Harold, the sales person there does not know his equipment. He sold me a John Deere tractor (3005 model) with a belly mower. The tires in the tractor contact the mower when the tractor is turned hard right or left. The point of an expensive belly mower is its maneuverability. I have an orchard and wanted the maneuverability of a belly mower.I could have got a regular grooming mower for $1800 less.. Harold neglected to inform me of this prior to the sale. He did however offer to sell me new wheels and tires after the sale! The tractor was delivered without all the pieces/parts. There are a couple of 'U' brackets which hold the belly mower up when you use implements on the 3 point hitch. I had to go back to the store to get these parts. When delivered the right front headlight did not work. This is because of a wire not installed in a connector. Harold told me to bring the tractor back to the store to get it fixed. I?ve had linkages come loose when I first used the tractor and fall off because they were not installed properly by the factory of Richland Equipment. I had to buy new ones and install them. The ones I put on the tractor have never came off. The parts department sold me the incorrect oil for the hydraulic system when at 100 hours I changed the hydraulic oil, filter, and screens. I noted that after the oil change the steering was heavier and louder. I looked up probable causes for this. As it turns out this particular tractor requires the ""light weight"" hydraulic oil. When I brought this up to the folks at Richland Equipment they told me that the mechanics who worked there said it would cause no harm. Go figure that one! They also produced a spec sheet that said it would do no harm. I contend that they should have sold me the specific correct part the first time. I went to another John Deere dealer, asked for hydraulic oil for my tractor and got the correct oil with no prompting the first time. I then changed out the oil sold to me by Richland equipment and the steering returned to normal. Recently, I called there and asked Harold if they had a 'hipper' in stock. He said yes, we talked price and agreed on a price. I told him I'd be there to get it in the afternoon. When I arrived he'd just sold it to some one else! No worries though, they'd have more in a month or so (so much for planting a garden with it) or I could pay an additional $70.00 freight to get one in a week or so. If you shop at Richland Equipment please research you purchase thoroughly first as the sales force is no help and know exactly what you need for parts and fluids too. Lastly, do not attempt to contact the store owner with complaints as the staff does an excellent job of shielding themselves from that.
I am adept at most mechanical things as I am a retired US Navy machinist mate (nuclear submarines), have been to Marine Diesel Master Mechanic School, and am an operator at a power plant. Do yourself a favor if you deal with these folks, know what you want b
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