I live near Canton in NE OH & have oaks, maples, fir, ash, cherry & poplar to cut. There is an ample supply of dealers within a 1/2 hour drive that sell Stihl, Husqvarna, Dolmar, Echo & Jonsered. By the way, what's a "shiny?"
It would be nice to find a good deal on a used saw but if I bought a new one at least I'll know that it's not over half used-up.
By the way is 1/2 of the price of new about right for a good used saw?
farmjim-
Here's my 2 cents in response to your question about price of a "used" saw.
1/2 the cost of a "new" saw is a good price for a "used" saw if it is in like-new, excellent condition, and it comes with all the original instructions and accessories.
For any other condition just remember you can easily spend 1/2 of the cost of a "brand-new" saw for repairs and accessories (chain,bar,sprocket,filters,oiler, etc.) to make the "used" saw run as good as a "new" saw would.
And, after messing around with the maintenance and upgrading of the "used" saw, what you will end up with is a "used" saw with older technology, older heavier parts, no warranty, no dealer support to speak of, for the same price as a "brand-new" saw.
I have purchased three "used" saws with success. They were in super condition (clean, chain sharp as new, and the bar was hardly scratched). They had seen very little use and the owners maintained them well. They were also were saws that are current models being sold so getting parts, if necessary, was easy. Even though "used" they had all the latest features of the latest chainsaw model.
I think I paid less than half the price of a "new" saw but not by very much (maybe 40% of new). I had to spend time looking at many saws to find them. Once I bought them I had to check them out and spend time making sure they were setup properly and functional. This involved tearing them down somewhat, checking them over thoroughly, and reassembly. I'm a semi-gearhead so I enjoy this sort of thing and have the tools to do it.
Does this make any sense to you? Thoughts?
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