February 15, 2018 I went to a local dealership in Forest City NC and purchased a Cub Cadet Challenger 400 for $6,492.99. I have a small 2 acre animal sanctuary and needed something more than the gas golf cart that I had been using.
It was delivered with the tire partially off the rim, the dealer informed me that he had a 2 week wait and it would be in the shop for 2 weeks so because this machine was vital for transporting feed and other tasks I elected to keep adding air in the tire for the short term. Within 6 months it stopped running and would not start, a piece of metal was found shorting the spark plug. Another 3 months, it quit running again, another piece of metal was found.
January 31, 2019 I arranged an annual maintenance appointment at the local dealer with the understanding that it was their slow time and it would be a quick turn over. After it arrived, I was informed that their service department was closed because they didn't have enough work. So it took 3 days to get it back. They reseated the tire properly and serviced it.
February 20, 2019 once again, the cub cadet quit. It would start, splutter, backfire and quit. I called the dealer and no one was available until the 22nd. Again, I said this machine is vital for my daily tasks. I called corporate, they offered to send me to another dealer an hour away but that is not feasible. Of course, it is now 5 days out of warranty.
February 22, 2019 I called the local dealer again stating that I need someone to come here and service it. It is only a year old and has quit 3 times, last one right after being serviced. I said it's a lemon, it should not be breaking down so many times in the first year. He informed me that he has 500 plus other customers with problems too. And it's not brand new. And that the only sure thing in life is Jesus's love.
I called corporate again, half hour later the dealer called and said someone was coming out. They worked on it, did not tell me what they fixed and left.
June 3, 2020 it's now 2 years and several months old. The air filter cap fell off and after 4 different people trying to get it to stay on, it's zip tied on. The rear tires are bald. The parking brake isn't holding. There is a leak in the rear end. So it went to a dealer an hour away, I refuse to deal with the local one who is 10 minutes away. They found the seal leaking and the brake cable needing to be replaced.
I called corporate again, 4 phone calls and 6 hours on hold, I finally get Dustin, the supervisor. When I went through the whole nightmare of this UTV having one problem after another his response was: "it's made for casual weekend use, about 15 hours a month." He informed me that my use of it for regular daily farm use was not what is was built for. He said " 4 spark plug changes in a year is normal" " if you need a UTV that you can't be without, this one isn't for you" " the tires are made for pavement or dirt, not gravel" "it needs monthly maintenance, didn't you read the manual?"
I informed him that Cub Cadet marketing said otherwise:
"Cub Cadet has added a new machine for farmers and ranchers looking for a compact UTV. The new Challenger 400 4×4 is small but strong, ready to take on off-road work or play.
Product Marketing Manager Tom Mielke says, "Utility vehicles really are the Swiss army knife of all possible machines that farmers could have in their fleet in terms of being adaptable for so many different jobs. I think they are increasingly becoming folks' go-to for just about anything whether it is to check the property, carry people and tools out to work on the property, put on specialized attachments to do jobs, or just at the end of the day take a ride around for fun."
He said "it's not a lemon " "it's out of warranty, what do you expect?" "The first ones had problems, these are better"
I have since been informed by a former salesman that he refused to sell them at his dealership because they "were no good and had too many problems. "
I do agree, mine is not a lemon, all of them are junk. Dustin agreed that corporate would pay for the parts so they paid for the seal and that was it because I'm still waiting for the brake cable to arrive. I paid labor.
December 5, 2020 Once again, less than 3 years old, it stops running again. The fuel pump was replaced, didn't help so it sat until 2/12/21 when I could finally afford to get it serviced. I have now been informed that the carburetor is bad and is dumping gas over the engine. And the seal is leaking again.. That the engine was made in Japan and not made anymore and that it is junk. So to fix the current problem, I need to replace the engine. Cub cadet also had a recall for the challenger 400, mine was not included in it. I paid over $6000 for a UTV that did not last 3 years. I have called and left several messages for Dustin and he does not return my calls. read more
