Insane MF dealer workshop prices.

[jorgenbg]

Hp figure seems very low

215 now

 

[mtx.jag]

215 now

Look after the clutch packs,I’m fairly sure 7718 is smaller back end than a 7720

 

[jorgenbg]

Look after the clutch packs,I’m fairly sure 7718 is smaller back end than a 7720

Im the only driver, so will keep that in mind. Thanks.

 

[jimbo69]

Things might have changed, it’s been 25 years, but when I worked for a main dealership jobs were defined by the hours stated by the manufacturer. For example, front wheel bearings on a Ford 4000 were, say, 4 hours and as a mechanic that’s how long we had to complete the job. This was set by the manufacturer not the main dealer. Every job had a “time” allocated to it in a book. If it took longer we had to explain why, if it took less, well, it never took less. I remember we charged £25 per hour plus parts plus vat. On out of warranty older machines we had to give the service manager an estimate, and were expected to stick to it.

Looking at modern machines I would not know where to start but I get the impression many workshop staff are “fitters” rather than “engineers” and mainly replace components, as per a software readout. We were expected to repair rather than replace where possible. As I said, a long time ago.

Ford car dealership I used to work at was the same. If the book said 4 hours though they pushed you to get it done in less, it wasn't unusual to work an 8 hour day but have 10 chargeable hours.

 

[masseybreaker]

so if it took 4 hours last time if it was 5 hours this time you would be happy ? you have a good argument with them about that. The price of parts is another story !!!! also if you had done the job yourself you would have had to get them out to it to program the spool to the tractor anyway . go and see them with a copy of the old invoice and see what they say

 

[Cowabunga]

Looking at modern machines I would not know where to start but I get the impression many workshop staff are “fitters” rather than “engineers” and mainly replace components, as per a software readout. We were expected to repair rather than replace where possible. As I said, a long time ago.

How do you repair, rather than replace, a broken bearing, shaft and cogs, or a synchro hub, in a gearbox?
How do you repair an injector pump rather then send it away or fit a service exchange unit?
Nothing has fundamentally changed apart from there being a lot more complex systems on today's tractors and implements. The basics of getting things repaired are just the same as they have always been. I'm about to repair a broken alternator adjusting bracket on a tractor, which is exactly the same as would have been done 50 years ago, which is to remove and either weld the part or replace with a new one, then replace. No new one is available immediately for this rather antique tractor [1993 Same Titan], so I had the bracket welded up yesterday to be replaced along with a new set of fan belts while I'm at it.

 

[Grandad Pig]

I once turned a pair of phosphor bronze bushes for a layshaft, long wait for replacement parts, owner desperate to get his tractor working. Took a while measuring up the shaft etc, probably an hour on the lathe. I have often repaired cogs, on rotovators and bailers by building up weld and grinding/filing to shape.

I honestly doubt modern mechanics would a) be capable of turning and fabricating internal parts and b) would be permitted to do so. Much more profit in ordering new and fitting them. Stand ready to be corrected though, would love to hear from a modern mechanic.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

I once turned a pair of phosphor bronze bushes for a layshaft, long wait for replacement parts, owner desperate to get his tractor working. Took a while measuring up the shaft etc, probably an hour on the lathe. I have often repaired cogs, on rotovators and bailers by building up weld and grinding/filing to shape.

I honestly doubt modern mechanics would a) be capable of turning and fabricating internal parts and b) would be permitted to do so. Much more profit in ordering new and fitting them. Stand ready to be corrected though, would love to hear from a modern mechanic.

a fitter just fits things, and that's it.
an engineer will not only make replacement parts, but also wants to know why it broke

 

[Celtic Driver]

How do you repair, rather than replace, a broken bearing, shaft and cogs, or a synchro hub, in a gearbox?
How do you repair an injector pump rather then send it away or fit a service exchange unit?
Nothing has fundamentally changed apart from there being a lot more complex systems on today's tractors and implements. The basics of getting things repaired are just the same as they have always been. I'm about to repair a broken alternator adjusting bracket on a tractor, which is exactly the same as would have been done 50 years ago, which is to remove and either weld the part or replace with a new one, then replace. No new one is available immediately for this rather antique tractor [1993 Same Titan], so I had the bracket welded up yesterday to be replaced along with a new set of fan belts while I'm at it.

Yet you can get all the spares for the MF100 and 200 series to build a complete new tractor if you wanted to.

 

[Robt]

I once turned a pair of phosphor bronze bushes for a layshaft, long wait for replacement parts, owner desperate to get his tractor working. Took a while measuring up the shaft etc, probably an hour on the lathe. I have often repaired cogs, on rotovators and bailers by building up weld and grinding/filing to shape.

I honestly doubt modern mechanics would a) be capable of turning and fabricating internal parts and b) would be permitted to do so. Much more profit in ordering new and fitting them. Stand ready to be corrected though, would love to hear from a modern mechanic.

It’s a different skill set that is required today. I doubt you or many from your time would be able to go can sniffing, program the ini file of a complex ecu system....

 

[Cowabunga]

Yet you can get all the spares for the MF100 and 200 series to build a complete new tractor if you wanted to.

That's because they are still being made new. The whole tractor that is. And there are tens of thousands in use worldwide. That's the beauty of buying volume built popular machines rather than from more limited production brands.

Even so, don't count on all parts being available or even major parts being consistently available. For instance, exhaust manifolds for A4.318 engines, and several other critical parts were not available a while ago. Windscreen washer bottles for 300 series also. 4300 series Speedshift packs had a long wait at one time.
So don't be over-confident that parts for old machines, however popular they were, will be consistently available.

I would suspect that parts for any and all machines will be a problem this year.

