I can’t think of a better place to ask this question — do Hutterite colonies have a good, bad or indifferent reputation for vehicle and equipment maintenance?
Asking for a van-shopping friend…
I can’t think of a better place to ask this question — do Hutterite colonies have a good, bad or indifferent reputation for vehicle and equipment maintenance?
Asking for a van-shopping friend…
I sell equipment to Hutterites regularly. My experience is that their equipment is looked after quite well on average, and exceptionally so on a regular basis.
They are very popular with carpet installers…
Sunni or shite Hutterites?
In the main Hutterites take care of their equipment well.
How do I say it? Some Hutterites are more honest than others. But they all look alike.
You might have better luck buying a horse and buggy from them, or is that the other guys?
Hutterites have the biggest, most modern equipment. They believe that only outlet for personal satisfaction is reading the Bible so no TVs unless they have started recently.
Hutterite colonies have a good reputation for vehicle and equipment maintenance.
In fact they never get rid of any equipment until it is entirely used up.
They do not spend money just to get the newer model to replace the older model.
I see plenty of them in liquor stores. They like the sweet stuff.
Nothing against Hutterites per se, but essentially the vehicle is owned by the community. Therefore I invoke the following caution: The goat that is owned by the entire village will be left to die in the sun.
Not saying that’ll necessarily be the case, but Hutterites aren’t magic, and depending on the price, I’d pay an independent set of eyes to give the van the once-over at least.
“I see plenty of them in liquor stores. They like the sweet stuff.”
I’ve had a few pulls out of a jug of their chokecherry wine. I’d share the odd bottle of CC with them and they loved it but I never saw them buying a bottle when they could ferment their own. They make no pretense of being teetotalers.
I always check the apples at the bottom of the bussshel basket
This assertion: “They believe that only outlet for personal satisfaction is reading the Bible”
Is at odds with this Statement: “They make no pretense of being teetotalers.”
Seems to me you’ve seen they get satisfaction from liquor not only from reading the Bible.
And YES, I have seen them in Alberta liquor stores, often. Now I know that you know they are a law-abiding people, and also that it is illegal to distil alcohol.
Fermentation produces less that 20% alcohol per volume, I’ve got liquor, Everclear, that I bought at the Co-Op liquor store that is 90%.
I also have over-proof spiced rum that is 47%.
Point being, Hutterites buy hard liquor at liquor stores.
I used to have a lot of Hutterites in my practice and found them to be always very appropriate and above board. They always seemed to take good care of their equipment since, apparently, that is what God expected of them. That being said, if the Hutterites are selling off the van, there may simply be not much useful life left in it.
I have bought Hutterite equipment in the past, wouldn’t touch it. Nobody has a personal stake so nobody cares.
If Jesus didn’t want us to drink he wouldn’t have turned water into wine.
“This assertion: “They believe that only outlet for personal satisfaction is reading the Bible”
Is at odds with this Statement: “They make no pretense of being teetotalers.”
Yes they drink – they eat too. What has religion to do with not drinking? Like there is a sober priest. I knew Hutterites 35 – 40 years ago and I’ve never seem one in a liquor store. Maybe they do today but I don’t live near any.
“What has religion to do with not drinking?”
You tell me, I didn’t say it did.
You, however said, “They believe that only outlet for personal satisfaction is reading the Bible so no TVs”
You might then compound your obtuseness with asking, “What has religion to do with not watching TV”
But you see, TV, is not the only form of personal satisfaction any more than the Bible is.
There is drinking booze as a form of personal satisfaction.
But then you say that you already knew that they drank. So you must have been wrong in asserting the were only satisfied with Bible reading.
And then you assert that because you haven’t seen Hutterites in liquor stores that I couldn’t have seen them in liquor stores because Hutterites make fermented drinks.
Neither the assertion that because you haven’t seen them that I couldn’t have, nor that they wouldn’t enter a liquor store and buy the wares because they make fermented drinks therefor they wouldn’t ever buy at or enter a liquor store, is a conclusion which follows from logic.
Holy crap – get help.
