Buying my 1st chainsaw in Australia. Should I import a saw?

[jmw]

G'day all. This is my first post here after lurking for about a month.

I live on a couple of acres in rural/costal Queensland Australia.
There's a hundred plus trees on my block and I'm next door to 4000 acres of conservation area / bushfire fuel.

Up until monday I'd never used a chainsaw - been using an axe - and that was getting to be too much like hard work.
I started out planning to get a little 35cc saw for clean up after summer storms & to cut back trees near the house before they got too big.

Thought I'd do some research before I spent any money & found this site.
Read a lot of threads & decided that (a) I needed a bigger saw (maybe a 50cc) & (b) I needed some training.

Found a local trainer and did the basic chainsaw safety and tree falling courses.
Turns out chainsaws are whole lot of fun.

And I don't think 50cc is big enough. Maybe a 60cc? Don't think I want to buy a homeowner saw.
Local (next closest are 150km away) Stihl & Husqvarna dealers don't stock the pro saws, so they'd be a special order at full retail price.
The Stihl dealer mainly sells mowers and the Husqvarna place is a boat shop that sells a few chainsaws.

Had a look at Australian prices - $1449 for an MS362 & $1499 for a 357XP.
With the Aussie dollar back above parity with the US dollar today, importing a saw from the US looks super attractive.

But is importing a good idea for someone buying a first saw, who doesn't know a lot about engines?
Obviously there's no warranty & I'm out of luck if something serious goes wrong.
And is an Aussie dealer going to give me hard time if I take an import saw in for service?
Is warranty and dealer support worth an extra $600-$700? I could import a replacement saw for that price.

I know that Stihl and Husqvarna (pro models) dealers aren't meant to sell over the internet, but I've seen Australians on here saying they've done it without giving details.
So how do I find a dealer who'll sell to me?

I've also been looking at the classifieds on here & considering a newish second hand saw as an option.
Maybe an MS 440 is the go?

Any Australians who've imported saws have an opinion?
Any Americans who want to sell me a saw?

I ought to make a decision & buy a saw before I talk myself into an MS 880.

 

[deye223]

gday go ahead and import. my next saw will be imported a ms660. for what it cost get a ms460 i'v got one and love it, not to heavy and good power to weight with 20" bar sounds like it will do what you whant and quickly. this is my rule of thumb if you think you need 60cc buy 70 if you think you need 70cc buy 80 then you will not be disapointed

 

[Matt81]

G'day JMW, I was in a similar position as you several years ago, except that i was an experienced saw user who simply refused to pay the ridiculous RRP of Australian stocked saws and was fed up with dealers who do "everything" and do saws on the side, as you mentioned. I imported 2 new huskies from US ebay. Rancher 455 and a small 235. Sold both within 2 weeks because they were useless and underpowered for what i needed. (bonus is i made a tidy profit on both)
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachments/support-announcements/73974d1215231195-agree2-gif Anyway 100% agree with other poster, get a saw always a bit bigger that what you reckon you will need and it will save problems later. Remember a 880 can be used for limbing, with some difficulty, but a MS170 can in no way cut down a 50" diameter gum!! http://www.arboristsite.com/images/smilies/laughing.gif

I ended up getting in touch with a bloke who lists on US ebay who is a Dolmar dealer in Chicago and he did me a great deal on a PS5105. Sure it's only 50cc but it cuts like no 50cc saw ive ever used and ive used a few!! Man has it got some balls!! Just about 3kw with a muffler mod. He gave me good advice and posted it out to me. From memory it was around $525 Aussie to my door, when a 346XP huski was $1250 at the time from my local bloke.
Makita here in Australia carry Dolmar saws. All are still made in Germany (AFAIK) unlike Stihl and Huski which now farm some saws to Brazil and China. My uncle has an 038AV and was told in was made in Germany, when he got it home it says made in Brazil of the saw. Dealer wouldn't accept a return. Has run well for many years but it has had i think more that it's fair share of issues. Anyway i run a makita 7901 which is an 80cc saw, very light, low vibe and easy to handle and has all the power you could need for felling larger trees and cutting up grounded logs. I picked it up for $1035 at a makita trade stall at a wood show down in Canberra, and i believe it can be had for similar prices on ebay Australia and from makita dealers. A huski 372xp or a Ms441 were going to cost me $1700 +. I do my own servicing because Dolmar is carried by Makita here and the service network is very crappy and overpriced for parts. If you need someone to service your saws of course it might be better to go with Stihl or huski, but im sure there would be a good small motor mechanic who is familiar with other brands somewhere in your area. I have used and owned Stihl, McCulloch and Huski and I am not promoting Dolmar over all other saws i am simply saying that when i was in a similar position i looked outside the box to see what other brands of Pro grade saws were available for a better price. I have had a good experience with Dolmar and from buying from the US and have since bought several more saws for mates and for myself. Unless the price is really attractive i would steer away from buying the bigger saws from US because postage is expensive and as i found, different people will charge wildly different postage on the same item. Some have quoted me $200 for a small 35cc saw!! I always have paid around $80-90 for a 40-60cc saw.
I would be very wary of second hand unless you know the bloke selling it. I got stung when i bought a used stihl 026 saw advertised as "fully working no issues". 1st time i used it it was leaking bar oil like a sieve. When i told the bloke his reply was "I'm not an expert or a mechanic i'm only selling the saw". I put in a new oil pump and fixed it but it was time and money i should not have had to use. There is good second hand and there is crappy second hand. For the later why spend your money on something that hasn't been looked after and will need money and attention to get working 100%. When the prices here are so overpriced and the dollar is as you say back up, why not when you can get a much better saw for the same money or at least a nice saving of the same model. If theres anything else you want to know feel free to ask mate.

