Why I Hate the T2080

11841 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by wildwoodpaula, Sep 21, 2010

wildwoodpaula

Discussion Starter · Sep 18, 2010

Hi All,

Volfandt replied to one of my posts about the T2080 with these questions:

Did you buy it new and if so have you taken it back to the dealer?

Yes, bought it new for $3400 two years ago. Dealer knew that we have 18 acres on our nursery and that a lot of that is heavy grass, weeds and blackberries, and assured me that would be no problem. Within weeks, the mower deck belt snapped. Cost me $50 to replace.

If so, has the dealer not addressed these problems?

Nope. When I took it back for the first routine maintenance, I explained to the mechanic that it clatters and struggles to mow tall grass (meaning anything taller than 3 inches.) He hemmed and hawed, but finally he admitted that the new infinity design was the culprit. He had no solution--and actually seemed embarrassed. I bolted a small chain to the discharge guard so that I could pull up the guard so nothing impedes the grass coming out, and that helps some.

This year while I was mowing, it just stopped moving. I was way out in the field with no way of getting the mower back to the shed. Called the dealer--owner said to bring it in. Yeah, right. So I removed the mower deck and took pictures of the undercarriage. Emailed that to the dealer and got no response. I saw this spring hanging down from this bar thing attached to a pulley. (Remember, I'm not a mechanic.) So I figured it needed to be attached someplace. Called the dealer. Got no help. Bring it in, he repeated. Oh sure, pay $64 an hour to have the mechanic attach a spring? So I attached the spring to what I thought was the right place and got the mower back to the shed. Went on line and found a schematic at Messicks that showed where the spring was supposed to go. But it kept coming loose, so I bought another one and doubled them up.

It's been okay for awhile, but I don't use it for heavy grass. Had my T1400 fixed up, and used that until I had problems (see the other thread).

That's why I would not recommend the 2080 for anyone who wants to use it for anything more extreme than a manicured lawn. Unless you have money to throw away--which we don't. And I've given up on Kubota. Sad that such a great company has deteriorated so badly. IMO, anyway.

And, thanks, Volfandt, for taking an interest. I appreciate it.:trink39:

Paula

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mark777

· #2 · Sep 18, 2010

Paula,

First off I care! I don't like any of our members to be victims of new equipment failure.

In your instance, and from what I read here and on your other posts, I get a strong feeling that the dealer let you down and the salesman either didn't do his homework OR he just peddled the item to meet his quota.

It would seem that the T2080 is the wrong machine for your property and has been from the very beginning. It IS listed as a lawn tractor and utilizes the 20 HP, 2 cylinder gas Kohler engine, which IMO, just isn't physically and mechanically strong enough to perform the duties and requirements on your landscape.

I realize this doesn't take the sting out of your heavy investment but I would try and negotiate for an upgrade, perhaps a CUT with a mid mount mower with the same dealer, *and ask for the manager. I don't believe Kubota, or the T2080 model is really a poor piece of equipment, but I'm inclined to believe it was presented to you as a "Do All" machine...and done so with poor judgment (or falsely).

*The manager may not give you your money back but he might give you a large refund as a down payment on a more appropriate tractor.

Mark

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[email protected]

· #3 · Sep 18, 2010

Paula,
You had a very poor salesman that either didn't know or didn't care that he was selling you the wrong machine. He's the type that gives all sales people a bad name. A good sales person would rather loose a sale than to sell something that won't do the job it is needed for. I would suggest you call Kubota customer service and let them know that the dealer misrepresented their equipment. Kubota is a good company with many good products when used for what they were designed to do. Your dealer failed you, not Kubota.

Mark

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Volfandt

· #4 · Sep 19, 2010

Paula O agree w/the previous opinions, it appears that they sold you a machine that is too small for your needs. A SCUT (BX18XX series or the larger BX22XX/23XX series) would have been a better choice and the slightly larger B7510/7610, B2320/2620 series would be even better. Course you're looking at a hogher cost but you'd have the proper machine for your needs.
I don't know if you have any recourse w/them besides not doing any additional business with them. I can't understand a business not treating their paying customers properly. It's against good business sense.....

