(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Dealer quoted me a price...not what I had in mind!

J

Jamo58

Member
I just got off the phone with the John Deere Dealership. They sell a lot of lawn mowers and "farm" tractors going to cut 1/2 acre lots so I figured the price might be a little higher than normal but I was still willing to have them look at my baler with the hopes that I could just write the check and have it back to me in working order without all the headache and hassle of getting it running myself (had even hoped to maybe bale my second cutting with it this year). I should have known - my mom said when they came to pick it up ( I was at work), the guy stood in the barn yard and asked where it was - he was leaning on it.

The dealer told me it was going to take 1500 in parts and 1500 in labor, at a minimum. ( I didn't even want the kicker fixed, just wanted it taken off) I said the baler wouldn't even be worth that in working condition and told him thanks for his time but to send it home.

The thing is, is that I don't think they had any clue what they were looking at (not that I do either but I'm not a JD dealer) and just decided to throw money at it. I asked what we could do to bring the price down and he wouldn't budge, I don't think they wanted to even mess with it and figured the price would drive me away, which it did. Now I have to actually take a good look at it myself to really determine if it's worth the time or if I just scrap the idea and look for another baler (I've got nothing but time in it so far).

Any thoughts on a $3000 min. to get a JD 336 without a kicker up and running? Here's a pic of it, it doesn't look like scrap but from what the dealer said, maybe that's all it's worth? I'm hoping that's not the case.

Sorry for the rant and long post, just kind of disappointed. Looks like it's all rounds again this year.

-Jameson
a16243.jpg
 
The 336 was one of the best balers ever built. Yours looks pretty good in the picture, maybe you could find a retired Farmer in your area that wants to make a few extra dollars and will take a look at it and work on it for you. Anyone who ever worked on any make of square baler could work on a 336 and parts are easy to get new or used.
 
Do you have an idea what or if anything is wrong with it? Obvious broken/worn parts? What if you were to just get a manual for it and go thru it yourself?

Dave
 
What won"t it do correctly? I would take alot of wear and broken parts to make the baler scrap. Find someone locally that used to work at a dealership or someone who still runs small squares and see if they can help you out.

If you still want to get rid of it, are you any where near So. Il. (straight East of St. Louis)?
 
Do you know any history on the machine, where did you get it and from whom, what"s wrong with it etc ?
If you don"t know, buy some shear bolts and turn the flywheel by hand if it goes all the way thru a full stroke and doesn"t bind up or hit the plunger stops hook it to your tractor and engage the PTO cautiously and let it run at low rpm"s. If it doesn"t break the shear bolt you may have gotten a deal and it just needs to be timed. Be careful and good luck. P.S. What area are you in?
 
It's well worth your while to get a manual for it if you don't have it then see what it will or won't do. That way you get to know the baler inside and out. That knowledge is VERY valuable to you as the operator in the field. Not having that knowledge will cost you in lost hay if you have to call the dealer to get you going again for some little thing.
I have a 346 that had a tooth broken on the bull gear. Replacing that was pricey but unusual. Most of those will run until the sheet metal under the auger wears through.
 
Grease it up.

With baler not hooked to tractor, support the pto shaft so it will turn (and not kink) as you turn the flywheel by hand- make sure the plunger "plunges" and pickup turns like they're supposed to.

Then get someone else to turn the flywheel while you trip the knotter bar (at the star wheel on top of the bale chamber) in the rear. Watch the needles as they go through the knotting cycle (no twine or hay in the thing yet, of course)- the eyes of the needles should be very near the bill hook at their furthest upward travel, then go back down to resting position, without the plunger hitting them. Meanwhile, the billhooks should be going through their normal gymnastics. It will be harder to turn the flywheel during the knotting cycle, but not extremely so. If you come up to a "stop" condition in the turning of the flywheel, nudge it a little, back and forth, but don't force it- try to figure out what's froze up and free it rather than break it.

