"Right to Repair" agreement reached with John Deere

The right to be able to repair what you buy, where you can pick the repair shop or DIY (i.e. not limited to franchisees, etc) is a big issue. It is not limited to just agricultural equipment in the US.

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I have a John Deere utility tractor with a belly mower that I use to mow the place. Years ago I picked up some twine that wrapped around the gear box $haft (can’t use the real spelling here), ruining the seal and causing the gear box to leak. John Deere wanted $10 for the seal, and they had to order it. The local auto parts store that caters to agricultural had the seal in stock. I paid 80 cents for it.

I love the tractor, but John Deere green refers to the money they cost, not the color of the tractor.

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Farmers continue to complain that even minor repairs require that they call for service and wait for the Deere tech to show up. Not just the expense, but also the delay. Its a weather dependent business. When the weather is right, they need to get the work done. Waiting for the repair guy is frustrating.

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That would be a Deere problem. If the equipment user is not allowed to repair as/how/when the user chooses, then Deere is required to pay the revenue lost by the user as a result of NOT having “fix it now” by Deere. Suddenly, Deere will NOT be interested in paying–which means Deere believes the savings realized by NOT requiring exclusivity on repairs is quite significant (as does the user).

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