whats in a name?

[gmule]

Earlier this week I ordered a Dolmar 5105 from my saw dealer. This morning he called me and asked me if I wanted to save a couple of hundred on my purchase. I love to save money so I went down to my dealer to see what he had in mind. He said he was carrying a new line of saws. What he brought out was a orange saw with the name of Murayama. I trust my saw dealer so I went ahead and made the purchase.

The saw is a Dolmar 5105 with a different name plate on it.

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Would you guys have made the purchase or held out for the saw with the brand name on it? I know this saw also has a makita line as well. I didn't cut too much wood with it today but it sure does rip.

 

[TreePointer]

That sounds like a good deal. Congrats!

My Makita 7901 is an excellent saw. I actually like the blue color better than the Dolmar version.

 

[Boog]

I was always partial to that Makita Blue too............

 

[BobUrban]

Time will tell if it is a good saw but it sounds like you ar happy with it so far. If you want saw info of opinions take this over to Arborist and ask in the chainsaw forum. There likely will be many there that have field tested your saw.

 

[MasterMech]

Sure does look like a 5105 to me but a couple hundred price difference? That's a big difference to be the same saw.

 

[SolarAndWood]

120 year old company but no chainsaws on their website? http://maruyama-us.com/about-us/about/

Did it come with their 5 day buyback/5 year warranty deal? Hard to argue with that.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

120 year old company but no chainsaws on their website? http://maruyama-us.com/about-us/about/

Did it come with their 5 day buyback/5 year warranty deal? Hard to argue with that.

They are under their Latin market. (broken link removed to http://maruyama-us.com/latin-market/products/chainsaws/)
They are not made to be marketed in the Us or Canada, so I guess they would be considered a Gray Market product.

 

[SolarAndWood]

They are under their Latin market. (broken link removed to http://maruyama-us.com/latin-market/products/chainsaws/)
They are not made to be marketed in the Us or Canada, so I guess they would be considered a Gray Market product.

How many 6" trees does it take to make a cord of firewood?

 

[MasterMech]

They are under their Latin market. (broken link removed to http://maruyama-us.com/latin-market/products/chainsaws/)
They are not made to be marketed in the Us or Canada, so I guess they would be considered a Gray Market product.

They have distributors here in the US. You're right that the US website doesn't list saws but the Latin America site does. However, the MCV51 isn't listed anywhere that I could find on the site, US or otherwise.

If the saw was purchased through an authorized dealer, as it so appears in this case, it wouldn't be considered "Gray Market".

 

[Lumber-Jack]

How many 6" trees does it take to make a cord of firewood?

6" high, or 6" diameter?

 

[SolarAndWood]

6" high, or 6" diameter?

The tree in their picture labeled chainsawaction was at best 6" diameter but that is probably at 6" as opposed to breast height.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

The tree in their picture labeled chainsawaction was at best 6" diameter but that is probably at 6" as opposed to breast height.

Yeah, I noticed the tree they were cutting seemed a little,,,,, dainty,,?. But hey, if they took a picture of someone trying to cut a 2 ft diameter tree with that tiny saw it would look pretty hopeless.
What stood out to me more in the picture was all the personal protection equipment he was wearing while using that little buzz saw. It makes me wonder if I shouldn't be using some safety equipment like that when I'm shaving with my electric razor???

 

[MasterMech]

What stood out to me more in the picture was all the personal protection equipment he was wearing while using that little buzz saw.

Doesn't matter if the saw is 30cc or 90cc. They both cut through the 6"-8" limbs you're standing on just as fast.

 

[Thistle]

I noticed that their 38cc model w/18" b/c weighed 8.6kg or 18.92 lbs.Wow. Talk about a boat anchor.That's not far from the weight of the old Mac PM610 I had many years ago.And it was 50% more displacement with almost twice the horsepower also.

 

[gmule]

They have distributors here in the US. You're right that the US website doesn't list saws but the Latin America site does. However, the MCV51 isn't listed anywhere that I could find on the site, US or otherwise.

If the saw was purchased through an authorized dealer, as it so appears in this case, it wouldn't be considered "Gray Market".

My dealer just started carrying them this week. I bought the first one from his dealership. They are power head only so that is why I have the 18" Oregon bar on it. I noticed that when he was taking it out of the box the box said made in Germany. The saw also has a tag that says made in Germany as well. It has a catalytic exhaust on it so it is approved for the US market.

If I get too much grief over the goofy name I could always buy the left side cover with the Dolmar name on it .
I figured 425.00 for a commercial saw was a pretty good deal since I was going to spend 600.00 for the same saw. I spent the extra money on a new set of chaps and gloves. The saw cuts great and spools up very quick. It has a nice fat sound when idling too. It has a 1 year warranty for commercial use and a 2 year warranty for us weekend warrior wood cutters.

 

[fabsroman]

My decision would have been based on a couple of things.

1) Are the parts between this one, Dolmar, and Makita interchangeable?
2) Did I save enough money that I could essentially throw this thing away in 5 to 10 years, buy another one like it and not care about it?

I used #2 on buying several bike frames from a retailer in Switzerland. Because they were mail order/internet, the warranty was only 1 year instead of 3 years. I saved about 30% to 40% versus buying from a US retailer. I did this for 2 frames and the savings was substantial. Figured, if it was going to break it would most likely break in the first year. Plus, with what I saved I could just buy another frame, albeit from a different manufacturer, if it broke between years 1 and 3. First frame purchase was 2005, second was 2008. They are still going strong so it turned out to be a wise decision.

Time will tell if your decision was a good or bad one. Thing is, the frames were a top of the line brand name. I am somewhat hesitant to buy no-name stuff because of customer service/parts issues that can come up later on down the line. I know I have had some issues buying parts to some of the stuff my dad has, but cannot remember them off the top of my head. Turns out that I later found out the brand name frames are made under another name from the same carbon fiber molds and they are about 50% of the cost. If I hadn't saved as much as I had, I would have had steam coming out my ears. Seems as though that might be exactly what you have there in your saw. So many manufacturing lines make the same product for different brand names.

Post a review in 5 years and let us know how it turns out.

 

[gmule]

I guess I'll post an update on this saw. I figured if I was going to have problems with it I would have them by now.
I have been using it regularly for the last 2 months and have cut a little over 6 cords of wood with it.

The first words that come to mind when I start cutting is that this saw is a screamer.

The first start of the day is a little tough because it is easy to flood but after the first start it fires up on the first pull every time after that.
The vibration dampening is excellent and my hands don't get tired after using it all day.
The fuel tank is about the right size for me. Meaning that by the time it runs out of gas I am ready for a break too. I am running an 18" bar and chain and that seems to be a great combo as far as weight goes. I also like the stop / kill switch. it has a bump or lock out detent to it so that I can shut the saw off with a quick brush of my thumb.