Did you know that Stihl products aren't expensive??

[Oldtrout]

I have 2 stihl power saws and 2 stihl bush saws along with 2 smaller stihl string trimmers, they are used in my landscaping business, We love them when we do need a part its always in stock. I will continue using stihl products in the future.

I have tried the big box store saws and couldn't get a season out of them, time is money to me so from now on its all professional grade saws and trimmers.

 

[ccogg]

The reasons to purchase from a local dealer are too numerous to list, but I would like to chime in with my story: I walked into my local stihl/kubota/JD dealer to purchase a trimmer, chose the FS110 and was about to pay. I had never been in before and didn't know a sole there, but when they found out I didn't have enough cash or a check (and they don't take credit cards) they told me to take the trimmer home and stop in the next day with a check! Needless to say I was back 4 years later and bought a b7800. Both are wonderful tools. Pretty cool...

Ryan

 

[bx24d]

My local stihl dealer was listening to me complain about having been a sears/home depot customer for years and experiencing poor service and quality. He mentioned that many mass merchants carry items with 2 cycle engines that have been built with certain hours of lifespan in mind (for example 100 to 200 hours for a string trimmer). No wonder.

 

[Egon]

Uhhu - Cogg ??

Was that four years later with the check???

 

[valleydweller1]

Ok, I've gotta post this as a tribute to Stihl.

I have an FS66 trimmer at my house. I can remember using it at my grandfather's place as far back as 1990, and I know he had it for a while before that, so it's probably 20 years old. It has sat outside for two years, forgotten in a back pasture until last week. I found it, put a new string trimmer head on (it had a blade before) and put fresh gas in. It started on the third pull. A couple turns of the high and low speed carb screws and it ran great. Same air filter, same plug, same everything except for the gas.

Would a big-box store trimmer survive that?

Greg

 

[reasley]

Joe is 100% correct. The big chain stores, tell the manufacturer what they want to pay for the unit, and then the manufacturer cheapens the quality of the parts inside, until the price can be met, with the manufacturer making some profit on the item. Don't be fooled with this, by thinking whatever brand they sell is automatically junk; it is just the stuff in their store that is junk. Look at lawn mowers ( john deere vs. john deere at the JD dealer, and you will see the difference ), saws, trimmers, welders ( that's a biggie; don't think that you're getting true "Lincoln" welder quality when you buy a Lincoln from them vs. a lincoln from a welding supply place ). If you care about quality, DON'T buy these kinds of tools from big box stores period. Pass the word; no I'm not a dealer but hate when folks don't realize that they are comparing pricing on two things that are no way near the same quality. I hate junk, and I hate the fact that the big box stores are getting away with this. They should be ashamed of themselves!!!!!!!!

Good evening, DaryleD --

A lot of consumers have this perception of category killer stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy, Circuit City, Sam's, etc., etc. and it is true some of the time, but not always.

A personal case as an example. You mentioned Lincoln welders specifically. About 3-4 months ago, I started doing some research on welders. This led very quickly to a welder's forum much like this site. After searching discussions of big box stores versus welding shops, it became clear that there was a prevaling sentiment that Lincolns and other brands sold at big boxes versus industry-specific stores were, as you as you mentioned, produced with much cheaper parts.

I contacted the marketing department at Lincoln and relayed the perceptions that I had been reading and asked specifically what the differences were between a Lincoln sold at Home Depot, for example, versus the similar model at a welding supply store. I didn't expect the thoroughness of the response but I was very appreciative of the response. The person in the marketing department forwarded my concerns to the technical staff at Lincoln and, in less than 24 hours, I received a very lengthy detailed description of those differences, reproduced below:

"Your second question asks if there is a difference between the HD welders and the non HD welders. To better understand the retail market, Home Depot sells Lincoln's retail version wirefeeder under the name Weld Pak 140 HD (Home Depot) and Weld Pak 180HD. The 140 requires 120VAC input power whereas the 180 operates on 240VAC. Both the 140 and 180 weld with the gas and gasless process. Home Depot also sells a 120VAC gasless welder called the Weld Pak 125HD. An optional gas conversion kit is available.
Considering the above information, Lowe's sells the exact same welder only under a different name. The Lowe's welders are called Pro Core 125, Pro MIG 140 and Pro MIG 180.
Industrial wire feeder welders of the same type are called the Power MIG 140T or C and Power MIG 180 T or C. Remember, the 140 is 120VAC and the 180 is 240VAC input power. The "T" stands for "Tap" and the "C" represents "Continuous". The T or C refers to the method used to control the voltage.
The T, or tap type control offers 4 or 5 specific voltage values to choose.
The advantage is an approximate $75 savings over the Continuous control.
The disadvantage is, when welding thin sheet metal or aluminum, you sometime require a fine adjustment to the voltage that a tap control doesn't permit. The Continuous voltage control costs more but the advantage is, the operator has the ability to make fine adjustments, as needed, to the type and thickness of material being welded.
The manufacturing differences between the retail and the industrial welders are as follows;
The carrying handle on the top of the retail welder is made of plastic
whereas the industrial handle is an extruded aluminum.
The length of the plastic handle on the retail welder half as long as
the aluminum industrial welder which is the entire length of the top on
the machine.
Only the front plastic end cap of the retail welder is removable. Both
the front and rear plastic end caps of the industrial welder are
removable.
The industrial welders feed the wire through a patented "Max Track" cast
aluminum drive system. This is the same drive system Lincoln uses on the
industrial wire drive systems. The drive system on our retail welders
uses a drive housing made of an extruded plastic similar to the drive
system we used in the older wirefeeder welders. This similar drive
system has been used for well over 15 years.
Do not believe any rumors that the retail welders are made from machines that were returned to Lincoln to be repaired and resold to retailers or, are made of lower quality parts or manufacturing process. These are absolutely false rumors."