 

[Rudolf73]

Welcome to the site, where abouts in Queensland are you? I'm in south east QLD.

Yes I have imported a few saws because a 50% saving makes it well worth it for me. Usually you can't buy them online because it's against policy, etc. However, good deals often pop up on sites like ebay. If you want to import directly from the US you will need a friend over there to go and buy it and ship it over for you.

Depending on what you want to cut, the 440 would be a great all round saw for Australian conditions - the HD filter is especially important for our hardwood dust. Its only slightly heavier than the 362 and has quite a bit more power. The 440 however is not available in Aus any more so you will need to import.

 

[deye223]

I've been on the hunt for some new saws from the US too. I'm thinking about using USA Address & Mail Forwarding. For an $8.50 fee plus 4.3% merchant fee on the postage (so if postage is $100, they charge $112.80) you can have your stuff sent to their US address and they onsend it to you. I haven't used them yet, but I know of blokes who have used them for dirt bike parts sucessfully and happily.

i can't do hyper links try this it is on aussi dribble thread page 74 post 1097 you will save heaps. cheers

 

[MattCrowe]

Honestly, unless your unemployed why would you bother, it sounds attractive, then you start feeling ill when shipping costs half what the saw did, then when it turns up and is a seized piece of turd what do you do ? spend 5 times what a saw in Aus would have cost you to fly to the states and front the guy ? your talking about spending about a grand, not half a million...

Fire a few questions at ebay US members with saws for sale and see what they have to say about shipping you a saw, then wake up, smell the coffee, realize that a thousand bucks is absolute chook feed and go buy locally.

 

[jmw]

Welcome to the site, where abouts in Queensland are you? I'm in south east QLD.

Thanks for the welcome, I'm on the coast near Bundaberg.

 

[jmw]

I've been on the hunt for some new saws from the US too. I'm thinking about using USA Address & Mail Forwarding....

Yeah, I saw that - I've been scouring all the threads where people talk about importing - it's finding a dealer who'll sell mail order at all that I'm wondering about.

 

[Rudolf73]

Honestly, unless your unemployed why would you bother, it sounds attractive, then you start feeling ill when shipping costs half what the saw did, then when it turns up and is a seized piece of turd what do you do ? spend 5 times what a saw in Aus would have cost you to fly to the states and front the guy ? your talking about spending about a grand, not half a million...

Fire a few questions at ebay US members with saws for sale and see what they have to say about shipping you a saw, then wake up, smell the coffee, realize that a thousand bucks is absolute chook feed and go buy locally.

That might be all well and good if you're "rolling in it" but some of us see the value in a 50% saving and yes if your lucky that includes shipping. I am fortunate enough to have some mechanical skills so I'm not worried about warranty and my saws never go to the dealers anyway - 2 stroke engines are not rocket science.

So in summary, I prefer a 2 for 1 deal any day of the week and I know quite a few people who think the same way.

 

[Rudolf73]

Thanks for the welcome, I'm on the coast near Bundaberg.

Oh nice, I used to live near Bundy also but now I reside in Toowoomba.

 

[MattCrowe]

That might be all well and good if you're "rolling in it" but some of us see the value in a 50% saving and yes if your lucky that includes shipping. I am fortunate enough to have some mechanical skills so I'm not worried about warranty and my saws never go to the dealers anyway - 2 stroke engines are not rocket science.

