Dealer vs Brand vs Distance

[Bigg_Redd]

In Shelton we have a Husqvarna and a Stihl dealer. No Dolmar, no Jonesered (we used to have one). We have a Walmart that sells Poulans (which are great for truck saws or loaning saws). I've had lots of experience with both brands and saw for saw have no complaints. The Husqy dealer is a complete cheeseball and the Stihl dealer is solid, so I have a Stihl, and I do all my saw related business with him. So I'm a Stihl guy. If they traded brands tomorrow, tomorrow I'd be a Husqvarna guy.

Q) Are any of you brand-loyal enough to deal with a cheeseball dealer?

A) No. Not even close.


Q) What's it like having good dealers for all the serious brands close at hand? Does this even exist?

A) Anyone?


Q) I read in the 5100 thread a guy drove an hour out of his way to get to a Dolmar dealer. I'd drive as far as I'd have to to avoid doing business with a cheeseball dealer but I wouldn't pass up a solid dealer by an hour. Am I alone in this? (Full disclosure - I bought my old man an Echo 360T mail order because it was the saw he wanted and we don't have a local Echo dealer).

 

[smokinj]

I went through the same thing as you thats why i went with "stihl" it was a no brainer,and the stihl is what i am comfortable with! You are not alone!!

 

[LLigetfa]

I bought my Partner saw way back in the last century because that is what a local dealer that provided good service offered. The other dealer sold Pioneer and their service was as lousy as the saw. I worked as a saw hand on may pipeline jobs all across NW Ontario and you could always tell what brand the good dealer in the area had cuz that was what the locals used.

That said, the local dealer here is a turd so my next saw decision will likely be brand loyal rather than dealer loyal. There is a good chance I will buy the same brand the local dealer sells but I will take my money out of town.

 

[carbon neutral]

I have a good Stihl dealer about 15 minutes away. I bought my stihl from him. After buying the Stihl I heard about Dolmar and wanted one of them. Of the dealers I called the one I liked, which wood butcher turned me on to, was an hour away. I made the drive thinking:
1. This purchase should last a long time.
2. I doubted I would need service, Dolmar reliability seems to be as good as anything else.
3. That 1 hour drive would save me at least 250 after tax dollars over a comparable Stihl 460.
So for a good dealer and a good deal I would drive the hour.

PS I traded in a Husky for the Dolmar, when Husky gave up on internet sales they lost the edge they had over Stihl imo

 

[Brian VT]

I'm the guy that drove an hour for the Dolmar. lol !
I have an Agway (farm/garden store) near where I work that sells Husky, Stihl, Echo, and has a service dept.
I have a J-red/Echo dealer 20 min. in the other direction from my house that sells just power equipment.
Logic should have lead me to buy from one of those 2 shops but, from what I read on the 'net, the Dolmar seemed to be the best bang for the buck.
I ride an off-brand (GasGas) motorcycle and have no problem getting parts online and doing maintenance myself so I guess I followed the same path with the saw.
Another factor was that the dealer I got my saw from frequents a 'net forum (ArboristSite.com) so I felt like he'd be there if I needed him.
So far so good. I've only run 5 tanks through it, though. I'm just learning how to run a saw.
I dropped my 1st tree today, an 18" cherry, and all went well. Well...noone was hurt, there was no property damaged, my saw didn't melt down, and I have a pile of 17" rounds to split.
Pretty good, eh ? lol !

 

[awoodman]

I don't know about the dealer situation but the guys that work the tree service (I get all the free wood I can burn) use Husqvarna and Stihl, good enough for me.

 

[deanco66]

Where I live, we have a Stihl dealer & an Echo dealer across the street from each other. The Stihl dealer happens to be the cheesehead dealer in my case. The Echo dealer is as good as gold. Stands behind his products 110%. The Stihl dealer will kick you in the knee on your way out the door. My cousin & I run 2 CS670 saws with 20" & 24" bars & 1 CS8000 with a 36" bar. We have no complaints at all with these saws or the dealer that we bought them from. If I had to purchase a new saw tomorrow, I would go to the Echo dealer.
Dean

 

[sl7vk]

The go to gold plated dynamite Husqvarna/Echo dealer here just shut its door unannounced 2 weeks ago. They also opperated an online venture, southwest trading or something like that. They were the best. Had I based my decision on buying with the best dealer, I'd now own a saw I didn't want and have to find service elsewhere anyway.

