Do Stihl dealers not like to sell saw builders parts?

[timberwolf]

You imagin the look on the parts guy face when you just walk in out of the blue and order five 880 intake boots, 088 ignition coil can't be 880 PN, three 660 boots, 2 sets of 038 52 mm rings, HT carb must be 7A, half a dozen 066 piston pins, bag of 12mm piston pin clips, 4 sets of wrist pin bearings...

One dealer hates his computer or having to look anything up and does not like to see me walk in looking to order something unless I have P/N and cash in hand. The next town over they know me by name and know what I'm up to and are very helpfull getting parts in.

 

[CentaurG2]

No can ship. They are sold two to the box, both the loop and bike handle. You can request Stihl to send just one but to hell with that, if I can't sell more than two I won't even stock it all.....

That’s too bad about shipping. An honest dealer like yourself could probably rule the world if you were turned lose on the www. Good thing that Stihl corporate philosophy is around to keep you in check or you might be King, but as Coldplay said “oh, who would ever want to be king?” Viva la vita or Death and All His Friends Coldplay 2008 (I think).

 

[Paul001]

That’s too bad about shipping. An honest dealer like yourself could probably rule the world if you were turned loose on the www. Good thing that Stihl corporate philosophy is around to keep you in check or you might be King, but as Coldplay said “oh, who would ever want to be king?” Viva la vita or Death and All His Friends Coldplay 2008 (I think).

Forget being King...I'd rather be a King maker

 

[Stihldoc]

In defense of my friend Tom Hall, he IS the embodiement of a Master Dealer. I should know, I was one - Stihl calls it "Elite"- that means the dealership sells only Stihl and has a Gold School educated tech on staff. Tommy was chosen as the image of Stihl's perfect dealer- they must not have liked my photo with a paper "Hitler mustache" (yep, really did that and they didn't find it funny). I don't get why a dealer wouldn't tell the customer the truth about availability of goods. The FS250R for example- my distributor would sell one at a time instead of the usual 2-to-a-box. They charged a $15.00 "re-box" fee and shipped it. This is reasonable- it takes time and effort to repackage a single unit so it will arrive undamaged after UPS treatment. Why wouldn't a dealer be happy to pass the buck to corporate when a customer doesn't like a policy? At least then it isn't their fault. Unfortunately, there is another side to these stories of dissatisfaction. It is widely known that the noise from saws is bad for one's hearing. Sometimes the user just doesn't comprehend what you're saying. Maybe they really didn't hear it, maybe they didn't like it, maybe they just need their problem to be someone else's fault. Who knows? I had favorite customers and ones I dreaded. What's different about this aspect of business than life in general? We all have likes & dislikes. Going to the saw shop or helping a particular customer shouldn't be like pulling teeth. If it is, something is very wrong. Go to another dealer if you think you've been wronged. If there's a possibility its your attitude that needs calibration, do so, and give that dealer a reasonable chance to help you. And if all else fails, move to Leesburg VA so you can go to Tommy's place for lukewarm coffee and war stories.

 

[nilzlofgren]

Martin, I'd like to see a pic of that saw in your avatar. It look really nice.

 

[gilraine]

my dealer is awesome, prices aren't bad and service is really good.. its a husband and wife team that run the shop and I drive by one dealer to get to the one I use.. never had a problem ordering little parts or weird stuff...they are very knowledgeable and I honestly can't say a bad thing about them..

 

[Modifiedmark]

