Good feedback, thanks. I have asked 2 places about getting a 545 and maybe it's just where I live, but both dealers said, essentially, they can order one but nobody seems to carry them. Is that a hot seller or something? Maybe I was being quoted "worst case" but both said 3-6 weeks to order one right now. Maybe that's just worst case, but spending more to wait longer isn't really going to work. I know I could mail order, but that makes me nervous on a saw because I've heard bad things about people getting the cold shoulder on bricks/mortar dealer support after they mail ordered to save a few bucks over buying locally.
Good recommendation, appreciate it. Problem with Dolmar that I see is 1) just getting the saw, and 2) no dealer support anywhere near me. Maybe some dealers carry these on a "order only" basis, but the 800 pound gorillas are Husky and Stihl and to a slightly lesser extent, Echo. After that, things really drop off in terms of numbers of dealers and overall support. If I break a Dolmar, afaik, it's at least a 50 mile drive round trip to the nearest dealer that I know about anyway. Not saying that this would ever come into play, but it puts me on edge because that'd basically be 5X the hassle factor of a Husky.
Grouse
I understand you completely! The fear of having your equipment break at the worst possible time is a classic of "murphy's law"!
Personally, in my experience I have needed guarenty exactly once in my life and of course you guessed correctly it was with my Dolmar 420. The ignition module was defective when unboxing. Ouch, that really is a turn away argument for you, ain't it? Well funny thing, dispite that it has been flawless! Of course I am in no way in a high volume user like others here with their 421 who have run hundreds of refills through their saw without a problem, but for me it belongs to those almost perfect things out there. The easy start, power, build quality all add up that I would surely take that saw with me into some alaskan hut far away from civilisation. It is very easy on fuel and always behaves like it is one size larger.
What I see in the argument of not having a dealer close by is that it is clearly fear based. That fear is absolutely ok, but I try not to let it control my decisions!
What will happen if your saw fails? Well your cutting trip for the day is over, irrespective of brand. You will require spare parts and that will cost you irrespective of where you live time to collect. How much time is lost also depends very much on your other equipment. Can you substitute with your other equipment to minimize lost time? I.e. instead of cutting larger wood you refocus and cut smaller wood with your other equipment. You sound like you can, so personally I would not be worried one second.
As I mentioned before, I have absolutely nothing against a 445, and if you are confident then buy one, personally when I spend my money and I have a good paid job so I could buy any saw I want, but still I want the most from the cash I put on the table. And when I bought my 420, there was a shoot out of 40cc saws here on AS and the modder doing the review clearly stated that he prefered unmoddified the 420, although a Stihl 241 was also available. That for me clearly stated something. Further I am not only active here but also in german speaking forums in Europe and there the 420/421 is the most recomended model by far for the homeowner/firewood guy.
Why I also recomended a 50cc saw, is the simple fact that I prefer ~20cc between two saws. Why? Because, when closer, they will used both for the same work. That is for me a waste of money.
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