What made you a stihl or a husky guy.

[woodshop]

I know a Husky dealer who orders all of his saws with .058 chain on them so he can instantly spot the Lowes saws (with .050) and tell the owner to hit the bricks, his store, his choice. Nowhere in the dealer agreement does it say that ant dealer is REQUIRED to work on any product they did not sell.

My closest Husky dealer has a big sign right on the checkout counter, it says in large letters...

"Buy it here front of the line, buy it elsewhere back of the line"

Guess he isn't mincing words is he?

btw, I have Stihls AND Husky's, use both, love both. Whats the deal...

 

[adkranger]

I personally don't see how selling out of big box stores, with no-knowledge sales clerks and no product support is a good thing for Husky. Yes it gets them sales numbers, but highly doubt the margin is anything to brag about per unit. I would much rather buy from a local or regular dealer for the support. It goes both ways, I benefit because I acquire knowledgeable support on a product I buy from him, plus the bargins I find out there, he benefits when I make a large purchase and return for service.
I cannot blame those dealers not wanting to work on big box purchases, or at least putting them behind LOYAL customers. To me it's priceless to be able to walk into my dealer with a problem and have him take care of it on the spot so I can get back to making money with the saw, not dropping it off to see it sometime next month. That's worth paying a little more for the new product once in a while IMHO, to have a guy that will work on ANYTHING I bring in to him.

 

[pbtree]

I am a Husky and a chevy man.

My dad always drove Chevies, so that was natural.

When looking for my first pro saw, I wandered into a pro shop in Oregon while on vacation, and walked out with a shney new Husky - been loyal ever since.

 

[SinglerM]

I bought a Stihl, mostly due to looking for a 70cc sized saw. This led me to looking at the Stihl 440, 441 and the Husky 372XP(harder to find) and 575. The 440 kept coming us as the tried and true saw, so that's what I got. I tried to be objective in choosing a saw and not be swayed by brand. I got a 90cc sized saw also, the Stihl MS660 seemed to be THE saw to get in that size range, so it was Stihl again.
Stihl didn't win out in my decision to get a 50cc saw, the MS260 PRO didn't compare favorably against the Dolmar 5100S on price and performance based on what I read here. So I went with Dolmar in this instance.
Consider me a Stihl guy now. I'm thrilled to have the 440 and 660 . Stihl as a company, I like as well. The dealer setup they have, I like. I could've saved a few bucks with a Husky. If I had let price be the main factor in deciding on a saw, I would've ended up with a 575 instead of a MS440 (no thanks.) I would've already forgotton about the little bit of money I might have saved.
Stihl also makes their own bars and chains. As a company they may be more committed to making chainsaws and less to filling up shelves at Lowe's.
Stihl for me.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I remember as a kid my dad saying that Stihl made the best saws. He still used one, and I've never made the switch. That, and my local dealer is great.

 

[Rotax Robert]

I pretty much go with whatever you guys suggest, That is why I own both brands and I am broke.

Rotax

 

[spacemule]

I'm a Tonka man myself.

 

[gatkeper1]

First saw was a John Deere 50V[cs452vl echo]. Bought it from the local dealer to clear downed trees from storm damage.A very reliable saw that I always counted on to do the job.
First Husky was a free 2nd hand 272xp which was followed by a 266xp and a 394xp.
The 394 is my go to saw for the big stuff. Can't beat the power
My new favorite however is my Dolmar PS-5100.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Stihl dealer presence is much better than Husqvarna in the places where I live and cut.

Bingo!
I run some of each.
They both make some good saws. But if you only have one saw, like many homeowners, you'll want to be able to get parts and service.
Can you buy Husky parts online?
You can't buy new Stihl part online, right?

 

[John Ellison]

Bingo!
.
You can't buy new Stihl part online, right?

Thats one of the reasons I am not running Stihl now. When I lived in Ak. I could phone in an order to M,sens in Washington state and have it in a couple of days if the weather cooperated. The people I talked to knew exactly what I was talking about and usually had the stuff in stock.
I have not run into that kind of service here. The dealers that hang out on this board are the kind that a person needs. They know about saws and they are INTERESTED in them.

