Don’t let ANYONE borrow your equipment…

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"Against the law" doesn't mean "can't be done." It just means "you can sue them for doing so, if you want."

Stihl wouldn't be the first company to do illegal and shady things, and dare the consumer to sue them for it, knowing that basically no one will sue over $1600.
When I bought my Echo PAS trimmer attachment head, the manual specifically says it needs to use an FD rated oil, so that's what I use. (echo oil).
Don't think for a moment a large company with an army of lawyers wouldn't look for a reason to avoid a warranty claim, just like you said what is the average guy going to do, sue a corporation?
One thing they are kept in check by is social media, word of unscrupulous tactics spreads fast and far.
Regardless of any consumer protections, the smartest thing to do is follow manufacturer guidelines at least while under warranty.
 
From what I've heard if they used anything other than Stihl oil the warrenty claim will get turned down.
Had it happen to a friend who runs a a landscaping business. But when he threatened to take all his equipment purchases to a dealer selling another brand, they reconsidered.
Stihl mechanic told me I had to use Stihl oil for the warranty. I looked at the manual and it says high quality oil. Would think the manual would say Stihl oil if it is required. seem as they even point out 30 day old gas starts to degrade.
 
Whenever I've bought a new Stihl saw they always get me to buy a pack of their little bottles of 2 stroke oil: buy the oil on the same invoice as the saw and extend the warranty to like 4 years instead of one. If I only use 6 gallons of gas in 4 years, I doubt the warranty will come into play much.

Then I usually get a gallon of their astonishingly expensive pre-mix gas: I'll burn the home made mix for running, then if I'm gonna leave the saw sit for awhile (weeks/months, no clear time on next time I'll need it), I'll dump the home made fuel (mixed with the official Stihl oil) run it dry, then add a slosh of the pre-mix, start it on the pre-mix and leave it sit until next time I need it.
 
Whenever I've bought a new Stihl saw they always get me to buy a pack of their little bottles of 2 stroke oil: buy the oil on the same invoice as the saw and extend the warranty to like 4 years instead of one. If I only use 6 gallons of gas in 4 years, I doubt the warranty will come into play much.

Then I usually get a gallon of their astonishingly expensive pre-mix gas: I'll burn the home made mix for running, then if I'm gonna leave the saw sit for awhile (weeks/months, no clear time on next time I'll need it), I'll dump the home made fuel (mixed with the official Stihl oil) run it dry, then add a slosh of the pre-mix, start it on the pre-mix and leave it sit until next time I need it.
Standard warranty on homeowner/non commercial is one year. If you purchase HP ultra they extend it to two years. 90 day warranty on commercial saws
 
Stihl mechanic told me I had to use Stihl oil for the warranty. I looked at the manual and it says high quality oil. Would think the manual would say Stihl oil if it is required. seem as they even point out 30 day old gas starts to degrade.
Legally they can't tell you it has to be stihl oil. As posted above the Magnuson moss act prohibits a company from denying warranty because you didn't use their parts, so long as the parts meet the performance of original equipment. The burden of proof also is on the mfg to prove it was a defective aftermarket part, lubricant, coolant etc.
My best example of this is dealing with a rental company in New York. They bough a hundred odd light towers. Little Isuzu diesel engines in them. One by one they started coming in for fuel system issues. First coupple went through no issues, then we started asking questions and our distributor started requiring fuel samples, filters cut open with pictures etc. Basically came down to the Napa filter they were using didn't have the correct rating to be used on the fuel system, it was actually an oil filter if I recall correctly. But it fit on the filter housing. It was the wrong part, didn't matter who made it.
Conversely, stihl says an fd rated oil must be used (which is comical as ultra is not fd rated.) They cannot deny warranty of you were using fd rated oil, even if it wasn't their oil.
 
I understand your frustration, but you guys need better friends. I've got one friend I'm happy to loan stuff to. Everything I have ever loaned him comes back better than when he borrowed it. An apropos example: A few years ago he borrowed a vintage Homelite saw: When I got it back he'd rebuilt the carb... correctly. He said it was a little hard to start, so he fixed it.
Now that's a friend!
 
I have friends like that, but I could tally them on one hand. Most "friends" are really acquaintances, we're just liberal with the term friend here in the states.

To add to this, most (I think all) of my acquaintances that meet this standard don't need to borrow equipment. They have their own.
 
I only have a few friends and my family is hard working farmers that are good with equipment, I would let them borrow any of my stuff, they would only ask because they were doing a job nearby and forgot theirs, I would almost appreciate one of them running my stuff as they might notice something I didnt.
Makes me think of my family. They are nothing but hard working farmers, but dang! They are ROUGH on equipment. Seems like there’s so many moving parts and so much work, and not much time for real maintenance. The only thing they borrow from me is tree work and electrical work. I’d be real hard pressed to loan them a chainsaw.
 
As a general rule, I don’t loan/lend tools/equipment. Like some of you im the guy with the dumptruck, trailer, welder, tools/equipment. Makes you a target of sorts. People will go to you first to borrow or for help. That’s fine I’m usually happy to help. There’s also a handful of friends/family I’ll lend to. Outside of that the answer is no. Most of my stuff is older but it all works reliably. If someone else breaks it, there’s a problem. Some things are hard to replace or get parts for. And yes it’s different if I break it. I’ve lent tools out to a few unnamed individuals that never got returned or were broken. One guy who happened to be a relative got me a few times till I said nope! Too much time and money invested, and the cost of downtime on something that earns. I’m not too concerned with hurt feelings around the holidays and that’s happens too.
 
Loaned my truck & trailer out to my friend last week it came back with a full tank and a 6 pack of beer.
I loaned out my truck once. I just finished restoring it and having it painted. It came back with two dents on the side rails of the bed. Never again.
 

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