Talk Me In/Out of the Stihl MS261

[two_bit_score]

I did if you cared to read my comment. Home Depot here sells Stihl. Bottom line is, ANY online retailer that offers ANY brand of saw that might or might not require warranty intervention will be iffy, at best and that includes Bailey's and I buy stuff from them as well, just not anything that might entail a warranty issue.

With any product, it's always better to buy from a local brick and mortar outlet than online or mail order.

I guess I need to quote the entire post instead of just the specific part I ask about when replying to you. Here is your post I saw and was referring to.

Interesting and mostly worthless comments based mostly on brand loyalty and not much else. Last time I checked, Stihl was being sold at box stores, not that it matters because it really don't. I own Stihl as well as Echo and they are both good saws and like I maintain, the difference between a good saw and one that isn't, lies in how sharp the loop is and nothing more.

In my case, I never hand file any chain, why should I when a precision chain grinder only costs a bit over a hundred bucks, in reality much less if you buy the HF cheapie.

I did not see your post #92 in which you mentioned HD. My bad. I wonder if that is the ONLY HD that sells Stihl chainsaws because as many HD's as I go into I've never even seen them sell anything Stihl.

 

[5030]

Sort of. I bought a top handle Stihl MS194T at Northern Tool. They ony had one. The guy took it to the back to start it and test run it. He was gone longer than necessary I thought. When he came back he said the saw was not wanting to idle at first but then it smoothed out ok. I was a little concerned about that. So, when I got home I started it and it absolutely would not idle. I took it back immediately and they gave me a refund and compensated me for the fuel and oil I put in it. I hold the salesman and that particular store responsible more than Stihl on that one. But they didn't blink (much) when I asked for the refund. I've never needed warranty coverage on any other Stihl product.

Not something that would happen here as Northern has NO retail outlets here and never has. Not that I'd buy from them in the first place because I won't. Big difference between brick and mortar and online presence.

Maybe the salesman straight gassed it, one never knows do they?

I see that happen all the time at the dealership where I work part time and Echo will NOT honor any warranty claim where the saw was straight gassed and we have to check that first thing by draining the fuel tank and checking the contents. Neither will Stihl or Husquavarna for that matter. I do know that EVERY saw my dealer sells, leaves here with a full fuel and oil tank filled with quality bar oil as well as Red Armor 50-1 canned fuel. What happens after that is anyone's guess. Grease the sprocket noses and initially tension the chain as well and of course each saw or trimmer sold has an owners manual and we fill out the warranty card and send it to Echo. One thing I've always liked about Echo and that is, all the OEM bars have greaseable noses on them, unlike Stihl who did away with the greaseable sprocket noses a while ago.

 

[5030]

I guess I need to quote the entire post instead of just the specific part I ask about when replying to you. Here is your post I saw and was referring to.

I did not see your post #92 in which you mentioned HD. My bad. I wonder if that is the ONLY HD that sells Stihl chainsaws because as many HD's as I go into I've never even seen them sell anything Stihl.

I suspect it's a regional thing as the HD in Ann Arbor offers Stihl as well as Echo.

One thing I might add is that my local Kubota dealer who also sells Echo, honors warranty repairs on ALL echo saws no matter where purchased to, so long as the enclosed warranty card is filled out and sent to Echo and Echo keeps an ongoing data base of them by serial number. Again, if a saw is straight gassed, then no warranty is available. IOW, you cannot fix stupid.

I have read elsewhere that some Stihl authorized dealers are hesitant about fixing saws and power tools that weren't purchased from that dealer but again, I've read that online and don't know if there is any truth to that as what you read online and what it actually is, are usually 2 different things today and I've never experienced that myself but then the Stihl's I own are old enough to vote anyway

We get little to no warranty related repairs on the Echo's we sell, other than the straight gassed units and then, like I stated, no warranty.

 

[two_bit_score]

Maybe the salesman straight gassed it, one never knows do they?

That is always a possibility if you don't see them do it. I have asked every one of them when I bought a saw since I started using canned fuel what fuel they used and they all claim to have used Moto-Mix.

But, you are right. Did They?

 

[two_bit_score]

I suspect it's a regional thing as the HD in Ann Arbor offers Stihl as well as Echo.

Most not all HD's I have been in don't even carry Echo any more. Just Husky, gas saws anyway.

And more and more gas chainsaws are hard to find at HD/Lowe's. Their battery stuff is high profile though.

 

[WinterDeere]

Home Despot here sells Stihl.

Last I checked, our Home Depot carried only Echo and Husqvarna, not Stihl. I guess things vary regionally, and with time, as it's been a few years since I've even checked. If you want to buy Stihl here, the only "hardware store" option would be Ace Hardware, which at least around here are all family owned hardware stores bought up by True-Value or Ace in the 1980's/90's consolidations.