If everything is good so far, hook it up to a tractor and engage the PTO slowly, at idle. Let it run a bit, to get the grease spread around. If all is still well, load with twine, and feed it hay until it goes through a tying cycle. If it won't tie correctly, wait for the manual you ordered to arrive, and start going through it.
 
Hey thanks for the replies...I'm feeling better about getting this thing running again. (that price from the dealer just sucked all the wind out of me) I'll just be doing it in the barn instead of in JD's shop.

Got it from a neighbor, he told me if I could get it running, I could use it (we already share a round baler and we get along really well so I'm not worried about putting in the time and money). It was his brothers and he doesn't know specifically what was wrong with it when it was parked, just that they parked it when his parents sold the dairy.

I got a manual and was figuring I'd be doing some tuning-up and maintenance myself, just thought maybe Deere could start me off on the right foot. I'll have to talk to a few friends/neighbors who I know will be able to lend a hand since I now have about a year till I really need it in the field.

Thanks again, I'm feeling good about the baler again.

-Jameson
 
Ok so you bought this baler secondhand without a manual and no confirmation on its performance or maintenance history? Then you decide that its such an immense asset you should SELL it to the JD dealership and they can in turn provide you with equipment better suited to your needs.....once the "salesman" arrived and explained the costs to recondition the baler to sellable condition exceeded its value for resale - you get angry???
If its worth so much - then you buy the parts, do the work or pay somebody and get it running reliably and with some kind of warranty...because even a dealer has to put up with people who buy used equipemnt in AS-IS condition that get all upset when they get home and find out it needs repairs or parts.
The only valid point to your being upset is the fact the "salesman" did not know what he was looking at - outside of that the Evaluator (JD appraisal tool) did everything else.
FYI - used square bales of unknown origin can get very expensive...dont be angry because the JD dealer wouldn't clean up the mess you made for yourself.
 
336 is a great baler and yours looks to be in very good shape.Dealers for the most part are money grubbers these days that want to fix lawnmowers for big prices.I'd ride around the area until I found a farmer that had one about like it or any square baler really and get him/her to show you how to tie the twine to get the knotters to thread and then put some hay in it.Be careful though balers can be very unforgiving of you putting your hand in the wrong place
 
blueclawz...I think you might have misinterpreted my post. I've got no money in it yet, just my time in towing it back from my neighbors shed, and the time I spent greasing and going over it myself. My neighbor said it was just rusting away and if I could get it running then I could use it (not sell it). I have a manual...just got the thing and went over the baler before I sent the baler off to the dealer to get looked at, I never planned on selling it to JD, just wanted to get it checked out to see what they might be able to do to fix it up...I was just a little surprised at the cost and was wondering what others thought ...

Not really upset, just venting and thinking "out loud".

p.s. the flywheel turns by hand, and the auger and plunger move freely. I hadn't tried tripping the knotters yet. If I get it back before Friday I'm sure I'll look at it over the weekend. I'll probably have more posts as I get into this project.

Thanks again, everyone.

-Jameson
 
I am not a big fan of dealer service prices, but anymore 1500 in parts is not that much. You said you wanted it in working order-to a dealer, that means to as close to new as possible. To a person who must put up a hay crop, the baler must be reliable. I am sure you don't mind working on it some, but thats not the way a dealer works-they don't want you back complaining it does not work perfectly. Knotters can make people invent new cuss words. If rusty, the dealer will have quoted new. Also, you told them to remove the kicker-did they quote you a new chute as a replacement? That is needed to make it work, but pricey if you had to buy the whole thing. Labor quote, not much more than 2 guys for a day, at current shop rates. Thats why us small guys do it ourselves.
 
Never doubt that the dealer has one goal and that is to make as much money off you as possible. People like blueclaws take their equipment in and pray for lubricant and somehow think it is great for the dealer to gouge like they do. He sounds like a former dealer to me. They come up with their estimate from the repair manual and charge parts prices that are marked up 300%. I do not blame you for your surprise and I think you handled it the right way. Do not deal with those types and soon enoungh they will be out of business.
 

