Home Depot caught on.......

[jeepyfz450]

Stopped at my local home depot today to grab a few things. Walked over to the rental department and saw a somewhat beat-up 6401 on the shelf with a forsale sign 299$ NO Warrenty. I asked the guy behind the counter and he said you can buy a new one for 500$ or a used one for 299$. the saw was a rental for 3 years and they are just selling them after that. Hopefully other home depots arent going this route and you guys can pick a few more up for little to nothing. Just an FYI for everyone.

 

[D&B Mack]

My HD Rental store lets me check the compression on everything I buy. For future reference as a general note to anyone interested in doing this, never hurts to ask. Remember, it was a rental unit and last time I checked, no mechanics employed at Home Depot.

 

[w8ye]

I went to the local Home Depot last week and ran the route of trying to get a Makita 6401/6421 from them new or rental. Didn't get anywhere.

Went to the Dolmar dealer and bought a new 6400C instead.

Apparently it depends on the enthusiasm of the person in the rental department at HD?

 

[Warped5]

I went to the local Home Depot last week and ran the route of trying to get a Makita 6401/6421 from them new or rental. Didn't get anywhere.

Went to the Dolmar dealer and bought a new 6400C instead.

Apparently it depends on the enthusiasm of the person in the rental department at HD?

I talked to my guy at HD today ...

They get a report every month that lists ALL tools eligible for sale. They can also look up this info in advance. I learned my local store will have 4 saws this year with the first one in August.

The other thing I learned is that most HD stores do have a small engine mechanic/tech guy on staff to keep the rental gear maintained.

 

[jeepyfz450]

Its funny how each store handles this a little differently. I have been keeping my eye out hoping i could find an old rental on the super cheap but its not gonna happen im affraid.

 

[eichen323]

I got one for $125...But then they gave me a deal because they couldn't get me a new one for the price listed in the book.
The the price listed on the saw was $175 when I got there.

With that said, I think some of the saws are worth a little more than others. Mine was abused pretty hard and I had to order about $80 in replacement parts. It was also really dirty and there's a screw that I have to drill out since the head is busted off. Oh, and the bar that came with it was shot...not a huge deal since I'm putting a 24" on it.

The rental guy did let me tear it apart and inspect it though. I'd have checked the compression but I forgot to bring my tester, also I plan to put a BB kit in it anyway so it doesn't really matter. It starts right up though.

 

[K.C.]

I talked with a few area HD rental dept's and all said the same thing: we get a list between the 1st & the 10th, and to call back. I even got put on the "call me when it's available" list but never heard from anyone. Out of the blue I called another store and was told "yeah they had one." So I go there (@ 1 hour) to check it out. Couple of "bad ass dudes" running the counter. He looked at his list, goes the the rack and tells me it'll cost $220. He starts it up, revs it a couple times and shuts it off. I ask if I can pull the muff to look at the P & C then run a compression test. He pulls the saw away, gives me the stink eye and says "Hell no, it runs don't it? That proves its got compression!".

I was ready to walk but I had a severe case of ACUTE CAD-ITIS, I had to have it. Fortunately I had brought a block of oak to cut and I was "allowed" to go test it in some wood. It ran like a champ but looked kind of beat. I asked how many times it had been rented and he says "alot, or else they wouldn't be selling it". (Can't you just feel the warm & fuzzy feeling oozing from his veins? What a salesman this guy is!)

Anyway I got it home and the P & C are clean as a whistle and it pumps 180 psi. I had to replace the clutch & rebuild the oiler (~$45) and file the flare from the bar. Even with the safety chain that it came with the saw cuts with authority. I can't wait to BB the thing and put a bigger bar with some 30rcs chain!

 

[mikefunaro]

There appear to be large ranges of asking price from the home depots. Lots of them try to start high at like $250 even.

It seems like the formula for sale is based part on age and part on sales numbers. I went through some that were for sale at the home depot near me and most had been rented around 35 times.

i'm not sure if they do this with all of them but these had been engraved a whole bunch with various numbers, 50:1 mix over the gas cap, etc.

If you can get one for under $200 that's in good shape i think you're getting a decent deal, for less than $150 for sure. But they are generally pretty beat up. You better believe theyve been pinched and yanked many times over.

Suffice it to say, when I rent equipment, I don't treat it the way I do my own.

 

[K.C.]

Something else to look for on these is the condition of the AV mounts. Mine were good but I can see where some might be trashed. I still think that for around $250 including repair parts these are a great saw!