Don Phillipson wrote
Rod Speed wrote

Just had the chain adjuster failed on a dirt cheap relatively
new electric chainsaw. I assumed that they wouldnt bother
to supply parts like that, but I was wrong, readily available
and in fact free. Clearly no planned obsolescence there.

Contrast my Sears Craftsman chainsaw (42 cc engine,
18" blade) regularly $C 250 discounted to $C 200. This
required repair during the warranted one year (unexplained
jingle, source not found when I took off various covers: Sears
replaced the ignition module free.) After total 20 months
intermittent use the saw would not start. Sears diagnosed
that it needed a new cylinder and piston i.e. parts costing $180

Sounds very implausible unless you abused it very
badly by not providing adequate lubrication etc.

plus $100 service time. This unit is marked
"assembled in the USA" i.e. from imported components.

This was my second, the first being a Husqvarna 325 in 1990.
That too required warranty repairs early, and was kept running
by a small family motor repair shop.

Thats the main reason I went electric. I dont need the
away from home capability for cutting firewood etc and
dont like very small gasoline engines reliability wise.

When it finally stopped I did not want to pay for further repairs
since the repairman had told me the Husqv 325 was a notoriously
dud design, not manufactured for more than a year or two.

Clearly was enough of an arsehole to not tell
you that when you first brought it in for repair.

I bought Sears since Consumer Reports flagged several models as a Best Buy.

Trouble with those is that they cant really get a handle
on reliability, let alone flagrant abuse by the owner.

I guess the CR test system could not include length of service.

Yep, they dont even do that well on that with cars, let alone appliances.
It just isnt feasible and even if it was, by the time they have decent stats,
that model is long gone. I usually find that its damned hard to actually
find the products that come out on top of the list even if you are buying
the product just after the test has come out. In spades down the track.

I just lucked out there recently when buying a satnav, they had just
done the test a month before I wanted to get one, all the products
were still current, and I could borrow the two candidates that did
well in the test from mates and could see how I liked them myself.
Went for the TomTom because its pure touch screen, did the
destination selection much better than the Navman, and the test
claimed that the TomTom does a lot better in tunnels and the
CBD than the alts. I havent had a chance to test that claim yet.