So in summary, I prefer a 2 for 1 deal any day of the week and I know quite a few people who think the same way.

Mate if ya think to buy a new chainsaw you need to be "rolling in it" maybe you need a new hobby, like making paper planes, i see guys in ferrari f430's and think they must be "rollin in it", never have i seen a guy with an ms440 in his paws and wished i had his bank roll.

 

[deye223]

Honestly, unless your unemployed why would you bother, it sounds attractive, then you start feeling ill when shipping costs half what the saw did, then when it turns up and is a seized piece of turd what do you do ? spend 5 times what a saw in Aus would have cost you to fly to the states and front the guy ? your talking about spending about a grand, not half a million...

Fire a few questions at ebay US members with saws for sale and see what they have to say about shipping you a saw, then wake up, smell the coffee, realize that a thousand bucks is absolute chook feed and go buy locally.

attitudes like that is the reson we pay 100% more than the US & UK and the rest ot europe

 

[TimberMcPherson]

If enough people import them themselves, perhaps stihl, husky etc will relise that they have to start being more competitive on prices.

 

[Hulsty]

I was recently in the same position as you, consulting with the guys here about what first saw to buy on my budget came to the Dolmar PC6400/Makita DCS6401 64cc pro grade saw easily upgraded to 79-85cc.

$750 delivered aus wide and its been great so far, with non professional use and it has a 2 year warranty.

Express Tools - Makita 3.8kW 50cm Petrol Chainsaw

Makita DCS6421 Petrol Chainsaw 50cm Bar 64cc 2 Stroke | eBay

 

[Stihlman441]

Welcome to AS

I have and will keep getting saws from the US,im not interested in warranty and have been getting ported saws even with the modd costs and post its still cheaper than here.
Depending on what saw you are arfter some of the US models are differant than what we have,eg MS460 Ozzy model has a dual port muffler (heaps better exhaust flow),twin bumper spikes,roller chain catcher and i think even may have a high out put bar oiler,all these things are NOT on the US model.
When you post a saw into Ozz make sure it is valued at less than $1000 or Australia Customs will have a ball with you and sting ya heaps of fees and GST ect.
If your arfter a Stihl pro saw 50cc MS261.60cc MS362,70cc MS440 or MS441CMTronic,76cc MS460 and then 90cc MS660
With post using USPS a 7 kg saw is about $130 .

Cheers
Andrew

 

[jmw]

Honestly, unless your unemployed why would you bother... realize that a thousand bucks is absolute chook feed and go buy locally.

$1000 isn't chook feed to me - takes plenty of hours work to earn that.
With saw prices in oz the way they are I could fly to the states & pick up say an MS 441 for not much more than the cost of the saw here.

If anyone's got a horror story about doing their dough on an import, I'd like to hear it.

 

[Rudolf73]

Mate if ya think to buy a new chainsaw you need to be "rolling in it" maybe you need a new hobby, like making paper planes, i see guys in ferrari f430's and think they must be "rollin in it", never have i seen a guy with an ms440 in his paws and wished i had his bank roll.

'Mate' I guess the value of money is in the eye of the beholder, some of us appreciate a saving, other like wasting it... just depends what you're into.


And I actually do enjoy making paper planes, I might take that up again some time

Oh and F430's are pretty cheap these days right, I would prefer the newer 458.

 

[young]

Welcome to AS

I have and will keep getting saws from the US,im not interested in warranty and have been getting ported saws even with the modd costs and post its still cheaper than here.
Depending on what saw you are arfter some of the US models are differant than what we have,eg MS460 Ozzy model has a dual port muffler (heaps better exhaust flow),twin bumper spikes,roller chain catcher and i think even may have a high out put bar oiler,all these things are NOT on the US model.
When you post a saw into Ozz make sure it is valued at less than $1000 or Australia Customs will have a ball with you and sting ya heaps of fees and GST ect.
If your arfter a Stihl pro saw 50cc MS261.60cc MS362,70cc MS440 or MS441CMTronic,76cc MS460 and then 90cc MS660
With post using USPS a 7 kg saw is about $130 .

Cheers
Andrew

well if you get the wrap model all thats standard minus the dual port. but you get the wrap handle and larger clutch cover.

 

[Rudolf73]

attitudes like that is the reson we pay 100% more than the US & UK and the rest ot europe

Yeah, smells like typical stihl dealer attitude to me.

 

[Stihlman441]

You should be able to get a MS441CMTronic power head only including post from the us for about $900.