I've been in the lawn care business for about 10 years now mowing about 20-25 acres a week. Mostly large residential jobs that get cut alot. I've always had Dixie Chopper 60" zero turns and was ready for a change so I bought a brand new Exmark Lazer S 72" with a Kohler Command Pro EFI 26.5 hp this spring (mid April I believe). I was told by many people to give Exmark a try so I went for it. Fast forward 2-1/2 months and 91 mowing hours later I mowed about 6-8 hours Sunday and had everything cut except a 5 minute apartment job so I stopped Monday after work to get it finished. Well I tried to mow it but my engine started knocking and lost all it's power when the deck was engaged. I dropped it off to the dealer Tuesday at 8am. They said they would know something in a few days and if it was going to take awhile I can pick up a loaner later in the week. Well Friday came and they didnt have much new information so they said I can pick up the loaner mower. So I took the 40 minute one way trip and picked it up. They called me the first of the week and said it needed major engine repair. They deemed the engine was blown due to low oil. Now I will admit I did check the oil Sunday but did not look at it Monday afternoon when I mowed the apartment. It sat in their shop for a month before Kohler made any attempt to look at it. The dealer claimed their hands were tied and it was all on Kohler before they can do any warranty work. Finally after a month of it sitting there Kohler says they will provide a short block for it but thats it. I'm responsible for the labor to put it in. Kohler told the dealer during an engine break in process it can burn 1/2 qt per hour and I should check my oil at least every 2 hours. I'm not really sure how long this engine break in process is but it must be over 91 hours Somehow that information failed to get passed onto me and I was just supposed to know it. At this point I just wanted my mower back so I said please just get it done. It ended up costing me $450. I started thinking about it and was really irritated about it so I called Exmark to see if they would stand behind there name and product and pick up the labor cost or talk to Kohler again but that was a waste of 3 phone calls and 20 minutes of my life. They are worse than politicians dodging questions and talking as if they wish they could help me as they count my 11k+ dollars in the background. It ended up being down 5-1/2 weeks before I got it back. What a poor experience I've had with this whole ordeal. I ask both the dealer and Exmark for Kohlers phone number and no one seems to have any contact info for them. The dealer and Exmark both say the warranty info is through Kohler yet there is no way to contact them. The 800 phone number takes you to some other master parts distributor. Long story short the 3 year warranty is about as good as the first engine on my Exmark, crap. The customer service at Exmark is even worse. The mower cuts better than anything I've ever used before though so I guess time will heal my wounds when I forget about it. It's not like I cant afford to eat now because of the cost, but its the principle that has my so irritated. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Does anyone have any suggestions to recoup my money?
If you want to go through the hassle you can file a small claim lawsuit and have a law officer serve a summons on Kohler, they will probably pay you then proceed with the court case. It's been done before.