As I see it, the only substantive difference for an occasional welder (at least, to me, and, as you can see from the above discussion, the industrial Lincolns have both available) is the continuous setting versus discrete setting power switch. For the difference in price, I chose the Home Depot welder (185 amp MIG welder) and have been very pleased with it. I don't weld enough (and my expertise is not at the level) to take advantage of the fine increments that are available in the continuous power.

Again, I understand what you are saying and I do believe that this is the case in some situations, but the above response from Lincoln should erase any mistaken perceptions there.

I found the same perceptions with Echo chain saws -- that, given a specific model number, that product varied in quality between Home Depot and lawn care stores. It is not true.

Note that the preceding discussion is in no way an indictment of local retailers. I use them, and I support them, too. But, I do shop at Lowe's, Home Depot, Sam's, and other big box stores, too. Each has its advantages and we have the freedom to purchase in the ones that meet our individual needs.

Richard

 

[DieselAddiction]

Montanaman,
check your pm, I have a question for you.

 

[johnnydel29]

Interesting thread. Yes, there is this unbelievable perception that Stihl products are so expensive and it costs far less if you go ahead and purchase power equipment from Lowe's, Home Depot or some shady company off the internet.

Here is a great example. My cousin was looking to purchase a string trimmer. He was convinced he can get a great deal by searching the internet. He ended up finding a string trimmer for $150.00 (shipping included) on clearance from some company on the internet (forgot the brand name). He bought it. The first day he used it (less than 20 min) the head burst off, and pieces went flying everywhere. He put it back together, than to make matters worse, the engine started to bog, then quite, never can get it started. Changed the plug, still, nothing. He used it for less than an hour. Called back the company where he purchased it from and they said they do not take refunds on clearance items. All the small engine repair shops in the area wanted nothing to do with it. This thing could have been used in a rain forest in South America for ten years - - who knows.

I, of course, recommended a Stihl trimmer , which costs $200.00. The dealer starts it, makes sure its running perfect using a tach, and sends you out w/ the machine filled with gas. He also provides a free 20 hour check up.

I am sure the Echo trimmers form the Depot and Husky saws from Lowe's work fine, but people forget how important good service is from a good dealer.

Also, I have a Lincoln welder from Lowe's. It works fine and very happy w/ it. If I were using it every day for work, I would probably buy the heavy duty version at a welding shop. I think power equioptment is very different from items like welders, they take a little more abuse in various situations. Welders, on the other hand, you turn it on in one place and you go ahead and weld.

 

[Schultz]

OK I'll chime in with my agreement that Stihl saws do save you time and money.

Here's my chainsaw saga: I've had a Craftsman/Poulan saw for about 6 years and I saw a good amount of trees a year. I never liked this saw but it's what I could afford at the time. The saw has no anti-vibration, and it cuts slow. After Christmas this year I saw a 56cc Craftsman return for half price, I couldn't resist and I bought it. Used it for about two months and then it became very hard to start, and then just wouldn't start no matter what. Well Sears has a 90 day return, I returned it, and wanted an exchange but they had a recall on those saws and didn't have any so they gave me my money back. I continued to use my old saw. This spring I had several large trees to remove and decided to go for a Lowes Husky 350. Unfortunately, large storms had depleted the shelves and they sold me the floor model at a discount. I was about half way through the first tank of gas and loving this saw, it cut great, it ran awesome, but I noticed my hand was getting warmer and warmer. I lifted my hand off the top bar and noticed the muffler had melted through the top shroud. Apparently the muffler either lost a bolt or didn't have one in the first place, it became loose and turned and melted through the shroud. I called lowes and they said when the got one in they would call me and I could exchange it. Since the damage was done I tightened the one bolt down and continued to use it. After a week no call from Lowes, they forgot to get order one in, got them to re-order the saw, at least I thought I did. After a second week the Husky 350 became hard to start. Fed up I returned the saw and asked them to call me when the replacement came in. After waiting two more weeks, and placing another two calls to Lowes I went to the local Stihl dealer and bought a 270. I've been using it for two weeks and love it. It STARTS, it runs great, cuts great, and no little problems. I was able to start and run the saw I bought before I bought it. This saw ended up being about $70 more than the Husky 350, but I should have bought it in the beginning and saved myself all the trouble.

BTW, Lowes still hasn't called to tell me if the saw is in. I'm sure they won't, they don't even carry that model anymore, and it's been replaced by Husky, it's now called the 450.

 

[Solo]

The only time they are expensive is when the dealer marks them up really high. I just bought a cultivator attchment for my FS85 trimmer. I checked the price on the internet $159, my local dealers price $279. I politely hung up the phone and went 20 miles farther, saved $120. I like my local dealer but, I also won't be raked over the coals. Now I will drive 20 extra miles even for the smallest thing.

Solo