Disappointed in Stihl Warranty

[fordman302]

I bought a Stihl MS 251 Wood Boss 1.5 years ago, bought the gallon of MotoMix to get the extra year warranty. I have ran about 1.5 gallons of fuel thru the saw and noticed it was not starting when hot and seemed to have less power. Figuring I had the luxury of a warranty, I took it back to the dealer I bought it from, told them the symptoms and ask if it was still under warranty, they said it was. They called me and said left a voicemail saying they "adjusted the carb, replaced the plug, and sharpened the chain, total is $58, sorry not covered under warranty." I'm pissed.

Had I known it wasn't covered, I would have done it myself. I guess I assumed the warranty would cover the saw to run well the first 2 years.

I've had other saws (Husky, poulan, ryobi) and they all ran fine for years before they needed any maintenance.

The whole reason I bought a new saw was because I was tired of working on old ones and figured Stihl would be a good choice. I'm pretty disappointed in the dealer and warranty coverage.

I feel like I was tricked into paying for routine maintenance.

Any thoughts/advice on this are appreciated. TIA

 

[BenTN]

That just sucks. They should have called prior to doing the work, if it wasnt covered. Id be looking for a new dealer.

 

[greg13]

About the only charge they could justify is the sharpening. If the plug was bad that should be a warranty part, carb issue should be warranty. even it it is not, a good dealer should do as a free customer service since it took all of about 10 min. to do.

 

[VirginiaIron]

Yeah, that stinks. Many warranty"s are contingent on maintenance. If the saw ran poorly due to low compression, you might have ended up with a new saw, but since these maintenance items amd adjustments corrected the issue, I guess you pay.

 

[fordman302]

Thanks for the replies.

The chain sharpening was the final kick in the head for me, I didn't say anything about the cutting, it seems like they ran up the bill as much as they could. I have not seen an itemized bill yet. I liked this dealer too, I have bought over $30K worth of equipment (Kioti, Ferris, Stihl) from them in the past 2 years, but this is the first time I have ever had service done.

 

[greg13]

You need to talk to the OWNER and remind him that you have spent over $30k and will not spend any more unless he solves the problem. With that kind of money spent they should be willing to give you a new saw for free.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Ask to speak with the owner. Look em n the eye, smile, tell them how much you have spent there on new equipment in the recent past. Smile again. Tell the owner that you are not pleased with the charges, feel like you are being taken advantage of. Ask them what they think you should do.

Their response will guide your future business with them. I bet the owner will apologize, and tell you, "no charge."

If they don't, you should expect that they are on their last leg, and are fleecing everyone they can before going out of business.

I've been down this road a few times before. If they don't make it right with a $30k customer like you, they won't last.

 

[Sodbuster]

About the only charge they could justify is the sharpening. If the plug was bad that should be a warranty part, carb issue should be warranty. even it it is not, a good dealer should do as a free customer service since it took all of about 10 min. to do.

Please explain to us how they could justify a sharpening when the saw was brought in for a failure to run properly. No mention of failure to cut.

 

[TreePointer]

Adding the chain sharpening is total BS. They are no better than the a crooked auto repair shop, IMO. They certainly are not up to Stihl's service standards.

If there is a minimum charge just to look at the saw before determining warranty service would cover everything, they need to tell you that up front. If not, they are at best poorly run and at worst, total sleaze. The owner needs to hear about this. If no satisfaction, Stihl needs to hear about it. Over the years, many shops have been dropped by Stihl because of poor service.

Lots of tractor shops (John Deere in particular) added Stihl over the past 10 years. Unfortunately, they implement their methods and sometimes schemes from the tractor service department when servicing Stihl equipment. In my experience, the longtime Stihl dealers who have nothing to do with big tractor companies provide much better customer service all around--product knowledge, sales & service.

 

[Sodbuster]

Adding the chain sharpening is total BS. They are no better than the a crooked auto repair shop, IMO. They certainly are not up to Stihl's service standards.

If there is a minimum charge just to look at the saw before determining warranty service would cover everything, they need to tell you that up front. If not, they are at best poorly run and at worst, total sleaze. The owner needs to hear about this. If no satisfaction, Stihl needs to hear about it. Over the years, many shops have been dropped by Stihl because of poor service.

Lots of tractor shops (John Deere in particular) added Stihl over the past 10 years. Unfortunately, they implement their methods and sometimes schemes from the tractor service department when servicing Stihl equipment. In my experience, the longtime Stihl dealers who have nothing to do with big tractor companies provide much better customer service all around--product knowledge, sales & service.

I agree with TreePointer on this. Stihl runs a tight ship as far as their dealer network. I know this first hand because my daughter works for one. The rep is in regularly, inspects the product area to make sure it is neat and tidy, and makes sure nothing is out of stock. It's part of the reason Stihl has such a strong following, you can't buy them at the big box stores, (other than Rural King) Make a complaint and keep moving up the food chain until you get satisfaction. Get a hold of the rep if you can, they have a vested interest in keeping you happy. Not starting properly hot or cold due to an incorrectly adjusted carb should be warranty.

