Regardless of brand, why so many complaints on brand new saws?

[russhd1997]

I was just over at Chainsaw - Blower - Trimmer Reviews and Information | BackYardBoss.com to read some reviews on chain saws, and I noticed that no matter what brand or model I viewed, I saw way more negative responses than I would have expected. Not all of these negative responses can be attributed to operator error. Is the quality control going down on all of these products? My little Stihl MS170 is 7 years old, cut 50 full cords, always started hot or cold, and never, ever gave me a lick of trouble. Then just the other day, the oiler pooped out on it. No big deal. So I was looking to get a new saw, and fix my old one to have as a backup. But after reading so many negative responses, any and all warranties notwithstanding, I'm kinda leery of buying "any" new saw, regardless of brand. What say you all? Also, does Stihl have a 7 day saw replacement warranty on new saws? The reason I ask is because one of the posts at the other site mentioned it.

Don <><

I visited that site before I found this one. FWIW I was reading reviews on on a saw and came upon a post that said, "I am woman and have never owned or operated a chainsaw. These reviews are useless because there is no one to moderate them and I can type anything that I want. I am going to give a good review on an saw and a bad one". She did just that. The 1st review was all 5's and nothing but good to say about the saw. The next one was a all 1's with nothing but bad things to say about the saw.

You can take the reviews with a grain of salt on this site too. There are a lot of ASers that bash anything that isn't a pro model. There are also a lot of users here that have no need for a pro saw and the savings of 100's of dollars on a HO saw makes perfect sense for them. You've read some bad reviews of your MS250 but my opinion is that you did well in your selection and will enjoy that saw for many years to come.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

It was hit upon here and I'll agree that the majority of chainsaw problems, new and used, is the owner/operator of the saw. I just received a very nice, low hour 3-10 McCulloch that I would bet has had the fuel sitting in it for at least 10 years because it had varnish in the bottom of the tank 1/4" thick! People treat their equipment this way and then expect it to start every four or five years when they need it and blame the saw or the manufacturer of the saw when it doesn't. Hopefully, my only rant for the day...

 

[justtools]

Go to "Yappy Big Blue Super Center, Hardware and Groceries", buy a nice new saw, bring it home, assemble it, fill with gas and oil, pull rope 50 times, bounce it off of the driveway once or twice, then write a review about how big of a piece of junk it is. Go to "Pa's Power Equipment and Tractor Repair (est. 1970)", buy the same brand and model of saw for, say...$50-$75 more. "Pa" has assembled and tuned it when it came off the truck last Friday, and he's more than eager to spend 15-20 minutes out back with you, your new saw, and an old tree trunk, and smiles as you wave goodbye! Take a little care of it, enjoy how easily it comes to life with a yank of the cord, and if you're lucky, 20 years from now "Pa" will still be there when it becomes time for a new saw again! No, I am not a dealer nor am I a small business owner, but I've learned that a great deal and product satisfaction goes well above and beyond a brand name and a sale price. Plus, it's nice to know that "Pa", who lives just across town, can keep his family warm and comfortable tonight.

That is a great way to look at life. Their is always more than price when dealing with things that require service. Find a good dealer. Buy from them. If you need parts or help they will likely go out of their way for you. If I am going to spend my money I also would like it to go to my local guy. Personally The big box stores that cannot service what the sell. Should not be able to sell it.

 

[igpoe]

I was just over at Chainsaw - Blower - Trimmer Reviews and Information | BackYardBoss.com to read some reviews on chain saws, and I noticed that no matter what brand or model I viewed, I saw way more negative responses than I would have expected. Not all of these negative responses can be attributed to operator error. Is the quality control going down on all of these products? My little Stihl MS170 is 7 years old, cut 50 full cords, always started hot or cold, and never, ever gave me a lick of trouble. Then just the other day, the oiler pooped out on it. No big deal. So I was looking to get a new saw, and fix my old one to have as a backup. But after reading so many negative responses, any and all warranties notwithstanding, I'm kinda leery of buying "any" new saw, regardless of brand. What say you all? Also, does Stihl have a 7 day saw replacement warranty on new saws? The reason I ask is because one of the posts at the other site mentioned it.

