tsmbrian
ArboristSite Lurker
I felt it was finally time to write a review on the Husqvarna 346XP I recently purchased from Neal Murphy. He goes by nmurph on this site. I'll just say that it was, bar none, the WORST online purchasing decision and experience I've ever had.
I was recently in the market for a chainsaw and a lot of people talked highly of his work so I decided to purchase one of his saws. The first saw I received worked for a little while and then all of a sudden the side nuts rattled free from the saw, the side came off, and the chain flew off of the bar and back towards me. It then just hung there from the side of the saw. I was in a pile of tree rubble at the time and wasn't able to retrieve but one of the original nuts that came off. I went to the nearest Ace store and they gave me a new nut but apparently it wasn't the right size? Anyways, it ended up stripping the bolt that leads from the case so the nut could never be fastened all the way down.
I wrote the Neal about it and asked what we could do. Needless to say he was very quick to reply to me when he wanted to sell the saw but it was like pulling teeth to get him to return my emails once there was a problem. After lengthy discussions about what to do he asked me to mail it back to him and he'd take a look. After more pursuing him to actually communicate with me about what could or couldn't be done he decided to fix the saw and send it back. This actually entailed what amounted to a new case from what I understand. I told him all along I would assume partial responsibility if there was anything I may have done to ruin it. He just said he'd fix it and mail it back which he did.
The new saw ran flawlessly for about 10-15 hours and then, as I was simply chunking up a tree, it just stopped. I tried to restart it a few times and nothing happened. All I had done at this point is put fresh gas and bar oil in it. I was, of course, a bit disillusioned that this saw was having issues so I decided to take it back to the saw shop here in town before I wrote Neal about what the problem might be. I figured if it was something simple I'd just have it fixed and move on. The saw shop told me the piston and cylinder were shot along with the clutch. Here are the last two emails Neal and I then exchanged. I wrote him and asked:
Hey Neal
I had the saw out 6-7 times and it was working like a champ and then all of sudden it just stopped as I was chunking up a tree. I tried to restart it and it wouldn't start up again. I thought maybe it was just hot or something so I quit for the day. Later that night I tried again and still nothing. I tried new fuel, a new spark plug, etc and it wouldn't start up so I took it back to the chainsaw shop to see if they could figure it out.
They tell me the piston is scored and the clutch is gone. The repairs and labor are going to be $340 if I have them do it. I really don't know how to proceed from here. I thought it was all good to go after having it out 3-4 times without any problems but this is obviously some kind of internal issue. I've done nothing more than change fuel, bar oil, and clean and sharpen the chain areas so how any of this new stuff happened is beyond me. How do want to proceed from here?
I wrote him the above email, he didn't answer so a day or two later, as had been the scenario since the problems first began, I sent it to him again. He then answered me with this:
I'm sorry, but I don't have any culpaility in this situation. You bought a used saw, which by your own admission performed without a problem for multiple times in the woods.
Regards,
Neal
So he basically washed his hands of the problem and said "Too bad....so sad."
At that point I was curious to know exactly what happened so I took the saw to yet another saw shop here in town and asked them if they could break it down for me. They tore it apart and this is what they found. I've attached pictures so you can see what happened.
Apparently a clip on the piston head broke, fell off into the cylinder, and was ground between the piston and the cylinder wall in effect destroying the saw. I asked if there was something I could have done to cause this issue and the repair guy said "No way. This is caused by either a faulty clip or improper installation of the clip."
I know you guys speak highly of him but I think others need to know what happens when things don't work so well with Neal. He was quick to reply before I bought the saw but when the issues hit I literally had to treat him like an 8 year old just to get him to reply to my emails in a timely manner. He just simply wanted to ignore the problem in the hopes I'd stop writing to him about it.
So here I am stuck, after mailing it back and forth and buying new chains and a larger bar, with a $450 paper weight. Neal won't do anything about it even though the issue was completely HIS doing. He either used a faulty clip or installed in incorrectly and has now just walked away from the problem with my money and couldn't care less about it now. This speaks volumes to his character and integrity as a businessman. I was forced to go out and buy yet another chainsaw to do my work on our land. I was able to pick up a used MS310 for $250 and it's been a champ for the past 30-40 hours I've put on it. No problems whatsoever. Don't risk buying a saw from him. It's just not worth it in the long run.
So buyer beware. If you buy a saw from him pray there isn't any problems. If there are he'll simply pocket your money, claim it's not his problem, and leave you with nothing.
