Extreme Stihl Dealer Dissapointment

[synness4]

the sihl dealer I used to go to is more of a space mule that space himself !!!I was in a tosup between stihl 460 and 372 xp I have a new 372 xp .

 

[firewood guy]

Stihl dealers

Sorry for youre frustration, but I think I have a better one!! My long-time outdoor power equipment dealer told me ( about 4 years ago) that he could not get me the genuine STIHL chains and parts that I had ordered due to a "supply problem" from STIHL. As you can understand , that was all BS. I made a call to another STIHL dealer about 45 miles away and they took care of my order over the phone. They even waived the UPS costs on the order. The best part of this story is the fact that this other dealer gave me much better pricing as well. Then, they got greedy and I found another dealer only 10 miles away (new dealer this year) that gave even better prices. Some times it is good to have a bad experience to make us look outside of our comfort zone and maybe find better service and/or pricing! Can you believe a new MS660 w/ 36" B&C for $900.00 OTD?? No BS!!

 

[firewood guy]

Parts online

Um, I'd sure appreciate knowing where you can buy Stihl parts online. Thanks.

Make sure you have the EXACT STIHL P/N before you order. You can get a parts manual online as well. Be carefull, but there are great deals on E-bay. I have bought abought 120 new in-the-box STIHL shains in the last 3 months averaging 21 cents per drive link delivered. The local STIHL dealer won't even talk to you at that price. These are not Forester (china) or Oregon, but genuine STIHL. Good luck!!

 

[DarkTimber]

My favorite dealer in town has gone down hill since changing management and trying to add diffrent products to the inventory they carry so I know how you feel. The new help they have hired is not nearly as knowledgeable as some of their older employees and they have stopped stocking all but the most popular saw chain and will not order 404 pitch unless I want the whole roll.

 

[stihl86]

Personally, I think the OP is FOS. No Stihl dist would ever discuss dist-dealer workings with a consumer. I smell a Stihl bashing troll.

 

[lly_duramax]

Also I like the online prices way better. A brand new stihl chain 20" .50 3/8 at my dealer is $33 plus 10% tax. ON ebay 15 plus 5 shipping. with only a buck extra per add'l chain. You tell me where the best deal is

Your dealer is screwing you bad. My dealer sells a loop 20'' 3/8 0.50ga RSC for $19 bucks.

 

[kugss]

Your dealer is screwing you bad. My dealer sells a loop 20'' 3/8 0.50ga RSC for $19 bucks.

My local stihl dealer sells them for $23 but if you buy another its half price so two cost about 36 out the door.

 

[Wolfcsm]

I have been able to ask my local Stihl service guy for just about any part and within a week it is in. No stock of parts for larger saws on hand. He does have parts for the smaller saws. But then again I have the only 880 in the area and only the third 066 that they have sold in the past 15 years.

When I ordered the 066. They had full wrap models and no half wrap, so they sent the full wrap. Works for me.

Bars and chains from STIHL are pricy. But, I think you get what you pay for. I do have several GB bars. Only Stihl chains though. I have been able to have the dealer order exactly what I want and get it in from the distributor. Not too many .404 chains sold in this area.

Hal

 

[southbound]

The dealer I deal with told me after the first the 460 will be going up $60 due to epa crap...

 

[masculator]

Glad you got your saw! A good dealer is worth the extra drive. I am lucky and have a great dealer 500 yards up the street from my house. He services a lot of the local tree companies and loggers. He subsequently has just about everything I have asked for in stock. My 460 took a few days to get because no one around here uses that model on a regular basis I guess. He apologized for not having one in stock. He now carries the 460 as a regular saw and has sold at least 1 that I know of because of it Told a logger buddy that I got one and he went and got the second one the dealer ordered when he ordered mine!

Anyway, when I walk in they know my name, which saws I own, and what type of chains I like to run. A bottle of Stihl ultra 2 stroke is tossed in for a penney every now and then when I pick something up. Bought my 25" bar and chain and got some oil thrown in for example.

Point, drive the 45 min for the good dealer.

It is a shame it is like it is Stihl are doing themselves a dis-service by allowing the first bunch of ####heads in a town take over the dealership for a designated area. Personally for saws I will now only buy stihl and unfortunately the area where I am the local dealer is an arrogant prick and his staff are mostly braindead, and their prices are considerably higher than other stihl dealers. I pick up a new MS660 next week from a dealer I have had good service from, however they are about an hour and a half away, but as just stated it is worth the drive for the product I want and for the fact that I know I will get looked after. oh and it is not just stihl dealers like this either I have dealt with husky dealers who are just as bad or worse.

 

[MCW]

It is a shame it is like it is Stihl are doing themselves a dis-service by allowing the first bunch of ####heads in a town take over the dealership for a designated area. Personally for saws I will now only buy stihl and unfortunately the area where I am the local dealer is an arrogant prick and his staff are mostly braindead, and their prices are considerably higher than other stihl dealers. I pick up a new MS660 next week from a dealer I have had good service from, however they are about an hour and a half away, but as just stated it is worth the drive for the product I want and for the fact that I know I will get looked after. oh and it is not just stihl dealers like this either I have dealt with husky dealers who are just as bad or worse.

Welcome to Stihl Australia. Absolutely no consistency at all. Up to $250 difference between dealers on a roll of chain and the same goes for saws. One dealer will tell you he's not making any money selling a 200T for $1500 yet another Stihl dealer will sell you one for $1380. Just talk to any Australian Stihl dealers who are upset or have gone out of business. They'll tell you just how controlling Stihl Australia is over their business. Notice how every Stihl dealer has a large range of saws on the shelf? Yeah well they are told to stock those saws, even if they don't sell in that region - and they have to buy them from Stihl. It also costs $100k upfront to be an Australian Stihl dealer. No wonder some of them jack their prices up but Stihl dealers aren't the most proactive bunch, nor can they be for fear of doing business into other dealer's territory and getting in trouble...

