Poor Dolmar parts service !

[stihl038x2]

I know now why Dolmar is not a popular saw (sales wise), in these parts. I ordered a intake boot (suction hose ??), 3 1/2 weeks ago & called yesterday to follow up and the dealer said according to his info. he will have it (estimated) May 14th.
Talk about frustrating

Steve

 

[w8ye]

What Dolmar you have?
Models that have not been made in 10 yrs are sorta hard to get parts for.

 

[NH_Wood]

I really like my PS-510 - but I wasn't even able to get an air filter at my dealer without a special order - I thought that was a little sad. Cheers!

 

[w8ye]

I really like my PS-510 - but I wasn't even able to get an air filter at my dealer without a special order - I thought that was a little sad. Cheers!

I find that sad but few dealers carry any spare parts, even common ones, for any brand of chainsaw, anymore. There are seven Stihl dealers within 20 miles of my house and only one of them is likely to have any spare part what so ever. There are four Husqvarna dealers within 20 miles of my house and none of them have any parts. The local Dolmar dealer doesn't have any parts either but he can have Dolmar and Echo parts the next day for me. All I have to do is call him before noon.

 

[Termite]

I get good service from "Edge & Engine". They are a site sponsor.

 

[stihl038x2]

What Dolmar you have?
Models that have not been made in 10 yrs are sorta hard to get parts for.

It's a 7900H. I think they are still popular

Steve

 

[w8ye]

Yes, I have two of the 7900's but mine are regular and not "H" versions. I have a 6800iH though.
The 7900 parts come the next day at the dealer and I can also order them from Edge and engine and they come within a week. But I'm in the USA. 6800 parts are iffy though.
I rebuilt the oil pump on one of my 7900's last summer. I put a piston and cylinder on the other one 3 years ago.

 

[spike60]

One of the reasons this is more common with Dolmar, or any or the second tier brands, is that the typical dealer doesn't move that many saws. Therefore there is no business case to be made for tying up a lot of money in parts that aren't going to sell. A well established Dolmar dealer is more likely to have a decent parts stock that a fairly new guy. And for any brand, a shop with a good pro/serious user business will almost always have a lot of parts. Cause if he doesn't, he's not going to have those customers.

We ran into this problem ourselves when we gave Dolmar a try. We have tons of Husky and Jonny parts, and there is a healthy number of saws out in the field to justify that parts inventory. So, we sell PLENTY of parts. We didn't sell that many Dolmars, and there was no way we could have a comprehensive parts inventory on hand to support them. Need a Husky part? We got it. Needed a Dolmar part, we'd have to order it. Not good for my reputation, and hardly fair to the customer. A customer expects parts support, and doesn't want to hear, "But I only sold a handful of them and that's not enough to stock many parts."

 

[stihl038x2]

One of the reasons this is more common with Dolmar, or any or the second tier brands, is that the typical dealer doesn't move that many saws. Therefore there is no business case to be made for tying up a lot of money in parts that aren't going to sell. A well established Dolmar dealer is more likely to have a decent parts stock that a fairly new guy. And for any brand, a shop with a good pro/serious user business will almost always have a lot of parts. Cause if he doesn't, he's not going to have those customers.

We ran into this problem ourselves when we gave Dolmar a try. We have tons of Husky and Jonny parts, and there is a healthy number of saws out in the field to justify that parts inventory. So, we sell PLENTY of parts. We didn't sell that many Dolmars, and there was no way we could have a comprehensive parts inventory on hand to support them. Need a Husky part? We got it. Needed a Dolmar part, we'd have to order it. Not good for my reputation, and hardly fair to the customer. A customer expects parts support, and doesn't want to hear, "But I only sold a handful of them and that's not enough to stock many parts."

I completely understand, but I was still shocked at the delivery dates. Dolmar are a TOP TIER saw....period ! It's just such a shame they can't get a "foothold" & squeeze the other two a weee bit.

Steve

 

[NH_Wood]

I agree that Dolmar makes a great saw, but I see spike60's point about stocking lots of parts for an 'unpopular' brand - I know that I run the only dolmar out of all the guys around here that I know who cut wood. Cheers!

 

[w8ye]

One of the reasons this is more common with Dolmar, or any or the second tier brands, is that the typical dealer doesn't move that many saws. Therefore there is no business case to be made for tying up a lot of money in parts that aren't going to sell. A well established Dolmar dealer is more likely to have a decent parts stock that a fairly new guy. And for any brand, a shop with a good pro/serious user business will almost always have a lot of parts. Cause if he doesn't, he's not going to have those customers.

We ran into this problem ourselves when we gave Dolmar a try. We have tons of Husky and Jonny parts, and there is a healthy number of saws out in the field to justify that parts inventory. So, we sell PLENTY of parts. We didn't sell that many Dolmars, and there was no way we could have a comprehensive parts inventory on hand to support them. Need a Husky part? We got it. Needed a Dolmar part, we'd have to order it. Not good for my reputation, and hardly fair to the customer. A customer expects parts support, and doesn't want to hear, "But I only sold a handful of them and that's not enough to stock many parts."

