Stihl dealer refutes extended warranty...

[chainsawman2011]

well you got me started on stihl warranties again well they suck around here: I don't know about the double warranty but warranty in general does. if a saw seizes even if its a ms660 that's been run with the proper fuel and only 9 months old it seized stihl dealer said pay to rebuild or buy a new one even though there was a rash of 660s blowing up for awhile there because the carbs were all set to lean because of emissions standards.
then there was the ms441 that the the very tip of the crank busted off right at the tip on the sprocket side rite were the e clip goes on stihls answer to fix it was to have the dealer pay for it and they never payed the dealer ever for the parts or the labor which was on a saw thet was 2 days old. so yes stihl has a warranty its called the dealers picking up the bill because if they don't the customers wont return to there store to buy anything.

 

[exSW]

I noticed out the door price can mean no sales tax with the agricultural exemption on this forum.

So If I have a Deere dealer with my tax exempt purchase history I will get less warranty than If I go the hardware store Stihl dealer where I have always paid sales tax? I use my real name in either case.

That's a good question.I buy all my saw stuff through the farm and some timber product income gets credited to the farm.Does that make me commercial?My dealer says my stuff gets "near" commercial use but I'm not a tree service or a landscaper I'm just busy.

 

[Currently]

Then you send it to Randy to get it ported ... Warranty now is moot.

 

[demc570]

well you got me started on stihl warranties again well they suck around here: I don't know about the double warranty but warranty in general does. if a saw seizes even if its a ms660 that's been run with the proper fuel and only 9 months old it seized stihl dealer said pay to rebuild or buy a new one even though there was a rash of 660s blowing up for awhile there because the carbs were all set to lean because of emissions standards.
then there was the ms441 that the the very tip of the crank busted off right at the tip on the sprocket side rite were the e clip goes on stihls answer to fix it was to have the dealer pay for it and they never payed the dealer ever for the parts or the labor which was on a saw thet was 2 days old. so yes stihl has a warranty its called the dealers picking up the bill because if they don't the customers wont return to there store to buy anything.

Sorry i hate to hear this,i got lucky i guess and got my 660 rebuilt no charge,but sold it since,now wanting another 660 in future,but hearing this is little nerve racking..i thought my very leaned carb was just a slip at factory,didnt know there were others.

 

[Saw Dr.]

well you got me started on stihl warranties again well they suck around here: I don't know about the double warranty but warranty in general does. if a saw seizes even if its a ms660 that's been run with the proper fuel and only 9 months old it seized stihl dealer said pay to rebuild or buy a new one even though there was a rash of 660s blowing up for awhile there because the carbs were all set to lean because of emissions standards.
then there was the ms441 that the the very tip of the crank busted off right at the tip on the sprocket side rite were the e clip goes on stihls answer to fix it was to have the dealer pay for it and they never payed the dealer ever for the parts or the labor which was on a saw thet was 2 days old. so yes stihl has a warranty its called the dealers picking up the bill because if they don't the customers wont return to there store to buy anything.

That is pure bunk. They will warranty almost ANYTHING if a reasonable dealer calls and asks. They have warrantied a few saws with burnt up chain brakes for me that were 100% customer abuse. If the customer comes in and is a loud-mouth jerk, I won't ask for anything other than what is required to be covered (which is almost nothing if I think the customer has abused the unit). If a guy comes in and says "I messed up, can you help me?" I'll probably go to bat even if it is out of warranty. You guys need to find better dealers. Stihl Gold DOES mean something. The owner of our store is likely to do "store warranty" on many things (including chains(!!!) & older equipment) to keep customer goodwill. I guess that explains how we are top 10% sales in our distributor in just 2yrs & 3mos from opening. FWIW, most dealers dismiss a scored piston as straight gas straight away. If you would like me to re-visit your warranty claims, start up a conversation with me. You'll have to ship the saws to me, but I'll be glad to try and make it right.

 

[Saw Dr.]

