Go Iris go! Give em both extended middle digits..... I can see it now. Shuffle shuffle shuffle. Two canes hit the floor as she quick draws and implements the two middle digits!! Haaaaaaaa..
A bit of a dealer/mechanic rant.
- Thread starter TBS
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No, that's the good dealers. The evil dealers are either incompetent or can't be bothered earning their living with honest service. Let's not confuse the two.
I have some experience with 4 different Stihl dealers. The local one in my current community is a rental shop that sells, services and rents all sorts of equipment. They are knowledgeable, courteous, and honest. I'm happy to support them and will spend a few extra bucks in their shop over what I would pay for parts over the internet.
The dealer in the community I used to live in was a farm equipment dealer. Same deal, happy to support them when I lived in that area. The one my brother deals with is a landscaping equipment dealer who is also excellent according to my brother.
That leaves the 4th. He's positioned in an affluent bedroom community and sells lawnmowers to homeowners. I personally am aware of 4 instances where he or his mechanic told people that their equipment was worn out and not economically repairable, yet the real problem was a relatively simple fix (1 impulse line disconnected, 1 fuel line disconnected, 1 needed new carb, 1 needed new seals). He or his mechanic also butchered one attempted repair that I know of (installed Chinese P&C without cleaning anything first or properly adjusting the carb afterwards) and when called out on the shoddy work, refused to warranty his work, claiming the owner -- a professional arborist -- must have run the saw on straight gas. Pros won't deal with him anymore, but the homeowner's don't know any better.
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Any shop that would install a Chinese junk p&c deserves all of the abuse you can heap on him.
Charlie Pendleton
ArboristSite Operative
Wow you just described my local dealers perfectly, even the rental/dealer and location of businesses.
Griffdog1
ArboristSite Operative
So just be honest about this. Say that you are not interested in working on older saws and while it is likely that you could fix it with time, commitment and money, that you are not in a position to help them.
This lady I am talking about had a saw that had significant sentimental value to her. Don't pull it apart if you have no intention of fixing it. If you are going to go that far at least explain the diagnosis that you have made. That not having a crack at "evil dealers" as a collective that's just extremely poor practice from a business no matter what they are doing.
There was not a lot wrong with this saw and it would have been very simple for me to have running well if it hadn't of been pulled apart, the time was in cleaning it, putting it back together and finding the parts that they had lost.
I like and prefer to work on classic cars, bikes and saws. Its no stress for me if dealers don't want to work on "old ****" that should have ben retired "20 years ago" - that just means more stuff for me to work on.
Everyone is trying to make a living - some people manage to do it honestly.
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Yeah, I just talk them out of it normally, because they usually don't want to put that much money into it. If they persist, I'll give it a look and shoot them a high estimate, especially if the parts are nla. If I have to pull off the muffler , on some saws that can be a chore.
I leave the muffler off to show them the damage, I wouldn't charge them for my time up to that point.
But if they want it put all back together, then I'd charge for my time, actual time, plus the time for dealing with them.
But normally I would tell them it isn't worth the time/money to put much into it. We are talking old ****.
Stihl 017 and echo SRM trimmers would qualify for the old **** label...
I leave the muffler off to show them the damage, I wouldn't charge them for my time up to that point.
But if they want it put all back together, then I'd charge for my time, actual time, plus the time for dealing with them.
But normally I would tell them it isn't worth the time/money to put much into it. We are talking old ****.
Stihl 017 and echo SRM trimmers would qualify for the old **** label...
TBS
I have chainsaws and chainsaw accessories.
Well I've had to deal with the f..ckups of this same dealer who now has almost of our saws in his shop, two weeks ago we sent him the 034 super AV for some maintenance apparently it needed clutch springs according to him. Got it back to today and it ran just the same as it did going in even the chain still turned slowly at idle, the dude yet again didn't replace the air filter. That makes 3 times.
Used it to drop an oak and it stopped oiling so I did a little work and it started oiling again. One thing I noticed was that the "new" rim sprocket was just as dirty and worn as the old one. But on the plus side he put a new shiny spark plug in. I hate to see how our husqy 460 and the 044, 660, and 200t come back. I guess I should go buy some new carb tools.
Used it to drop an oak and it stopped oiling so I did a little work and it started oiling again. One thing I noticed was that the "new" rim sprocket was just as dirty and worn as the old one. But on the plus side he put a new shiny spark plug in. I hate to see how our husqy 460 and the 044, 660, and 200t come back. I guess I should go buy some new carb tools.
RED-85-Z51
Addicted to ArboristSite
This. I can service 3 D/E100 series deere mowers and make 100 bucks each profit in the time it takes me to diagnose an electrical short on a lx deere from the 90s that inevitably needs a part they dont want to buy...
Guy brought me a 395xp, pair of ms291s, and a 660 in various stages of disrepair, clutch problems, oiler issues, broken tensioners, hour...had em all fixed and going. He brings me a mac250...i spend an hour tearing it down, needs a grocery list of nla parts, doesn't want it fixed.
There isnt money in dicking around with old stuff that ends up being one problem after another after another.