But Spike there there are seven Stihl dealers within 20 miles of my house and only one of them carries any spare parts for anything. So I only go to that one.

Of all the four Husqvarna dealers and the two TSC (Jonsered) dealers within 20 miles of my house, none of them carry any spare parts. Stihl and Husqvarna parts arrive within a week to 10 days.

 

[nmurph]

Neither of my local dealers (Stihl/Husqvarna) carry much in the way of spare parts. Most everything I buy from them has to be ordered.

 

[Bingo]

My Dolmar dealer has gotten a couple parts for my M 6421...took about a week (he called the dist. direct to get it in gear). He sells Dolmar/Red Max...doesn't carry RM but can get them. He, and everyone else it looks like, is waiting for Dolmar to up their game re supplying dealers w/parts. They could do well w/some new advertising and I hope they will. Good saws...mine work fine. Edge/Engine told me they are going out of the internet sales supply for parts altogether. Don't think the one kid that does it can keep up and they're busy. Might be done by now. But they've tried to help. If you have their number you can try it. Narrow field for now but they are out there if you get help. AS is as good a source as you're going to find.

 

[w8ye]

Dolmar re-did their distributors in the USA some years back and now the Dolmar distributors were Briggs and Stratton distributors first and still are.

In this area, the regional distributor salesman doesn't come around with periodic merchandising programs or service tips or anything.

 

[fordf150]

Our local Stihl dealer is nice and knowledgeable but doesn't stock anything for the pro saws....their excuse is that they don't sell any but if you don't stock the pro saws or parts for them how do you expect to sell them? Every part we need has to be ordered. Buy ten a month and they still wont stock that part because I am the only one buying it.

 

[mountainlake]

Just get about 30 or so saws, if you have to wait for parts no big deal. Steve

 

[spike60]

But Spike there there are seven Stihl dealers within 20 miles of my house and only one of them carries any spare parts for anything. So I only go to that one.

Of all the four Husqvarna dealers and the two TSC (Jonsered) dealers within 20 miles of my house, none of them carry any spare parts. Stihl and Husqvarna parts arrive within a week to 10 days.

I understand what you and 038x2 are saying. And I want to clarify that my comment about Dolmar being second tier was in reference to their market share, not the quality of their saws, which has always been good. Sorry if that came across the wrong way.

Can't explain why the Husky and Stihl dealers around you carry no parts. I'd guess they are more homeowner focused, where parts are not as important. I'll bet the one Stihl dealer that does stock parts is more of a "got his act together" saw shop than the rest. I wouldn't expect TCS or any box store to carry parts. Their philosophy is that once they sell it, you gotta "call the 800 number". Parts and service? "we don't do that".

Some of this can be explained by the drive to open up more and more dealers, by all brands. Some will be commited to the saw biz, and some won't. Some will be focused on lawn and garden equipment, and some are just hardware stores with some saws off in the corner somewhere. They'd rather sell paint or something than deal with broken saws. The watchword here is just because a place has a sign on the building, you shouldn't make any assumptions about what they carry.

One other item about Dolmar going with the Briggs distribution network that will also explain some of this. When this change took place, they eliminated the Dolmar USA parts warehouse. Each of the 7 distributors is responsible for ordering their parts direct from Germany. That means distributor fill rate is now far more important because backorders take a lot longer to come from Germany than they did from a US warehouse.

 

[w8ye]

Spike, that was an excellent post!

 

[166]

I understand what you and 038x2 are saying. And I want to clarify that my comment about Dolmar being second tier was in reference to their market share, not the quality of their saws, which has always been good. Sorry if that came across the wrong way.

Can't explain why the Husky and Stihl dealers around you carry no parts. I'd guess they are more homeowner focused, where parts are not as important. I'll bet the one Stihl dealer that does stock parts is more of a "got his act together" saw shop than the rest. I wouldn't expect TCS or any box store to carry parts. Their philosophy is that once they sell it, you gotta "call the 800 number". Parts and service? "we don't do that".

Some of this can be explained by the drive to open up more and more dealers, by all brands. Some will be commited to the saw biz, and some won't. Some will be focused on lawn and garden equipment, and some are just hardware stores with some saws off in the corner somewhere. They'd rather sell paint or something than deal with broken saws. The watchword here is just because a place has a sign on the building, you shouldn't make any assumptions about what they carry.

One other item about Dolmar going with the Briggs distribution network that will also explain some of this. When this change took place, they eliminated the Dolmar USA parts warehouse. Each of the 7 distributors is responsible for ordering their parts direct from Germany. That means distributor fill rate is now far more important because backorders take a lot longer to come from Germany than they did from a US warehouse.

This is true but if a part is on backorder at the local distributor they can be dropshipped from one of the other distributors. The new website ordering system they use allows direct dropship from another warehouse for backorders if available somewhere else.

 

[o8f150]

glad I have a good huskie and stihl dealers,,,, both carry a good parts supply,, hardly ever have to order anything