I deliver fuel to several colonies in Central Alberta. Their equipment and vehicles are EXTREMELY well maintained. I’ve also found them all very honest and pleasant to deal with. They are good neighbours to us here in the Hanna area. I would caution that they tend to hang onto equipment until it is no longer cost-effective to maintain because of the number of miles put on it, so there’s that.
Thanks. In this case the van is low mileage, and being offered by a secondary owner who didn’t drive it much. I ask because most of the miles would have been put on it in the colony. 2008 e-350 with 117K.
There are three different branches of Hutterites. They differ somewhat in how much of the outside world they allow into their lives, e.g. technology and entertainment. And within that, each colony is somewhat unique, just as small towns are all small towns, but they are not all exactly the same. All that I have met have been hospitable but some more reserved than others, perhaps simply shy or perhaps afraid the outsider sees them as freaks. They are curious about the outside world, not ignorant of it. Individuals do leave the colony life (and some return) so of course some do keep in touch with family and friends.
They do have specialization of work roles, so one colony’s mechanic(s) may do a better job than another’s but they do have a work ethic and a business sense that motivates them to look after their property, especially the tools and equipment upon which the common good depends. If I were dealing with a colony about buying a used van and the individuals I met were cheerful and friendly, I would take it as a good sign and not think they might be putting on a face to sell a piece of junk.
I haven’t met any Hutterites I disliked and none have given me cause to mistrust them, but I do like some of them better than others.
Ooz, yah ever git rid of that couch????
The Hutterites around here like to trade their equipment in often. A grease gun and new oil filters are foreign concepts to some of them. I wouldn’t touch anything that spent time on a colony.
“2008 e-350 with 117K”
If it is a diesel, be sure to check the EGR cooler and the pre-filter for the turbo. 6.0 and 6.4 diesel engines have known issues there.
Good advice from The Phantom.. Egr’s are buried inside and rust out.. A friend paid $6,500 to have his fixed…. Very common problem.
Knew someone in Sask who bought some equipment from the Hutterites, and within a week the engine seized and had to be replaced. Some work it until it’s almost dead, then pass it on.
Really do not understand why this is up for discussion . Certainly do not agree with their philosophy, but they do not violate rule of law or fill our court dockets.
It sounds like the vehicle should be alright.
Every colony is different. Some, most probably, like the one in our area, behaves very honestly to their neighbours and is an asset to the community. Their equipment is well maintained in a first class work shop. I would say that each vehicle, except for those driven by the colony leader and the bosses of each enterprise, have had a number of drivers.
That said, there is a colony south-east of Saskatoon that I would not buy a used wheelbarrow from. Just word of mouth experiences from acquaintances.
Ford pick-up / van
Hutterite driven
Proceed warily in either case.
Hutterites love Fords. ”F” and ”E” 350s are quite popular. My guess is that it depends on the colony. I sold farm chemicals and Fords for many years. Colonies vary widely in their policies, moral codes etc.
I once met a Hutterite lady in her mid 20’s, she was, to this day, one of the best looking girls I’ve ever seen. I helped her ”escape” the colony by driving her from Swift Current to Medicine Hat. She worked on a gas rig, met a nice Swedish fellow, now her and her husband own a company that rents gen-sets, water pumps etc. to the oil and construction industry. I always felt good about having helped her escape her communist upbringing.
Bought the van. Ran great, nearly clean accident record, no rust, and the price was right. Gas model. We’ll take it on a couple road trips and if it doesn’t work out, we can sell it. The radio was disconnected. Found that pretty funny.
Go meet the colony’s head mechanic.
If he knows what “preventative maintenance” means, and seems to like the concept, the vehicle might be okay.
Point is, there’s no correct answer to your query beyond “it depends on who’s doing the work.”
Excellent! Interesting about the radio, but not surprising.
I once looked at a used car being sold by a Russian immigrant, who told me that it “was only driven by a little old lady to and from church on Sunday’s” … she must have been a Pentacostal … cause the interior was all torn up and there were multiple dings and crumpled fenders …
I live downwind from a colony. I have yet to meet a licensed mechanic member of the colony. They usem up. And a Ford diesel to boot just say no.