I've found that traditionally Saw makers are less volitile then dealers, so I buy on the saw maker, not the dealer.

Much more logical IMHO.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Q) Are any of you brand-loyal enough to deal with a cheeseball dealer?

A) No. Not even close.


Q) What's it like having good dealers for all the serious brands close at hand? Does this even exist?

A) Anyone?


Q) I read in the 5100 thread a guy drove an hour out of his way to get to a Dolmar dealer. I'd drive as far as I'd have to to avoid doing business with a cheeseball dealer but I wouldn't pass up a solid dealer by an hour. Am I alone in this? (Full disclosure - I bought my old man an Echo 360T mail order because it was the saw he wanted and we don't have a local Echo dealer).

Question 1: I could care less what a cheeseball dealer carried nor what his prices were. I simply would not deal with him.


Question 2: I don't know about all serious brands being available near us but we do have a couple.


Question 3: I agree totally.


Our dealer is also our tire store owner. We've dealt with him (tires) since he went into business. When he started carrying Stihl, we did look. One summer day I was getting some tire work done and while waiting was looking at the saws. He came up to me and asked about my needs. After a short talk, he suggested I take that saw home for a few days and use it. Okay, I did. I bought it too.

 

[LLigetfa]

I live way out in the sticks and the nearest major Canadian city is a four hour drive one way. This is a border town and there are American cities closer by but one has to consider warranty when cross-border shopping. That said, when I was shopping for a log splitter, there were two local dealers to choose from. One of them was half decent but his prices were way too high. The other dealer was impossible to deal with, hardly giving me the time of day and expecting me to buy based solely on a poor quality photocopy of a faxed brochure with a postage stamp size picture on it. Being a newcomer to this town, I would have thought they would try to win a new customer rather than complain that I'm wasting their time.

I ended up crossing the border and paid half the price, figuring the price difference would be worth it even if I ran into warranty issues. The half decent dealer eventually closed up shop and joined up with the turd dealer and quickly got infected with the same lousy attitude so now I will drive out of my way to avoid patronizing them, even on small ticket items. I really hate getting hosed $9 for a spark plug when I can cross the border and pick one up for $3.

So, to get back on topic... of the top three brands, I might sway my decision based on a good local dealer attitude provided the price is reasonable. That said, when a dealer's prices are high to the point of gouging, I take that as an insult and will walk on principle. If I walk, drive, or mail order, then I will be brand loyal.

 

[Wet1]

I usually buy used. I'll buyany brand, I'm not brand loyal... i just want the best saws for my money. When I recently decided I wanted a new saw, I bought a Dolmar based on all the positive reviews. It turns out a dealer wasn't too far out of my way on my commute home from work, but I would have mail ordered the saw in a heartbeat. With the Internet, parts are easily available and can be at my door within 24 hours if I need them (although I do have the Dolmar dealer fairly local). Same day parts and service is not a big concern for me since I have plenty of other saws.


BTW, I really like the Dolmar 7900 and I'd recommend it to anybody, regardless if they have a local dealer or would have to buy over the Internet.

 

[Gooserider]

I bought Dolmar based on multiple good reviews here and on Arboristsite, and went internet sales, back before Dolmar made what to me was the mistake of clamping down on internet sales.

Per the Dolmar website, there were lots of dealers in my area, but only one appeared to actually stock any saws, and he didn't carry the 7900 - Going to the net I could get the saw just as fast, save $100 on the package, not have to pay the local shopping penalty, and get it delivered to my door instead of having to go pick it up...

Turns out there was a typo in the distributor book that most of the OPE shops in this area (including most of the alleged Dolmar dealers) used - this was a really great BS detector - when you call a "dealer" and find that you know more about the line from reading the factory website than he does from looking in his distributor book.... Not to mention that those guys were even less competitive

I'm inclined to be loyal on brand, but I'm not married to any brand, but am far less worried about staying loyal to a dealer.

Gooserider

 

[johnsopi]

I have a Stihl and a Dolmar. I have never gone in for service. I have never understood the whole dealer service thing any way. I
had a John deer lawnmoer that needed rebuilding JD dealer was over 500 to fix it, the local small engine repair shop was 200. If my saw
was going to be over 200 to repair I might just replace it anyway. If a shop can fix a Stihl it better be able to fix a Dolmar or a Husky
or a Craftsman. A chainsaw is a chainsaw. I'll take mine if needed to the local small engine repair shop.