Jamo, that price is just a great reason to learn how to do it yourself. Tinker with it a bit, read the manual, talk to a knowledgeable old neighbor, etc, and I'll bet you could have it running great in no time.

Dad grew up as a kid with barely enough money for the family to eat, but he learned how to do about anything.

He worked as teacher, bus driver, barber, farmer, etc... And he instilled that in us kids - we overhauled irrigation and tractor engines, Dad and us 3 boys (still in high school at the time) put up a 160x55 foot barn, built a couple of well houses, built a frame to pull and repaired a 400 foot well, put back up collapsed sprinklers, etc, etc...



Howard
 
Jamo - My mistake. I misread your post and was under the impression you had paid cash for the baler.

As for the other comments about "Being a dealer"...I am not. I do however understand how dealerships make money...and NEED TO MAKE MONEY..inorder to be available. IF you want your local dealership to sell you everything at cost...then you better hope that places like Wal-Mart and TSC take on baler parts...because if you don't pay a little now...you will pay a lot more in the future. Dealerships around here charge about $75-80hr....that seems like a good bit of money...parts well those cost money as well....and given the lack of new 338's sitting around dealerships I suppose they are not in high demand...but yet you expect the local dealer to have everything you need sitting on a shelf awaiting your purchase?
I am just saying...be realistic of your expectations...sure its easy to say "that dealership was trying to screw me"...but if you actually break out the expense..was he really slamming you..or just covering his costs and hoping to sell you something newer?
 
About 2 years ago my father in-law had his 336 gone over by his local dealership. Lifetime dairy farmer, had the baler for the past 20 years or so. Cost him about $3000 if I remember right. They replaced all the bearings, worn shafts, new runners in the bale chamber etc. Basically has a brand new baler. The way he saw it he has no more tinkering around, as reliable as the day it was new, should last another 30 years or so.
 
That price may not be too far out of line depending on what was quoted. I mean... if you show them an old baler of somewhat unknown origin or condition then they'll probably want to figure on a bunch of new knotter parts like billhooks and strippers, new plunger bearings, knives, possibly needles if they're badly worn... pickup fingers, mabey some strippers, bearings, cam followers, probably all new chains and belts, slip clutch discs if so equipped... you get the picture. You wanted it 'field ready' so you don't have to screw with it. They probably figured 2 days labor. At ~100 bucks an hour today in a lot of dealer shops... that's probably not too far out of line really. When you figure that everything doesnt' always come apart easily or as it should, time can add quickly. They probably didn't want to underquote just in case it does go over budget either...

On the other side of the coin, price out a new baler today of similar capacity. Compare that with what is basically a fully reconditioned baler... 3 grand VS 20 grand?
If you intend to keep the baler then that's really the only relevant question, not what you can get for it on the open market.

Rod
 
Like others have said, Put some hay in it and try it. Probably will work. They are simple. You'd probably have it running in couple hours at most
 
The DVD someone suggested may be worth a look. Nother idea is get the manual and go from there. Usually the owners manual has a bunch of sample missed knots pictured with explanations as to the problem.

I learned what I know of knotters this way on Grain Binders. If things are lined up and working correctly misses will be rare. Rest of the stuff is sorta see spot run. Just remember to crank down the tension or your bales will be loose.

Taking it to a Lawn and Garden dealer would be a waste of time. I am surprised they would even take a look at it in the first place. Everybody has their strong points and I wouldn't be real crazy about taking my lawn mower to the JD "farm" equipment dealer either.

jm2cw

jt
 
While we're complaining about John Deere dealers, last year I bought a new Poulan chain saw from our local Oersheln's store. After it ran long enough to be broken in, it needed the carb adjustment touched up. Naturally, it's one of those that takes a special tool.

Oersheln's told me the local John Deere dealer did their warranty work, so I figured that was a place to start. The clown that does their small engine work told me adjustments weren't warranted, and if I left the saw, it would be a $100 minimum charge. I told him I only paid $119 for the freakin' thing to start with and walked out.

