they stood by their gas quality. Next, I called the owner back and explained how the gas was good and that I used the same can for the previous four lawn cuts this year already.
The point is, I didn’t give up and kept to the facts and even did extra work to backup my claim. I continued to have a dissatisfied voice, but I wasn’t condescending. After a verbal joust, eventually the owner caved and fixed my mower. He said that I had some brown stuff in the tank which must have clogged up the carburetor (or so they claimed). I don’t care as long as it’s fixed and works again.
Since the mower was worked on I noticed that the engine sounds even better than when I bought it, so I’m guessing that the engine had problems from the start.
This little adventure just goes to show that the squeaky wheel does get oiled the most! I stuck by my guns and got my problem fixed for free by talking about my the past experiences and how I’ve mowed with many types of mowers and never encountered this problems, etc. And eventually the owner offered assistance.
Never give up when you are wronged in cases like this one! By sticking to my guns, I saved myself both time and money.
MR
Update: Since the toro lawnmower was repaired, it’s been running great and even sounds better than when I first bought it. I’m starting to think there was something in the tank that did clog the fuel lines, but I’m sure it wasn’t from bad gas as was claimed. It’s good to have a decent mower again!
Good for you MR! I would be mad if a new purchase conks off and the store says it isn’t covered!
Persistence wins!
Yes, I was hot. I think it was the fact that I kept calling the product crap that wore the owner down. Technically it’s not his fault, but I’m pretty sure he changed Toro for the warranty work.
Keep up the fight! Sometimes it is the principle of it. I am going through something with Borders Rewards. What they don’t know is I will never give up!
That’s the best way to go about it! Eventually they will cave!
Great job getting it fixed. Sometime you have to stick to your guns!
Thanks, I was determined!!!
I surmise that “bad gas” gets used as the first line of defence more often than not. Job well done on securing consumer justice.
Yes, I’m sure you are right. Luckily, google serves as a counter-intelligence source for such claims. I googled what he said and I didn’t find much. I think that gave me confidence to keep pushing hard (but respectfully).
It is so true that the squeaky wheel will get the oil. It is especially satisfying if you are right. Most people just want to deal with a problem simply which is what he wanted when telling you it was the gas. He was hoping you would go away. Finally, he figured out that to get you to leave him alone required fixing the problem.
Yeah, I was incredible pissed off! I kept my cool and didn’t directly insult him though… He’s just the middleman.
What a horrible experience though…
I had the exact same problem with my Toro mower. I listened to the same mysterious bad gas theory. If all it takes is some “bad gas” to ruin a perfectly good mower then it couldn’t be that tough. I went to a Toro rep that said the mower’s repair was NOT under warranty BEFORE he looked at it. Yet, he wanted to charge me a fee to look at it AND $75-$150 to fix it. I took it to another dealer that charged me $65 to rebuild the carburetor . I got it repaired and it work for one cut. I was extremely upset by then and took it back to the store that sold it to me. I spoke to the store manager for 30 minutes until he said, “I’lll just swap it out for you.” Even though I spent $65 dollars getting a new mower fixed, it was part of the reason the manager gave me an exchange.