What Is The Most Important Part Of The Saw Buying Decision???

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Is the servicing dealer the most important part of the saw buying decision???

  • Yes

    Votes: 31 34.8%
  • No

    Votes: 58 65.2%

  • Total voters
    89
  • Poll closed .
Since I do all my own service work a dealer is NOT the most important buying decision, altho I don't mind if there's one around.
 
Parts is all I care about and there's no advantage with Stihl. The dealer's don't stock much inventory other then real common items and most everything needs to be special ordered from the Centralia warehouse. The dealer's stick you with freight unless it's part of a normal stocking order and they make you do everything in person.

At least with Dolmar I can buy parts via internet/phone and get them shipped right to my door without waisting gas and time.

Well, where I live in Oregon there are 5 Stihl or Stihl/Husky dealers within 45 minutes of me. The Stihl store in Eugene has had everything and anything I have ever needed for a Stihl. The more local saw shops (like the one in Drain and Cottage Grove) do not have everything, but they have all the common stuff like gaskets and fuel lines and the like. If I want the really odd parts I stop by the shop in Eugene, they pull out a drawer, and there it is. The other advantage is that I cannot diagnose or fix everything on all these saws and trimmers, and/or do not always have the time to do it. So being able to drop them off and have them fix it is invaluble. They also usually have enough of the doo-dads for other saws, like Echo and the Olympyk to keep them running most of the time. I can also order a lot of Stihl parts online, like at Bailey's (or Ebay) and get them delivered to my door as well. Just got another sprocket for the 290, and there are some GB bars supposedly heading my way soon.

Closest Dolmar dealer to me is in Salem. 95 miles from here...
 
The most important part of the saw buying decision is...

Not coming here and asking for advice!!!

It's like pokin' an anthill with a stick!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Well, they should have a site stickey that reads:

For anyone looking for any type of buzz saw, the AS Forum answer is always buy a 5100 or a 361.
 
I voted no . Reason being is that the stihl dealers in my town are idiots...all 3 of them. The only way I know I will get the right part is to call them with the part number from my online IPL's. I have to believe this isnt the norm. I will do all my own repair from now on especially after my stihl dealer told me yesterday that it takes 2 and a half hours to replace crank seals in my 026 IF the saw is tore apart ready to take seals out and put new seals in. Thats Horsecrap.

You bring it to me torn down to the seals,,, I,d have it running 15-20 minutes,,,, :chainsaw: :clap: :clap:
 
Well, they should have a site stickey that reads:

For anyone looking for any type of buzz saw, the AS Forum answer is always buy a 5100 or a 361.

Woops! That should read:

For anyone looking for any type of buzz saw, the AS Forum answer is always buy a 5100 or a 361 as your first saw in the three (minimun) saw plan.
 
Well, not so sure if Mr windthrown is wrong..... I purchased a book in the US lately through amazon (value about 21$, if I recall) and had to pay 10 Euro 14 $) custom's handling charge (because the value was over a certain limit). :angry2:

On the other hand, I got some used spare parts for my Jonsered from a US collector who declared a low value, and had to pay nothing.

There are ways around importing stuff, but very limited ones.


Windthrown isn't talking about $25....

To do a fair comparison you need to separate customs CLEARANCE fees (simply a paper work fee) from Local taxes (like GST) and Import DUTY (protectionist type tax).

The clearnance (Brokerage) fee is often the same no matter what the value or the item is, and by proportion is real expensive for low value items . Ask our Canadian neighbors about brokerage fees....
 
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I did it all wrong;

I bought one 460, then received five working saws for free.

Service...nope
Warranty...nope
price...um...kinda
dropped in my lap, idling...yup.

My expectations are high now.:laugh: :laugh:
 
Please no more freaking polls!!!!!

Andy,

You and Tommie seem to think that all Stihl dealers are the same ... that is, great. In the real world, there are lots of Stihl dealers that aren't so swift.

Now, I'm not complaining about my dealer, per se. I'm saying the the great, invincible, almighty Stihl dealers of the PNW are one thing, but in my neck of the woods it's another.

I'll post an example. My dealer didn't have a replacement blade for my STIHL Polycut™ Head that I recently purchased from him, so I had to order it via the net. Just the most recent example out of a plethora of examples I could cite.

