tractor reliability

[neilw]

i read a review recently of a new john deere 7530 in last issue of profi, it seemed there were minor niggly faults approx every 400 hours. Although none of them were enough for the tractor to lose a days work and were all put right under warranty quickly by the dealer, is this the norm for new tractors, or is the dealer back up more of a concern than the tractor itself?? Surely a contractor cold knock up 400 hours or so in a very short space of time....

[MODELFARMER]

minor niggly faults are manufacturers puttin far to many bloody sensors in tractors these days, rip them all out and run them back to basics i say, like take my 6930, i luv it yes,

but in 20 years time will it still be going strong like the 3050 or will she have needed 3 new brains and rewired twice??

[archbarch]

my old boss said never be the first to buy a tractor or combine from a new range!!! Always wait 18 months or so for any faults to be ironed out and never listen to a Rep when buying a machine talk to fitter, a reps job is to sell not tell the truth!!!

Sensors? Well some companies are better with sensors than others!!!!!

[Lord Ferguson]

Good question... and I agree with the above as a simple answer really.  Tractors are cram-packed full of technology these days... it's inevitable that with a blend of water, mud, electronics and the hugely variable applications/conditions that these machines operate within that faults will occur.

I'd be interested to know the percentage of niggly warranty claims versus the number of major component failures.. I suspect that very few tractor brands have issues of major component failure.

[ploughmaster]

I'd be interested to know the percentage of niggly warranty claims versus the number of major component failures.. I suspect that very few tractor brands have issues of major component failure.

I would agree, I would expect that there would be relatively few major claims within the warranty period, and a significant proportion of premature major component failures can be directly attributed to being abused or misused in some form. 

Even though tractors (and equipment in general) are more technically advanced and sophisticated (and I mean in the true meaning of that word  ), they are in general more reliable now than they were 30 or 40 years ago.  Go back further and tractors were fairly reliable mainly because they were often significantly over engineered and were basic and therefore simple.