# What is a Stihl 090 Worth?



## TreeGuyHR

Hey everyone:

First, I'd like to say hello -- I am an arborist in Hood River, OR where I own my own business. 

A friend in need wants to sell his 1980's era 090 with a 6 ft. bar and a few chains. He wants $5000, and after looking around the net, that seems about double. I don't want to totally hurt his feelings, but I am thinking of offering 2k

On what basis should I try to establish a value? I just saw it and handled it a few days ago (its in another state, 4 hrs away); I could kick myself for not taking a photo of it.

The saw:

Appears in good condition, all original. 

Light use: He used it at the end of the OG logging era in WA state. He said that he would usually start his cut with a smaller saw to ensure an even cut (especially with cedar). It has never been used in an Alaskan mill. His garage has flooded a few times, but luckily he had it at his favorite saw shop on the wall.

So, I what info should I obtain to make an informed and reasonable offer? 

I bought his 084 a year ago, (I think for $800) and when I had it tuned up, the shop said that the piston had some scoring on it. The 084 had a lot more use.


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## qbilder

$5000 seems like a huge overprice. You can buy a new saw equipped the exact same way for much less. You can get the 880 brand new with factory warranty for $1500ish from any Stihl dealer. A 72" bar would run maybe $500, then chains probably $50ish. If you had $2500 you could have a brand new saw, bar & chains. If it were me, I would politely pass and spend my $2500 on new equipment.


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## TreeGuyHR

Hi qbilder:

I agree, way too much money. 

In doing a little web research, I discovered (at least according to a guy selling saws and parts on his website) that Stihl hasn't been making their own big saws in NA for a while, but has been having them manufactured in SA because of the emissions standards in the US; one can order them through an intermediary, but the saws may not be the same quality. He was offering a recent US built Stihl with vibration dampening, a modified clutch for higher chain speed, and 5 ft. bar and chains for $4600. 

I saw a lot of other beat-up looking old 090 saws from $800 (no bar) to around $2500.

Still wondering what to look for in my friends saw and what it might be worth.


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## BlueRider

For a while I thought I wanted an 090 and watched the prices pretty close. they seemed to range between 900-1700 depending on condition of the saw, how many were on the market at a given time and how desperate the buyer was. You hear about exceptions such as some one around here that picked one up at a garage sale for $25 and I heard about one that was purchased new by a guy to remove a large tree, but when he fired it up it scared the pants off him so he stashed the saw in his garage and hired someone to remove his tree. Years later his son is helping him sell a bunch of stuff so he can move into a smaller place and puts the saw up for sale. It sold for just over 3k because a couple of collectors got in a pissing match over it.

I would also be a bit suspicious of a guy selling a "lightly" used 090 and then saying he has a handfull of chains to go with it. Why would you have a hand full of chains for a saw you rarely used. My dad has a saw he rarely uses and he has one chain for it.

Without seeing the saw, and making the assumtion that it runs and is in good condition, I would say that 2K is top dollar for it and only because it has a long bar. That said If I owned an 084 already it would be worth considerable less to me.


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## stikine

Tree Guy,
I think we know each other and I'm pretty sure I know the 090 seller too:smile2:. The initial asking price is definitely too high (you know that). Besides the normal obvious wear & tear stuff, you may consider having a compression test done on the saw and while you are at it look at the piston (for scoring) if the muffler can be easily removed.

The 090 is definitely a piece of nostalgia, but there are certainly more modern and comfortable big saws to use in your business ie. 880 or 3120. Getting 090 parts is also more problematic.

Good luck in your research!


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## WidowMaker1

5K, in his dreams


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## Joe46

5K? No way. The guy that wants 4600 for his is also wacked


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## john taliaferro

Ive got a88 and a 660 i use the 660 the most because its a one person mill . The smaller saw is faster than the 88 also which is gobs faster than a 90 and uses half as much fuel . Another plus is parts for sure . Are you really needing a slow heavy gigantic mill ?


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## RandyMac

090s, good for milling, but a wretched thing to use as a chainsaw. Yep, way over priced.


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## BlueRider

Actually parts for the 090 are pretty easy to come by. a couple of years ago Bailey's started remanufacturing the 070 in china and the chinese parts were all interchaingable with the original. The only difference between the 090 and 070 is the P&C and the clutch.


