Return unused Echo and buy from a better dealer?

[DMax82]

Hey everybody, I bought an Echo CS-590 yesterday from a local dealer. I did a lot of research and this seems like the best saw to replace my Stihl MS290. There are three Echo dealers near me, and I bought from the closest, based on my next door neighbor's recommendation from buying his lawn mower there. So I went and they sell Bad Boy and Toro mowers, along with a handful of Branson tractors. They had about six Echo saws and no accessories like chain or anything else besides a couple of extra bars. That didn't really concern me because I figure I can by extra chain online.

Now what did concern me was his response to my inquiry about tuning. All of the research I had done indicated that the saws run lean out of the box and need to be tuned. I had folks tell me that the dealer should be able to do this no problem. Well, this guy told me that absolutely no adjustments can by made to the saw by either me or him. He said that the screws to adjust aren't even accessible. I didn't have a great feeling about his response and felt like he was full of it, but at this point he had already run my card, so I tried to tell myself it was no big deal.

I was thinking about it a lot last night and this morning, and am a bit unsettled. I am wondering if I should return it and buy from another dealer in town who is a "Signature Elite" dealer. That is the local Ace Hardware. So what say you folks? Am I making too big a deal over this, or am I justified in my concerns. I cut a decent amount of wood, not a ton, but do want to feel like I'm getting the most out of my saw.

Thanks! David

 

[ericm979]

No dealer is going to tune the saw past the stops on the limiter caps. You have to do that yourself. But the dealer should tune it within the limits. My CS352 came with the high screw against the limiter stop. It was still kinda crispy. I removed the caps and trimmed the stops. And put on a muffler with the catcon removed but that's a different issue.

Removing the limiter caps and trimming the stops is not difficult. But you may be voiding the warranty depending what problem you're trying to warranty and how much the dealer wants to fight with Echo for you. Echo is notorious for making warranty claims difficult for dealers.

It's possible that the 590 does not use limiter caps and the screws really are not accessible. You can check that yourself.

 

[widefat]

Hey everybody, I bought an Echo CS-590 yesterday from a local dealer. I did a lot of research and this seems like the best saw to replace my Stihl MS290. There are three Echo dealers near me, and I bought from the closest, based on my next door neighbor's recommendation from buying his lawn mower there. So I went and they sell Bad Boy and Toro mowers, along with a handful of Branson tractors. They had about six Echo saws and no accessories like chain or anything else besides a couple of extra bars. That didn't really concern me because I figure I can by extra chain online.

Now what did concern me was his response to my inquiry about tuning. All of the research I had done indicated that the saws run lean out of the box and need to be tuned. I had folks tell me that the dealer should be able to do this no problem. Well, this guy told me that absolutely no adjustments can by made to the saw by either me or him. He said that the screws to adjust aren't even accessible. I didn't have a great feeling about his response and felt like he was full of it, but at this point he had already run my card, so I tried to tell myself it was no big deal.

I was thinking about it a lot last night and this morning, and am a bit unsettled. I am wondering if I should return it and buy from another dealer in town who is a "Signature Elite" dealer. That is the local Ace Hardware. So what say you folks? Am I making too big a deal over this, or am I justified in my concerns. I cut a decent amount of wood, not a ton, but do want to feel like I'm getting the most out of my saw.

Thanks! David

"Well, this guy told me that absolutely no adjustments can by made to the saw by either me or him. He said that the screws to adjust aren't even accessible."

Translated, this means:
"I don't have time for you. You can't count on me for help if anything ever goes wrong. "

 

[TractorGuy]

Your best course of action is to run it if you are sure it's the saw you want and if it doesn't perform as expected then return it for repair.

You are asking the dealer to violate federal emission laws. Any dealer that would do that for you is taking a big chance.

According to this video which starts mid process claims it's a 10 minute job to do yourself. You would be violating federal emission law yourself if you do it and most likely voiding your warranty if it goes south on you.

 

[Industrial Toys]

To me, returning the saw would be uncomfortable. Some business people really resist giving back ones money, especially if they are hard pressed financially. Maybe that saw sale, kept the lights from being turned off.

Used my new Echo for the first time doing a few hours work on the weekend. Sorry, forgot model number. Worked great, although they all do when new! A little underpowered compared to the Stihl 036 that it replaced, but I knew that. Wanted a lighter saw.

 

[MossRoad]

Why return it if you're just going to purchase the same saw from someone else? If and when it needs service, take it to a different repair shop/dealer that you're more comfortable with.

