Confused about Dolmar

[K9-Handler]

homedpot has it in there tool rental and they do not just buy a saw and hope it works. I have talked to them and they say that it is one tuff saw. because the get some real knuckle heads in there department. They do the basic maintenance and say after a year or two they sell them.

I have two HD's within 15 miles of me. When folks on AS started talking about buying a former-rental 6401's cheap I looked in to it. Both stores had rental units in use, but had just replaced them last July. One of the clerks told me they hold onto them for two years, so there wouldn't be a used one available for at least a year and a half. Then there is no way to reserve one, so the first shopper to see one on the sale shelf gets it. "They don't last long..." was his comment.

So while I was in one store I went to check the new stuff in the outdoor equipment isle. One store had one 6401 on the shelf with a yellow tag that said, "LAST ONE -- Discontinued. $475, no manual, no box". I noticed that the fuel filler cap was missing and there was a large bruise on the plastic. When I went to the other store there was not a single Makita to be seen anywhere -- all Echos and Huskys. HD has apparently stopped carrying Makita. So when this lot of rental Makitas gets replaced, it probably won't be with another Makita.

So much for the old buy-up-the-former-rental-unit ploy.
And so much for another outlet for Dolmar to sell their saws.

 

[tbuggle]

I have two HD's within 15 miles of me. When folks on AS started talking about buying a former-rental 6401's cheap I looked in to it. Both stores had rental units in use, but had just replaced them last July. One of the clerks told me they hold onto them for two years, so there wouldn't be a used one available for at least a year and a half. Then there is no way to reserve one, so the first shopper to see one on the sale shelf gets it. "They don't last long..." was his comment.

So while I was in one store I went to check the new stuff in the outdoor equipment isle. One store had one 6401 on the shelf with a yellow tag that said, "LAST ONE -- Discontinued. $475, no manual, no box". I noticed that the fuel filler cap was missing and there was a large bruise on the plastic. When I went to the other store there was not a single Makita to be seen anywhere -- all Echos and Huskys. HD has apparently stopped carrying Makita. So when this lot of rental Makitas gets replaced, it probably won't be with another Makita.

So much for the old buy-up-the-former-rental-unit ploy.
And so much for another outlet for Dolmar to sell their saws.

'never seen a Makita on the sales shelf in these parts....
only in the rental department.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

'never seen a Makita on the sales shelf in these parts....
only in the rental department.

Correct, around here the Makitas are only in the rental centers of HD not on the shelfs with the OPE. But I was told that you can buy one brand new through the rental center, but their price was outrageous.

 

[wkpoor]

In the spring of 08 I was trying to move 7900's for 549.00 w/24"b/c. Very few bit. Now the deal is gone and people are scappin at over 100.00 more. Get the best deal you can from whom ever. I like the feel of the 7900 better but my 681 has performed flawlessly and some might know how well it cut from the last GTG. Its a curly monster. Can't go wrong with either saw.

 

[Javelin]

Well lets see in my area there are 20+ stihl dealers of those maybe 2 of them are what you could call good dealers. The others will just look at you funny read something out of a book or just point you to there fancy wall display! Almost all the stihl dealers around here have virtually no saw use and what most do have is just starting one up and rev it a few times! A quality dealer will be able to talk to you about what will fill your needs and tell you the diffrence between lets say a 390 and a 361 other than the price! Now with that being said yes there are dealers who are not qualified and that includes dolmar dealers and in some area's of the country Dolmar may not have a choice because of the selection but eventually things do change!

 

[Ske-bum]

No. Read Treeslingrs post again. He knows saws and he's a straight shooter. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a saw from him.

So Silverbox,
Some of the most knowledgeable chainsaw guys around ask/tell you to look at Tree slingrs 7900, and you don't even bother because you want one out one of the local stores? or don't want a ported one? or don't accept advice?? I'm curious as to which one it is.

If you live in Sac and wanted to buy the thing, you might be able to talk him off the mountain and down to Redding.