Don <><

And Don,
Congradulations to you for having the uncommon good sense to use the internet and this site to help you make a good common-sense purchase. Now you will get your moneys' worth.
Not something everyone does by a long shot!
Igpoe

 

[justtools]

One of the issues with the review sites is they do not tell you how many of that unit has been sold. 100 bad reviews is not so bad if there are millions out there working fine. Another problem is when a customer is completely happy they don't think about telling everyone but I bet every unhappy person has written a review on multiple sites.

When you are a 100% satisfied you tell nobody. Anything less you tell everyone.

 

[o8f150]

i have to put my 2 cents in here,,, i wouldn't believe anything on the net unless you read it on here,, if you want the real poop about a saw the AS is the place to read about it,, like it was said before,, people,,for the most part, don't know how to take care of a saw

 

[deye223]

get a 260 or a 261 and you'll never look back

 

[sachsmo]

get a 260 or a 261 and you'll never look back

But if don't know how to maintain a chain, or the saw itself, a wildthing with a operator who does will kick it's arse.

 

[deye223]

But if don't know how to maintain a chain, or the saw itself, a wildthing with a operator who does will kick it's arse.

after cuting 50 full cords i think the OP knows how to sharpen a chain

 

[sachsmo]

Just sayin'

 

[BiggerDiggler]

Bad chainsaws?

My very first posting!

My background: I spent an entire summer in 1983 hiking through the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, doing trail maintenance for the US Forest Serve and carrying a chainsaw on my back. It was one of the first Echos in my area, I believe a 452VL (I found another one recently and lovingly restored it). The chainsaw was both a way to make a living and sheer survival. Went weeks without seeing another human being, sawing through gigantic deadfalls of yellow pine that sometimes were more than four feet in diameter, with a piddling 20 inch bar and a 42 cc saw! I had never even started a chainsaw before that, but I got good at everything to do with Chainsaws REAL FAST. That Echo was absolutely flawless. It was a very beaten rental saw when I bought it, and I added onto its hard life. I couldn't kill it, and I tried hard. I have been a big fan of Echos ever since, although I now have a huge stable of Huskys and Stihls, new ones and older one from every era, including a 60's era Stihl 08s that I am restoring.

Now about complaints about saws. We live in the best of times when it comes to excellent, powerful and reliable chainsaws and information on how to mod them and maintain them. The new saws are a quantum leap over that ancient Echo that I labored with for four months. They are FAR more powerful and reliable and dependable and bullet proof. The strato saws (I have a 441 and a 391) are in a world class of their own, a quantum leap over the forebearers.

No matter the ####ty reputation, I have NEVER had a problem with a saw that I did not cause, either from letting them sit with bad gas, or doing other ham-handed things to them. And even then, the solution was always just a few minutes fiddling with it, or paying someone else a meager amount to do it for me.

For instance, I bought a Mcculloch 3200 about 15 years ago to cut wood on camping trips mainly, from Costco, which safely qualifies as one of the devilish Big Box stores. It cost 75 bucks or so. It is made almost entirely of plastic, by chinese. On the internet, that saw is widely reviled and scorned as a horrid POS, to my amazement and shock. And it probably is, in comparison to the ridiculously unbelievable high quality of the competition. Yet I have never had one. single. problem with it. It has started with a tankful of two or three-year old gas. It has never failed to start. It has cut around 20 cords of wood, being thrown around by drunken naked teenagers at woodsy keggers, ran repeatedly with bad gas, after sliding around in the rain in the back of a pickup. I started it up this spring (on about the fifth pull) with bad gas and handily cut down a black walnut tree and bucked and limbed it quickly. This measly, under powered ####tily-built thing has been more reliable than a few high-end lawnmowers I have owned.

So I happen to think most of the negative reviews of saws are either ringers (dealers and manufacturer reps disparaging the competition) or written by absolutely idiots. Many of the negative reviews say more about the problems of the internet than it does of the saws being "reviewed." I would venture to say that many experienced members on this site could go to Walmart, buy a 100 dollar Poulan wood shark, and cut 50 or 60 cords of wood in the worst of circumstances and have it work flawlessly, albeit miserably slow and unsatisfying.

 

[igpoe]

Welcome to the forum BD