A new Husqvarna 350 and a used L65 on trade? Got questions here

I have a feller that wants to use a new Husqvarna 350 and a decent looking L65 as a partial payment towards a $500 purchase. The L65 is what it is... It runs, looks fairly good and I plan to use my usual "low ball" technique on this one. My questions are really focused towards the new 350, he just said it was new/unused and did not say if the box was there or not.

What was the MSRP on the 350? (He did not mention what length bar)
How well do these saws respond to mods?
Can't you put a 346xp top end on these?
Is the 346 top end worth the money? (money spent vs power increase)

How about just some general opinions on the 350?

I am thinking about "kicking off" the offer at $300 trade value for both saws, where should my top price be at? Now $300 is pending the 350 is actually a brand new saw.

EDIT:
Before I can get serious about making any offers I would like to know what the MSRP was on the 350? Because MSRP will be my "top price".

Sounds to me you both would be better off if your person eBay's them. Then he gets the true market value and you don't have to wonder if you got a good deal.

You really can't define a price for any used saw. It's what ever they are worth to the guy with the money....sometimes that's more and sometimes less. Love these threads. If they are only worth $300 to you and there is no one else to make an offer....that's all they are worth in that slice in time at that location.

weimedog said:

Sounds to me you both would be better off if your person eBay's them. Then he gets the true market value and you don't have to wonder if you got a good deal.

You really can't define a price for any used saw. It's what ever they are worth to the guy with the money....sometimes that's more and sometimes less. Love these threads. If they are only worth $300 to you and there is no one else to make an offer....that's all they are worth in that slice in time at that location.

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If you go back and read again we are talking about a brand new, never fueled Husqvarna 350 and MSRP is not subjective. If the MSRP was only $200 then I would quite the dummy if I ended up allowing him $300 trade value on that saw. On the other hand I would be quite the jerk if I refused to give more than $200 for a saw that had a MSRP of $500, catch my drift yet? None of the websites I have visted have the MSRP for this saw, I suppose that is because the 350 is no longer available for purchase. Don't even worry about the used L65, I have looked through completed Ebay listings and I already have a top price in mind. Seems that Ebay has had a lack of new 350's selling, so there is nothing for me to base my figures on. Lets just focus on this part of my question

"What was the MSRP on the 350? (He did not mention what length bar)
How well do these saws respond to mods?
Can't you put a 346xp top end on these?
Is the 346 top end worth the money? (money spent vs power increase)

How about just some general opinions on the 350?"

Roanoker494 said:

I have a feller that wants to use a new Husqvarna 350 and a decent looking L65 as a partial payment towards a $500 purchase. The L65 is what it is... It runs, looks fairly good and I plan to use my usual "low ball" technique on this one. My questions are really focused towards the new 350, he just said it was new/unused and did not say if the box was there or not.

What was the MSRP on the 350?
Around $300-350.00 with an 18" bar. I think, I never actually purchased one. My price could be way out of date.

(He did not mention what length bar)
How well do these saws respond to mods?
Do not know. Personally would not bother..
Can't you put a 346xp top end on these?
Is the 346 top end worth the money? (money spent vs power increase)
How about just some general opinions on the 350?
I did not keep any free ones, so I would not buy one. Tore down one with a melt case and busted muffler bolts today.
I am thinking about "kicking off" the offer at $300 trade value for both saws, where should my top price be at? Now $300 is pending the 350 is actually a brand new saw.

EDIT:
Before I can get serious about making any offers I would like to know what the MSRP was on the 350? Because MSRP will be my "top price".

Click to expand...

I was never impressed with a 350. Tons of them out there though so many people like them. There was a fellow at a fleamarket that is a reconditioned tool vendor selling recon'd 350s for around $250.00 this last summer. He had a few models of Husqvarnas, small Echos NIB, and recon'd Homelites and Poulans. People were snapping up the Husqvarnas, so the cycle could continue.

Do a search and you should get tons of reading, hopefully.

I think the 350 was at $329 when it was last on the market.

346NE top end does fit and makes an awesome little saw. I've done this on a couple of toasted 350's. (A couple of simple alterations are needed.) Worth it? Depends on how cheap you get the saw for, can you sell the good top end, etc.

The famous muffler bolt issue is not understood by most people, but here's the scoop. All saws in this family use the same muffler, other than the cat models. (Cat mufflers were never used on the plastic case saws.) The loose bolt problem was confined to models that use what we'll call the "353" cylinder; 353, 2152 and later 350 and 2150. This jug has the "capped" ports on the side of the cylinder. This set up had a slight harmonic vibration that wasn't present in the other saws, that could cause the bolts to loosen up. Wouldn't happen on most saws, but enough that we're here talikng about it. Drop the RPM's about 500-600 and the vibe goes away.

Other than that, they are good little saws with decent power. And, that cylinder is easy to mod with those removable port covers.

I have the J-Red 2150. Never had any problems with the muffler bolts, or any problem at all for that matter. I think I paid $359 with a plastic case, 6 pack of oil, extra 16'' chain, and a bar scabbard.

Love that saw. Revs nicely, starts easy, and so far has been super dependable.