 

[SilverBox]

I pm'd with treeslinger. He has a stock 7900 and a modded one he offered, but I went with the 681 demo that cuttinscott (I wanted a factory warrenty, which cuttinscott said he'd honor for the demo) posted about. The deal is done, the 681 will be in the mail to me tomorrow. Thanks all for the input. Others pm'd me with 7900 information as well, thanks to them as well.

The sad thing about all this is that if Dolmar would just allow their dealers to sell over the internet, I'd have a 7900 being mailed to me instead of a Solo 681.......

Dolmars loss, Solo's gain...

 

[THALL10326]

I pm'd with treeslinger. He has a stock 7900 and a modded one he offered, but I went with the 681 demo that cuttinscott (I wanted a factory warrenty, which cuttinscott said he'd honor for the demo) posted about. The deal is done, the 681 will be in the mail to me tomorrow. Thanks all for the input. Others pm'd me with 7900 information as well, thanks to them as well.

The sad thing about all this is that if Dolmar would just allow their dealers to sell over the internet, I'd have a 7900 being mailed to me instead of a Solo 681.......

Dolmars loss, Solo's gain...

You mean Scott actually sold you a Solo when he made it clear his preferance was Dolmar, I coulda swore he said he sold Dolmars 100/200-1 over Solo.

Originally Posted by THALL10326
Awwww ok. How many them Dolmars ya sell a year verses the Solo's? I was wondering about that 681, it looks alot like a 7900. That mody fied one ya got, hows she run??


100-1 ratio is that to lean LOL,,,, maybe more like 200-1

The EHP681 runs good but I like the EHP7900 better. The Dolmar antivibe feels better to me and I might be a wee bit partial to the Dolmar's anyway Eh

Yup thats what he said,LOLOL

 

[SilverBox]

yup, but scott can't sell me a new dolmar ;( ... and I don't really mind vibration that much, I rarely cut for more then a few hours at a time.

The anti vibes off a 7900 will fit on a 681, scott told me so. So if it does bother me too much, I'll put 7900 anti vibe on the 681.

 

[THALL10326]

yup, but scott can't sell me a new dolmar ;( ... and I don't really mind vibration that much, I rarely cut for more then a few hours at a time.

The anti vibes off a 7900 will fit on a 681, scott told me so. So if it does bother me too much, I'll put 7900 anti vibe on the 681.

Awwwwww ok. Well I doult that Solo vibrates much anyway, enjoy I say..

 

[MarylandGuy]

I bought a Makita 6401 back in March 2008 from a Maryland Home Depot. This particular store has a very strong rental center with at least 20 6401's on the shelf at any one time. I ran into the same problem as you, no saws were due to be sold for a while.

I would check in with the manager every two or three weeks, but had no luck. In late February 08 he offered me one, but it was pretty beat up and the compression was much lower than any of the other units on the shelf. And before I'm accused of having the compression release on, it wasn't, I assure you.

Long story short, the manager got tired of me checking in with him. He told me to come in and then gave me a list of four saws I could choose from, along with printouts of each of the saw's rental history. I used the supplied serial numbers and found the four saws and checked them over closely for misuse and also more importantly compression. I picked the one I wanted and had him check me out. He grumbled something about the possibility of getting in trouble because he sold the saw too early. I just smiled.

I now have a great running 6401 with about 20 hours under my belt at a cost of $215.00, including an extra chain. What a huge difference in power compared to my Stihl 026. I love that saw.

I have two HD's within 15 miles of me. When folks on AS started talking about buying a former-rental 6401's cheap I looked in to it. Both stores had rental units in use, but had just replaced them last July. One of the clerks told me they hold onto them for two years, so there wouldn't be a used one available for at least a year and a half. Then there is no way to reserve one, so the first shopper to see one on the sale shelf gets it. "They don't last long..." was his comment.

