SteveinAZ
Stainless
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2007
- Location
- Snowy Arizona
Well, I have been a bit mute on the whole situation with our new Toyoda BM1400, but it's finally time to spill the beans.
As posted earlier, you guys saw the installed machine...but what you could not have seen was the rust that was on the Z ways...both sides, front face and the back where the gibbs live.
Here's what happened - Toyoda/Awea subs out the packaging (as do many other MTB's) of the machines after they run all their tests and give it their okie-dokie. Here's where things went a bit off...the packagers did not pack it properly. As it crossed the pond, it must have taken a drink of sea water, slipped right down the column and got trapped in between the ways and the column and began it's ugly thing.
So...mistakes happen, but how the problems are handled are what makes things right or wrong. The Methods Machine service tech was the one to point out the problems late one afternoon during installation. A quick phone call, and the Methods Service Manager and Salesman (their GM was out of the country or he would have been there too) were set to meet with the tech and myself first thing the next morning. After their inspection and confirmation of the rust pitting on the column, the sales guy excuses himself and is on the phone, steps outside, returns in 5-6 minutes. In the few minutes he had spoken to whoever can make a decision in that short of time, and says Toyoda will replace the machine as soon as possible.
So what you see in the pics is how Methods Machine and Toyoda handles it. They let us run the existing machine as we had a backlog of work for it when it showed up, then they send a new machine, swap it out and we are back in business.
All told, this was not an inexpensive situation, we lost a week of use, but Methods and Toyoda are out a bunch of cash. The machine is wide...about 14' on the trailer, so wide load permits are required from California to Arizona, the riggers had a two or three crews at the shop all day to do the swap, and Methods has had a couple of service techs on site for three days to prep the old, and install the new.
Would the rusty column really cause problems??? Well, really can't say, but I didn't really want to accept it this way when we are buying a new machine. I guess you could have said the ways were "scraped" in.... Anyway, the Methods Machine crowd did a great job...they could have even hid the issue in the first place, but they brought it up, and Toyoda owned up to it 100%.
The only negative in the whole thing was they didn't want to give us a free Supersize upgrade to a BM1600 for our troubles. I guess another $25k loss on top of the tens of thousands of was a bit tough to swallow. Yes, it probably is tens of thousands of dollars...rigging and shipping alone is probably close to $10k for the swap, Methods service techs will have put in about ~60 hours when the dust settles, then they have to do something with the "old" one. A buddy of mine has a $5,000 standing offer for it...don't think they'll bite though.
A few notes for the pics...
Nicer packaging this time...tarped over the crate, plus inner tarp. BTW, that's a 10' ladder he's on, and a 15k Hyster sitting there.
Notice the size of the steering wheel on the 36k Hyster for size relationship - who ever said size doesn't count was sorely mistaken.
Too bad they weren't both going IN the shop instead of one out, one in.
Had to show the toy changer (removed to get the machine thru the little door). 40 pockets for Cat 50...loading all of them at one time gets timesome!
Steve
As posted earlier, you guys saw the installed machine...but what you could not have seen was the rust that was on the Z ways...both sides, front face and the back where the gibbs live.
Here's what happened - Toyoda/Awea subs out the packaging (as do many other MTB's) of the machines after they run all their tests and give it their okie-dokie. Here's where things went a bit off...the packagers did not pack it properly. As it crossed the pond, it must have taken a drink of sea water, slipped right down the column and got trapped in between the ways and the column and began it's ugly thing.
So...mistakes happen, but how the problems are handled are what makes things right or wrong. The Methods Machine service tech was the one to point out the problems late one afternoon during installation. A quick phone call, and the Methods Service Manager and Salesman (their GM was out of the country or he would have been there too) were set to meet with the tech and myself first thing the next morning. After their inspection and confirmation of the rust pitting on the column, the sales guy excuses himself and is on the phone, steps outside, returns in 5-6 minutes. In the few minutes he had spoken to whoever can make a decision in that short of time, and says Toyoda will replace the machine as soon as possible.
So what you see in the pics is how Methods Machine and Toyoda handles it. They let us run the existing machine as we had a backlog of work for it when it showed up, then they send a new machine, swap it out and we are back in business.
All told, this was not an inexpensive situation, we lost a week of use, but Methods and Toyoda are out a bunch of cash. The machine is wide...about 14' on the trailer, so wide load permits are required from California to Arizona, the riggers had a two or three crews at the shop all day to do the swap, and Methods has had a couple of service techs on site for three days to prep the old, and install the new.
Would the rusty column really cause problems??? Well, really can't say, but I didn't really want to accept it this way when we are buying a new machine. I guess you could have said the ways were "scraped" in.... Anyway, the Methods Machine crowd did a great job...they could have even hid the issue in the first place, but they brought it up, and Toyoda owned up to it 100%.
The only negative in the whole thing was they didn't want to give us a free Supersize upgrade to a BM1600 for our troubles. I guess another $25k loss on top of the tens of thousands of was a bit tough to swallow. Yes, it probably is tens of thousands of dollars...rigging and shipping alone is probably close to $10k for the swap, Methods service techs will have put in about ~60 hours when the dust settles, then they have to do something with the "old" one. A buddy of mine has a $5,000 standing offer for it...don't think they'll bite though.
A few notes for the pics...
Nicer packaging this time...tarped over the crate, plus inner tarp. BTW, that's a 10' ladder he's on, and a 15k Hyster sitting there.
Notice the size of the steering wheel on the 36k Hyster for size relationship - who ever said size doesn't count was sorely mistaken.
Too bad they weren't both going IN the shop instead of one out, one in.
Had to show the toy changer (removed to get the machine thru the little door). 40 pockets for Cat 50...loading all of them at one time gets timesome!
Steve