On Mar 20, 8:02 am, "Robatoy" wrote:
On Mar 20, 8:38 am, "Mike Marlow" wrote:
[snipped for brevity]

but there really are some pretty good alternatives out
there for less. I just don't recommend big box stores for them. Local dealers need the business.

They deserve our business. They're professionals, so are we. They know
what they're talking about (with a few exceptions of course.)


IF the brick-and-mortar guy charges a wee bit more, he:
a) needs it to stay in business
b) deserves it for his knowledge
c) keeps an expensive inventory of readily-available spare parts

Our local Husky dealers seem OK. But chainsaws are a ver,very small
part of their normal sales; they concentrate on all kinds of lawn
equipment to the pro and semi pro group. Leaf blowers to tractors is
their baliwick.

To be a certified dealer (for just about any product these days this
is true), they have to be a certain size physically (no selling out of
the garage) and buy a certain amount of parts and new equipment to
maintain that standing. So they do indeed have a good parts supply
and they have factory trained repair guys. There is however, no pot
bellied stove in the corner of the store with the old men playing
dominoes to chat with while "Phil gets you fixed up". One has a
10,000 sq ft showroom (tractors inside) and the 3 Husky chainsaws are
on a shelf.

The other is much smaller, more friendly, but also 45 minutes away.
He has one factory tech trained guy, and carries as little inventory
as possible since he sells several kinds of lawn equipment as well.
For any major work, I would suppose a Husky purchase would go there.

However, both guys sell the same saw I am looking at all over the 'net
for about $115 more than I can buy it all day long. That means they
are about 20% higher than their on line competitors, and they won't
budge an inch. They would rather hang onto the saws they have or get
more for a "special order" than to leave the $115 on the table.

However, both cheerfully told me they would take care of any warranty
issues.

d) will often do trade-ins
e) will often sell your saw for you
f) will often have a good refurbished used one for sale.

Not available here.

And a local dealer is something that is a big consideration. One
thing to definitely keep me from doubling my investment by purchasing
Stihl is that the ONLY local dealer we have is someone that is most
commonly referred to by his genital configuration. And that ain't
Richard.


On a tool of that class, you make 500 dollar decisions, not 50 dollar decisions.


You said it. I think I may have this thing figured out. I can buy
from a monster dealer in Oregon and get the saw down here with a
couple of chains and a box for a little under $600. (Stihl set
factory price on their equivalent saw is $1100 for saw only). If I
buy with my AMEX card, AMEX will automatically double the
manufacturer's warranty. So the warranty goes from 2 to 4 years.

For any warranty repairs I can ship it back to Oregon for $25, or take
a drive and go see the guys in the country.


It is time we took back our way of life. Train the kids in school to
be craftsmen. To be small engine repair specialists. Etc.

That could be a whole thread, right? I would love to see it, but....

I am signed up to be a guest demonstrator (probably woodturning) at
one of our local high schools - for free of course! That should be an
interesting morning. Just trying to do my part on that. Should be
interesting.

Robert