Is stihl THAT good???? Aggravated now......

stihl stuff here in the land of stihl is twice+ the price as in the States. Can't order online and understand to an extent....very small extent because I can order a 5 or 7 year gaurantee saw in a couple of minutes online (maybe even cheaper) and pick it up when I check mail but have to take away valuable time and drive to the store to hang out with bubba for plenty of time to get a higher priced one year gaurantee saw......
Obviously, I can't drive there so the next best thing is have my buddy pick it up. His time is valuable also, so I thought I'd get it all done and he just swing by, get the secret handshake, and pick up the saw/mail it to me..... Nooooooooooo.

Tried for 3+ hours to call the dealer near him with either a busy signal or answering machine. Emailed them thru thier website of what I wanted. Got a reply to give them a call. Told them I made my last call to them and why, told them just what I want (MS170 w/ a 10 or 12" bar), asked them for thier best price and how I wanted to pay (and why)...
Get a reply that I have to go in the store to buy something because it's stihl policy............ Stihl website states that you cannot order stihl machines or parts online for delivery anywhere other than a stihl dealer.
Guess business must be booming for them to allow them to turn dow a sale that'd be real easy and leave bubba free to spend the day on the phone or floor with tire kickers.........
Going to my local dealer and see how far I can get them down on the price and either buy local or order a hitachi thru amazon....

Done venting now............[/b]

over rated . get a red max or Dolmar

We are lucky to have a very good STIHL shop about 20 miles away,
they also sell Husky but not as many. They are good machines, like
anything else the question of whether they are worth the cost is
open to debate. I had an 028 that was vibrating itself apart all the
time and we bought an MS 440 in 2005, it has been our only saw
cutting about 23 cords (60+ face cords) of firewood per year and
cutting trees for the sawmill as well. It has been very reliable and
has good power, so I like it.
Zach

I agree - VERY over rated....

Actually that is one of the better things about Stihl, all dealers are servicing, you can actually get the
darn things fixed, they have turned away the big box retailers, a move that many can't believe. Unfortunately
you have experienced the down side. I don't know if the Stihl products available through retail channels in
Germany are the same as in the US or if they are different. It wouldn't surprise me if they made cheaper stuff
for the US market, or sell in the US market with a thinner margin because it's more competitive. EU/fortress
Europe likes to ignore market factors and have you pay homage to businesses that bought them excuse me "made
campaign contributions" and maintain protected territories, the theory is to provide better service to the
consumer but some businesses abuse it. I don't know if your status in Germany exempts you from the VAT taxes
but it is more expensive to do business in Germany, some German friends on modest means report paying 50-60%
in taxes. There have been some service issues here with Stihl passing out dealerships through John Deere like
planned parenthood passing out birth control, some of the older dealers are kinda P.O.'d and it reflects in
their attitude, unfortunately they are better able to service Stihl equipment than a JD dealer.

Where are those sold?

Try a Husqvarna dealer, they may have a different policy.

(quoted from post at 19:01:25 05/03/12) over rated . get a red max or Dolmar

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Stihl is an excelant saw but it's not the only excelant saw out there. Jonsered , Husky ,Echo all good.

just google "Dealer locator" for either one . Shows all dealers nationwide .

(quoted from post at 05:10:27 05/04/12) just google "Dealer locator" for either one . Shows all dealers nationwide .

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ALL Stihl dealers aren't allowed to sell over the internet or phone. So no matter who you contact they are going to tell you to come into the store to buy it.

Why don't you and your buddy just setup paypal accounts (gasp) if you don't already have them for ebay, etc . Send your "pal" the money as a gift (no fee taken out) and let him go buy the saw for you and then ship it.

I have to think that by the time you buy it + ship it half way around the world you'd be about equal money to just buy it where you are at. No?

(quoted from post at 08:22:35 05/04/12)

(quoted from post at 05:10:27 05/04/12) just google "Dealer locator" for either one . Shows all dealers nationwide .

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ALL Stihl dealers aren't allowed to sell over the internet or phone. So no matter who you contact they are going to tell you to come into the store to buy it.

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You can buy LEHR over internet, at bog box stores, etc.
You'll just love customer service, too! Take it out of box, fire it up & drop a valve in first 45 minutes run time. Back to BB store, Lehr in hand. "Sorry, didn't you read your manual? We don't take them back or repair them,. It says right in the manual that if you have problems, call 1-866-941-5347, DO NOT RETURN UNIT TO RETAILER!" Guess what? That number does NOT get you LEHR.....it gets you some customer service company , thus giving LEHR greater isolation/protection/distance from the sucker buyer of their CHI-COM junk. Now, I know you are upset with Stihl, but compared to me you ain't got a leg to stand on. In the future, I ain't buying anything from anyone who doesn't accept return to the same store or who does not service what they sell. In the short term I'll pay more, but in the long term, such as with LEHR/Home Depot, I won't end up with a $200 POS suitable for absolutely nothing but the dumpster!!!!! :evil:

If you could get through and talk to someone live on the phone, you might be able to get them to understand...

That's the problem, though. You CAN'T get to anyone on the phone because if it's an old phart running the place, he's too busy reading the paper to pick up the phone. If he's a young guy, he's too busy horsing around with his delinquent buddies to pick up the phone.

Call me un-patriotic. Call me un-american. Call me a hater. Call me a commie. I don't care. I'm not going to frequent a mom-n-pop shop just because they're a mom-n-pop shop. They have to act like they want my business.

Sorry . thought Loosehandle was referring to dahlmer or Redmax saws .