STIHL Dealer turn around time question

[7sleeper]

That is bad luck about the turnover, but sometimes $ch!t happens. Annoying at the moment but if the end turns out well no bad feelings about it.

There is nothing wrong with a 230 as a firewood saw! Contraire to what a lot of people here on this site are trying to tell you. As soon as you have passed the run in time (~10 refills) it will work very nice. Just remember
You won't be the fastest!
You won't be the cool kid on the block with the pro saw for 10 chords/year!
You won't be making a fool of yourself showing off with a pro saw when any homeowner or farmer saw would fullfill your needs equally well!

But you will have enough wood cut and stacked to have a nice warm winter!

7

 

[o8f150]

I just got done with a fs55 stihl weedeater,, it came in last night and was done over an hour ago,, had to build the carb,,, it was sitting at the repair shop for 3 weeks and was going to be over a week before they could get to it so the guy picked it up and brought it to me,, he will be happy,,, I pride myself in a 24 hour turn around

 

[Hinerman]

I took some equipment for warranty work in March. They told me they were 5 weeks out!!!! By the time they checked it out, ordered parts, and fixed it....it was close to 2 months!!!! I took back in for more warranty work in July, they told me they were 4 weeks out....I still haven't heard from them.

My point is this: I don't expect to get something back quickly if I have to leave it at the dealer. All of them are understaffed in the technician department and they are swamped this time of year. Add to that, good techs are hard to come by, usually underpaid and usually don't stick around.

I know there are exceptions. There are some exceptional dealers with outstanding service. Consider yourself blessed if you have one.

 

[HittinSteel]

The thing that bothers me is this saw was brand new and recently sold to the OP. Call me crazy, but if I were a dealer and a new saw I sold failed that quickly, it would be at the top of my pile to fix. I understand that this takes coordination between the sales staff, techs and management, but I don't think it is too much to ask, especially when your number #1 sales pitch is your network of servicing dealers. I think Home Depot would have a carb back on the saw by now.

I do have to point out though, that there are some outstanding stihl dealers out there and some frequent this site. There are about 8 dealers in my area and they range from terrible to outstanding.

 

[STIHLMIKE]

I think that the main issue is that they are a john deere dealer along with stihl. I imagine that my 300 some dollar chainsaw only made them 50 bucks, so they may be more worried about selling, that 500,000 combine or whatever.

I will be looking for a new dealer. Anyone know a good Stihl dealer in SW Pennsylvania. Maybe I am being too hard on them but I didn't spend 300 dollars on a saw to sit in the shop for 3 weeks, 4 days after I bought it and after a few trunk loads of wood.

 

[7sleeper]

Typical problem of major players who run chainsaws on the side line. And now is the time of year when tractors are in highest demand. A dedicated small engine store would have been a wiser idea. But there is nothing wrong with having a serious discussion at the store. They might have a loaner for the mean time. Further as far as I know Stihl offers a trade in in the first few weeks. Then a 251 would be my recomendation to make you very happy!

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[spike60]

Well first off Mike, if anybody gave me a deadline I'd throw them out of the store.

I turn almost every saw around in less than a week. And a "just bought" like yours would indeed be near the top of the list. You got to make a little more effort for some one who can't even use something they just bought.

I do a parts order at least every other day. I keep common carbs in stock. But it's a little harder for Stihl dealers to order parts as far as minimum orders/freight policies go. Consequently, many dealers have a policy such as yours, which is really dictated by Stihl's policy along with their parts volume. They'll either order parts on a set day each week, or wait until they have an order that qualifies for freight. Add 2 or 3 days shipping and "quick service" takes a beating. (And regardless of whether or not it's warranty, that freight charge is going to be there if the dealer just orders the carb.)

Yank the carb off another saw? If the carb was backordered out for a long time I would do that. Some dealers will, some won't.

Yeah, this kind of thing is frustrating for sure. The dealer could try a little harder IMO, but to a certain extent his hands are tied by circumstances. But life has it's disappointments. Better to get some bad news from your saw shop than from your doctor. :msp_smile:

 

[stihl023/5]

I dropped a 250 of a while back and was not impressed, they didn't do anything so it wasn't under warr. and I had to pay for nothing. Ended up fixing it myself and tossed the warr. and the stihl oil since the warr. was worthless.

 

[jockeydeuce]

I think that the main issue is that they are a john deere dealer along with stihl. I imagine that my 300 some dollar chainsaw only made them 50 bucks, so they may be more worried about selling, that 500,000 combine or whatever.

I will be looking for a new dealer. Anyone know a good Stihl dealer in SW Pennsylvania. Maybe I am being too hard on them but I didn't spend 300 dollars on a saw to sit in the shop for 3 weeks, 4 days after I bought it and after a few trunk loads of wood.

You pretty much nailed it....I'm not a saw dealer, so I have no idea of the margins on selling a new saw, but I've been in business for 25 years, and there's protocol for warranty work and making the customer happy every time will break you!

