I think some people didn't notice this was a revived thread. Makita sunk Dolmar and the PS421/EA4300F has been discontinued.
I commented to help anyone who has already purchased one and may be experiencing a lack of after-sales support.
I picked up an ex display unit when they were discontinued for AUD350 (~USD250), which is unspeakable value in Australia - see example prices below of aforementioned saws from this post. Over here, people look down on anything that isn't Stihl/Husky and they hand over double the overseas pricing for the privilege of having an orange saw.
They don't sell that in Aus, we just get the 445 at RRP AUD985 (~USD725) or the toy rancher 455 at a ripoff RRP AUD1315 (~USD960). For comparison, on the USA site the rancher is USD499!
They never told me what was wrong with mine. It went to Chicago and Georgia , and no fix . They sent me a Chinese Makita for a replacement, which I promptly sold. Replaced it with an Echo 501p. Really nice saw light and fast in the wood .
The Echo here is sold as the 501SX, looks like decent value compared to the Husky offerings at RRP AUD1129 (~USD830), considering it's not clamshell, has a metal handle, etc.