Maybe we need four polls:

1. Is your Stihl dealer up to the standard that you believe Andy's shop to be?

2. Is your Dolmar dealer like Cuttin' Scott's?

3. Is your Husky dealer like Spike's?

4. Do you have a Jonsered dealer near you?

The answer to these polls might predict how you feel about a so called servicing dealer.

Life is good (for a Stihl dealer),

Joat

PS: Paying inflated freight charges is better that having expensive Stihl equipment sit idle when there's a job that needs finished.

I understand from what I see of different posters write that they are charged for freight for everyday parts???? If we order before 3:00 PM we generally have it the next day,,, we generally order twice a week but usually keep a good assortment of the everyday stuff in stock,, now if you break your crankshaft/case it'll have to be ordered but clutches/springs/covers/carbs/AVmounts/handles if we dont have a new one I'll go dig ya a good one outa the bone pile,,, In two years Ive, never seen regular orders with a seperate charge for freight,,,,, ?????
 
TMcP you need a passport and a plane ticket. You can buy what you need with the money you would save and be treated to a pitcher of Coors Light to boot. Why are your NZ prices so bloody high?

Did that, on my honeymoon last month I brought back a 346xp and an ms200t. (wanted to buy more but I big client who PROMISED to pay me while I was away didnt, so my budget was limited)

Price in US dollars for the two saws in NZ would be about $2250

I paid less than $1200 for the two and posted them home (kept the bars in my luggage for less than $130. There is no surface shipping anymore, everything goes by plane so they have to be never fueled saws.
Its costs as much here for a piston and barrel for an ms200 as it costs for the whole saw stateside.

I wouldnt suggest selling saws on ebay but on a site like this forum, the trading post would work, with paypal its pretty easy

We have a small population (4million) and we are at the end of the earth, so stuff costs and dealers know you have nowhere else to go, saying that look how many 066's/660's for sale on this local ebay like site www.trademe.co.nz do a search for stihl.
 
Woops! That should read:

For anyone looking for any type of buzz saw, the AS Forum answer is always buy a 5100 or a 361 as your first saw in the three (minimun) saw plan.

Good point and noted. However, I just presumend that they suffer from the dreaded Chainsaw Disease, else they would not be reading or posting here. Chainsaw Disease in its early stages will lead to owning at least 3 saws. However, in the middle stages? Half dozen minimum. And in the later stages, you lose track of the number of complete saws. You still want more saws though. Even though you have a collection of parts for saws, backup saws, non-working saws, bars that fit saws that you may want in the future, and having stuff on order floating around out there someplace. You will want 2 more saws to complete the collection, no matter how many. For me is the Dolly 401 and a higher end specimin Stihl (4oo series). I mean, I have chains for bar sizes that I have never had. Scratching head... :monkey:
 
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I did it all wrong;

I bought one 460, then received five working saws for free.

Service...nope
Warranty...nope
price...um...kinda
dropped in my lap, idling...yup.

My expectations are high now.:laugh: :laugh:

A fine example of rapid onset of chainsaw disease. You will be the classic test case in the medical textbooks! You leaped past the early 5100/361 stages somehow.
 
ha.. Oregon income tax is what keeps me from living there! best deal of all is to live in WA, and shop in OR...

Tuche'... however, I bet the real estate around you is sky high in price (property taxes anyone?). I also do not think that it is LEGAL (under WA laws) to buy stuff in Oregon tax-free if you are a WA resident. When I was last living in CA, they actually had a line on the tax return forms for paying sales tax on items purchased out of state!

They bust people at the Costco lot by PDX all the time. Plain clothes WA state troopers look for WA plates in the Costco parking lots and then other troopers pull people over on the WA side of the bridges. Smokes and booze mostly. But they run sting operations all the time. Also I think there is still an opt out for Oregonians not having to pay sales tax shopping in southern WA state.
 
So just how far are others willing to go to purchase from local dealer? Purchased 2 saws from my local Husky dealer...currently looking at purchasing a Husky 357XP best price he will give me is 649.00 w/ 20" bar.
I can get the same saw from Bailey's for 499.00 powerhead only. Even w/ adding in 50 for bar/chain and shipping cost...Local guy still $100 more.
Really tough decision for me...I agree w/ supporting local guy and keeping up good repoir w/ local dealer...but not sure if I'm willing to ante up an additional 100 bones for this.
Just my rambling...kinda curious about how much others are willing to pay to "support the local dealer".
 

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