Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromLuke G

  Date: 08/16/2022

  1 star

  Luke G

  Date: 08/16/2022

  One star is generous. I took my Hustler zero turn mower to Ceresville for a major overhaul that cost approx $2k. I should say at the outset that this mower is well used and not pretty, but very functional. Within less than an hour of returning the mower to service, the carburetor, which was cleaned and reassembled during the service, flooded the engine and crankcase with gasoline, most likely due to an improperly reinstalled carb float. I returned the mower to Ceresville to make it right (I supplied a new OEM carburetor) and Ceresville charged me nearly $800 to fix their own error. When I complained to the owner of the business and said that I should not be paying to fix an issue they had caused, he merely shrugged his shoulders and said, the bill would stand. When I said, nicely, "Bob, you know that's just not right", he said to never come back.

  Ceresville New Holland Inc

  Date: 08/20/2022

  Mr. ****** bought his Hustler 1601C167 into the shop in July 2022. The mower had several issues. The left deck spring was loose, the parking brake did not work, and the starter or solenoid spun and springed before engaging. We removed and inspected the deck springs and reinstalled them such that they were tight. We replaced the spark plugs. We removed the rear wheels and adjusted the parking brake shoes. We removed the carburetor, disassembled it, cleaned it, installed new gaskets, and reinstalled it. We moved on to the starter problem. We removed parts to gain access to the starter, installed the new starter, and tested the ignition key. We found the starter kept spinning even after the key was turned off and traced the problem to the relay module, and replaced the relay. We found an issue with the deck wing switches that are a safety feature. We tightened the deck wing pivot bolts, and made sure that after making this adjustment, the switches correctly did not shut off the mower until a 15 degree angle was exceeded. We test ran the mower. These extensive repairs are why the original bill was $1979.50.
  
  For the first repair the engine had 2016 hours on the meter. When Mr. ****** had the mower picked up in August, the meter showed 2065 hours. Clearly there is a discrepancy herewith 49 extra hours, either Mr. ****** continued to operate the engine after it "flooded the engine and crankcase" or the failure did not actually happen "Within less than an hour of returning the mower to service."
  
  Our position is that the second issue is a separate failure especially given the extra 49 hours of usage. The $744.59 total included pickup charges and time for the driver. We offer pickup service only as a courtesy for customers who have no other means to get a unit into the shop. Because we must pull technicians off of repair work to do pickup and deliveries, we do charge the full labor rate for this time. The total is also after a $100 discount we provided to Mr. ******. The second bill also included an engine oil change that Mr. ****** requested, and a $30.76 paint can that Mr. ****** purchased when he picked up the mower.

  Luke G

  Date: 08/22/2022

  The mower has no functioning hour meter, as noted by the technician on the initial visit.. The hours reported by Ceresville New Holland between the first repair and the second is a fiction. The mower was used one time after first repair for approximately 30 minutes, The charge for pick-up of the non functioning mower, as well as the other charges (excepting the paint can) are all as a result of Ceresville New Holland's failure to properly re-install the carburetor during the first repair. The oil change specifically cited by Ceresville was necessitated by the gasoline which flooded the crankcase, not a discretionary oil change requested by me. Incidentally, I provided a new oil filter for that oil change, as did I provide a new OEM Briggs and Stratton carburetor rather than burden Ceresville New Holland with that element of the repair. I believed I was going well beyond my responsibility in facilitating their correction of their error.

  Ceresville New Holland Inc

  Date: 08/27/2022

  We pulled the paper copies of the two repair orders. The first repair order was 45788R and second was 45870R. We use multi-part forms where we write on the top copy when the unit is first booked for service and there is a second copy for the mechanic to add additional notes and note any extra parts used on the machine.
  
  The first repair was done by a mechanic known for taking copious notes. In fact, the work order notes that the engine was replaced in 2018 and the mower is from 2016. Had there been a problem with the hourmeter, it would have also been noted here.
  
  We also checked both repair orders to verify the hourmeter reading written in by the mechanic on his copy to ensure there was no data entry error. Indeed the reading is 2016 on the first repair order and 2065 on the second repair order.
  
  Mr. ****** purchased this unit at auction. The repair and maintenance history on the unit is therefore unknown. After the first repair we test-mowed with the mower and had none of the stated issues with the carburetor. We cannot concede that the carburetor issues stated by Mr. ****** were due to an incorrect repair.