James River Equipment

So, you know the story. You do all the things to your lawn mower that the manufacturer recommends. You winterize and use some fuel stabilizer like Stabil. When you go to start your mower for the season, nothing happens. Argh! You shake your fists at the heavens then start making calls.
I’d heard some good things about James River, and its location was much more convenient. My wife went to drop the mower off. «Do you have the mower?» «Yes, it’s in the trunk.» Associate proceeds to laugh in her face. Employee then backpedals, apologizes and says they found that answer funny. Two days later we call and ask if it’s ready (our other place fixes it in a day if not the same day). They haven’t looked at it yet and it generally takes 5 – 7 days to get to a job. In the future, they should mention that to clients when they drop equipment off. A couple days later we are asked, «Do you just want it to start, or do you want the carburetor kit/​service for $ 240?» Okay. This mower is brand new, used maybe 8 – 10 times last season. And it needs a new carburetor? I also paid $ 280 for the mower originally. You can figure out my answer. It started once for $ 40 and didn’t start again. Took it the distance to my other guys. Gee, it starts now. I will try to give them some benefit of the doubt that they work on riding mowers and heavy equipment mostly and serve commercial landscapers/​farmers. Maybe my case was just an annoyance? Who knows? Just didn’t find a lot of communication or value. So if you have a John Deere and lots of money for repairs, this may be your place.

A $ 7 mower deck belt tension bracket put my twenty-​five year old John Deere mower out of operation, right in the middle of mowing my lawn. (The lady next door said that she thought that I must have had a hot date to leave my yard half mowed. LOL!) Our local John Deere dealer in Hickory didn’t have the part in stock and it would not arrive until 6 – 19. I didn’t particularly want to wait a week for my grass to grow knee high, so I looked around for other John Deere dealerships. Google led me to James River Equipment in Shelby. I called and they had the part in stock. I rode to Shelby and, sure enough, it was the correct part. Just like a lady finding the right handbag to match her Manolo Blahniks, a red blooded American male is truly happy when (a) his favorite sports team wins, or (b) he finds that part that will allow him to repair a broken piece of equipment. On the drive down to Shelby, I realized that there is a James River dealership in Hickory, but going to Shelby gives me a valid reason to eat at Red Bridges BBQ. That is truly a win-​win situation.
That’s all well and good Sam, but what about James River? I’m glad that you asked. The parts people were beyond competent, everyone was exceptionally friendly, and I got a real sense that these people are professionals. James River is where commercial landscapers go to buy and maintain their equipment, so these guys aren’t fooling around. I am continually amazed that dealerships stock parts for riding mowers that haven’t been manufactured since the early nineties, but that’s John Deere for you. Their reputation is well deserved. They also stock the Stihl product line and Honda engines.
They had some awesome looking John Deere mowers AND tractors at this business. I would love to have a new four wheel steer John Deere as much as a little kid wants a new bicycle for Christmas, but I don’t want to spend the $ 5000+ that they cost, especially when my twenty-​five year old Deere lawnmower looks and runs like new. I can’t justify the purchase to my common sense. One thing that I do know is that when I am ever in the market again for a mower, (I should live so long) John Deere and James River Equipment will be at the top of my list.