P.S. 9 times out of 10 when a dealer does not get paid for warranty work, it is because they didn't submit properly, or failed to return the damaged parts when called for by Stihl.

 

[demc570]

P.S. 9 times out of 10 when a dealer does not get paid for warranty work, it is because they didn't submit properly, or failed to return the damaged parts when called for by Stihl.

P.S. 9 times out of 10 when a dealer does not get paid for warranty work, it is because they didn't submit properly, or failed to return the damaged parts when called for by Stihl.

yep i know it took few weeks to get mine repaired and was waiting on paper warrenty work from stihl,they took care of me,was worried at first cause they tht it was straight gassed but knew me,and after tore it dwn they found the issue was in carb from factory.....was nervous after hearing horror storys from others,good experiance getting it resolved and i was happy

 

[NSMaple1]

We blew up a ms170, it had been well used and likely abused by some of the 'staff'. It had done a ton of silviculture type work. It took a little while but it got rebuilt by the local Stihl guys at no cost to us, after they checked the receipt & saw that we bought the oil when we bought the saw.

Take that for whatever it's worth...

 

[opinion]

We blew up a ms170, it had been well used and likely abused by some of the 'staff'. It had done a ton of silviculture type work. It took a little while but it got rebuilt by the local Stihl guys at no cost to us, after they checked the receipt & saw that we bought the oil when we bought the saw.

Take that for whatever it's worth...

In cases like this, they usually just tell us to gve the customer a new unit. It's not cost effective messing with those rebuilds.

 

[Rockjock]

well you got me started on stihl warranties again well they suck around here: I don't know about the double warranty but warranty in general does. if a saw seizes even if its a ms660 that's been run with the proper fuel and only 9 months old it seized stihl dealer said pay to rebuild or buy a new one even though there was a rash of 660s blowing up for awhile there because the carbs were all set to lean because of emissions standards.
then there was the ms441 that the the very tip of the crank busted off right at the tip on the sprocket side rite were the e clip goes on stihls answer to fix it was to have the dealer pay for it and they never payed the dealer ever for the parts or the labor which was on a saw thet was 2 days old. so yes stihl has a warranty its called the dealers picking up the bill because if they don't the customers wont return to there store to buy anything.

Wait a tic you mean to tell me the carbs were not adjusted before the customer picks the saw up? The local Stihl dealer does the adjustment because that is what is supposed to be done. My uncles shop in Germany does the exact same thing. Saw comes out or box, is assembled looked over ( they have a check list ) fluids added started warmed up carb adjusted and then signed off on. Customer comes in and is shown the saw and goes away happy. I can not believe the business practices are so different in the US Stihl dealerships.

 

[1Alpha1]

It can make a big difference where you buy a Stihl product. I've bought from box stores and dedicated Stihl dealers. Obviously, the dedicated Stihl dealers have more motivation to do things correctly the first time around.

I've bought a Stihl machine from a box store only once. It was not a good experience. Chances are good, I won't be doing that again. If I do, I will insist that I leave with the machine in hand, and not being "serviced" by the store.

 

[AKDoug]

Wait a tic you mean to tell me the carbs were not adjusted before the customer picks the saw up? The local Stihl dealer does the adjustment because that is what is supposed to be done. My uncles shop in Germany does the exact same thing. Saw comes out or box, is assembled looked over ( they have a check list ) fluids added started warmed up carb adjusted and then signed off on. Customer comes in and is shown the saw and goes away happy. I can not believe the business practices are so different in the US Stihl dealerships.

They aren't all that different. I send my saws out exactly the same way as your uncle. I bet Saw Dr. does too.

It can make a big difference where you buy a Stihl product. I've bought from box stores and dedicated Stihl dealers. Obviously, the dedicated Stihl dealers have more motivation to do things correctly the first time around.

I've bought a Stihl machine from a box store only once. It was not a good experience. Chances are good, I won't be doing that again. If I do, I will insist that I leave with the machine in hand, and not being "serviced" by the store.

