What has your dealer gouged you on lately?

[Wood Doctor]

Could have saved a couple of bucks with a few used parts. That would have taken some patience. At the end of the day I think it was actually a good idea using all new parts given the situation.

Thank you and here is the "Junk" saw today that the dealer said I should throw away for new rather than try to repair:
She started and ran perfectly this morning. New tank housing, new pull cord fan housing, new chain brake handle, new handle molding and trigger control, transferred the round nameplate and pull cord parts. including the rewind spring. Yes, it was a bear and a few other misc. items and parts were involved, but this saw is ready for another chance to prove itself.

 

[pro94lt]

A new ht103. Always broke, leaking oil, or fixing to break.

 

[dustinwilt68]

For me if it says "Stihl" I just list it up, I know the parts will take me 3 times longer to get and cost me 4 times as much.

 

[pwheel]

... here is the "Junk" saw today that the dealer said I should throw away for new rather than try to repair... She started and ran perfectly this morning...

I get no break on Stihl parts prices, but the local power shop takes care of me otherwise. This MS460 had been fried and was sitting on the shop counter a couple of summers ago on its way to the boneyard. Of course, I couldn't help myself and took it home. Wife was away at the time, so the kitchen oven and the freezer was put to good use. The shop tech loaned ring compressor kit, supplied rebuild info, installed the crank seals, & vac/pressure-tested the assembly. Parts & labor came to around $500. Upon startup, the high speed needle had been tuned way lean. Fixed. Taking a chance on the crank bearing holding together, but we'll see. Gets used mostly on big white oaks that have failed because of gypsy moths.

 

[Larry B]

I give my customers the choice of OEM or AM. They almost always go for the AM. Have had good luck with the Stens and Rotary stuff. Stihl does what a lot of companies with proprietary parts does. Maximize parts profitability. Hard to pay for OEM Stihl and Honda carbs when AM for $15 seem to work fine. I recently retired after 40 years as a service rep for a company where All parts were proprietary and retail cost was usually 7 times internal cost. Some customers are paying over $1000 a day for their lease. Had a customer with 7 big systems. They wrote a check each month for around $300,000 for lease and supplies. If the customer didn't have a service contract we charged $350 to walk in the door and that covered the first 15 minutes and no parts. Would rather fix mowers and chainsaws. Less stress and no 2AM callouts or weekend standby.

 

[Yellowking86]

They charged me 26$ for one single bearing seal for an 066

 

[HumBurner]

I'm pretty much done with dealers.

Husqy and Stihl are both producing poor quality products and raking us small-timers over the coals.

 

[Woodslasher]

They charged me 26$ for one single bearing seal for an 066

I can't remember exactly, but the 066 seal/gasket kit was over $60 from a dealer and a week or so out.

 

[old saw fixer]

Someone is going to gripe about this being an old thread, but I"ll add my two cents- Stihl's attitude is why the Echo products are taking over in my "collection".

 

[FergusonTO35]

My local Napa is seriously anywhere from 20-50% higher on everything than the store in the town where I work, and I have accounts under my name at both places. They have the right to set prices however they like since they are franchised, but it's just friggin' annoying.

 

[redlight066]

Someone is going to gripe about this being an old thread, but I"ll add my two cents- Stihl's attitude is why the Echo products are taking over in my "collection".

Yeah, I started this thread, but the trend is still going up with no end in site. It may not have been accurate to point the finger at the dealer as he's getting gouged by the manufacturer.

For example, the fan housing on the FS,HS,HT 91-133 family used to be around $75-80. Then it went to $100 about 6-8 months ago, and just a month ago it was $135. The fan housing contains the clamp for the shaft, clutch drum and sealed bearing. The sealed China bearing is not a serviceable part like the older fan housing. Commercial use will wear that bearing out after a year or so. That's an expensive wear part for a $350 weedeater (FS91),

 

[HumBurner]

I'm pretty much done with dealers.

Husqy and Stihl are both producing poor quality products and raking us small-timers over the coals.

I was irritated when I wrote this.

There are still some amazing dealers out there, many of whom go above and beyond to keep customers happy and returning.

We had one of those, but he closed shop 1.5-2 years ago. The rest of them within 100 miles of us are subpar at best.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Yeah, I started this thread, but the trend is still going up with no end in site. It may not have been accurate to point the finger at the dealer as he's getting gouged by the manufacturer.

For example, the fan housing on the FS,HS,HT 91-133 family used to be around $75-80. Then it went to $100 about 6-8 months ago, and just a month ago it was $135. The fan housing contains the clamp for the shaft, clutch drum and sealed bearing. The sealed China bearing is not a serviceable part like the older fan housing. Commercial use will wear that bearing out after a year or so. That's an expensive wear part for a $350 weedeater (FS91),

Thanks, I will remember that. I get 15% off Stihl products at work but stuff like that negates any discount in my mind.

 

[redlight066]

I'll try and document it on my YT channel this coming week. You can use the older style fs90 fan housing with a little arts and crafts. Those housings are about half the cost.

 

[Al Smith]

I'll just say if you work on 40 - 50 year old stuff like I do eventually you'll learn to figure alternatives for replacement parts .Recently looking for a two piece coil for a Husqvarna 281XP I stumbled on to after market coils for the 2100-2101 models .These were rare as a hens tooth and often at $200 if you could even find one .Flea bay $70-80 bucks .Sure it's Chinese .Which is better a running saw or a saw that doesn't run because it has no coil ?

 

[Al Smith]

Another that comes to mind .During the covid lock down I got two Makita concrete saws in running order .At least 4 blowers and two Partner p-100's .One of same used a two piece ignition coil ,rare as a hens tooth and often also $200 if you could even find one .Hmm guess what a coil from a 272 Husky works just fine and AM was less than $20 .Some times you have to think outside of the box .

 

[smokey7]

And if you think Stihl is bad try John Deere. SMH

You think that's bad try caterpillar Volvo freightliner and every in-between. Cat is probably the worst but Volvo and mack parts system is way outdated

 

[Al Smith]

Cat and John-Deere both have the reputaion of being able to provide any part for any machine they ever made They did not however mention what that part would cost or how long it would take to get it .Holt -Rafacus ,now Ohio Cat in Toledo told me they had a giant bone yard in Texas that was huge .Holt BTW was the great grand son of Benjami
n Holt one of the founders of Caterpillar.

 

[smokey7]

Can't say anything bad about Kohler right now. I just priced a conversion kit for an older CH to do away with the problematic DSAM setup and go to MDI. Kit comes with a new engine wiring harness, two new coils, new mounting hardware, and a new flywheel for $160.00 retail.

I just looked up that kit at my dealer because I was only finding coils and dealer tells me I use my oem flywheel. The kit with the flywheel is 242 plus fees.

 

[smokey7]

Cat and John-Deere both have the reputaion of being able to provide any part for any machine they ever made They did not however mention what that part would cost or how long it would take to get it .Holt -Rafacus ,now Ohio Cat in Toledo told me they had a giant bone yard in Texas that was huge .Holt BTW was the great grand son of Benjami
n Holt one of the founders of Caterpillar.

Good to know about this Texas bone yard. How do we get parts from the yard?