Dolmar 5100 Cylinder Problem

[Edge & Engine]

Are the warranty problems limited to one distributor, or are these universal?

We've had nothing but great support from our distributor (Atlantic Power). We filed warranty on a saw with broken AV springs...something you could say was questionable whether it was user damaged or how it happened. Dolmar paid us in less than 2 weeks, no questions.
We're a pretty small dealer, and haven't sold Dolmars for very long (since Sep. 07) we don't sell a huge number of saws but we have had ZERO major problems with any Dolmar product.

 

[blsnelling]

Sounds like a bad distributor on the west coast, or bad relations with the dealer.

 

[Edge & Engine]

Sounds like a bad distributor on the west coast, or bad relations with the dealer.

When we signed up, there was no parts stocking requirement (to be honest, I think there should be) and a 12pc minimum initial equipment order. Sounds to me like a bad distributor, too.

 

[blsnelling]

Is there a channel to communicate this kind of thing with corporate?

 

[THALL10326]

We've had nothing but great support from our distributor (Atlantic Power). We filed warranty on a saw with broken AV springs...something you could say was questionable whether it was user damaged or how it happened. Dolmar paid us in less than 2 weeks, no questions.
We're a pretty small dealer, and haven't sold Dolmars for very long (since Sep. 07) we don't sell a huge number of saws but we have had ZERO major problems with any Dolmar product.

Two weeks, thats stone age man. I can send Stihl a warranty claim electronicly at 9am and go back at 10am and see thats its been paid and credited to our account. Very rarely does it take more than a few hours depending on how busy they are. Tell them boys to get with the program, two weeks is horse and buggy days, its 2009 baby,

 

[THALL10326]

Is there a channel to communicate this kind of thing with corporate?

Terry Green is their main rep. He used to come on this site. Seems like a helluva good guy..

 

[THALL10326]

When we signed up, there was no parts stocking requirement (to be honest, I think there should be) and a 12pc minimum initial equipment order. Sounds to me like a bad distributor, too.

Preferred Power told us we had to take at least 5000.00 worth of product to set up Dolmar in our store. We thought about it but then we had a Briggs&Stratton engine blow in 4 hours on a rental brush cutting mower. They told us tuff luck so we told them fine, we closed our account with them and said tuff luck too...

 

[Edge & Engine]

Two weeks, thats stone age man. I can send Stihl a warranty claim electronicly at 9am and go back at 10am and see thats its been paid and credited to our account. Very rarely does it take more than a few hours depending on how busy they are. Tell them boys to get with the program, two weeks is horse and buggy days, its 2009 baby,

Oh sure, electronic is the way to go. Dolmar is behind the times with a mail-in warranty program, that's for sure. But hey, what counts is whether or not you end up with the $$ in your pocket.

 

[Edge & Engine]

Preferred Power told us we had to take at least 5000.00 worth of product to set up Dolmar in our store. We thought about it but then we had a Briggs&Stratton engine blow in 4 hours on a rental brush cutting mower. They told us tuff luck so we told them fine, we closed our account with them and said tuff luck too...

And stihl wants what, 20K to start?

 

[gink595]

Is it true that anyone that handles Briggs and Stratton can get parts for a Dolmar saw, regardless of wether their a dealer or not?

 

[THALL10326]

And stihl wants what, 20K to start?

We started off with a $13,000 worth. Now were turning almost $300,000 a year with it. Wise investment. Stihl has gotten picky where new dealerships are located. They prefer in a populated area, not out in the woods like the good ole days.

 

[THALL10326]

Oh sure, electronic is the way to go. Dolmar is behind the times with a mail-in warranty program, that's for sure. But hey, what counts is whether or not you end up with the $$ in your pocket.

I noticed you can register the product online from their website. Knowing that they have the tools for electronic warranty claims as well. Baffles me why they aren't using it. Mail is fast becoming a thing of the past...

 

[Lakeside53]

And stihl wants what, 20K to start?

Depends.. We've never had 20k of inventory.... but we buy more than that each month.... or we did until everyone stopped buying anything.

 

[Edge & Engine]

Depends.. We've never had 20k of inventory.... but we buy more than that each month.... or we did until everyone stopped buying anything.

I'm talking startup costs. I've heard some pretty ridiculous (IMO) figures over the years.

 

[Edge & Engine]

Depends.. We've never had 20k of inventory.... but we buy more than that each month.... or we did until everyone stopped buying anything.

So business is going to pot out there?

 

[THALL10326]

So business is going to pot out there?

Business is slow everywhere man. The DC area has been lucky but we're now starting to see and feel what the rest of the country has been dealing with. Local paper yesterday headline, area companies lay off 55,000 workers. Its getting tuff around here...

 

[Lakeside53]

So business is going to pot out there?

Yep... at least for November though Feb...

 

[Edge & Engine]

Pretty much same old same old as far as local business goes. We'll see how the summer goes. They say that the economy has always been so bad here that we may not notice much.

 

[Lakeside53]

I'm talking startup costs. I've heard some pretty ridiculous (IMO) figures over the years.

They make it sound hard to get in - that's just to raise the bar to keep every backyard operator from trying to become a dealer. Once you sit down, they are pretty reasonable - they don't want a dealer to go go under or be in difficulty either.

The biggest expense for a new startup is they have to buy the Stihl display stands and have stihl service tools. Apart from that, just representaive saws, trimmers, blowers and supplies. You do not have to carry the entire line, but it would be pretty hard to argue you don't need at have at least one of most saws below a 361.. no big deal. Some spares, but not a lot. It all depends on the area you are in. We rarely have more than 1-2 weeks of inventory, and the mix changes thoughout the seasons.

 

[blsnelling]

We're fortunate here in that the distributor is only about 40 miles away. Most anything can be ordered and received in one day if ordered in the morning. That really helps the dealer out not having to stock a huge inventory, yet able to give satisfactory service.