 

[Celtic Driver]

That's because they are still being made new. The whole tractor that is. And there are tens of thousands in use worldwide. That's the beauty of buying volume built popular machines rather than from more limited production brands.

Even so, don't count on all parts being available or even major parts being consistently available. For instance, exhaust manifolds for A4.318 engines, and several other critical parts were not available a while ago. Windscreen washer bottles for 300 series also. 4300 series Speedshift packs had a long wait at one time.
So don't be over-confident that parts for old machines, however popular they were, will be consistently available.

I would suspect that parts for any and all machines will be a problem this year.

Most parts for these seem to be made by non genuine companies .

 

[Cowabunga]

Most parts for these seem to be made by non genuine companies .

Many of these parts have always been bought-in from other suppliers. Currently legacy license-built MF tractors are mainly built/assembled in India and Pakistan I believe. Not sure what the state of play is in Brazil.

 

[Monty]

I’ve had this before with a MF dealer job, tractor needed splitting to do damper plate. 40 hours work charged. The next time it needed splitting to do gearbox synchros which is basically the same job I used their previous MF trained fitter who has since gone on his own and he done the whole job in 20 hours including rebuilding synchros. Guess some of these main dealers are taking people for a ride cause when it’s in their workshop you dont know how long they spend working on it whereas on farm with mobile fitter you do.

That's shocking. I replaced a damper plate in our tractor last year in 8 hours. I did it on my own in our calving loosebox and it was the first time I've replaced one

 

[Cowabunga]

That's shocking. I replaced a damper plate in our tractor last year in 8 hours. I did it on my own in our calving loosebox and it was the first time I've replaced one

Bet it was not the first time you split a tractor though and it almost certainly didn’t have a loader fitted.
Having said that MF put a lot of thought into the design of the current chassis, way back in 1986, to make it one of the most repair friendly designs available, and they are still ahead of most today.

 

[njneer]

If you look at the car and truck industry for example charge out rates are routinely £90-100/ hr .
The whole set up is done on “Productivity Management”.
The dynamic is very different from Ag in that all work is pre booked ,because it is all done in house, with no on-site repairs .
This allows them to have a full book of
Previously arranged work for every hour of each day for work for each man .
All jobs will have a “book time “ and each man / woman is managed on their “Productivety” so if the book time for a repair is 4 hours and the mechanic repairs it in 2 then he is scored as being in a plus percentage of productivity and moves on to his next job.
It is possible that some mechanics can have well over 100% productivity .
I have heard even in some garages each mans productivity is shown on a screen within the workshop to drive competion and ultimately maximise profit from each man.
Even if they only break even on Productivety its
still 100% as they have accounted and charged every hour with a healthy margin.
Ag is very different , travel time , tidy up time, very flexible working practices with regards time slots for repairs , weather dependency, doesn’t suit customer today or a sudden change in weather when you have organised work.
I did a detailed study on workshop productivity and “Recovery Rate” ie what we paid out and what we charged out and the % of productivity for each man in the workshop and it is an eye opener as to how unproductive an Ag workshop can be , even a very well organised one .
The amount of “dead “ time, ie, hours that cannot be charged but still being paid for at certain times of the year is frightening .
When you start adding up these hours and multiplying it by your charge out rate it is a frightening amount of money being lost but it is impossible to ever run as efficiently as a car or truck garage due to the way the industry works.

 

[Pennine Ploughing]

If you look at the car and truck industry for example charge out rates are routinely £90-100/ hr .
The whole set up is done on “Productivity Management”.
The dynamic is very different from Ag in that all work is pre booked ,because it is all done in house, with no on-site repairs .
This allows them to have a full book of
Previously arranged work for every hour of each day for work for each man .
All jobs will have a “book time “ and each man / woman is managed on their “Productivety” so if the book time for a repair is 4 hours and the mechanic repairs it in 2 then he is scored as being in a plus percentage of productivity and moves on to his next job.
It is possible that some mechanics can have well over 100% productivity .
I have heard even in some garages each mans productivity is shown on a screen within the workshop to drive competion and ultimately maximise profit from each man.
Even if they only break even on Productivety its
still 100% as they have accounted and charged every hour with a healthy margin.
Ag is very different , travel time , tidy up time, very flexible working practices with regards time slots for repairs , weather dependency, doesn’t suit customer today or a sudden change in weather when you have organised work.
I did a detailed study on workshop productivity and “Recovery Rate” ie what we paid out and what we charged out and the % of productivity for each man in the workshop and it is an eye opener as to how unproductive an Ag workshop can be , even a very well organised one .
The amount of “dead “ time, ie, hours that cannot be charged but still being paid for at certain times of the year is frightening .
When you start adding up these hours and multiplying it by your charge out rate it is a frightening amount of money being lost but it is impossible to ever run as efficiently as a car or truck garage due to the way the industry works.

you forget to say, at car garages, you go to reception and pay on full before getting your keys back

 

[2wheels]

And a lot of these young lads have to buy there own tools to

most have to buy their own tool apart from specialist manufacturer tools. my son ( motor trade) has almost 30k worth of tools and toolboxes but thankfully his boss does insure them against fire and theft.

 

[manhill]

It’s a different skill set that is required today. I doubt you or many from your time would be able to go can sniffing, program the ini file of a complex ecu system....

and wouldn't want to either. Can't think of less satisfying work than peeing about with someone else's operating system.

 

[michael N123]

most have to buy their own tool apart from specialist manufacturer tools. my son ( motor trade) has almost 30k worth of tools and toolboxes but thankfully his boss does insure them against fire and theft.

It’s no wonder a lot buy a van and go self employed tho