Older tractors are beefier and seemed to be overbuilt back in the day but thats hardly the case with these newer machines.

IMHO, trading that T1080 in for something bigger would be the best resolution. I wouldn't rule out another brand either.
If you get it back in servicable shape you could probably get more out of it by selling it outright and making sure the prospective buyer knows that it's a lawn tractor, not a lawn & garden tractor.
Unfortunately you'll end up taking a loss in the short term but will make out alot better in the long term.
Another option would be to use your soon to be servicable T1400 for the majority of your mowing and just use the T1080 for finish mowing close in to your house/buildings.

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wildwoodpaula

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 19, 2010

Thanks, gentlemen (and I mean that as a compliment!) The salesman is part owner and manager and the same person who sold us our other two Kubotas. I tangled with him after this last debacle, and he was condescending and rude. We own a small business, and I agree with both of you that in the interest of good will and as a reward for our customer loyalty, he should have offered to take it back or use it as a trade for an upgrade. I have been complaining since I bought it, so he has to know how frustrated I am. If you think Kubota would actually listen to me, I'd give it a try. One thing that might sway them--I've had several people ask me how I liked my Kubota and I've told them the truth. A friend (a widow who is now running her husband's ranch) was in the market for a new large tractor, and I told her to steer clear of Kubota. She bought a Coyote and loves it. So the dealership lost a $24K sale. Thanks again for your interest.

Paula

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skyrydr2

· #6 · Sep 20, 2010

Don't feel to bad Paula, we have them here on the east coast as well, and it seems to especially be Kubota ? I don't know why either ? They make some wonderful products!
But it doesn't matter what brand, its only as good as the support from the dealer! we have some out standing dealers selling multiple brands and from what I have seen these are the ones that do the best job.Even Deere does a great job with cross brands.
Not sure how it is anywhere else though ?

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mc25a

· #7 · Sep 20, 2010

It's ridiculous to consider a lawn mower when you have to manage 18 acres of overgrown land. I don't know whether the t2080 is truly a bad design, but I suspect it's not a terrible unit when used for mowing lawns! That is after all the job it's designed for.

The salesman should certainly be aware of this and maybe he just thought he wouldn't be able to sell you something in the price range that would be required.

To be perfectly honest though, I rarely encounter a salesman that knows much more about the machine than whats in the brochure. It pays to be an informed consumer and not put yourself at their mercy. The salesman rarely has your best interests at heart anyway.

It wouldn't have taken much research to find out that this mower is in no way appropriate for the kind of work you are expecting of it.

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wildwoodpaula

Discussion Starter · #8 · Sep 21, 2010

mc25a said:
It's ridiculous to consider a lawn mower when you have to manage 18 acres of overgrown land. I don't know whether the t2080 is truly a bad design, but I suspect it's not a terrible unit when used for mowing lawns! That is after all the job it's designed for.
The salesman should certainly be aware of this and maybe he just thought he wouldn't be able to sell you something in the price range that would be required.

It wouldn't have taken much research to find out that this mower is in no way appropriate for the kind of work you are expecting of it.

Well, you're right, of course. In retrospect. But in my defense, we had bought our two other Kubotas from this same man who has been to the nursery and seen the lay of the land, so to speak, so I trusted him.

If I had it to do over, I would have replaced our aged B7100 with the modern equivalent and bought a low end mower for the "lawn" portion of the grounds.
This is a small community, and a small dealership. The salesman is also part owner and we've dealt with him for 19 years. As I've said, he knows what we wanted the mower to do. I did, in fact, ask him if the 2080 would work for us, and he assured me it would. So, foolishly, I trusted him. THAT'S why I'm so upset. As you say, he knew better, but he just wanted to make a sale.

And I still say, after laying under that sucker trying to fix stuff, that it's a flimsy machine, even for mowing manicured machines.

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