You can tell who's busy at this time of year and who's not. Those who are busy are using or repairing their saws. The others whine. I was a Stihl dealer for 17 years in a suburban county near Washington DC. I sold my shop a little over a year ago to my service manager who's 20 years younger than me. No regrets- I loved the business and had great staff but 3 growing boys made it difficult to continue to put in 14 hour days - and often much more during the busy season. I had a great relationship with Stihl. Stihl is a big company- individual dealers don't buy parts from Stihl. Dealers buy parts and whole goods from their regional distributor. My distributor was Mid-Atlantic Stihl in Hillsborough NC. Never have I dealt with a finer organization- their customer service was excellent and their parts fill rate was even better. All Stihl distributors are owned by Stihl and follow Stihl's policies. Stihl does not have a policy that says a part or piece of equipment must sell for a certain price. That's price fixing and its illegal. End of story. Stihl suggests a retail price- that allows a dealer to make a certain amount of profit- but a dealer is free to sell for more or less. I always sold parts and whole goods for retail price (certain exceptions were made for high volume sales customers). Dealer profit is essential- otherwise there won't be any dealers. Stihl also has NO MINIMUM ORDER policies. There are incentives such as a minimum size order (it used to be $2500 but may be higher now) to get free freight. Many times a customer needed a part RFN- Stihl would ship it that same day and I'd sell it and pass along the freight. Customer and dealer happy. If your dealer is whining about minimum orders, that is BS from a dealer that doesn't care about your business. Find one that does. I am no longer a dealer for Stihl, but do service on a contract basis for several local dealers. When I need parts I order them from the distributor and have them shipped to a local dealer. They charge me for the freight and add a pre-agreed percentage to the cost of the parts. They have to make money too. I worked hard to set up this arrangement and it works well for me and my customers. It is unfair to Stihl (or any other manufacturer) to blame them for problems you're having with a particular dealer. If you need parts quickly expect to pay freight costs. If a dealer still balks, find another dealer. Internet sales are banned by Stihl. I never really agreed with this policy, but its their decision to make. Did you ever think about CALLING another dealer? That's a great way to buy parts- chances are that dealer will even ship them to you. I do. Stop whining and do something to improve your situation. If one dealer doesn't seem to want your business give it to someone else. The choice is YOURS- not theirs.

Darn right it's my choice! I did try 2 other Stihl dealers and I choose not to deal with any of them any more then I have to.

And I'm not Stihl bashing, I do like some of there stuff.

 

[Martinm210]

Sorry if I opened up a can-o-worms with this thread, but it has been an extraordinarily excellent collection of experiences and insight into the dealers life and business.

It's very clear to me, my experience and problem is specific to this dealer, and I don't blame anyone. I was frustrated due to my lack of patience, but I understand all sides and I don't have any issues. It's obvious I'm being more of a burden to his lifestyle than anything else. As far as I know he is simply an hourly employee and his passion is in repairs and there could be zero incentive in selling parts for him. I have spent over $1300 at this store between wood stove and saw parts, but it doesn't all go through this repair section and reading between the lines, it's not something he's interested in.

I brought in my list of parts I was hoping to order and havn't heard back to pay for the order after day one. They typically would want me to pay up front so it appears I'm being put aside until he has more parts to order. I think I will call tomorrow and cancel and move on to another dealer. I "Was" going to order/buy a bunch of bars and chains for my rebuilds, but it looks as the other dealer in my town will become my next attempt at building a relationship.

BTW, I did contact Baileys and they said they can order OEM parts, but you must call in the numbers. Anything they don't have in stock will take 3 weeks tops to get in. So that's always another option.

I'll be taking the "Keep it local" for this one more dealer and cross my fingers he's willing to work with me.

Martin, I'd like to see a pic of that saw in your avatar. It look really nice.

Sure, here is my 066. I pretty much finished it, but decided I want to replace the crank bearings and seals. Not so much because I think there is a problem there, but I bought the bearing and seals and have them on hand. After rebuilding the bottom end on my 044, I'm convinced I would like to do the same for my 066. While I'm at it, I'm going to repaint the white pieces with OEM stihl paint, I just don't like the bright white I used and now I know better.

In the mean time I got wrapped up in rebuilding and converting an 044 to an 046BB, here is my work in progress on that one

These are the two saws I've been working on and getting really close to finishing both. The 044 has had the case all split and everything rebuilt short of the recoil/carb. The 066 just needs the case split and crank bearings/seals replaced, then I'll have two new soldiers ready for this coming season..

Thanks all for the great tips, story, and information. It was all extremely informative and I really appreciate the sharing knowledge..

 

[spankrz]

The funny part about this is, the first time I ordered crank bearing he was telling me they wouldn't repair a saw that needed the case split, "It's just not cost effective" he says.

So basically all they want is to clean out plugged oilers and total your saw for you when you bring it in to buy a new one.

Why is STIHL so particular about selling parts online anyhow, this just doesn't make any sense to me. You can't tell me that $14 exhaust gasket I bought for my 066 didn't have some sort of profit built into it..

It's all too reminescent of that "Robots" kids movie.

Upgrades Upgrades! Why buy used, when you can buy NEW!...
:censored:

stihl doesen't sell parts online as to not undercut their dealers. as far as your dealer's attitude, that's just him.

 

[Philbert]

Those are beautiful saws! I would have assumed that they were new if I had not read your post.