6. So while I was in one store I went to check the new stuff in the outdoor equipment isle. One store had one 6401 on the shelf with a yellow tag that said, "LAST ONE -- Discontinued. $475, no manual, no box". I noticed that the fuel filler cap was missing and there was a large bruise on the plastic. When I went to the other store there was not a single Makita to be seen anywhere -- all Echos and Huskys. HD has apparently stopped carrying Makita. So when this lot of rental Makitas gets replaced, it probably won't be with another Makita.

So much for the old buy-up-the-former-rental-unit ploy.
And so much for another outlet for Dolmar to sell their saws.

 

[Zero Gravity]

This thread should be renamed "Fighting for Obsolesce" With all the great saws out there why even consider this BS.
ZG

 

[volks-man]

This thread should be renamed "Fighting for Obsolesce" With all the great saws out there why even consider this BS.
ZG

if you had a bad stihl or husqy dealer you would be looking for a dolmar.
manufacturers all have a few bad dealers, but that doesn't make the product bad.

 

[flashy]

A year ago I found a 6401 online for $190 + $30 shipping. Recently I needed a bar nut so I went to a Dolmar dealer 15 miles away. He swore up and down that Dolmar owned Makita. Dolmar bought Makita for their electric saw, he said. He couldn't find the right bar nut for that model. All he had in stock for new saws was a 510. He didn't know they made a 64cc 'monster saw'.

I bought a quart of bar oil just because I hate to go into a business and not buy SOMETHING. On the back label it says 'Makita USA inc.'

In all fairness to this dealer, he's a lawnmower shop who wanted a saw line to sell in an area where there is very little commercial logging. I think the distributor needs to make sure the dealer is better informed.

 

[mini14]

the hd by me has sold the 6401 on their shelves for the past 3 years, i just bought the last 3 on clearence....they will no longer sell them on the floor....depends where u live i guess...paid $379 brand new, the other 2 for $400...the $379 one was a display model missing box and chain.

 

[B_Turner]

This thread should be renamed "Fighting for Obsolesce" With all the great saws out there why even consider this BS.
ZG

Because stock for me there isn't another saw near as fun as a 7900 in it's class (except the 681, which I haven't run but have heard good things about). They tromp the 372 and 460 (both great saws) while being smoother to boot. (stock).

I had the same sort of problems here looking for a dolmar dealer even though I am near a high population area and we have scores of Stihl and Husky dealers. The local dealers listed on the Dolmar website were non existent. But I am glad I persevered because the 7900 rocks and about 90 percent of my cutting is done with two of them in my mix of 4 Stihls, 4 Huskies and 3 Dolmars. My 7900 with a 28 and square is the best noodler of any of my saws, which is key to me.

Can't really imagine Dolmar getting any foothold out here in the PNW with their funky marketing attitude, esp if the 2010 EPA regs kill their current best models...But if it looks like the 7900 will be discontinued I plan to salt away another one for later use.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

But if it looks like the 7900 will be discontinued I plan to salt away another one for later use.

I plan to stash one away when i get some cash and find a dealer worth a darn.

 

[SawTroll]

My Old Dolmar distributor's tell me Im a Solo Dealer as well its just we sell many many more Dolmar's than the solos



Scott

That would be Spike, I assume.....

 

[Zero Gravity]

if you had a bad stihl or husqy dealer you would be looking for a dolmar.
manufacturers all have a few bad dealers, but that doesn't make the product bad.

NO! I would use all options to get what I want. There no way I would base my decisions off of anothers failure. I had a choices to buy a Dolmar and I couldn't handle the looks of the saw, the oregon bar on a new saw and a dealer that didn't even know what the model number was. I bought when the deal was right for me.
ZG

 

[B_Turner]

NO! I would use all options to get what I want. There no way I would base my decisions off of anothers failure. I had a choices to buy a Dolmar and I couldn't handle the looks of the saw, the oregon bar on a new saw and a dealer that didn't even know what the model number was. I bought when the deal was right for me.
ZG

I think the story may not be not over yet.