350, was about 340 bucks here the last new one I bought. 350 is with out a doubt one of the best non pro saws built. Buy it run it and you'll forget about the 346 top end swap. They make a ms 250 look like a miserable piece of #### , which they are!

mowoodchopper said:

350, was about 340 bucks here the last new one I bought. 350 is with out a doubt one of the best non pro saws built. Buy it run it and you'll forget about the 346 top end swap. They make a ms 250 look like a miserable piece of #### , which they are!

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Good post and I agree with all that.

Seems the last 350's I seen were at TSC and were about $369 + tax.

mowoodchopper said:

350, was about 340 bucks here the last new one I bought. 350 is with out a doubt one of the best non pro saws built. Buy it run it and you'll forget about the 346 top end swap. They make a ms 250 look like a miserable piece of #### , which they are!

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Modifiedmark said:

Good post and I agree with all that.

Seems the last 350's I seen were at TSC and were about $369 + tax.

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Yep, those 350's run nice. I'll agree with the guys on everything except the 250 being a POS. That said, if the 350 and 250 were side-by-side, I'd pick up the 350 every time.

If the 65 Husky in question has a cracked rear handle (very common) you may want to think on that one. Those rear handles are getting awful hard to find. A/V mounts (such as they are) and oiler parts also running thin for that model. They had a reputation for boiling the fuel in the tank, which they can do if you let them get really grungy. Rotted/smashed mufflers and tweaked wrap handles are also caution areas on those, but often can be found on Ebay. Should the 65 have a good chainbrake on it, you will want to get it just for that. I am Surprised Mark didn't weigh in more here since he has both a nice 65 and 77.

The last year I saw 350's around where I live, they were 339 with an 18" bar whether they were at Lowe's or at a dealers. I have one and have really liked it. I have cut up to 18-20" hardwood with it and it does fine. I have since purchased a 346 but stll use the 350 quite a bit. I have had no problems with mine.

Roanoker494 said:

If you go back and read again we are talking about a brand new, never fueled Husqvarna 350 and MSRP is not subjective. If the MSRP was only $200 then I would quite the dummy if I ended up allowing him $300 trade value on that saw. On the other hand I would be quite the jerk if I refused to give more than $200 for a saw that had a MSRP of $500, catch my drift yet? None of the websites I have visted have the MSRP for this saw, I suppose that is because the 350 is no longer available for purchase. Don't even worry about the used L65, I have looked through completed Ebay listings and I already have a top price in mind. Seems that Ebay has had a lack of new 350's selling, so there is nothing for me to base my figures on. Lets just focus on this part of my question

"What was the MSRP on the 350? (He did not mention what length bar)
How well do these saws respond to mods?
Can't you put a 346xp top end on these?
Is the 346 top end worth the money? (money spent vs power increase)

How about just some general opinions on the 350?"

Click to expand...

oops..sorry! Keyed off the worth word. I apologize. Spike pretty much got it covered and you won't find any better info than his, especially on the history and tech issues related to those saws.

I've seen the little 350 based hot rods he and motomedic have stuck together and they are really impressive saws by any measure. One of the attractions is that 350 is relatively cheap to find parts for should you want to hack at them. And they made lots of them.

I have seen the 65's and they run well too! Actually surprisingly close to much more modern designs.

I'll throw this thought in, FWIW, something to consider :monkey::

Were 350s part of the 'flood' of reconditioned Husqvarna saws that were common on a eBay & other places several months back?

Saw Dr. said:

Yep, those 350's run nice. I'll agree with the guys on everything except the 250 being a POS. That said, if the 350 and 250 were side-by-side, I'd pick up the 350 every time.

If the 65 Husky in question has a cracked rear handle (very common) you may want to think on that one. Those rear handles are getting awful hard to find. A/V mounts (such as they are) and oiler parts also running thin for that model. They had a reputation for boiling the fuel in the tank, which they can do if you let them get really grungy. Rotted/smashed mufflers and tweaked wrap handles are also caution areas on those, but often can be found on Ebay. Should the 65 have a good chainbrake on it, you will want to get it just for that. I am Surprised Mark didn't weigh in more here since he has both a nice 65 and 77.

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ok I may have under estimated the 250 ms, They are a decent little saw, just dont feel good in my hands and I always thought the 350 was way more saw for the money!

Chris J. said:

I'll throw this thought in, FWIW, something to consider :monkey::

Were 350s part of the 'flood' of reconditioned Husqvarna saws that were common on a eBay & other places several months back?

Click to expand...

Just about any saw that was sold in Lowes and TSC was available as a recon at some point.

There were also some brand new 350's that were in the pipeline for Lowes. (saws destined for Lowes come in slightly different packaging, have the blue Lowes decal, and the extra starting instructions decal.) When the 350 was replaced by the 450, they sort of became a dead SKU and were released to dealers at recon prices.

I want to thank everyone for the info, glad someone mentioned reconditioned because that possibility had not even crossed my mind. I don't know how well the 350 is going to fit into my collection, I guess if I can get it cheap enough I could use it to try out some modding. Problem is I already have a bunch of similar sized saws, I like my old 50 series Huskies. I will have to get with the feller and see what kind of deal he is offering. For the $300 I was going to offer I could pick up two or three running 55's.