Simondo
Here For The Long Haul!
Yup..the 236 can be "troublesome" ! LolWe have the Makitas for reasonable prices nation wide. Lots of hardware places sell them. Bunnings currently has the ea3200 for $299. No Dolmar branded stuff sold through dealers here though, just Smurfs.
Last time I looked, an MS170 could be had for AU$249 at most Stihl outlets, including Mitre 10. At $50 cheaper than the Makita, it'd be my pick.
The cheap Husky here is the 236
Echo/Shindi are going through a transition here, as the dealer network collapsed! Briggs & Stratton have taken it over, but I've yet to see any Echo/Shindi saws back at small OPE shops. You can buy Echo saws at Bunnings now, although most of it is "special order". I love Echo saws, so this is extremely bad news for me personally.
Our emissions laws change as of the end of June & the cheap Chinese saws will no longer meet them. There are some bargains about in the "throw away" category ATM because of this. I bought a 25cc Chinese Zenoah TH knock off, brand new for $69. I stuffed around with it & got it to run half decent, but have no illusions about what it is.
Its easy to forget that where we all are in the world has a big impact on what we have to chose from as well as there being some price differences . The entry level saws from most makers here tend to be close on price but its always easy to get Stihl and Husq due to them being ..Everywhere !