Why I will never buy Stihl again

[Jkebxjunke]

To be brutally honest, the failure was likely due to bad/old gas,
just like in one of my earlier threads:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=56525

It took a few months for the guys at Bryan to cave in and put this turd
in the septic tank and go on.

Since we have absolutely no info/pics, there is not really any reason to
make any conclusions.

The original poster could have dropped his saw from a sequoia, ran cheapo
Tequila through the fuel system, left the saw in the duck pond for a month.

And no one here would know any better. I am tempted to call my friends at Bryan, but they will have no clue to this thing, as it all happened at the
Stihl rep level, and he finally decided to write it off as a "good will" warranty,
and let it fade away.
It is kind of scary that you guys would take a side/stance without any
credible info at all, and we still have damn little.

But that doesn't matter, now does it?

before you start jumping on the bad/old gas ... here is an article from BUsiness Week
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/may2009/bw20090514_058678.htm

How do we know what % is coming from the pump?

 

[Fish]

Well, my point is, anyone could start a thread, and dump a bunch of crap,
without any backup, photos, etc., and have a record count thread.

There is no other info other than the fuzzy crap provided by the original
poster, and whatever lame crap is tossed on the "deck" is accepted
by 70 per/cent of the members here.

I am not saying that this is all bull, and I am not saying that it is not.

But most of you girls will hop on any wagon heading in your general direction.

Which makes this whole waste of internet space even more a waste of time.

Just my take on it, we stepped in a pile of dog poop.

 

[Fish]

Ok, I could start a thread saying that I took one of my MS290s back for a
warranty issue, the kid told me it was a burned intake valve, I called to his
boss, he came out and slapped me and called me a fat homosexual,
and he said he was going to send the saw to "Stihl" and he would call me.

I called a few times and had different responses.....

So I will never buy Stihl again, the company is all populated by crooks,
the dealer told me my valve was gummed up, he said my saw was at
"Stihl".............

And on and on........

Then after 4 weeks, oh, they replaced it..........

After I bought a 361, since I was so pissed, are you chumps still with
me?

I said a while back, this thread should be put to rest...

You guys are real gullible..........

 

[Justsaws]

Chainsaw dealers, distribution reps and manufactures of any brand of any product that offer a warranty of any type take heed at all that went wrong in this cautionary tale.

30-90 days for warranty claims is not unusual, pathetic, absolutely but not unusual. Not being able to diagnose issue and offer solution at point of retail sale is a sad but true indication of the industry. To many people involved none of which wanted to accept cost liability. Pull muffler, see piston, perform diagnostic tests, if saw passes tests tell customer out come in a perfessional manner using language they can understand. GIVE the saw back to customer.

To paint a different picture than Fish, here is customers point of view.

Bought saw at MSRP from local authorized sales and service retail vendor.
Used saw as directed for short amount of time.
Saw stopped working.
Took saw to different authorized sales and service vendor for service that would hopefully be covered under warranty. Does NOT matter why.
Waited
Waited
Waited
Waited
Got an un-professional answer and treatment from this shop, retrieved saw and took to point of purchase for service.
Waited
Waited
Waited
Waited
Waited
Waited,2 months
All this time checking in and making phone calls trying to receive the service that the brand is supposedly famous for.

The original poster should count the number of trips and phone calls, add up the time and divide that number into the purchase price of the saw. That answer is how much the people he was dealing with thought his time was worth.

Even if the OP damaged the saw it is Stihl's responsiblty to tell him so and stand behind the finding. They did not. That is bad business. It would not surprise me to find out that the saw had been torn down BEFORE a P/V test had been performed. The whole thing was handled badly.

I am glad the OP got a saw and is now pleased. I sincerely hope his service needs are handled better in the future. It can not and should not be that difficult.

 

[Fish]

Chainsaw dealers, distribution reps and manufactures of any brand of any product that offer a warranty of any type take heed at all that went wrong in this cautionary tale.

30-90 days for warranty claims is not unusual, pathetic, absolutely but not unusual. Not being able to diagnose issue and offer solution at point of retail sale is a sad but true indication of the industry. To many people involved none of which wanted to accept cost liability. Pull muffler, see piston, perform diagnostic tests, if saw passes tests tell customer out come in a perfessional manner using language they can understand. GIVE the saw back to customer.

To paint a different picture than Fish, here is customers point of view.