 

[bullbreaker]

Why return it if you're just going to purchase the same saw from someone else? If and when it needs service, take it to a different repair shop/dealer that you're more comfortable with.

Thats what I would do what Moss said . The only bad thing I can say about a Timberwolf is the plastic caseing is not as finished as the MS291 or Husky 455 Rancher but of the 3 I have said it before I like the Timberwolf best . Around here top price for it would be $399 plus tax ......................

 

[herm0016]

i bought my orange saw from murdochs, and the local dealer who sold me my echo stuff has no trouble and no hassle about parts or help with it. just start going to another dealer. even murdochs took me and the saw out front, filled it up and adjusted the carb for me though. we have to adjust everything because of altitude from factory settings.

 

[DMax82]

No dealer is going to tune the saw past the stops on the limiter caps. You have to do that yourself. But the dealer should tune it within the limits. My CS352 came with the high screw against the limiter stop. It was still kinda crispy. I removed the caps and trimmed the stops. And put on a muffler with the catcon removed but that's a different issue.

Removing the limiter caps and trimming the stops is not difficult. But you may be voiding the warranty depending what problem you're trying to warranty and how much the dealer wants to fight with Echo for you. Echo is notorious for making warranty claims difficult for dealers.

It's possible that the 590 does not use limiter caps and the screws really are not accessible. You can check that yourself.

That was my thought as well.

"Well, this guy told me that absolutely no adjustments can by made to the saw by either me or him. He said that the screws to adjust aren't even accessible."

Translated, this means:
"I don't have time for you. You can't count on me for help if anything ever goes wrong. "

And you just nailed my biggest concern. Is their service going to be nonexistent should I have any issues.

Your best course of action is to run it if you are sure it's the saw you want and if it doesn't perform as expected then return it for repair.

You are asking the dealer to violate federal emission laws. Any dealer that would do that for you is taking a big chance.

According to this video which starts mid process claims it's a 10 minute job to do yourself. You would be violating federal emission law yourself if you do it and most likely voiding your warranty if it goes south on you.

Thanks for the link, I'll watch the video this evening. So there are zero adjustments that can be made without upsetting the feds? It seems odd that all saws would be expected to run perfectly out of the box.

To me, returning the saw would be uncomfortable. Some business people really resist giving back ones money, especially if they are hard pressed financially. Maybe that saw sale, kept the lights from being turned off.

Used my new Echo for the first time doing a few hours work on the weekend. Sorry, forgot model number. Worked great, although they all do when new! A little underpowered compared to the Stihl 036 that it replaced, but I knew that. Wanted a lighter saw.

If I felt like the guy was being dishonest with me and will provide crap customer service going forward I would have no problems returning the saw and not dealing with him any more.

Why return it if you're just going to purchase the same saw from someone else? If and when it needs service, take it to a different repair shop/dealer that you're more comfortable with.

The idea would be to buy from a knowledgeable dealer who would provide quality service after the sale. The Echo warranty is five years, that's quite a while to be dealing with somebody that is apathetic at best.

Thats what I would do what Moss said . The only bad thing I can say about a Timberwolf is the plastic caseing is not as finished as the MS291 or Husky 455 Rancher but of the 3 I have said it before I like the Timberwolf best . Around here top price for it would be $399 plus tax ......................

Yeah I was $399 plus tax.

i bought my orange saw from murdochs, and the local dealer who sold me my echo stuff has no trouble and no hassle about parts or help with it. just start going to another dealer. even murdochs took me and the saw out front, filled it up and adjusted the carb for me though. we have to adjust everything because of altitude from factory settings.

So does adjusting the carb violate the warranty or upset the EPA? I don't feel like I am asking for anything extreme like a muffler modification, I just want to see if the saw can be tweaked at all to bring out the best in it. If absolutely nothing can be done legally, then I am fine leaving it alone. I am just skeptical that these things arrive from the factory perfectly optimized.


So I guess my big question for everybody is: Is this guy being straight with me? Is there truly nothing that can be done to the saw to optimize performance without upsetting the EPA? I just looked at the owner's manual and it discussed the carb adjustments. Really curious as to why the guy wouldn't want to do those with me. I wanted to shop locally and get quality service. Otherwise I would have just gone to Home Depot with a 15% off coupon.

 

[Diggin It]

Before fueling and running, I'd stop into one of the others dealers and as a potential customer looking to buy, ask them that question. Gauge their response, then go from there.