battery box lids and serial nos.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Reading some of the posts aobut local delaer problmes makes me appreciate my locla one, even if he is 50 miles awya. They really bend over backward to hlep you, and they try to keep their prices reasonable. Tehy also help sponser Cubarama. ( Flieg's Equipment ).

[nosih]

My local case IH dealer finds it odd when he hears stories about dealers that don't want to deal with customers on parts that are for pre 1980 tractors. He told me that 2/3 of their parts sales are for 66 series and older tractors, with about half of that being 560 & earlier parts. I guess these dealers that dont want to deal in older model parts are completely missing the boat....

[George Willer]

I guess you guys can deal with "one bolt fits" parts. I absolutely hate most repro stuff, as most is poorly made & flat out doesn't fit. I do sell quite a few NOS parts to the Aftermarket MFGs for patterns and to use on their own PERSONAL tractors!!!!! kida makes me wonder how they feel about the parts they produce!!!!!

I suppose if I had an axe to grind I'd feel differently about original parts.

Since I don't I can take off the rose colored glasses and see the quality control problems with GENUINE parts too. I have a very nasty scar on my left hand (it required 33 stitches) that is partly my fault for trusting a #22 sickle mower part to do its' job and keep the knife from falling. The primary cause was a defective part I bought at the IH dealer shortly before he went belly up.

Seriously, I think most aftermarket suppliers I deal with would have been more careful with quality control.

The IH pedigree is absolutely no guarantee of quality today.

What I hate is junk, no matter who sells it!

[Buzzard Wing]

My nearest Case/IH dealer is more than 100 miles (two state lines) away and my experiences with being at the parts counter is pretty limited. I agree with Mike, but I sympathize with the other folks too.

I have bought a few hundred dollars worth of 'factory' parts and I am very pleased with the quality. I have found the prices of things like bearings and seals to be less expensive than other places too. You can get the 'right' bearings at NAPA, but why do that when you can get better ones from a dealer for less money?

Mike is pretty lucky cause he lives near what is really my closest dealer, just a phone call away. Ken and Chad at C&G must be the exception, because I have nothing but praise for them. They are always helpful, even when I know there are bigger things going on than my order.

Also, I have met Tom at TM a couple of times. I would highly recommend him when you need parts, he is a truly honorable businessman. On his website he recommends your local dealership for parts he doesn't carry and most of items he does carry are genuine IH parts. The 'reproduction' parts he sells are extremely hiqh quality. I like the idea of keeping a few folks busy making battery boxes and seat cushions too.

People are suprised when I tell them I have no touble getting parts.

[nosih]

No Axe to grind here... I honestly don't have a problem when another vendor drops 5-10,000 on parts to reproduce, resale, or use (it happens quite often). Quality parts sell themselves, and you cant beat the real deal... I could care less where someone buys their parts, but I don't feel sorry for someone that has major problems with will fit parts. On alot of items there are too many corners cut to make the items cheaper, and it shows. Heck, I wont put anything other than IH low ash oil in my IH engines, CIH 85-140 or Hy-Tran in the rear ends, and Hy-tran in the hydraulic system. I would be the same way with any other make of tractor, as I DO BELIEVE these things that are suggested by the MFG should not be taken lightly..