Why I will never buy Stihl again

[fpc310]

Welp if your happy with the outcome then all is good, thats what counts.

Far as control over the dealers sadly but honestly what Stihl is saying is true. Ya have to understand the dealers are Stihl's customers, your the dealer's customer. Stihl sells to the dealers, not to you, the dealer sells to you. Having almost 40,000 dealers worldwide would make it almost impossible for any company to police day in day out. Note as well Stihl only owns the product they sell these dealers, not the building they are in, they don't give paychecks to these dealers for selling their products. The dealers pay Stihl and re-sell the products to stay in business. Stihl is not going to shut down any dealer that pays their bills on time over a customer complaint, its going to take alot of complaints, not a few, for them to really look hard at a dealer that pays his bills. Chevrolet, Ford aren't going to shut down a dealer either over a customer complaint. Its takes a awful lot of complaints before any company will say enuff, thats it, you don't sell our product anymore. As Elvis would Thats Just The Way It Is....

Sadly true.

 

[Fish]

Just buy some fresh fuel first, or keep this thread active.......

You never did say how old the fuel was that was in the 290, I am guessing
from last Sept.

Obviously someone did a lot of caving in somewhere to get you where you are now, I knew that the 290 was not in Cinn. at Bryan........

How much trade in value did they give you toward the 361?

Just curious, I am glad you are still here, to be fair, let us know the whole story.

 

[Fish]

Yeah, I crumbled and bought a 361 to replace the 290. I had to get back to work on these trees. At worst, the 290 is dead. At best, I have a new saw that is *supposed* to be the cat's ass and the possibility of a warranty repair or replacement on the 290.

Who knows. I will probably run the 361 on a tuesday which will void the warranty. Didn't you know that excessive tuesday running voids the warranty? Watch out for those tuesdays.

I would love to have that saw, so we could see the pics of the piston,
and put this silliness to bed.

The only thing proven here is the "squeekiest wheel" thing.........

Has nothing to do with Stihl, quality, customer service, etc......

Obviously someone caved and gave you a hell of a good deal, and you are still back badmouthing...........

Why did you take the deal??

Why did you 290 fail???

Any pics???

It was obviously one sweet deal........

 

[fpc310]

Did you get a full refund on the 290??

opppppppps had to read that again, so the 290 is still up in the air, 30 minutes up where you are must be the longest 30 minutes in the world,LOLOL

The 290 is in the process of being looked at by my local dealer. No refunds or anything like that yet.

I also want to know what the insides of this thing looks like. I will post the diagnosis and photos as soon as I can. I am dying to know. If I neglected this saw, then I want to know how, why, and how to prevent it in the future.

 

[Fish]

Fair enough.

This dealer must be a silver tongued devil...

Pics of the piston on both sides would be good, and pics of the bad valve.....

This is an open forum, and all kind of input is expected, but to be fair here,
with this group, pics are a must.

Some of the young guys might jump on a wagon, but this forum is populated
with some savvy techs, and we need pics to make any conclusions, I hope
you understand....

 

[fpc310]

Obviously someone caved and gave you a hell of a good deal, and you are still back badmouthing...........

Why did you take the deal??

Why did you 290 fail???

Any pics???

It was obviously one sweet deal........

Nothing sweet about the deal. I paid sticker for the saw. The only thing that got thrown in was an upgrade from the standard anti-kickback chain and a 6 pack of 2-cycle oil.

 

[Fish]

But by far, we all must admit, you have whipped up one humdinger of a thread

 

[fpc310]

Fair enough.

This dealer must be a silver tongued devil...

Pics of the piston on both sides would be good, and pics of the bad valve.....

This is an open forum, and all kind of input is expected, but to be fair here,
with this group, pics are a must.

Some of the young guys might jump on a wagon, but this forum is populated
with some savvy techs, and we need pics to make any conclusions, I hope
you understand....

I understand completely. If I am wrong, then I deserve the beatdown I will get . I didn't want to take the muffler and carb off myself since it is still under warranty, so the pics will have to wait for the tech to get into it. Either way, I promise to provide them . It may take them a couple of days.

 

[Fish]

Nothing sweet about the deal. I paid sticker for the saw. The only thing that got thrown in was an upgrade from the standard anti-kickback chain and a 6 pack of 2-cycle oil.

Just curious, how did he do that?

Not even "SYNTHETIC OIL"???

no, seriously, what made you shell out that much for another Stihl, in light
of your posts????

That Tuesday theory might have some validity........

 

[fpc310]

Just curious, how did he do that?

Not even "SYNTHETIC OIL"???

no, seriously, what made you shell out that much for another Stihl, in light
of your posts????

That Tuesday theory might have some validity........

Honestly, I just simply "doubled down" on Stihl rather than taking an unknown risk with another brand. I am not happy about the scenario. I took a half day off unpaid to drive 100 miles round trip to get my saw to a dealer who gave a crap. I think they all should give a crap and look into problems in detail. I would've even paid money for a really good investigation! It would've been cheaper than a 1/2 day off and a 1/2 tank of fuel in my truck. Admittedly, my fault for not going to the dealer where I bought it. If the 361 works for years, then I would be the first to praise them.

 

[edisto]

So in 24 hours and 40 minutes we go from:

Either way, I will likely never buy another Stihl again after this experience.

To:

Honestly, I just simply "doubled down" on Stihl rather than taking an unknown risk with another brand.

without ever finding out what was wrong with the saw in the first place?

Going from brand hatred to embracing the Concorde fallacy in a single day is a pretty big leap...

