efco 152....would you pay 3 bills for new

[SawTroll]

Until the MS271 came out Stihl had no saw that was a direct competitor to the 152. MS250 below and MS290 above. The MS271 is a nice saw, apart from weight.

How about the 270? Maybe a bit more expensive?

 

[SawTroll]

Without first hand experience, no need to comment negatively.
What works for you well most likely will not work for the next guy... a life lessen for ya.

 

[olyman]

non owners,,saying efco is junk...yah.......

 

[Stihl Crazy]

How about the 270? Maybe a bit more exprnsive?

The 270 was here for only a year or two and had a very poor track record. Not one of Stihl's best saws.

 

[SawTroll]

The 270 was here for only a year or two and had a very poor track record. Not one of Stihl's best saws.

Here as well (was replaced by the 280) - but in the US it was on the market for about 10 years.

 

[Molan Labe]

non owners,,saying efco is junk...yah.......

Umm... go figure.
Not to name any names and all but, ya know what they say about opinions? Then through in no first hand experience w/an opinion... what do ya call that??

Maybe all hat and no cattle.

 

[cheeves]

I loved my 156 but traded it for a Kawasaki KLR 650 dual sport after I got my hip replaced and could walk and ride again. My 152 is a hoot. I bought it from a member here for his insanely low asking price. It isn't going anywhere. My 156 was a very impressive runner, probably one of the nicest saws I have ever used.

I totally agree with you about the 156! Super running saw, and really reliable!! Cut a lot of firewood with mine the past 4 years!

 

[whitedogone]

My 156 is a hell of a saw. I think I might be disapointed in the 152 after running the 56. I also bought my 56 for like $80 with less than a tank of fuel run through it.

 

[samdweezel05]

Umm... go figure.
Not to name any names and all but, ya know what they say about opinions? Then through in no first hand experience w/an opinion... what do ya call that??

Maybe all hat and no cattle.

I call that a company that isn't prepared to sell in the US. The dealer network is almost non existent, parts have to be shipped in from who knows where and due to the lack of a dealer network, there is no service or support. That's not an opinion, that's fact. I own an EFCO 952 and 940 and they are what they are. When my Stihl or Husky, or Jred or Dolmar have an issue, I'm 20 minutes away from any dealer I would ever need to get me the parts I need to get them back to normal and I can talk to people that work on them every day. I have nothing against EFCO but to disregard the opinions, facts, of others because they don't own one is absolutely ridiculous. The mechanical issues of certain models of any saw are well published on the internet and it doesn't take any first hand experience to read about them.

 

[SawTroll]

The 152 performs with the best in its class as does the 156. There is no disappointment involved. The weight difference is very noticeable. They are both a hoot to run.

Keep dreaming......


.....but surely there is a weight differense between them.

 

[Storm56]

Class can be relative, as in what can you get for the same money in other brands, purchased new from a dealer.

Is the Efco 152 the best 50 cc class saw period? No of course not, but I would wager it is probably the best 50 cc class saw you could buy for $300 out the door from a dealer with a full warranty.

Same would apply to the 156. I paid $400 out the door for a brand new saw with a full warranty.

Go to any Stihl or Husky dealer and compare what these dollar amounts will get you.

As far as Efco dealers, there are 2 within 20 miles of my home. Closest Stihl or Husky dealer is about 15 miles each.

Only saw I have ever owned that required warranty work was a Stihl. As far as parts in stock, again only ones I have needed thus far were from Stihl and I had to wait 5 weeks on one occasion. Not all that impressive in my book.

 

[SawTroll]

I call that a company that isn't prepared to sell in the US. The dealer network is almost non existent, parts have to be shipped in from who knows where and due to the lack of a dealer network, there is no service or support. That's not an opinion, that's fact. I own an EFCO 952 and 940 and they are what they are. When my Stihl or Husky, or Jred or Dolmar have an issue, I'm 20 minutes away from any dealer I would ever need to get me the parts I need to get them back to normal and I can talk to people that work on them every day. I have nothing against EFCO but to disregard the opinions, facts, of others because they don't own one is absolutely ridiculous. The mechanical issues of certain models of any saw are well published on the internet and it doesn't take any first hand experience to read about them.

Several good points there - very good post!

 

[les-or-more]

My 156 is a hell of a saw. I think I might be disapointed in the 152 after running the 56. I also bought my 56 for like $80 with less than a tank of fuel run through it.

Send it to one of the guys for a "tune up" and you won't be disappointed, Efco left a lot of room for improvement in the 152. I haven't ran a 156 tuned up but stock, a ported 152 will eat its lunch. Mine has been cutting wood and been to a few races in the last 7 years, its still going strong.

 

[SawTroll]

Class can be relative, as in what can you get for the same money in other brands, purchased new from a dealer.

Is the Efco 152 the best 50 cc class saw period? No of course not, but I would wager it is probably the best 50 cc class saw you could buy for $300 out the door from a dealer with a full warranty.
..... .

That is true, but then it should be stated that the item is good/very good/excellent etc. for the price - as opposed to overall.

 

[7sleeper]

That is true, but then it should be stated that the item is good/very good/excellent etc. for the price - as opposed to overall.

As opposed to overall!?! What does that mean? A pro 156 = 55cc saw is overall worse than a farmer/semi pro 290/455 (Stihl and Husqvarna don't have 55 cc pro saws at the moment if I am not mistaken)? By what criteria? Oh I forgot it has a front adjuster for the chain, all else full fills the criteria for a pro saw.
And as a general comment on the "spare part" paranoia, these are chansaws!!! not any high tech tool! The next evolutionary step to a hammer! When things go wrong they go wrong bad, but then it doesn't matter which brand you have. You will have to wait for the parts to arrive.

7

 

[SawTroll]

The 156 is supposed to be a pro saw, not really comparable to the 455 and 290 - and I haven't actually written anything negative about the 156 in this thread.

 

[Storm56]

The 156 is supposed to be a pro saw, not really comparable to the 455 and 290 - and I haven't actually written anything negative about the 156 in this thread.

By this logic, are you not doing the same thing in regards to the 152? I got the distinct impression you were comparing the 152 to the likes of pro Husky and Stihl saws.

 

[7sleeper]

The 156 is supposed to be a pro saw, not really comparable to the 455 and 290 - and I haven't actually written anything negative about the 156 in this thread.

my bad then!

7

 

[Franny K]

$300 for an efco 152 is basically a new left over price. A dealer can't replace stock from the distributor and sell at this price point can they?

I read through the long term test of this model last year or perhaps two years ago, it seemed to work for quite a long time and was still running well at the point the anti vibration points in the framework became distorted.

As to the title of the thread would I pay 3 bills for one, I don't know, the chain brake on my 132 model is very problematic and I can not be get it to work in the inertia mode. All of the efco parts for the three devices of theirs I have take about a month to arrive. There is an issue of dealers on the website that have dropped out or been culled but still show up.

 

[SawTroll]

By this logic, are you not doing the same thing in regards to the 152? I got the distinct impression you were comparing the 152 to the likes of pro Husky and Stihl saws.

The 152 is quite different, as it obviously isn't a pro saw. Then, when someone states that it is among "the best" 50cc saws, they need to be corrected - as it obviously isn't, and never was meant to be.
That doesn't mean it is a bad saw, just that it isn't among (or comparable to) the best ones.

Btw, I never stated those saws aren't worth 300 USD - it depends on what else you can get for that money......