I bought a 440 on ebay. Paid $555.00 including shipping. High I know but the saw looked good and the guy selling it said it was in good running order. He had installed an after market cylinder and said it had good compression. I like 440's so what the hell, I always need saws, I bought it. Seller stated ship it back for full refund if your not happy.
When it came the first thing I noticed was the clutch cover was not a stihl part. Chinese after market. Well, okay, its just a clutch cover. No big deal.
Then I pulled the started cord a few times. Heard some clacking in the recoil assembly. Still no big deal. Took it to work. Didnt use it for three or four days. Then after launch one day I decided to put it to work. Gassed it up (stihl 2 cycle fuel mix) it started right up. And smelled real bad. Like something was burning. Cut one tree and the smell was gone. Saw ran good, the carb needed adjusted, saw would not idle long enough for me to get the tape on a log and measure before it stalled. Still no big deal.
Then, on the second tank of gas I put through it, at full throttle the saw blew. From full rpm to paper weight in a split second. It was locked up tight.
I contacted the seller. Told him what happened. He told me dont send it back. You need to take it to a Stihl dealer and find out whats wrong. Okay. I did. I took it to a saw shop I do a lot of business with. Shop owner called me three days later and said the saw is junk. Would take more to fix it than I paid for it. I told him I had a another 440. Could he piece a running saw together out of the two? He said, Dave, its not worth it, theres not much to salvage here.
Okay. He writes that up on his letter head explaining what all is damaged for the guy I bought it from. I contact the seller. Tell him what the stihl dealer said. Told him Id mail him the letter head from the stihl shop and gave him the stihl shops number and suggested he call to talk to the mechanic. I also suggested I keep the saw for parts (to ship it back to him will cost at least $55.00. And told him Ill except a partial refund. He says he wants the saw back to see what went wrong. I say no problem. Ill ship it right back. Then I want a refund. Reading this guys emails I have the impression he is saying I did something wrong (like straight gassed the saw).
Im a logger, I know how to run a saw. I didnt even adjust the carb before it blew. But reading between the lines I think this guy is not planning on giving me my money back. I could be wrong, hope I am. Im not going to post his ebay name yet. If he makes it good I will. And Ill say he's an honest dealer. If he doesn't make it right I tell you his name to warn you. We'll see what happens.
When it came the first thing I noticed was the clutch cover was not a stihl part. Chinese after market. Well, okay, its just a clutch cover. No big deal.
Then I pulled the started cord a few times. Heard some clacking in the recoil assembly. Still no big deal. Took it to work. Didnt use it for three or four days. Then after launch one day I decided to put it to work. Gassed it up (stihl 2 cycle fuel mix) it started right up. And smelled real bad. Like something was burning. Cut one tree and the smell was gone. Saw ran good, the carb needed adjusted, saw would not idle long enough for me to get the tape on a log and measure before it stalled. Still no big deal.
Then, on the second tank of gas I put through it, at full throttle the saw blew. From full rpm to paper weight in a split second. It was locked up tight.
I contacted the seller. Told him what happened. He told me dont send it back. You need to take it to a Stihl dealer and find out whats wrong. Okay. I did. I took it to a saw shop I do a lot of business with. Shop owner called me three days later and said the saw is junk. Would take more to fix it than I paid for it. I told him I had a another 440. Could he piece a running saw together out of the two? He said, Dave, its not worth it, theres not much to salvage here.
Okay. He writes that up on his letter head explaining what all is damaged for the guy I bought it from. I contact the seller. Tell him what the stihl dealer said. Told him Id mail him the letter head from the stihl shop and gave him the stihl shops number and suggested he call to talk to the mechanic. I also suggested I keep the saw for parts (to ship it back to him will cost at least $55.00. And told him Ill except a partial refund. He says he wants the saw back to see what went wrong. I say no problem. Ill ship it right back. Then I want a refund. Reading this guys emails I have the impression he is saying I did something wrong (like straight gassed the saw).
Im a logger, I know how to run a saw. I didnt even adjust the carb before it blew. But reading between the lines I think this guy is not planning on giving me my money back. I could be wrong, hope I am. Im not going to post his ebay name yet. If he makes it good I will. And Ill say he's an honest dealer. If he doesn't make it right I tell you his name to warn you. We'll see what happens.
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