 

[jwfirebird]

agree would call stihl, had the opposite experience too. mine stopped working a couple months later, put a plug in tuned it up, no charge. 8 or 10 bucks for chain sharpening. why i buy everything there

the ngk plugs are junk. that one lasted another couple months. got a e3 plug, way better lasts years instead of months, same use

 

[Sodbuster]

agree would call stihl, had the opposite experience too. mine stopped working a couple months later, put a plug in tuned it up, no charge. 8 or 10 bucks for chain sharpening. why i buy everything there

the ngk plugs are junk. that one lasted another couple months. got a e3 plug, way better lasts years instead of months, same use

NGK and Bosch are some of the best plugs made, you must be thinking of Champion. If you are toasting plugs that quickly, I would suspect poor fuel/ cheap oil.

 

[jwfirebird]

no mistake, obviously not the only one. the ngk is oem that came with my stihl, never had much luck with them in anything(oem in my quads, few other things). the dealer gave me a 6 pack of stihl mix, all i run is good gas and stihl oil.

the camp ones i had in my stuff like mower never had a problem with, i will normally change those every year or two, started putting e3 plugs in all the small engines they seem to last forever, im not sure i wore one out except in the car but i drive 40-50k sometimes in my drivers

 

[Sodbuster]

no mistake, obviously not the only one. the ngk is oem that came with my stihl, never had much luck with them in anything(oem in my quads, few other things). the dealer gave me a 6 pack of stihl mix, all i run is good gas and stihl oil.

the camp ones i had in my stuff like mower never had a problem with, i will normally change those every year or two, started putting e3 plugs in all the small engines they seem to last forever, im not sure i wore one out except in the car but i drive 40-50k sometimes in my drivers

Hmm, interesting for sure, I have a Husky that starts like a bear, may have to try one of the e3's in that.

 

[jwfirebird]

they all seem to have their quirks, had a husky at work seemed tough to get going, needed some adjustment no body is going to pay for there. my stihl has to be exactly started cold one way and then you can run it all day, mess it up and you wear your arm out, lol

 

[greg13]

Please explain to us how they could justify a sharpening when the saw was brought in for a failure to run properly. No mention of failure to cut.

From Stihl's warranty standpoint they can not control what you cut (dirt, rocks, nails in trees) so obviously they will not cover sharpening. HOWEVER I do feel personally as I said the dealer SHOULD give away a free sharpening given the purchase of the saw plus the total amount of purchases in the past, that,s just good (and smart) business.

Years ago I sold Echo and talked to Stihl about a dealership, They were tough then not sure about now, They wanted minimum purchases of saws and parts for stock and "protected" territory. Being a one man shop part time I just could not justify the expense.

 

[DodgyNomad]

That's total BS. Should absolutely be covered under warranty, you get 2 years automatically when you use the stihl ultra oil or the motomix.

And you didn't authorize the sharpening. I'd guess the plug was fouled either because of the carb being off, or something in that fuel. So I'd complain as well.

 

[VirginiaIron]

That's total BS. ... And you didn't authorize the sharpening. ... So I'd complain as well.

I agree, they should have called you. I guess the problem is a lack of communiction, some might say "my saw wont cut" when in actuality the switch is in the off position, they didn't use the choke or primer, the engine does not run, the engine wont run above idle, the clutch has failed, or the chain is on backward. Imho, they are the professionals and know your skills- they should have called you before sharpening your chain.

 

[VirginiaIron]

Although, maybe next time you shouldnt use that dirty and nasty little word "Warranty"

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Just kidding, lol, this is all funnier in my head- I am sure.

 

[DodgyNomad]

And I HATE other people sharpening my chains. They seem to ALWAYS take off way too much material, and often overheat them, and do a generally lousy job.

Don't touch my chains. Ever.

 

[VirginiaIron]

And I HATE other people sharpening my chains. They seem to ALWAYS take off way too much material, and often overheat them, and do a generally lousy job.

Don't touch my chains. Ever.

I am the same way with knives. When i sharpen my knives or chains, it is as if I know how they will react.

 

[johneh]

Why are you pissed Everything they did is maintenance
Why didn't you do the maintenance before taking to the dealer ?
Why in the world would you believe that the work done is warranty
But maybe you are right maybe there should be a 100% warranty
for the 2 years !!

 

[Sodbuster]

Why are you pissed Everything they did is maintenance
Why didn't you do the maintenance before taking to the dealer ?
Why in the world would you believe that the work done is warranty
But maybe you are right maybe there should be a 100% warranty
for the 2 years !!

He made it a point to ask if the saw was under warranty, and they said, yes it was. At that point it became their duty to inform him if the repairs are not going to be covered under warranty due to lack of maintenance, ( he may have still needed to pay a small diagnostic fee), although the Stihl dealer here will diagnose the problem for no charge. And you are right there is a 100% warranty for two years on non wear items like chains, sprockets, bars, filters etc. Bad communication on the service writers part. Hope they enjoy that $58 because is sounds to me like they lost a good customer.

 

[bholler]

To me the chain sharpening is the only problem. The rest of it is normal maintenance stuff that is not normally covered. But I agree they should have called. It comes down to poor communication.

 

[Woody5506]

I had similar issues with my 211 shutting off during the summer and not wanting to start. It didn't seem to like warm weather since I had never had those issues in the winter or now in the fall. I mentioned it to the dealer and they did tell me that my 2 year warranty (bought some 2 cycle oil to extend the warranty on the saw by a year as well) covers anything but wear items and the carb.

In your situation, I'd be pissed too. Seems to me that they are nickel and diming you instead of being up front. Is a $58 dollar service charge really worth it to jeopardize the business of someone who's spent 30k there in the past 2 years? Hopefully the owner can decide that.