 

[Gologit]

I started off running heavy iron...Macs and Homelites in the 60's. When the first Stihl showed up we all laughed and made fun of it... and then went out and bought some after we'd had a chance to use them for awhile. I still run Stihl. Mostly from habit. I'm used to them and I can work on them a little bit. My local saw shop is great. I also think that Husky is a fine saw and if I weren't so used to Stihl (and too damn old to change) I wouldn't hesitate trying one. Bob

 

[ciscoguy01]

New Husky

Sooooo, today I got the wifey a little husky 137. Determining factor, price/cc's. A stihl MS170 was at $180 and a little bit small, I wanted to stay at least 2hp or around that area, the 170 is at 1.75. The next one up, the ms180 is only like 1.6cc's difference and the price goes to $240, then the ms210 which is a 2hp saw, that baby runs in at close to the $300 range. I'm all for a Stihl, BUT I can get a saw in husky bigger, like 1.5cc's bigger to be exact, same hp for $180 bucks, and I love love love my 266 and the 288. Sooooo, I wouldn't necessarily say i'm converted to husky, but damn, couldn't stihl be a little competitive??? Either way, the wifey is a happy camper. :biggrinbounce2:

 

[rickyrooster]

Stihl Or Husky????????????

I Like Them All When They Are Running Good. Though My Favorite Saw Of All Is The (jonsered).:d

 

[IchWarriorMkII]

The Husky dealer was a pretty competent guy, and thats what got my Dad hooked on the orange saws...


When I went to buy me a saw after moving out, I looked long and hard at Stihl and Husky, given the fact the Stihl dealer is a complete mongoloid I chose Husqvarna.

Then dealer went under, so Im kinda ????ed. I hear Husqy's are easier to work on yourself than Stihl... I hope its true

 

[vapnut257]

As long as I am forced to rely on the eccentricies of any individual dealer vs a broad network of certified reliable repair shops I believe I'll stick to buying my chainsaws (any brand) from any supplier that offers the lowest price. If I can't have my equipment repaired in Washington state because I bought it in Virginia, or I'm going to be sent to the back of the line or pay some onerous penalty because I didn't buy from a particular dealer, then I'll just consider my chainsaws all disposable and when they break down I'll fix them myself or throw them away and buy a new one at the best price I can find. If I buy a "Sthil" or "Husqvarna" I should be able to walk into any repair shop that claims to service these name brand saws, and be treated just as fairly as any other customer that walks into their store and if not, then I'll buy from the big box stores, drive the prices down and help put these little saw shops that want to cheat their customers out of business. I agree, that independent dealers have the right to deny service on any saw not purchased from them, or they can pick and choose whose saws they will fix, but doing so makes the brand name saw less valuable. Neither one of these saws (Husky or Sthil) is worth their cost without a reliable network of honerable repair centers.

 

[Brushwacker]

I have mostly used 2nd hand chainsaws since I started selling firewood in 1983. Had old blue Homeys and an 041 fb for years + a mcculloch now and then.Bought the 041 from a big firewood guy well used and had it for years,sold it to a farmer and recently bought it back . Only malfunctions I AM aware of it having was caused by old gas sitting in it to long. In the early 90's I bought a new 034 Super which I used for 95% of all my cutting about 10 years,which included cutting many very large hardwoods.Husky dealers started popping up around me and I wanted a easier saw to operate with a better air cleaning system for the long days I was putting behind a saw and I bought a Husky 55 w/ acompression release. I never cut enough wood to pay for the saw in the couple years I had it.It spent most of the time having problems and getting fixed or trying to get it fixed.I tried a used 372 and it quickly started reminding me of the 55 so I sold it as is and in a couple months at last count it has seen 4 mechanics and is going on about its 3rd or 4th problem. For me the basket case Stihls have been much cheaper,easier, to fix and keep going. There has been 2 sizeable dealers within 50 miles of here that quit the Huskies because they were having problems keeping up on their chainsaw service. For me Stihls have been trustworthy,user freindly,profitable, but not perfect. I am not aware of any saw that does any better overall though. I have quite a few hours behind some xp Huskies helping tree services and like running them as long as I don't have to be concerned of paying for their maintnence.Simply I don't trust them like the Stihls,Sachs Dolmar, or some of the other old saws I had. I am sure many of us had differant experiances, thats just mine and I suggest go for what works best for you.

 

[ciscoguy01]

yup

I have mostly used 2nd hand chainsaws since I started selling firewood in 1983. Had old blue Homeys and an 041 fb for years + a mcculloch now and then.Bought the 041 from a big firewood guy well used and had it for years,sold it to a farmer and recently bought it back . Only malfunctions I AM aware of it having was caused by old gas sitting in it to long. In the early 90's I bought a new 034 Super which I used for 95% of all my cutting about 10 years,which included cutting many very large hardwoods.Husky dealers started popping up around me and I wanted a easier saw to operate with a better air cleaning system for the long days I was putting behind a saw and I bought a Husky 55 w/ acompression release. I never cut enough wood to pay for the saw in the couple years I had it.It spent most of the time having problems and getting fixed or trying to get it fixed.I tried a used 372 and it quickly started reminding me of the 55 so I sold it as is and in a couple months at last count it has seen 4 mechanics and is going on about its 3rd or 4th problem. For me the basket case Stihls have been much cheaper,easier, to fix and keep going. There has been 2 sizeable dealers within 50 miles of here that quit the Huskies because they were having problems keeping up on their chainsaw service. For me Stihls have been trustworthy,user freindly,profitable, but not perfect. I am not aware of any saw that does any better overall though. I have quite a few hours behind some xp Huskies helping tree services and like running them as long as I don't have to be concerned of paying for their maintnence.Simply I don't trust them like the Stihls,Sachs Dolmar, or some of the other old saws I had. I am sure many of us had differant experiances, thats just mine and I suggest go for what works best for you.