Any 'before' pictures?

Philbert

 

[Martinm210]

Those are beautiful saws! I would have assumed that they were new if I had not read your post.

Any 'before' pictures?

Philbert

Thanks!!

Sure, here is my 066 before and after:

 

[Martinm210]

And my 044 before:

 

[davefr]

stihl doesen't sell parts online as to not undercut their dealers. as far as your dealer's attitude, that's just him.

But Stihl could sell online, dropship from the distributer and credit the local dealer with the normal margin. (ie the buysnapon.com model)

 

[Philbert]

Thanks!! Sure, here is my 066 before and after

WOW!​

Philbert

 

[stihl025]

Thanks!!

Sure, here is my 066 before and after:

How did you get your plastic looking so nice? Is it new, newer or did you polish it? BTW, really nice job on th rebuild, Brad Snelling would be proud.

 

[teacherman]

In defense of my friend Tom Hall, he IS the embodiement of a Master Dealer. I should know, I was one - Stihl calls it "Elite"- that means the dealership sells only Stihl and has a Gold School educated tech on staff. Tommy was chosen as the image of Stihl's perfect dealer- they must not have liked my photo with a paper "Hitler mustache" (yep, really did that and they didn't find it funny). I don't get why a dealer wouldn't tell the customer the truth about availability of goods. The FS250R for example- my distributor would sell one at a time instead of the usual 2-to-a-box. They charged a $15.00 "re-box" fee and shipped it. This is reasonable- it takes time and effort to repackage a single unit so it will arrive undamaged after UPS treatment. Why wouldn't a dealer be happy to pass the buck to corporate when a customer doesn't like a policy? At least then it isn't their fault. Unfortunately, there is another side to these stories of dissatisfaction. It is widely known that the noise from saws is bad for one's hearing. Sometimes the user just doesn't comprehend what you're saying. Maybe they really didn't hear it, maybe they didn't like it, maybe they just need their problem to be someone else's fault. Who knows? I had favorite customers and ones I dreaded. What's different about this aspect of business than life in general? We all have likes & dislikes. Going to the saw shop or helping a particular customer shouldn't be like pulling teeth. If it is, something is very wrong. Go to another dealer if you think you've been wronged. If there's a possibility its your attitude that needs calibration, do so, and give that dealer a reasonable chance to help you. And if all else fails, move to Leesburg VA so you can go to Tommy's place for lukewarm coffee and war stories.

Shoot, I had family livin in Leesburg a few years ago. I never made it up that way. Maybe it is time for a field trip!

("Du bist nichts aber un Hund Hund....Schreien stänzig...."):greenchainsaw:

 

[Martinm210]

How did you get your plastic looking so nice? Is it new, newer or did you polish it? BTW, really nice job on th rebuild, Brad Snelling would be proud.

The 044 was all the original plastic, just sanded out any scratches, followed by a light sand blasting, plastic paint base and then several coats of Stihl orange or white paint with sanding in between.

The 066 was just light sanding on the plastic, the top cover was bought new though. I was a little skeptical about the plastic painting thing until I tried that Krylon fuzion plastic paint on a piece of sandblasted plastic. I just use it as a base coat and primer because it has special plastic primers built into it. The sandblasting also get in all the crannys and tight spots, it also does a really nice job cleaning every last bit of anything off the surface and roughens everything up really well for good paint adhesion.

I'll see, I plan on keeping these saws for a long time, so if the painting was a bad idea I'll find out.:greenchainsaw:

 

[Philbert]

Tried to rep you for the amazing transformations - but the system says I already sent you some not long ago (?)

Really impressive. From the photos, I would never have thought that those plastic parts were painted! What percentage of the saws are original? On the 066 it looks like the motor is toast, the clutch is missing, and you mentioned new bearings.

Plus all the parts you bought from your friendly STIHL dealer that you mentioned at the start of this thread . . .

I'm not sure that I would have even considered the 'befores' as viable parts saws.

I plan on keeping these saws for a long time

I am sure that you will get great satisfaction out of running these particular saws.

Philbert

 

[serial killer]

BTW, I did contact Baileys and they said they can order OEM parts, but you must call in the numbers. Anything they don't have in stock will take 3 weeks tops to get in.

This makes me unhappy.

 

[nefsw]

???

hi just got a lawnflite 3400 chain saw has any body herd of this make and modle . i cant find any info . its made in italy seems a nice little saw any info would be great