What box store did you buy a Stihl in?

 

[Saw Dr.]

I've bought from box stores and dedicated Stihl dealers. Obviously, the dedicated Stihl dealers have more motivation to do things correctly the first time around.

I've bought a Stihl machine from a box store only once. It was not a good experience.

Here we go!

 

[phillipmc]

Last I checked Box stores cant sell Stihl equipment. Just saying

 

[SawTroll]

well you got me started on stihl warranties again well they suck around here: I don't know about the double warranty but warranty in general does. if a saw seizes even if its a ms660 that's been run with the proper fuel and only 9 months old it seized stihl dealer said pay to rebuild or buy a new one even though there was a rash of 660s blowing up for awhile there because the carbs were all set to lean because of emissions standards.
..... .

Selling the saws set up like that actually is just as much the dealers error as it is Stihls.

Part of the sale prosess is to make sure the carb is set right, before handing the saw over to the costumer!

 

[1Alpha1]

Last I checked Box stores cant sell Stihl equipment. Just saying

Tell that to CAL-RANCH Stores.

Surprisingly, they carry all the models, incl. pro saws.

 

[indiansprings]

Thanks AK for posting the policy, as long as they are not registered in a business name we offer the extended warranty, even go so far as loggers that put them in their individual name with a wink and nod,they usually maintain theirs better than the homeowner.

 

[AKDoug]

Tell that to CAL-RANCH Stores.

Surprisingly, they carry all the models, incl. pro saws.

Stihl doesn't do what Husky does and split the pro saws and homeowner saws. If you are a Stihl dealer you get to carry all the product. I would say that the venture into Cal-Ranch stores, as well as other regional multi-store operations, are going to be as close to a box store as you will find Stihl products. I know that Stihl going into Ace, True Value and John Deere stores certainly pissed off long time Stihl dealers. The loss of outdoor power equipment stores in the bad economy recently pushed Stihl to test the edge of the "independent" envelope. I'm hear to say, as a True Value hardware store, Just-Ask-Rental store and Stihl dealer, that service from each individual store will vary and we shouldn't be judged based on our other lines that we deal with. Just like a lawn and garden store that sells mowers 100:1 to Stihl chainsaws shouldn't be automatically be written off as incompetent. Along with the ability to sell Stihl products comes the requirement to service Stihl products, regardless if you are a chain store.

We take selling Stihls as seriously as we do every other part of our business. We have invested heavily in it and I'll be sending two more people to Silver training in the fall and I'll be heading to Gold soon. I came to this website to learn more about saws, even though I've been working on them for nearly 30 years now. I also came here to learn what really ticks people off about dealers. I figure along the way I would help those that need information about fixing their own saws. While bad dealers shouldn't exist, the consumer bears some responsibility too. Fire off letters to that regional chain that is selling Stihl, fire off letters to Stihl themselves. It's the only way you are going to get better service. I know, as an owner, that I take every complaint seriously and you don't have a successful chain like CAL-Ranch without taking complaints seriously too.

 

[splitpost]

Last I checked Box stores cant sell Stihl equipment. Just saying

they can and do sell stihl equiptment ,the only thing is they are restricted to certain items,a major tool outlet here is flogging small saws and brush cutters that's it,i think the ms250 was the biggest they could sell,i rang them for a price on a pro saw and told me they don't sell them, stihl won't allow it,they also don't tune or predeliver any of the stihl products they sell.

 

[AKDoug]

they can and do sell stihl equiptment ,the only thing is they are restricted to certain items,a major tool outlet here is flogging small saws and brush cutters that's it,i think the ms250 was the biggest they could sell,i rang them for a price on a pro saw and told me they don't sell them, stihl won't allow it,they also don't tune or predeliver any of the stihl products they sell.

I'm pretty dang sure that in the U.S. they are required to set them up and service them. I know they have different rules for different countries.