Levi, I have worked at a Stihl dealership for over 40 yrs. I'm the saw mechanic. All the qualifications.
I see hundreds of saws a year. Not just one I own. When the M-Tronic came out, there were a few problems.
Those have been fixed. The only problem I see are solenoids. Mostly because a "Pro" does -0- to the saw except ***** and whine like a schoolgirl. Solenoid problems show mostly on a MS201T. But that saw is used the most, by a great margin, in my area. Whats the symptom? Wont run on start and wont idle. All M-Tronics STILL have carbs. They aren't as mysterious as some of these guys are making them.
But the dealer network for outdoor power equipment is collapsing at a alarming rate. Majority in the industry are incompetent idiots. The dealer you choose is more important than the product.
Listening to some of these responses..... we'd still be using candles and chitting in a hole.
Any modern saw has electronics on it.
Are you saying that the solenoid problem is caused by the operator/lack of maintenance.
Seems you are just like so many dealers, downplaying the negative experiences so many have had with mtronic/autotune saws. It's important to remember that once someone has a bad taste in their mouth because they have had real issues that they want to stick with what they know will work and what they can fix(because they may only own one saw). Why do you thing stihl manufactures the standard carb saws still, I believe it's because they recognize that and want to be sure they don't loose that segment of the market, good for stihl(I prefer husky though if it's above 40cc). Also there are conditions that they still haven't figured out how to make the mtronic/autotune work, that's why many guys who work in smoky conditions still use a standard carb saw.
It's important to remember that not everything works for everyone even if it may work for you.
Stihl did good listening to their customers and holding out on 100% mtronic, listening to a persons request and hearing who they are/what they prefer is one of the keys to making a sale where both the seller and the buyer are pleased.
I'm hoping the 500i does good myself, I'm not afraid of change, but I don't want to be the beta tester and have to pay full price, I'll wait a bit. Similarly many want to stay away from the mtronic, and I don't blame them one bit. As I said earlier the old tech always seems to rescue the new tech.