Bought saw at MSRP from local authorized sales and service retail vendor.
Used saw as directed for short amount of time.
Saw stopped working.
Took saw to different authorized sales and service vendor for service that would hopefully be covered under warranty. Does NOT matter why.
Waited
Waited
Waited
Waited
Got an un-professional answer and treatment from this shop, retrieved saw and took to point of purchase for service.
Waited
Waited
Waited
Waited
Waited
Waited,2 months
All this time checking in and making phone calls trying to receive the service that the brand is supposedly famous for.

The original poster should count the number of trips and phone calls, add up the time and divide that number into the purchase price of the saw. That answer is how much the people he was dealing with thought his time was worth.

Even if the OP damaged the saw it is Stihl's responsiblty to tell him so and stand behind the finding. They did not. That is bad business. It would not surprise me to find out that the saw had been torn down BEFORE a P/V test had been performed. The whole thing was handled badly.

I am glad the OP got a saw and is now pleased. I sincerely hope his service needs are handled better in the future. It can not and should not be that difficult.

True, I agree, at least if that part of the story is real.

My point is, anyone could throw out an inflammatory thread with no pictures,
a vague confusing story, and everyone jumps up and down, talking about
bad dealers and a terrible company Stihl is.
This is even more a problem when someone airs out a problem with
another member, most side with the original poster, and a lot of fuss is
raised.

In this case, we had even less info, and the whole thing leaves everyone
with the same result: Stihl is bad. Stihl dealers are morons and crooks, etc....

But somehow at the end of this silly tale, the original poster now owns 2 brand new Stihl saws, now reread the title. Kind of makes us all look silly
for even wasting time and energy on this thread.

 

[jra1100]

The End!!! I doubt it

I started this last night, I'd seen it off and on and never read it. I was bored thought this might be good. Wow, I had no idea what I was in for. I sided with OP from the beginning, even though there were some spots where it was vague. I don't really have a bottom line on this. Fish chides us for wasting time, but I see he was in from the beginning. His request for pictures was spot on though. Had we had them there are those among us who could have diagnosed immediately. OP never thought that this would turn into such a cluster F k and consume over 2 months. If he or for that matter any of us had known it would take this long things would have gone differently from the start. Of course as usual the the thread ran amok and aspersions were cast and accusations made with absolutely no basis in fact. Fun was had by most if not all, in other words "the usual", just at greater if not excessive length. One question I have is could this OP have boxed up his saw and sent it to Tom, or Lake, or some other very experienced and trusted dealer for exam? I don't know how this would work, and the OP hadn't been a part of the AS family long enough to know how well regarded these 2 members are, just wondering if it was an option. I have the great luxury of having an excellent dealer nearby. I've not bought a new saw from him, but when I buy a new saw it will be from him, and if LeRoy tells me that this or that is wrong with a saw I know it's gospel. I'm very happy that this had a happy, if somewhat belated ending. JR

 

[Fish]

The liklihood is that the saw's damage was not Stihl's fault, and it takes a lot of wheel squeaking to get what you want.

A saw just under a year old burns up, if it was defective, it would have happened real early. Running old fuel is the likely culprit, coupled with the user running a saw that is not running right, but without any data/details
at all, who can say anything?

No dealer in his right mind would want to take the saw and look at it, then have this customer pissed at them also, so I wouldn't expect any volenteers.

 

[Justsaws]

The liklihood is that the saw's damage was not Stihl's fault, and it takes a lot of wheel squeaking to get what you want.

A saw just under a year old burns up, if it was defective, it would have happened real early. Running old fuel is the likely culprit, coupled with the user running a saw that is not running right, but without any data/details
at all, who can say anything?

No dealer in his right mind would want to take the saw and look at it, then have this customer pissed at them also, so I wouldn't expect any volenteers.

Fish, you and I are in agreement on many things and I am not sure how I feel about that. I am amazed that any brand of saw would agree to warranty a saw because of fuel quality. That is not a good business plan for the OEM. The thing that has been happening more and more is fewer and fewer people representing the brands are approaching these situations in a timely manner that resembles being professional.

Diagnostic testing for saw failure is quick and easy but must be done correctly and again professionally. I can count on one hand the number of shops that I have been to that P/V test saws for any type of reason. Many retailers that "service" do not seem to even possess the correct tools let alone a "mechanic" with proper skill set. I have witnessed too many dealers using the classic "I have been selling saws for 20 years I can tell you it failed because of ..." as a reason to not to provide warranties. That is crap.

All OEMs have a set of guidelines for warranties and if the dealers expect the customers to abide by them then the customers can expect the dealers to do the same. Any OEM that allows or requires any deciding input beyond the point of retail is asking for trouble and looking to give away saws. Grey areas are expensive.

