How can the markup for a seal be the same as a markup for, say, a battery cover? That is amazing. I would expect to pay $20-$35 for any steel part similar to a Kubota battery cover, even at Harbor Freight, and that's what the Kubota part costs, but a set of seals I can get for $10 costs $116.50 from a Kubota dealer. A lot of their parts aren't overpriced at all, so this seems odd to me. If it isn't gouging, what is the accounting quirk that explains this?
The battery cover, which I actually have, is very reasonably priced, and I know very well that the cost to Kubota isn't dramatically less than the seal kit cost. I also priced a muffler and a grille for a tractor, and I thought Kubota was not out of line at all. On the other hand, charging several dollars for a below-average Kubota-packaged nylon push pin, which adds right up when you need 30 of them, is silly. I bought a whole bag of better pins for the cost of a couple of the Kubota parts.
Is Kubota telling dealers they can't buy aftermarket seals? I know some dealers sell hydraulic fluids other than UDT and UDT2, so I have to wonder.
I don't understand why Kubota would make no effort to get decent prices on seals. If I were building tractors, and a supplier told me it wanted dozens of dollars for a $2 seal, I would look for a better deal. The whole cylinder, including seals, runs about $460 retail, and if what you're saying is true, the cost of the seals is behind over 20% of that.
Bigger cylinders routinely sell for about $100, and Kubota has used a zillion of these lift cylinders, so I don't think they can reasonably complain that it's an expensive custom part with a limited run.
As for the fluid, I don't get it at all. Unless I am mistaken, other tractors last just as long and do exactly the same things, using fluid that costs half as much. I don't have any idea why Kubota would make machinery that malfunctions and falls apart on cheaper fluid other machines use with no problem. Maybe they have a great reason.
A.I. says Kubota's pricing for the seals is "captive market" pricing, which basically means "gouging." It refers to parts that are very important, which most consumers will not source elsewhere because of the aggravation. In other words, "We charge a lot because we can." Is that incorrect?
A.I. thinks the seals will almost certainly fail two to three times in the 4000-hour life of a mower, so if that is right, it seems like they made the seals expensive in order to guarantee themselves some seal profits and give dealers two to three big repair bills. Based on the difficulty I had replacing my seals, and assuming a dealer is much faster, I would expect to pay for at least one hour of labor every time, so add that to the $116.50. Adds right up.