 

[honda12967]

stihl dealer

I work at a stihl dealer, just to give some facts. For ordering stihl equipment you need a $2500 order and for parts you need at least $500 to ship. If you dont get those they make you pay the $150 for the shipping, which in that case really isnt worth it because of the loss, espacially for parts

 

[zich6]

Any chance you called the original dealer and told him you no longer want the 460? If he is in a financial bind now, just imagine him having $700 tied up in a saw he probably will have to give away. Not a fun call to make, but might be a nice thing to do in the long run.

When I told the distributer I wouldn't be buying anything from that dealer, he said he would call them, explain the situation and ask them if they still wanted the saw. I was thinking of calling the owner anyway, but haven't.

 

[zich6]

Personally, I think the OP is FOS. No Stihl dist would ever discuss dist-dealer workings with a consumer. I smell a Stihl bashing troll.

My post stated the distributer said that there "was an issue with the dealer that was holding up the order." I also said "they would not go into detail." In fact, the rep said "there is a line I can't cross." I deduced the issue was financial because it seemed the most likely. When I mentioned this to the rep, he didn't deny it and told me he understood how I could determine that.

The distributer rep's name is Jim Baker and he can be reached at (919)645-4006. If you still don't think a distributer would provide this information, I suggest you call him. Oh, and before you call someone a liar, you'd better have more information than you have. It makes you appear very ignorant.

 

[zich6]

Two local members have PM'd with the same recommendation of another dealer in Va. about a hour away. I've also seen some good prices on e-bay. Thanks all.

 

[THALL10326]

As you may recall, I posted several weeks ago asking for help on the purchase of a new Stihl saw. I received good advice and ordered an MS-460 on 12/16. Since I hadn't heard anything, I called the dealer today and inquired on the status. I was told the distributer, Stihl Mid-Atlantic (SMA), was snowed under and was not shipping. I then called SMA and they told me the order wasn't placed until 12/27, they had been shipping all along and that there was an issue with the dealer that was holding up the order. They would not go into detail, but it was clear the issue was financial. I understand times are hard, especially for small businesses like them, but that being the case, I should have been told.

The SMA rep called another dealer to try to get me the same deal I had with the original dealer, but was unsuccessful getting the dealer to honor a reasonable deal - less than 10% off. In fact, the 2nd dealer wouldn't budge off their normal price. I ended up driving to a third dealer about 45 minutes away and buying the saw.

Since this is my first Stihl I have to say that I'm under-whelmed with not only the dealers in my area, but more importantly, the inability of my Stihl distributer to influence their dealers in any way. I know the dealers are independent, but when SMA called them for help because a customer got hosed, the answer was, essentially, "pound sand." What concerns me now is who can I trust to get reasonable prices and competence with parts and service? I really don't want to make the 45 minute drive every time, but I may have to.

I really don't need much advice here, I just needed to vent. Also, if anyone wants the name of the good and bad dealer I dealt with, I'd be happy to supply it, but I didn't want to violate any forum rules.

All that said, even though the purchase was not fun I love the dad burn saw. It's really great.

Well come on spill da beans man, what dealer did this to you and what dealer did you wind up buying the saw from?

 

[zich6]

Well come on spill da beans man, what dealer did this to you and what dealer did you wind up buying the saw from?

I purchased from Frederick Kubata, Frederick, Md.

BTW, per my previous post, you were the guy that the two members recommended. If I run into something I can't handle, I may be making a visit.

 

[THALL10326]

I hope I don't get in trouble with Darin/mods. The offending dealer was N&S Rentals in Germantown. I purchased from Frederick Kubata, Frederick, Md.

BTW, per my previous post, you were the guy that the two members recommended. If I run into something I can't handle, I may be making a visit.

Tant no biggie, it happens. I'm surprized Jim didn't direct you to me in the first place, he's a good friend of mine, he's a helluva good guy. I have those saws in stock though cutting 10% off would require a good reason and seems you had one. Had Jim called me to help resolve the situation I would had said notta problem, send the man on over here and lets get it resolved. I do notice from your posts you like to pinch your pennies when buying and thats alright, I like a heads up,hehehe, bring a full wallet should you ever decide to stop in..

Anyway glad you got your saw and you like it, the 460 is a nice saw.

 

[Blitz]

In August last year I was shopping around for a bigger saw & was pretty much sold on the idea of a 660, but was considering a 460 too. I went into 3 different Stihl Shops; the 1st shop is less than a mile from my door. I asked him what the best price he could do a 660 for was? The arrogant so & so just walked over to the 660 he had on display & read me what was written on the price tag & gave me a wry smile! The 2nd shop is about half an hour away & he is a new dealer. I was extremely impressed with his knowledge & attitude. He offered me the saw for $1,899 & offered to throw in 2 loops of chain The 460 was about $100 cheaper. I told the 3rd guy the best price I could get the saw for (but not who from) & asked if he could beat it? He said if I could get it somewhere else for that price to buy it from them. He wouldn't budge. My favourite dealer is no longer a Stihl dealer, but they are a Makita dealer! After some advice from some very nice, experienced people, I bought a 7901 for $1,159 instead! I'm sooooooooooooooo glad I did! Not only does the saw exceed my expectations, I don't have to deal with a Stihl Shop for parts/maintenance!

 

[procarbine2k1]

Very sorry to hear about the experience! The fondness I have of Stihl products, has a LOT to do with my local dealer. Without them, I would have fewer Stihls in the shop...