The time line in this particular instance is for me the main indicator of an error in judgment on the part of the people representing the OEM. If it failed because of bad fuel a simple set of tests that could be done on the same day the saw was dropped off could have eliminated Stihl's warranty responsibility. That was not what seemed to happen and is almost NEVER what happens around here. If Stihl is going to allow that type of representation to be its standard, which it is around here with any brand, than greasing squeaks is probably going to be a regular occurrence. Poulan seems to have set the bar for how claims are handled around here and that is sad.

I understand that many dealers can have a hard time fitting in fast warranty resolutions but the dealers need to be aware that time is not on thier side in many of these situations. Un-like many tune-ups and most repair work a warranty issue often leaves the owner with a very nervous uncomfortable feeling while they wait especially if they truely do not understand why there new piece of equipment failed.

Stihl did not cover this saw because of the E content in fuel. They covered this saw because the people representing the brand in this instance failed to act in a manner correctly representing the OEM. In regards to those people I hope there are some spankings on the way, with paddles, none of that open hand crap.

I blame the company that allows the squeaky wheel to exist.

 

[JohnL]

All I'm interested in is seeing the 290, piston and cylinder, results of a vac and pressure test. Are the intelicarbs adjustable? Do they hold tune? The guy's not a mechanic, how often should he bring in it for carb adjustment?

 

[Fish]

All I'm interested in is seeing the 290, piston and cylinder, results of a vac and pressure test. Are the intelicarbs adjustable? Do they hold tune? The guy's not a mechanic, how often should he bring in it for carb adjustment?

In general, adjusting the carb on a saw that has a running problem is a bad
idea.

We were all interested to see the pics.

 

[limelakephoto]

Really it is kind of hard to get pics when the saw is not in your hand. If one of my saws went kaput under warranty, do you really think one would strip it down to see what happened ? Not likely.... Not the general population anyways. I would take my saw in after a quick check over by myself and ask the dealer for help.

 

[Maldeney]

Really it is kind of hard to get pics when the saw is not in your hand. If one of my saws went kaput under warranty, do you really think one would strip it down to see what happened ? Not likely.... Not the general population anyways. I would take my saw in after a quick check over by myself and ask the dealer for help.

See that is where I differ! A two stroke does not get much simpler, I would first tear it apart to find out what was going on. As well as take pictures the entire time I was doing it. (For proof) Then I would take it back to the dealer and ask them what the heck was going on. Especially if I had been (quote FPC) "I am not new to 2-cycle engines and I've been using Stihl saws for at least a decade without any real problems with the equipment itself."

So I still don't think high fives and pats on the back are warranted for 310.


But I was on the skeptical side early on.

 

[limelakephoto]

If you took the muffler off and inspected the dealer would probably get his back up , especially under warranty. I think it would make the dealer suspicious myself.

 

[Maldeney]

At that point it wouldn't matter. In this situation it really didn't matter the circumstances anyway. At least I would know going into it what was going on and then I would have a leg to stand on with the dealer. Otherwise I would be at the mercy of what they tell me! Like I said though two stroke motors do not get much simplier, so if the dealer has issue with me removing the muffler to do an inspection I need to find another dealer!

 

[canopyboy]

This could be a really good thread, let's wait and see.......

I was a new member here when I saw the first couple pages of this, including Fish's 1st page quote above.

Tuned out, couldn't help but check today to see how many pages this went into. 40 something?? Do I see 50 coming?



All I can say is, "Wow."

 

[JJuday]

I'm not a Stihl guy. But that story is about a bad dealer, not a bad company. If you have Stihl underwear, just find a new dealer....

I think that said it all in the first response. Every manufacturer has made lemons, and sadly, not all service/sales stations are willing to do right by the customers after the sale is over.

If the poster had bought a Husqvarna, Dolmar, Jonsered, or any other major brand would the responses been any different? Maybe, maybe not. Some are all too content to crap all over a company because of a bad dealer experience. Stihl is not the number one company in sales because of it's product so much as it's dealer network and after sales service and support. Just my 2cents.

 

[Jkebxjunke]

I was a new member here when I saw the first couple pages of this, including Fish's 1st page quote above.

Tuned out, couldn't help but check today to see how many pages this went into. 40 something?? Do I see 50 coming?



All I can say is, "Wow."

this is nothing... check out the "jerry springer: my girlfriend is a boy" thread aka the beg for rep thread... its up to like page 2100+

 

[peter399]

This thread is always on top (no wonder ..) so why not make it a sticky?

 

[super3]

Why?,as you stated it's always on top anyway. If every time someone said this should be a sticky,it was done we would be scrolling through 6 pages of stickys to get to todays threads.

 

[edisto]