Do local dealers or internet reseller's offer Stihl chainsaw discounts?

[Sid Post]

I am looking to purchase a Stihl MS 362. The local dealers are all priced at Distributor Suggested Retail Price. Do dealers discount these saws at all or throw in free accessories? What is customary with the purchase of a new Stihl chainsaw?

Thanks!
Sid

 

[w8ye]

There's very little profit margin on the the chainsaws. The dealers are expected to make a operating profit from the service of the saws.

 

[betterbuilt]

The last saw I bought there was $250 difference between three shops. I ended up going with the closest one, which happen to be the Cheapest. I didn't ask for anything because I knew they might be making $20 bucks on the sale. The shop I choose has treated me pretty well over the last few years. As I walked out the door he handed me a hat and shook my hand. He thanked me for my business, and that was worth more to me than a six pack of mix or an extra chain. A good dealer is hard to come by. Take time to get to know them and it'll be worth the effort.

 

[Sid Post]

There's very little profit margin on the the chainsaws. The dealers are expected to make a operating profit from the service of the saws.

Following the Ford and Chevrolet business models ..... :msp_mellow:

 

[w8ye]

"The Ford and Chevy business model" is a different ball game. I wouldn't trust them even with a dealer cost invoice as they have all kinds of kick back incentives.

 

[jeeptj19992001]

I am looking to purchase a Stihl MS 362. The local dealers are all priced at Distributor Suggested Retail Price. Do dealers discount these saws at all or throw in free accessories? What is customary with the purchase of a new Stihl chainsaw?

Thanks!
Sid

god that a good one, a real knee slapper.
you can haggle a bit, depends how long the saw been sitting, most dealers say "sorry Charley" because stihl is fixed pricing. some guys brag on here that they got "a deal" from their dealer...but i have never seen them put a scan of their bill of sale. maybe they give good reach around, or they have pretty lips.....

 

[young]

Most of the dealers around me throw in mix and bar oil into the deal or give discounts on accessories with the saw. But no discounts on the saw itself most of the time.

 

[w8ye]

I bought a new saw, at a dealer recently, for the same price that Bailey's had listed for the saw. I had to pay sales tax but at Bailey's, I would have had to pay shipping. The dealer did not have the saw in stock and had to order it from the distributor. I had it in 3 days.

 

[STIHLTHEDEERE]

Lets change this around a little bit. If you were a dealer, would you would you knock 10-20% off the price of a saw to every cheap skate that walked in the place? If you want the premium saw,expect to pay the price, especially in this economy. Remember, you get what you pay for.

 

[CR500]

Like said sometimes you can talk the dealer down on price or ask him to throw something extra in with the saw. I found out I feel better supporting a small local shop rather buying a new saw off the net. I can usually get my dealer to throw in a scab board,a six pack of oil, and 2 chains with the saw.

 

[Roanoker494]

A couple of my local dealers will give you a discount for paying in cash, it is not a great big discount but it is a discount none the less. The more you shop with one dealer the higher the chances of getting some kind of freebies.

 

[Will_C]

I have a friend who owns a local saw shop. I give him all my saw, mower and tire business-he treats me well. I bought a 260, a 362, and a FS 250 brushcutter from him last year. I paid him roughly the same price as the saws were at the Boonville forestry show-and he gives me a new hat every few months, and sells me things like filters and plugs, mix oil and bar oil for a fair price.

If I have some minor repair that I can't seem to make-he does it in 5 minutes while I wait. Service like that is worth a couple of dollars.

Will

 

[sawbones]

A few things to think about.

Not all dealers pay the same price for their saws..

Stihl HQ has differnt incentive programs that can change things.

Some dealers will blow out inventory just to build sales numbers.

Prices also will vary depending on locations.

I have several close freinds that sell stihl and have been able to purchase new saws just over their costs.

Best bet is to find a dealer with the best support and stick with them.