You can't courier in every little $5 piece, just to keep Joe consumer happy....I'm sorry, it's just not realistic.....My dealer orders once a week. If your little dealer isn't that busy with the Stihl products they may order even less often.

I'm just like 08F150, I try to give 24 hr or less turn around, and the only way I can do that is being a heavy parts stocking shop! Both my Husky and Stihl dealers are little more than order desks and they are both actually busy saw shops.....It's the way of the world now, good or bad.

 

[stihl023/5]

On the plus side if the dealer don't have something chances are good that you can get it online and faster any way.

 

[Mike from Maine]

This has got to be pretty frustrating for the OP. He buys a new saw (an uber reliable Stihl no less) thinking he'll be able to use it to put up some wood only to have it die on him within a week. And it takes how many weeks for a dealer to fix it? Those of us who have double digit saws might be a little annoyed waiting weeks for parts but someone with a 4 day old saw has a right to be annoyed.


If he had bought one of those other saws at the orange borg home center he probably could have walked into the store said it don't work and walked out with a new one in 15 minutes or less.

 

[STIHLMIKE]

you nailed it. I bought a stihl in hopes of avoiding these issues that I had read about from other names in the industry that seem to be just throw away saws. That is what frustrates me the most. Granted I did not buy a MS 660 or something but you would expect a lot better results from one of the top names in the industry.

 

[o8f150]

what I can't figure out is why it takes so long for them to get a saw fixed,,,, now this is just me but I can diagnose one and if it just needs a carb kit and fuel line I am done with it in 45 minutes,,,, so in an 8 hour day you should be able to fix 10 saws or weedeaters IF they need nothing major,, I am with jockey and the other guys,,, they don't make enough money fixing them so everything goes on the back burner,, now if that's the case that would piss me off,,,i am a retired automotive mechanic/manager,,, the customer comes first

 

[stihl023/5]

what I can't figure out is why it takes so long for them to get a saw fixed,,,, now this is just me but I can diagnose one and if it just needs a carb kit and fuel line I am done with it in 45 minutes,,,, so in an 8 hour day you should be able to fix 10 saws or weedeaters IF they need nothing major,, I am with jockey and the other guys,,, they don't make enough money fixing them so everything goes on the back burner,, now if that's the case that would piss me off,,,i am a retired automotive mechanic/manager,,, the customer comes first

And in your case moved to the front of the line if she is really big.

 

[o8f150]

And in your case moved to the front of the line if she is really big.

got that poopy right:msp_biggrin::msp_biggrin::msp_biggrin:

 

[opinion]

The thing that bothers me is this saw was brand new and recently sold to the OP. Call me crazy, but if I were a dealer and a new saw I sold failed that quickly, it would be at the top of my pile to fix. I understand that this takes coordination between the sales staff, techs and management, but I don't think it is too much to ask, especially when your number #1 sales pitch is your network of servicing dealers. I think Home Depot would have a carb back on the saw by now.

I do have to point out though, that there are some outstanding stihl dealers out there and some frequent this site. There are about 8 dealers in my area and they range from terrible to outstanding.

That's Stihl's pitch, not the dealers. If one dealer is too busy, try the next.

Peronsally, a unit that comes in quickly after it's been purchased, they get priority attention. It sucks some of your dealers have to wait 3 days to get a part. We get parts the next business day, but there is a minimum order for free freight. Personally I'd just eat the shipping cost.

Hate ordering Husky parts. They charge more for freight and it takes at least 3 days and the parts come from all over the world on different dates. Sometimes you can't finish a job because a particular part from an order doesn't come until a week after all the other parts came in.

 

[opinion]

you nailed it. I bought a stihl in hopes of avoiding these issues that I had read about from other names in the industry that seem to be just throw away saws. That is what frustrates me the most. Granted I did not buy a MS 660 or something but you would expect a lot better results from one of the top names in the industry.

Your expectations aren't realistic. Doesn't matter what you buy, schit happens and sometimes it can't be fixed at a drop of a dime. Call some of the other dealers and see if they can get to it quicker. Or just buy another saw in the meantime.

 

[Mike from Maine]

Good
Fast
Cheap

-Pick Two.

.

You really think the op got any of the above?

I mean its no good since it doesn't work.
Dealer reponse hasn't exactly been fast.
And is any stihl cheap to buy from a dealer?

 

[justtools]

If you want good service, you don't push the repair people. It's far better to do repairs yourself, anyway.

You have to be Kidding. The reason you buy a new saw is to have the warranty and hopefully not have any issues. You bought the saw from them only had it for a few days and it has a factory defect. You deserve to go to the front of the line to make sure you are happy. That is what would separate the good dealers and the so=so dealers.

 

[justtools]

I would never have just one saw! Always have a back-up...

..and better yet something other than Stihl. :msp_ohmy: :msp_tongue:

A backup saw is a great idea. If you are running a husky have a Stihl for a backup, You will use your backup saw more than you realize. Out in the remote areas there are few husky dealers for parts.