Best "value" saws. Post opinions here

[LoveStihlQuality]

Ill throw the husky 55/51 saws out there. A couple very simple issues to check, with plentiful cheap parts available, and very reliable platform, excellent firewood getter with an 18" bar. Ive bought and sold several very nice 55's for $150-175 or so, when clapped out ms290's are listed on craiglist for $350....

"Farm Boss" mentality. A good saw out of the box for 90% of weekenders but I can't fathom the prices on the ran hard and put away wet clapped out ones?

Also a very easy saw to muff mod and gain a little power.

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[Conquistador3]

"Farm Boss" mentality. A good saw out of the box for 90% of weekenders but I can't fathom the prices on the ran hard and put away wet clapped out ones?

Around here anything with "Stihl" or "Husqvarna" written on it will go for insane money.
I could probably make €350 out of my MS290 without too much effort. El Cheapo Huskie 236's, which can be had brand new for about €200 (including taxes), will change hands for no less than €120.

To get back to the topic at hand, I think it's a local thing.
Here I'd say the best saw for a homeowner using his saw twice a year is a Zenoah/Redmax G5000 clone with a half decent chain. They can be had for well under €100 on eBay including shipping and taxes.
For anybody out for a highly capable professional grade saw, it's a no-contest: Echo CS620SX. We don't get the CS590 here and the CS600 is a mere €35 cheaper so why bother? Especially considering now Echo will give you a Sugihara bar with the 620 at no extra cost. For whatever reason the Shindaiwa 600SX is priced about €100 over the identical Echo so that rules it out.
Top handle is more of the same: as second hand Stihl MS200's have become unobtanium, the Echo CS360 and CS2511 win out.