"Robert11" wrote in message
...
Hello:

Was thinking of getting a gift for a friend of a Homelite gas string
trimmer.

Home Depot seems to sell them in the price range I'm in ($ 100 or so)

I have a 5 year old one, and it's worked pretty well.

But, i've heard that Homelite is (essentially) no longer in business, or
viable, and that
parts and repair are no longer available.

How true is this, and how concerned should I be about buying one ?

Thanks,
Bob


They are in business, pretty much in name only. They are owned by the same
Chinese conglomerate that owns Ryobi and others. Parts and service will suck
down the road. I would consider them to be a throw away trimmer, once it
breaks, toss it. Most any piece of lawn equipment sold at large chain stores
will have poor parts and service availability, there are some exceptions.

Why not break out some more cash and buy something you can get parts for,
and also help out a local retailer? Stihl for example makes great trimmers.
A low end Stihl can be bought for around $150, and parts are easy to find.
Greg