For the other guys on the site. Is this worth fixing? The local shops want $340ish to do the work but I can almost get a brand new saw for that. Doesn't seem worth it. Should I venture on my own and try to repair the saw myself?
I was recently in the market for a chainsaw and a lot of people talked highly of his work so I decided to purchase one of his saws. The first saw I received worked for a little while and then all of a sudden the side nuts rattled free from the saw, the side came off, and the chain flew off of the bar and back towards me. It then just hung there from the side of the saw. I was in a pile of tree rubble at the time and wasn't able to retrieve but one of the original nuts that came off. I went to the nearest Ace store and they gave me a new nut but apparently it wasn't the right size? Anyways, it ended up stripping the bolt that leads from the case so the nut could never be fastened all the way down.
I wrote the Neal about it and asked what we could do. Needless to say he was very quick to reply to me when he wanted to sell the saw but it was like pulling teeth to get him to return my emails once there was a problem. After lengthy discussions about what to do he asked me to mail it back to him and he'd take a look. After more pursuing him to actually communicate with me about what could or couldn't be done he decided to fix the saw and send it back. This actually entailed what amounted to a new case from what I understand. I told him all along I would assume partial responsibility if there was anything I may have done to ruin it. He just said he'd fix it and mail it back which he did.
The new saw ran flawlessly for about 10-15 hours and then, as I was simply chunking up a tree, it just stopped. I tried to restart it a few times and nothing happened. All I had done at this point is put fresh gas and bar oil in it. I was, of course, a bit disillusioned that this saw was having issues so I decided to take it back to the saw shop here in town before I wrote Neal about what the problem might be. I figured if it was something simple I'd just have it fixed and move on. The saw shop told me the piston and cylinder were shot along with the clutch. Here are the last two emails Neal and I then exchanged. I wrote him and asked:
Hey Neal
I had the saw out 6-7 times and it was working like a champ and then all of sudden it just stopped as I was chunking up a tree. I tried to restart it and it wouldn't start up again. I thought maybe it was just hot or something so I quit for the day. Later that night I tried again and still nothing. I tried new fuel, a new spark plug, etc and it wouldn't start up so I took it back to the chainsaw shop to see if they could figure it out.
They tell me the piston is scored and the clutch is gone. The repairs and labor are going to be $340 if I have them do it. I really don't know how to proceed from here. I thought it was all good to go after having it out 3-4 times without any problems but this is obviously some kind of internal issue. I've done nothing more than change fuel, bar oil, and clean and sharpen the chain areas so how any of this new stuff happened is beyond me. How do want to proceed from here?
I wrote him the above email, he didn't answer so a day or two later, as had been the scenario since the problems first began, I sent it to him again. He then answered me with this:
I'm sorry, but I don't have any culpaility in this situation. You bought a used saw, which by your own admission performed without a problem for multiple times in the woods.
Regards,
Neal
So he basically washed his hands of the problem and said "Too bad....so sad."
At that point I was curious to know exactly what happened so I took the saw to yet another saw shop here in town and asked them if they could break it down for me. They tore it apart and this is what they found. I've attached pictures so you can see what happened.
Apparently a clip on the piston head broke, fell off into the cylinder, and was ground between the piston and the cylinder wall in effect destroying the saw. I asked if there was something I could have done to cause this issue and the repair guy said "No way. This is caused by either a faulty clip or improper installation of the clip."
I know you guys speak highly of him but I think others need to know what happens when things don't work so well with Neal. He was quick to reply before I bought the saw but when the issues hit I literally had to treat him like an 8 year old just to get him to reply to my emails in a timely manner. He just simply wanted to ignore the problem in the hopes I'd stop writing to him about it.
So here I am stuck, after mailing it back and forth and buying new chains and a larger bar, with a $450 paper weight. Neal won't do anything about it even though the issue was completely HIS doing. He either used a faulty clip or installed in incorrectly and has now just walked away from the problem with my money and couldn't care less about it now. This speaks volumes to his character and integrity as a businessman. I was forced to go out and buy yet another chainsaw to do my work on our land. I was able to pick up a used MS310 for $250 and it's been a champ for the past 30-40 hours I've put on it. No problems whatsoever. Don't risk buying a saw from him. It's just not worth it in the long run.
So buyer beware. If you buy a saw from him pray there isn't any problems. If there are he'll simply pocket your money, claim it's not his problem, and leave you with nothing.
For the other guys on the site. Is this worth fixing? The local shops want $340ish to do the work but I can almost get a brand new saw for that. Doesn't seem worth it. Should I venture on my own and try to repair the saw myself?