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I haven't found a good dealer yet but quit looking 30 years ago. Most problems can be fixed in less time than it takes to take it to a dealer and pick it up. Steve
WI_Hedgehog
You bought a WHAT???!!
These stories are exactly why I stopped going to the local dealer. It's true, you can make more money fixing new stuff than old. You don't care the customer has a history with a saw and they would rather fix steel than buy plastic. Your lack of service just lost all my new equipment business.
I now fix it myself or find a friend, and most recently started digging through AS archives. The next new saw will probably be from @Mastermind Worksaws, a guy with integrity.
I now fix it myself or find a friend, and most recently started digging through AS archives. The next new saw will probably be from @Mastermind Worksaws, a guy with integrity.
Is mastermind still around ?
Not on this forum as far as i know but still active elsewhere.
Glad to hear that. Was wondering if something happened to him.
I will chime in, A few months ago I took a 2017 441 from a place I was working at (not my own saw) into a dealership to het it serviced, wasn't running properly. Hard starting, slow to rev & frequently died in a cut.
First dealer did a few things and said essentially "can't be fixed" didn't charge us & gave the saw back.
took it to another dealership, same response, again didn't charge us.
I brought it home, went through the thing and found the fuel filter was plugged.
Replaced fuel filter & boom working flawlessly again...
Second incident, involving a different dealership than the first 2 was for the same people.
new helper for a few weeks who had the stihl service tech card & had another card saying he'd been to a pretty decent arborists school .. long story short he comes back with a low hour 026 that a supposedly was straight gassed. It was "not his fault" he just didn't check which can he filled from... saw goes to dealership, comes back as "scored piston, junk it".
I normally take the scrap metal as a bonus, so I get the saw intending to tear parts off and ebay them... Most of the covers removed, cleaned and ready to post, I pull themuffler, and find zero scoring & a beautiful piston, cylinder and excellent compression.
Back together it goes, and I pull 2x it pops, runs on high idle, but bogs and dies on run without even budging the chain.
it was tuned 2 turns too far out on high speed screw, that was the only issue with it I could find...
First dealer did a few things and said essentially "can't be fixed" didn't charge us & gave the saw back.
took it to another dealership, same response, again didn't charge us.
I brought it home, went through the thing and found the fuel filter was plugged.
Replaced fuel filter & boom working flawlessly again...
Second incident, involving a different dealership than the first 2 was for the same people.
new helper for a few weeks who had the stihl service tech card & had another card saying he'd been to a pretty decent arborists school .. long story short he comes back with a low hour 026 that a supposedly was straight gassed. It was "not his fault" he just didn't check which can he filled from... saw goes to dealership, comes back as "scored piston, junk it".
I normally take the scrap metal as a bonus, so I get the saw intending to tear parts off and ebay them... Most of the covers removed, cleaned and ready to post, I pull themuffler, and find zero scoring & a beautiful piston, cylinder and excellent compression.
Back together it goes, and I pull 2x it pops, runs on high idle, but bogs and dies on run without even budging the chain.
it was tuned 2 turns too far out on high speed screw, that was the only issue with it I could find...
Third incident was a stihl 700 series concrete saw from a masonry company, I got as a scrap metal bonus when I stopped to get some pallets... They had it to a dealership (I don't know wicj one) because it wouldn't start or even pop, and it was returned with a tag that said "needs carb, coil, plug, filter assembly, fuel filter- too expensive".
I tore into it, and replaced the air filter & re attached the kill wire to the Selector lever & have ran it regularly cutting rebar without incident for the last 7 years.
I tore into it, and replaced the air filter & re attached the kill wire to the Selector lever & have ran it regularly cutting rebar without incident for the last 7 years.
Sounds a lot like what the township I worked for was going through, spark plug replacement experts. Wouldnt even think about a fuel filter. Ended up fixing everything my self. Sad state at some of the dealerships
cuinrearview
Red saw lover
Randy is still a member here. His screen name is Mastermind Worksaws.
Yeah I know what his screen name is, just havent seen him post in a wile.
Short timer
Wish you'd stop being so good to me captain
I think most understood what you meant except those whose comprehension is their strong suit. Lmao!
He stopped in last week or the week before to say hi, but you’re correct, he’s rarely here.
You realize we are getting what we are asking for from a dealer. = Cheapest price
To the dealer that means
- cheapest employee possible
meaning
- untrained
- unmotivated
- probably no common sense
- lowest investment
meaning
- no paid training of the employee
- no training by another employee
- no pay raises for those showing initiative
So we get the lowest common denominator. Someone who can walk over to a shelf, see something that looks about the same and say - "here is what you need".
That means, any body who can read a price tag can "help" you.
To the dealer that means
- cheapest employee possible
meaning
- untrained
- unmotivated
- probably no common sense
- lowest investment
meaning
- no paid training of the employee
- no training by another employee
- no pay raises for those showing initiative
So we get the lowest common denominator. Someone who can walk over to a shelf, see something that looks about the same and say - "here is what you need".
That means, any body who can read a price tag can "help" you.