Preach on ma brotha!!! You can't beat the ole' stihl 041's dude. I've got 2 right now. My cousin has 3 or 4 of'em. You can't kill them. Latest, my brother ran over mine last summer with his damn pickup on the garage floor and busted the top off it. It was my first saw I've ever owned. I had to rethread the top screw and put a new piece of threaded rod in it, kind of custom work, that baby stihl runs like a champ. I swear by'em. Not to mention this year I cut around 5 face cord of Red Oak around 40 or so inches with it, had to cut through the damn stuff twice cause it was too big for the 16" bar. Only bad thing is it's starting to get hard to find parts if you need any for them. The oilers, if they go are really hard to get your hands on.

 

[adkranger]

then I'll buy from the big box stores, drive the prices down and help put these little saw shops that want to cheat their customers out of business.

Man, that's pretty heartless. Do you honestly expect the local mom & pop shop to be able to sell their product at the same price point as a Lowes, Home Depot or Wally World?? And if you are not willing buy any product through their store because you want save a buck, but you want them to treat you the same as, say the local jobber who buys two or three new saws every other year, buys chain loops, saw mix, choker chains and whatever else he needs there? I'm certainly not saying a dealer that hangs the Stihl or Husky shingle out front should arbitrarily withhold services from a customer that owns one of those products, regardless of purchase point, but there is no way if you purchase all your big ticket items(read saws) from the big boxes or from the mega dealers online that you should receive the same level of service as the guy who buys all his saws from mom & pop. We are currently in our area losing a local, family owned lumber yard/home supply business due to a new Lowes opening down the street. While I believe in capitalism and certainly like to spend my money wisely, I will spend that money with one of my local businesses as long as their price is fair if not exactly a bargin basement price. Finally if people succeed in your goal of putting the little guy shops out of business, where are you going to get your service and parts support from? Big box? How is your and everyone else's support supposed to improve with this strategy?

 

[spike60]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! One of my favorite topics here.

All saws in my store are priced well below the ones in Lowes. You could say we have internet pricing without the need to poke the keyboard, and you can have your saw properly set up to boot.

Our service has won awards. But if you buy it elsewhere, we don't have time for you. I always find it amusing that people are miffed when I won't service a unit from Lowes, but they don't seem to be upset that the store they bought it from doesn't even have a service department, and blows them off by telling them to "call the 800 number".

And, yes of course I make exceptions for people who move into the area, and things like that.

On the other hand, consider the story of this nitwit: Bought a saw at Lowes, it isn't oiling, he took it all apart to clean it, not sure how it goes back together, and it's "under warranty". Sorry pal, take it back to Lowes.

Now I know that some of you will say that he could have been my customer and bought his next saw from me. Maybe he would have bought a plow for his truck. Maybe he would have bought a $30,000 compact tractor. Maybe he would have even given me a pair of tickets to the Giants game and fixed me up with his hot sister who hasn't dated since she got divorced 6 months ago and is really lonely. MAYBE. But experience has proven over the years that customers like that are just a pain in the butt.

 

[adkranger]

Brushwacker, I agree about basket case Stihls. I have purchased or been given several over the years, and have made out better more times than not. There several older models, long out of production that I am fond of and know my way around well. There was a large dealer near where I used to live that supplied most of the arbo & utility companies and loggers in everything one would need to cut and move wood. They literally had old apple crates full old saw parts, segregated by brand. It was awesome! Need a new rear handle assembly for an 028 Super? Go dig in that box over there, bring your "new" replacement part to the counter, $15 for the complete assembly including fuel cap, throttle linkage, carb mount, single control lever, etc. I had an 028av given to me by a family member. It was rode way hard by utility clearance crews. Ran poorly, broken plastic, broken chain brake, many small missing parts and bent top handle(if I had to guess a large piece of wood was dropped on it or used as a wheel chock). One year later he saw me cutting firewood with it and couldn't believe it was the same saw. I had put no more than $30-40 into it and had a fine low end middle weight saw. Needless to say he wanted it back.