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## jjramrod

*if its in as good of condition as you say id jump on it for 3k*

Ive had top of the line poulan johnsered husky 3120 stihl 880 (dual ported and tuned) and now a stihl 090. Three of those saws burnt up with this new gas even with the best oil. The 090 is my one and only saw for everything now and let me say that not one of those newer saws can even come close to comparing to the 090. The 090 is the besg cutting and running saw ever made in my opinion. When yoj can literally cut any wood there is as big as you want thats a saw worth having. No matter what ive cut and no matter how big that saw has not bogged down. With the grain or against the grain that saw wont die. My saw has high use and looks like it got ran over and it still runs that good. Oh and just for your info i only run that new pre mixed gas the dealership said 50 to 1 was fine but after reading up on my saw i switched to 40 to 1 (it runs the same but i figured it is better for the saw). Parts are easy to find to so dont let that scare you. If its a low use saw you shouldnt need parts for years anyway. Knowing what I know now id gladly spend 3k or more on one in that good of shape or more 35 tops but you cant go wrong with that saw.


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## TreeGuyHR

You have encouraged me to at least try to talk him down. 

The saw is a bout 25 years old, but hardly used at all for the past 15 years. He has a 6 ft. bar with at least one chain, too. Saw looks clean with most of the paint. I have bought an 084 and 046 from him, both of which had harder use. He said that he only used it in old growth logging in the 90's and for felling big snags (and trees on fire :msp_scared on wild fires. The 084 might need a top end job (shop said that there was "some scoring" on the piston recently), but I really doubt that his 090 would.

I wish I took a pic of it, problem is, it's a 3 1/2 hr drive away :bang:


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## arborealbuffoon

I honestly cannot believe you are even thinking about paying that kind of dough for a dinosaur. Granted, it was a good saw in its day. Totally impractical for production use by today's standards. No kidding.

Oh, and they're really really heavy too.


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## jjramrod

arborealbuffoon said:


> I honestly cannot believe you are even thinking about paying that kind of dough for a dinosaur. Granted, it was a good saw in its day. Totally impractical for production use by today's standards. No kidding.
> 
> Oh, and they're really really heavy too.



Really there heavy thats your argument? Anything built well with a 6 foot bar is heavy. Solution grow some muscles. They use alot of fuel to but as fast and good as they cut its worth it. Oh and dinosaurs were around alot longer that us and some prehistoric species still exhist. So if your a wuss and a cheapskate dont get one but remember they dont build them like they used to i think that statement goes for people to.


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## jeepyfz450

For 3 grand i would buy a new 880 with a 6' bar and have some spare cash. take the extra money and have the saw ported. I have a 090 with a 50'' bar i would sell it tomorrow for 3 grand............. that is a lot of money.


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## jjramrod

jeepyfz450 said:


> For 3 grand i would buy a new 880 with a 6' bar and have some spare cash. take the extra money and have the saw ported. I have a 090 with a 50'' bar i would sell it tomorrow for 3 grand............. that is a lot of money.



Ive seen them go for more before


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## jeepyfz450

jjramrod said:


> Ive seen them go for more before



I dont doubt that. the non AV 090s are brutal on your hands. i bought some anti vibration gloves to try to calm the vibes. i enjoy running it in really big wood (which i dont see often). anything under 3-4' and the 660 is so much better.


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## dodgemup

*cant believe the disrespect you guys are giving an iconic 090*



jeepyfz450 said:


> For 3 grand i would buy a new 880 with a 6' bar and have some spare cash. take the extra money and have the saw ported. I have a 090 with a 50'' bar i would sell it tomorrow for 3 grand............. that is a lot of money.



thought the guys on this post like stihl saws it has never ceased to amaze me the amount of disrespect chain saw guys have for an inconic saw such as the 090 I have 1 090 & a contra & and a lighting they are what they are BIG MANLY AND POWERFUL & they always start ! WHATS NOT TO LOVE BOUT THAT there part of the logging heritage ... and you guys call yourself LOGGERS ?... I MEAN ARBORISTS OOPS SORRY


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## RandyMac




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## NewToStihl

dodgemup said:


> thought the guys on this post like stihl saws it has never ceased to amaze me the amount of disrespect chain saw guys have for an inconic saw such as the 090 I have 1 090 & a contra & and a lighting they are what they are BIG MANLY AND POWERFUL & they always start ! WHATS NOT TO LOVE BOUT THAT there part of the logging heritage ... and you guys call yourself LOGGERS ?... I MEAN ARBORISTS OOPS SORRY



Wow! You really made an interesting decision on your second post in nearly four years...

I don't really have anything to contribute to your comment, just chuckled when I saw it :hmm3grin2orange:

On a side note, I have a non-AV 090 and 070 and I LOVE running them. Not necessarily practical, but a helluva lot of fun!


