Why do people still buy stihl saws?

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jakewells said:
you guys might not like my decision, im looking at a brand new stihl ms 461 i almost got the money up to buy it at 1,089.95
comes with a 20 & 25'' bar carrying case and a chain sharpening kit.
dealer said it is getting replaced soon. always wanted a big saw, heck i might even stick a 16'' bar on it for laughs.
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Me being mostly a Husky and JRed guy after running a 461 i will say its a damn fine saw.

I make comments but i really don't wear blinders.
 
jakewells said:
you guys might not like my decision, im looking at a brand new stihl ms 461 i almost got the money up to buy it at 1,089.95
comes with a 20 & 25'' bar carrying case and a chain sharpening kit.
dealer said it is getting replaced soon. always wanted a big saw, heck i might even stick a 16'' bar on it for laughs.
Click to expand...
What's not to like?
 
treesmith said:
From what I've seen personally in the last 10 months with this company as I seem to be the saw guy.

The 3120xp sits in one truck and has had issue after issue, it gets used regularly but not all the time and only by one crew who look after it. The exhaust fell off, the oiler keeps failing for different reasons, the chain brake broke and a few other silly annoying time wasting problems, also the air filter is bordering on pointless. The 880 on the other hand lives in the shed and is the go-to stump and big wood saw for whoever needs it that day, it gets abused by everyone that uses it because it is ownerless. It has had a few issues linked to abuse but nothing like the 3120

The new 395 is a beast, in its three month life from new it arrived with a stripped tensioner which was replaced under warranty, it's already had another one replaced and the chain brake gets so stiff its almost impossible to release. The other 395 bought second hand hardly used has a knackered chain brake on the to do list. And what's with that retarded chain tensioner?


The one 390xp at work gets worked hard, maybe as hard as the many 660s, the 660s have needed carb kits, tank vents, and occasional starter cord. The 390 has lost so many bolts it's stupid, the piston/cylinder is pretty worn from the dust that went straight through the airfilter, the oiler doesn't always work right, the tensioner has been stripped multiple times and yesterday the muffler disintegrated.

The 576 has been here for three months, it has a broken chain brake handle, runs ok, almost as well as a 461. The 461s have the same issues as the 660s, ie carb kits, tank vents, pull cords and occasional loose felling spike bolts.

The 365 husky has been mostly faultless as has the ms362s but they don't really get that much use

The single three month old 540xp in the company is roundly despised by everyone that has used it, including the husky fanboi that specifically asked for it, its fully broken in and it has no power in hard gum, it won't run until its warm and if it's turned off up a tree for more than a few minutes it needs warming up again. The feel of using it is also crap. The bloke who uses it has already asked me to find him a 201 and mod it, yesterday he used my 200t and realised what a POS the 540 is.

I've seen one old 201 die from a failed bearing which took out the piston/cylinder, another needed bearings and seals, otherwise apart from being dropped out of trees they are mostly faultless, tank vents, carb kits, airfilters, pull cords and maybe a couple of new carbs on older saws is about it. The 201t i is our most used saw and are reliable as hell.

MS192ts are about the same, very reliable

The three MS150ts have had four new handles between them, two from being dropped when the tool clip pulled out and two for reasons unknown, otherwise faultless.

The boys by choice (with one exception) will use a stihl over a husky, they are professional arborists not chainsaw enthusiasts and not one of them has ever polished a saw.
The 660, 461 and 201t are the backbone of this company and do 99% of the work.

That's a pretty unbiased review of an Oz tree company that work 10hrs+ a day, every day in all weather cutting heavy dense hard wood

My .02 - Husky air filtration is an absolute joke, I own and love stihls and huskies but I'm certainly not blind
Click to expand...
Let me examine my experience then: stihl 4 mix pole saw defective cap so bad u can't remove it and that was new! It ran for about two months needed carburetor found later recall no money back! the gears stripped, thing had maybe 100 hrs its in storage, stihl weedeater still runs after new carb and valves adjusted by me cap almost as bad as polesaw! 200t I bought because of hype 600 dollar pos yes it had power 3 months toast caps ok but pointless with bad bearings. stihl ms 192 best stihl i owned toast two years but expected that !br 600 blower very nice but i sold before i found out how durable. My first husky was a pre epa 372 it was my only big saw first 4 years of my tree service. I had 1000s of hours use on it, was still being used daily, only part besides normal maintenance was a coil probably cut 6000 cords equivelent stolen. 395 xp rarely use one screw missing side cover saw is like new besides that no issues. husky 372 xpw 4 years old same as first 372, still using replaced fuel lines also missing a screw. small husky 335t flawless 2 years, yes not much power plenty for limbs i tote the 372 for bigger stuff.
 
The only reason I'm going to stihl is because of dealer support and parts availability i have 1 husqvarna dealer and 4 stihl dealers. Parts are always on hand at my dealer, the husq dealer is 1 week for anything and most of the time he is out of little stuff like files and chain.

The stihl dealer works with me because he is for the customer on the other hand the husq dealer is for the dollar he just wants to squeeze as much money as he can out of you.
and i like the way a stihl fells in my hands, even if it the product cost 10$ more if you treat me with respect i will buy your product.

But for me it is more about the dealer than the product i could care less if it cuts slower weights a 1/2 lb more and it doesn't have a outboard clutch.
I'm off my soap box.
 
The OPE guy here only has Stihls on the shelf, but works on anything (though I've never had anything worked on there). He's *really* pissed me off... like charging me $10 shipping for a carb kit that took nearly 2 weeks to get. I can't say how competent a mechanic they are NOW, but 25 years ago we bought a FS106, and they came out and 'tuned' it.. absolutely miserable tune, it would stall every time you had just gotten the strap all hooked up... I was 12, and I was the one that had to get it tuned.

One of my dislikes about a lot of german engineered products, especially when it comes to ergonomics, is it's overdesigned... It works fine if you hold it exactly the way it was intended, but heaven forbid you have to try and hold it any other way, or you're left handed... It's kinda like scissors.. there's the right handed ones with the round fingerholes, they work better when used with the right hand, but you can get your left hand in there and hack away.. the german engineer makes the molded grips, yes, they are lovely to hold right handed, but it is painful, if even possible to use them left handed
 
im left handed i know your pain but really no saw is comfortable in my hands, the only way it would be comfy to me if someone did all the firewooding and chainsaw work for me.
having RA in my hands isn't doing me a whole lot of good either.
 
Haha typical and predictable westcoater90 husky fanboy crap! most guys on AS even the noobs he hates so much get it! they even get what he runs in his soft wood works for him and is the setup to run in that kind of timber.... Not fanboy hell no! not him if you don't run the same setup and cc saw as him your a **** and dont know what your doing! LOL.... Not all wood is the same around the world some wood around the world is like 10 times harder than the balsa wood he cuts yeah for real crazy talk I know! lol

I like the westcoater90's pet peeve he don't like it when someone runs a 20in bar on a 90cc saw LOL ,all the silly **** is telling the world is what's hardwood? haha.
Who is this mighty legend of a man westcoater90 dude? has anyone ever met the **** can we be sure he's not just some 14 year old kid? he sure sounds about that age?

Why do people run a 90cc saw with a 20in bar westcoater90?.. Guess I will have to answer this for him the poor bugger is clueless and all!....K to get **** done done in a timely fashion in hardwood a 60cc /70cc saw will not get the same job done as fast as a 90cc+ saw in hardwood when time is against you K get it? nah I didn't think he would haha....
 

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