 

[madhatte]

Best bet is to find a dealer with the best support and stick with them.

... and the bottom line is the Bottom Line. I couldn't agree more. A good dealer is worth its weight in gold.

 

[sawbones]

... and the bottom line is the Bottom Line. I couldn't agree more. A good dealer is worth its weight in gold.

I can drive by 5 other stihl dealers to reach the two I trade with.

 

[dave k]

Good post Ric, even here in a very small country I know that a particular dealer in Dublin get's a better discount than my local dealer which is only around 25miles from each other.
The list price for a 441 is around €1025 with the best price of €980 but just to really mess up the local dealers I can get a 660 from England for €680 !The best I could get a 362 localy was €760 enter the English dealer at €518 !! Not much wonder the Irish dealers are not happy. By the way I did'nt purchase any of those saws but other guys did.

 

[masculator]

god that a good one, a real knee slapper.
you can haggle a bit, depends how long the saw been sitting, most dealers say "sorry Charley" because stihl is fixed pricing. some guys brag on here that they got "a deal" from their dealer...but i have never seen them put a scan of their bill of sale. maybe they give good reach around, or they have pretty lips.....

I find if you walk in ready to buy a saw, They will, in australia anyway give you a better than list price deal. The last saw I bought a couple of months ago was an ms660 they list with a 25 inch bar at $1999, some dealers will have a solid bar some a laminated, now I bought mine with a 36 inch solid bar for $1800. Now this probably sounds expensive to those the other side of the ditch in america but when I looked into it I would have saved about $150 to get the detuned version from the states and upgrade it with the dual port muffler etc.

So yes there is a bit of margin on them here, but I do not know about in america.

 

[Sid Post]

Thanks everyone! I move around a lot so, dealer loyalty doesn't really pay for me. However, I do try to support the local dealers when I can. The two local shops near where I currently live don't have good service so, I don't have a lot of loyalty to either one.

Call me a cheap skate if you want but, paying full price at a dealer with poor customer service doesn't seem right. In fact one dealer said they would have to "order" my saw since they didn't have it in stock. :msp_unsure:

I don't really feel bad about not supporting the local dealer when I have to hunt down a sales guy to ask a few basic questions and get treated like he's doing me a favor. Would I want to have my saw serviced by a shop like that?

In the end, I want to understand what is customary since I won't have a long term relationship with any Stihl dealer.

 

[CentaurG2]

Most stihl dealers round here stick to MSRP on price and usually don’t budge an inch. You can look at it as a smart business practice or you can call it price fixing. All depends on your point of view. You can sometimes find decent buys on stihl stuff at “open house” events or at state fairs but you half to be in the right place at the right time and know what you want. Husky dealers are usually a little bit more open to haggling.

As far as service goes, unless it is under warrantee, I fix it myself. It’s a chainsaw not the space shuttle. Most of the dealers in my area don’t know which end of the saw is the dangerous one. If you are the type of person who relies on a dealer for maintenance, buy a saw from a reliable dealer. You will probably pay more but it will probably pay off in the end.

 

[koshari]

I find if you walk in ready to buy a saw, They will, in australia anyway give you a better than list price deal. The last saw I bought a couple of months ago was an ms660 they list with a 25 inch bar at $1999, some dealers will have a solid bar some a laminated, now I bought mine with a 36 inch solid bar for $1800. Now this probably sounds expensive to those the other side of the ditch in america but when I looked into it I would have saved about $150 to get the detuned version from the states and upgrade it with the dual port muffler etc.

So yes there is a bit of margin on them here, but I do not know about in america.

they would want to, the greedy buggers in oz are generally charging more than twice the price of the same saw in the US.

i got a saw shipped from the US through a contact over there and it landed about half the price as the AUD RRP. yes HALF!

ok so you forfeit support, but thats a lot of chans, bars and even a CDI unit or a clutch for that price.

i dont mind supporting the local bloke however iam not a charity.