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## ELECT6845

NewToStihl said:


> Wow! You really made an interesting decision on your second post in nearly four years...
> 
> I don't really have anything to contribute to your comment, just chuckled when I saw it :hmm3grin2orange:
> 
> On a side note, I have a non-AV 090 and 070 and I LOVE running them. Not necessarily practical, but a helluva lot of fun!



I agree. I like running them also.


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## Thomas N. Dowling

Sounds like a saw for manly men.

I was wondering about the 090 because I saw a video of a guy cutting off a rootball on a felled tree that was so big it took a couple of minutes to walk around to the other side of it.


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## rarefish383

Welcome to the site, had me going for a minute, this is an old thread. No problem though, it got you here. The 090 is the holy grail for a lot of guys, but I wouldn't pay a lot just to have one. I think it's 137CC's and I had a Homelite 7-29 that was 129CC's. The 090 was a newer generation saw than my 7-29, but it's still old enough to hit the collectors market. There is nothing it could do that an 880 can't do, and for most people a 660/661 can do. It's funny that you called it a manly saw. Yesterday I posted a pic with the caption, "When men were men, and saws made accordingly." This is a pic of one of my Homelite Super 1050's with a 24" bar cutting firewood. I have another one with a 36" bar for milling. But, to be honest I do most of my milling now with a Stihl 660, it's smoother, quieter, and easier to start. The 1050 was a true man's saw, 100CC's with no decomp valve to make it easy to start, Joe.


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## sawfun

The 090 WILL pull a 60" or longer bar much, much, better than any stock 088 and as good as a ported one. But get an 090 with A/V or your fingers and hands will hate you for a few days. I haven't tried my 7-29 to compare with any other saw but have a 60" bar and am going to put a loop of 9/16 chipper on it. I expect it to be slower, though not necessarily stronger as a direct drive 090 is plenty strong. While my 3100 and 900g Homies are very strong, I'd take an 090 AV over them any day.


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## BobL

Speaking of saws for manly men.
That's my dad on the right.
The saw is a two man Teles Smith, used by the British Army in SE Asian Jungle warfare. 
350 cc, no muffler, soft chains, so much so that about as much time was spent sharpening as cutting when used in Aussie hardwoods.


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## RajElectric

I've done plenty of cam and concealment for howitzers and gun tractors. That's one heck of a camnet pole!


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## BigOakAdot

Bob,

Love that pic of your pop. That thing is an absolute animal. Any idea where it ended up?

Andrew


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## Beetlejuice

rarefish383 said:


> Welcome to the site, had me going for a minute, this is an old thread. No problem though, it got you here. The 090 is the holy grail for a lot of guys, but I wouldn't pay a lot just to have one. I think it's 137CC's and I had a Homelite 7-29 that was 129CC's. The 090 was a newer generation saw than my 7-29, but it's still old enough to hit the collectors market. There is nothing it could do that an 880 can't do, and for most people a 660/661 can do. It's funny that you called it a manly saw. Yesterday I posted a pic with the caption, "When men were men, and saws made accordingly." This is a pic of one of my Homelite Super 1050's with a 24" bar cutting firewood. I have another one with a 36" bar for milling. But, to be honest I do most of my milling now with a Stihl 660, it's smoother, quieter, and easier to start. The 1050 was a true man's saw, 100CC's with no decomp valve to make it easy to start, Joe.



that's spooky you just happen to mention the two saws we ran yesterday.. Joe just bought the 880, and I've had the 1050 since ol Shep was a puppy. I haven't milled with mine yet.. I leave it up to the old jenny


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## rarefish383

I like the old GMC, what year is it. I think our first Dump Truck was a 67 or 69 Chevy C50?


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## Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice said:


> View attachment 649870
> that's spooky you just happen to mention the two saws we ran yesterday.. Joe just bought the 880, and I've had the 1050 since ol Shep was a puppy. I haven't milled with mine yet.. I leave it up to the old jennyView attachment 649870


Not so sure on the year. Nose of late 50s or early 60s has mechanical boom hoist on the bed.. Was Joe's dad's, he will never part with no matter how much it gets in the way of progress. Does start and run every time it needs to be moved. Neat to put advertising on.. Eye catching


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## sawfun

That is a 55 - 57 nose, likely a 55, though the hood looks 57.


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## Beetlejuice

sawfun said:


> That is a 55 - 57 nose, likely a 55, though the hood looks 57.


Well, I wasn't too far astray. I had a Chev Apache 1/2 ton years ago that the front end was similar.. Twas a 59 I think. I know what year the Stihl is.. STIHL has that new car smell.. Or new bride smell if you prefer.


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## sawfun

58 & 59 had two headlights.


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## Beetlejuice

sawfun said:


> 58 & 59 had two headlights.


So does my wife


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