I bought the tool on e-bay for $7 and did it myself. Plus I now have the tool that dealers say they can't sell or loan out.

That gave me an idea. I had a Homelite saw I'd given up on. It took a different special tool to adjust the carb, but I bought that tool from e-bay also and that's all the Homelite needed.
 
I wouldn't be a bit surprised that if you greased it up and cleaned it up some, you could hook up to a tractor and go to work. If there's issues to be had, they will manifest themselves in short order. But they will likely be minor. Once in awhile somebody says they 'stopped using it', that was the case. They went to big round bales, sold the dairy, died etc.
 
what is wrong with the baler? The 336's are good balers, I just put some money in mine, but it is like a new baler now. Just step back and think about it.
 
Where are you located. I know good dealers that know how to work on balers. One of them might be around you.
Also like these guys have told you. Try to look it over yourself. You should try taking some old hay and just trial run it in your barn yard.
Email me and I would be glad to talk to you about the knotters. I have worked on quite a few.
 
Look around and find some one who is good on balers maybe a retired service person. His price might be resonable. I would caution tinkering with it if you have no knowlede of balers On wrong adjustment can ruin it fast.
 
Good gawd people! You're telling this poor guy to do this and that, get someone to look at it blah blah blah...

HOW ABOUT WE SEE IF IT WORKS FIRST!?!?

THERE MAY BE NOTHING WRONG WITH IT!

Hook up a tractor, straighten the hitch, and feather the PTO lever. Roll it over a few times, then let 'er rip. If it rolls over smooth at idle, give it a little throttle.

Hey, if it sounds good, get a few bales of old hay and shake them out into the pickup. Don't expect the first bale to tie, but if it does you're golden. It usually takes 2-3 bales for the pressure in the chamber to stabilize and the baler to start making consistent bales.

It's just unfathomable to me that someone would send something like that off to a DEALER of all places without even seeing if it works first. You're just asking to get a raw deal doing that. The dealer is going to replace every part he can think of, and after all that it probably won't work anyway because nobody knows how to work on small square balers anymore.
 
"I was still willing to have them look at my baler with the hopes that I could just write the check and have it back to me in working order without all the headache and hassle of getting it running myself"

When someone makes a statement like that to a dealer it comes across as reading something like "I want the old junker to work like a new one and I don't want to be bothered messing with it"... and if it doesn't work like a new one the 'dealer' will soon get an earfull about all the money they were just paid to make it work and now the worn out old baler doesn't work right....

So... dealer looks at it from the perspective that they are going to replace all perishable type wear parts.... bearings, bushings, springs, billhooks, knives, etc so that they can guarntee it will work WITHOUT ANY HEADACHES.

On the other hand, the baler may work just fine the way it is with some very basic simple maintenance.... but any 30 year old baler is very apt to want a certain amount of attention throughout the season... so you pick your poison. Cheap or reliable...
Seems about 90% don't want to draw that distinction.

Rod
 
I can even imagine a modern John Deere dealer wanting to work on an old baler.

One of the reasons Im considering giving up this hobby farming.
I dont have the time,knowledge,patients,to keep this old equipment running and cant afford the new stuff.

Good Luck anyways.

Stan
 
Bring it by I most likely could have it up and running in a couple hours. It worked before it should work now most likely just a stuck or out of sequence part or missing spring. what doesn't it do anyway.
Walt

PS the dealer thought you were a green horn and wanted to make some good money. they most likely would drive around back and put your kicker on one that is working.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

3
scrap metal price
2
Replies
31
Views
3K
MARK ROBKE
M
B
Bale Kicker vs NH Stackliner - Back In The Day
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
connor9988
connor9988
olgentdc
Not a tractor,,. Subaru Forester Question
Replies
14
Views
934
olgentdc
olgentdc
3
I Thought I had enough fire wood
Replies
4
Views
1K
Mike(NEOhio)
M
D
Free Cub Cadet 122 . Worth Saving ?
Replies
12
Views
1K
DigJoe
D
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top