But like you, I buy my saws at a local saw shop. They happen to carry all three brands in that one saw shop.

 

[JeepHead]

Think I am going to pick up an Echo 4910 this afternoon. They're discontinued by Echo but are pretty much the same saw as the Echo 501P with minor differences. My local saw shop has one new one left and they are becoming hard to find...

 

[two_bit_score]

Think I am going to pick up an Echo 4910 this afternoon. They're discontinued by Echo but are pretty much the same saw as the Echo 501P with minor differences. My local saw shop has one new one left and they are becoming hard to find...

So, has the price gone up, stayed the same or gone down since they have been discontinued?

 

[dodge man]

No Stihl or Husky chainsaws at our nearest Home Depot, just Echo. We have a local lawnmower place that sell Stihl products, they know their stuff and fix them also. Our John Deere dealers sells them too but don’t ever seem to enthusiastic about it.

 

[two_bit_score]

John Deere dealers sells them too but don’t ever seem to enthusiastic about it.

You think maybe with all the JD dealers being consolidated maybe they are just keeping up appearences with the Stihl equipment?

Something to bring customers in the door and maybe they will see something on the lot that might get their interest?

 

[xyz123]

One of many anymore. Been going on for years. Some just dont want to admit it.

 

[xyz123]

RK also sells Huskys and Echo too. Just depends on which RK your at.

 

[two_bit_score]

One of many anymore. Been going on for years. Some just dont want to admit it.

To me that is different than just having Stihl saws out on a shelf with Husky, Echo, etc and a customer can just drop a boxed one in a cart and go check out. No service man, not carrying a full line, not support at all, just grab and go. Which is basically what HD and Lowe's are.

 

[kozal01]

Its my understanding that the only way a "box store" can sell Stihl is that they have a Stihl trained service center. It used to be that same way with the pro Husqvarna stuff but now Im seeing them in the big box stores too along side their Poulan rebranded junk.

 

[5030]

You think maybe with all the JD dealers being consolidated maybe they are just keeping up appearences with the Stihl equipment?

Something to bring customers in the door and maybe they will see something on the lot that might get their interest?

When dealing with mega buck tractors, I suspect lowly chainsaws are just a value added item at best.

 

[5030]

To me that is different than just having Stihl saws out on a shelf with Husky, Echo, etc and a customer can just drop a boxed one in a cart and go check out. No service man, not carrying a full line, not support at all, just grab and go. Which is basically what HD and Lowe's are.

You got that and no reading ther owners manual either which leads to straight gassing and no warranty claim. Straight gassing a saw, it might last 20 seconds or so and then it's junk. They go like a raped ape for that 20 and then are junk. The 'duh' owners bring them in with the old worn out comment... it won't start. really?? Heck, I'm surprised they even turn over... Must be a Gorilla on the pull start...lol

 

[5030]

No Stihl or Husky chainsaws at our nearest Home Depot, just Echo. We have a local lawnmower place that sell Stihl products, they know their stuff and fix them also. Our John Deere dealers sells them too but don’t ever seem to enthusiastic about it.

In reality repairing any chainsaw is pretty easy. No valves, no camshaft no crankcase to deal with. Simple piston port combustion with a mag and a plug and we don't do anything but replace parts with new ones anyway. All that fancy porting and squish area's and all that we don't do and don't want to do either. The average saw is like a rock in reality. I play with my own saws but they are mine. I never play with a customer's saw.

 

[5030]

In summation, if I was the OP of this thread, I'd take a hard look at what dealers are nearby and buy from them and not a box store. I'm not brand loyal in reality, just what works in the OP's case.

 

[KennyG]

In reality repairing any chainsaw is pretty easy. No valves, no camshaft no crankcase to deal with. Simple piston port combustion with a mag and a plug and we don't do anything but replace parts with new ones anyway. All that fancy porting and squish area's and all that we don't do and don't want to do either. The average saw is like a rock in reality. I play with my own saws but they are mine. I never play with a customer's saw.

Time marches on. I was in my Stihl dealer shop today for filters and they don't have a new MS261 like mine, only the MS261 C-M which has a microprocessor controlled fuel system. It has no carb adjustments. I looked at the Stihl website and the regular MS261 is now shown as "Not Available".

 

[two_bit_score]

Time marches on. I was in my Stihl dealer shop today for filters and they don't have a new MS261 like mine, only the MS261 C-M which has a microprocessor controlled fuel system. It has no carb adjustments. I looked at the Stihl website and the regular MS261 is now shown as "Not Available".

And I bet that MS261-CM is $40 more than it was before Jan. 1, 2024.