 

[spacemule]

My dealer seems to have a lifelong warranty on everything... he sold me my 041AV, as the "Cheapest old Stihl you have", it broke the filter surround, he replaced it free. I wore through the starter rope a couple of months later - he replaced it, free. I went to buy a new chain - he said the old one had plenty of life left in it, sharpened it free, and sold me the new chain anyway.
I went to buy bar oil, the stuff they have on display is Bioplus, at $24 a gallon - instead he pulled out some $10 a gallon stuff from the back room, said that's what he uses.
Then took my saw right out of the boot of my car while we were talking, fired it up, tried a couple of cuts, gave the carb a little tweak, and gave it back to me - not a penny paid except for the oil.
THAT is how you earn a loyal customer for life. If I ever spend money on a new saw, I won't be going to the dealer 5 minutes walk away from my house (Coates Engineering), I'll drive the 2 hours down to see the cabin guy and give him my money instead.

That's how you go broke.

 

[THALL10326]

The 290 is in the process of being looked at by my local dealer. No refunds or anything like that yet.

I also want to know what the insides of this thing looks like. I will post the diagnosis and photos as soon as I can. I am dying to know. If I neglected this saw, then I want to know how, why, and how to prevent it in the future.

Well you've taken some shots in this thread, no question on that so let me put all play aside and tell ya what I really think.

I think your 290 was running lean for whatever the reason and it cooked. You hold steadfast that the fuel was fresh and the chain was sharp. You even say that same fuel mix is in your other saw and its still running. That being the case along with the saw being within the warranty timeframe, you buying another Stihl at the same place you bought the 290 from, that 290 should be repaired or replaced, not two weeks from now, not one week from now but ASAP. Buying that 361 shows your a loyal customer and that counts for something. It also shows your reasonable and only expect what you pay for. Unless that 290 shows scoring on both sides of the piston your due a new 290 or that one repaired based on all you have said. I'm taking your word and based on your word I can't find any fault with what you did with the 290 except run it.

Had I been the man dealing with you, or someone like Lakeside or Paul this whole ordeal would have been resolved in 30 minutes or less. I do believe you got mad at the other dealer and said a few things and rightly so but in doing so he got mad at you and thats where it all fell apart, it became personal. No excuse for it on the dealers part, his job is to do his job, not play Dr.Phil and judge your charactor or temper as he see's fit.

Keep us posted and let us know how the 290 turns out. I got a feeling your gonna get your old bar and chain back along with a new powerhead.

 

[Fish]

Had I been the man dealing with you, or someone like Lakeside or Paul this whole ordeal would have been resolved in 30 minutes or less. I do believe you got mad at the other dealer and said a few things and rightly so but in doing so he got mad at you and thats where it all fell apart, it became personal. No excuse for it on the dealers part, his job is to do his job, not play Dr.Phil and judge your charactor or temper as he see's fit.

Keep us posted and let us know how the 290 turns out. I got a feeling your gonna get your old bar and chain back along with a new powerhead.

So once again, the big

"Heavies" here on this forum openly take a dump on my forehead..............

Sniff................................................... I am leaving....................

Gone.....

Bye..........

Kaput............

Vamos.........................................................

Stick a fork in it...................................


I have "POURED" out my "SOUL" here........................


NO RESPECT!!!!!!!!!

Sniff.................................................

 

[Scandy14]

HAHA, you lowlife you,LOLOLOL Now I gotta rub one in on ya.

My rep just stopped in a minute ago. Had a demo 460 on the back of his truck. I asked whatcha gonna do with that 460. He goes its a demo. I go yeah and?????????????

Somehow I feel violated, I got me another 460 to take home, didn't need it but my the price was right, we dogggggggggggggggie. If I told ya what that saw cost me you would wouldn't like me no more,hehe A hint, cost less than a new 346 Husky..

That's a purty saw you got there Tom. You done good! Now go make some chips.

 

[fpc310]

So in 24 hours and 40 minutes we go from:


To:


without ever finding out what was wrong with the saw in the first place?

Going from brand hatred to embracing the Concorde fallacy in a single day is a pretty big leap...

I will likely never buy Stihl again... well it was unlikely, but happened anyway. I took some advice here on the forum and by PM to not blame the brand for the mistakes of one dealer. I am not a smiling new owner of another Stihl saw yet though.

I needed a working saw at this point either way. If the 290 is found to be defective by no fault of mine, then I think I've earned the right to a remedy of some kind. This is especially true since I put even more money and good faith on the table by buying the brand again.

I am a residential user and I don't really make much of a difference to any of them. I could've tried another brand and watched them flush the issue down the drain. I can't fight them as an ex-customer.

 

[PatrickIreland]

That's how you go broke.

No,that's how you get rich. There are 3, maybe 4 Stihl dealers in N. Ireland, he has a huge house, a constant stream of customers, a couple of very nice fast cars.
How you go broke, is working in Home Depot while trying to be a lawyer.
I think the guy might understand business a little bit more than you do - as he is rich, and you and I are not.

 

[fpc310]

Well you've taken some shots in this thread, no question on that so let me put all play aside and tell ya what I really think.

..... I'm taking your word and based on your word I can't find any fault with what you did with the 290 except run it.

Keep us posted and let us know how the 290 turns out. I got a feeling your gonna get your old bar and chain back along with a new powerhead.

Thanks THALL for the confidence and benefit of the doubt. We will have to see how things go.

 

[spacemule]

No,that's how you get rich. There are 3, maybe 4 Stihl dealers in N. Ireland, he has a huge house, a constant stream of customers, a couple of very nice fast cars.
How you go broke, is working in Home Depot while trying to be a lawyer.
I think the guy might understand business a little bit more than you do - as he is rich, and you and I are not.

Bull####.

 

[PatrickIreland]

Bull####.

Why not look him up? M&M Allen, Newtownbutler, N. Ireland. Give him a ring.