Scag Liberty Z opinions?

[mhavanti]

War Eagle,

You can add a slider adjuster to any of those kits. You could even pull something out of a junk car and use it.

Own Goal,

I've had some suck arse deals with two dealers now and believe me, neither care how much damage they do to the mower. One left mine outdoors for four weeks of hurricanes, now there is rust around every deck bolt on it. Scratched the deck in several places apparently used it for a push car, ran the engine guard into who knows what, knocked a hole in the seat, and it is in worse shape now mechanically before it went down there twice.

Needless to say, I'll make all the adjustments it needs to make it right. I hate that the paint has been hurt. It looked like brand new when they got their hands on it. They aged the mower 15 years. I have a '96 model, 21 years old that still looks great. I am appalled at how some folks don't give a crap about their customers.

Good luck to you both,

Max

 

[War Eagle]

I've had mine since June '16. I love it, when it's running. Past two months I've had it long enough to mow only once. It's still in the shop now. Had to buy a push mower to end the season. Still in the shop. Second machine I've had with a Kohler but I'd say pay extra for a Kawasaki engine. I'd also STRONGLY qualify your dealer. I've bought 4 Stihl machines plus the Scag from the same dealer. I ever get my mower back they will never see me again.

From your comment, I assume the problem is with the Kohler engine? Is that right? If so, what specifically is the problem with the engine? Electrical/ignition? Fuel/carburetion? Oil/lubrication? For my purposes, I could justify going with either the 48" or 52" deck, so I'm curious which is generally considered the best deck/engine pairing for the Liberty Z: 1) the 48" deck with the 18 HP Kawasaki FR, or 2) the 52" deck with the 21 HP Kawasaki FR? Any opinions either way out there?

 

[War Eagle]

... I've had some suck arse deals with two dealers now and believe me, neither care how much damage they do to the mower. One left mine outdoors for four weeks of hurricanes, now there is rust around every deck bolt on it. Scratched the deck in several places apparently used it for a push car, ran the engine guard into who knows what, knocked a hole in the seat, and it is in worse shape now mechanically before it went down there twice. Needless to say, I'll make all the adjustments it needs to make it right. I hate that the paint has been hurt. It looked like brand new when they got their hands on it. They aged the mower 15 years. I have a '96 model, 21 years old that still looks great. I am appalled at how some folks don't give a crap about their customers. Good luck to you both, Max

Max, Unbelievable! Did you check serial numbers to make sure it was really your mower that you got back? I feel your pain. Many years back, I took my 5-year old but nearly pristine muscle car to a dealer shop for the first time for some technical adjustments (I had previously done all the work on it myself) only to discover later that they had stripped several items out of the engine compartment and replaced with them worn/rusted junk. My guess was they put my parts on someone else's car and charged them for new - hoping I'd be miles down the road before I discovered the switch-a-ru when it would be just my word against theirs. I can still feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it these many years later.

 

[mhavanti]

Its my mower, they just have one female that throws the seat forward as hard as she can when accessing the mechanicals below the seat deck. I have no idea what they were placing on the foot deck of my RSD60, however, several long, deep to the metal scratches, scuffs as though they had gravel in their shoes and this mower today has 32.9 hours on it. There are scratched areas all over it as though bumping and pushing other mowers or other hard and heavier objects.

I took a video of it before I took it to the dealer, but, it would cost much more than a mower to get it back to the point it was before they touched it. I tried to upload the video of it the day before it went to the dealership. Guess it thinks it is too large.

Max

 

[7394]

Did you point all the damage to the Dealer when you were picking it up ?

 

[Own Goal]

Update.

After spending another month in the shop I got my Liberty Z back. Had to buy a new carb. $144 and change. Now has 88.3 hours. Guess what. Mowed half the yard and stated backfiring and sputtering. Inside the air cleaner was wet. Sure enough oil level was too high and smelled like gas. I guess I need to call Kohler. Done with my dealer. Need to find someone in DFW area that works on Kohler engines and is competent. Man.

 

[7394]

That sux man. Hard to find ppl who see a well cared for machine & not treat it accordingly.

 

[mhavanti]

There are a great many professionals herein and are just as appalled hearing the things that happen to good folk's machines as you and I. Problem is, the cost of accountability or bringing accountability to those that do harm to your machine and your pocket book is so high that you are again accost by trying to bring justice to your situation.

Hope you get your machine all ready for next season.

 

[Own Goal]

It will likely be fixed in time for the next mowing. By accident I stumbled onto a great dealer near by. I was with my son calling on a customer of his. As we left he said, hey, that is a Scag dealer next door. Super nice and friendly guys. The owner contacted the distributor for Kohler. Factory tech gave a heads up on the likely source of the problem ( fuel pump) and they will try to get repaid under warranty, even though I did not buy from them. My stealership has gotten me for over $250, three trips and 2.5 months without fixing. I did notice my new dealer had three new Liberty Z in stock. All their Scag inventory had the Kawasaki option upgrade. If these guys get it done I'll post back on here and share this dealer by name.

 

[mhavanti]

I'm surprised the first fella didn't check the fuel pump, fuel hoses for collapsing, fuel cap, etc.

Good luck and hope you're up and running very quickly.