dealers

[Al_Smith]

This is Stihl country ,no Echo the closest Husqvarna dealer is 45 miles away and they say doesn't carry much inventory .So as such any new part I need for Husky comes out of North Carolina .
That said it's network so to speak .No matter what it is I can make some phone calls and usually find what I need .Some times it might take a long time but so far I've always found them .Restoration is not for everybody .I have no desire to learn a thing nor own these new designed computer operated devices .

[rusticretreater]

I can pretty much anything of Echo, Husqvarna but its a drive of 30+ miles in one of three directions.  The local Ace Hardware has Stihl products and a helpful parts desk.

Yeah, I have had the same encounter with a woman who works the parts desk at the co-op that is a Husq dealer.  I always try to find out the part number and availability before I get there.

What always frizzles me is when I walk in with the part number, say I called on the phone earlier and they haven't pulled the part and ask me what model I have etc.  That usually gets you on my "option of last resort list."

The place I really like is the fella who has a shed on his property stuffed floor to ceiling with parts.  Really knowledgeable and likes helping people.  The kind of person I want to give my money to.

If its not pressing, I just order online from a certified dealer and have the stuff shipped to me.  Most of the time I have so much to do that a day or two extra doesn't cause too many issues.  And of course, delivered to my door.

[Al_Smith]

Stihl by policy will not direct ship parts .You can order them by telephone but they must be picked up at the dealer .i have a Stihl dealer two miles from my home but use one 14 miles away .

[Spike60]

Rustic, you'd be really surprised how many people "screw up" their own "look up" on parts. Guy like you that knows what he's doing would first have to establish some credibility before I'd stop pestering him with questions. Then offer him a job.

Model year variations and parts supersitions are often what trip people up. 3rd party IPL's on some parts sites are notoriously full of mistakes and void of updates.

[John Mc]

I don't know what is going on at Husqvarna, but they better figure it out soon. We lost a wave of dealers who did full service 10+ years ago - a bunch of old-timers wo were probably not loking forward to learning about the computer controlled carbs anyway, and when Husqvarna started selling to the big box stores, these guys just decided to retire.

We did have a couple left: one was a JD dealer who was pretty good at saw service. I never got the impression that they were uninterested in me because I wasn't talking tractors. They switched to Stihl a few years back when JD corporate forced them to. They were not happy about the switch, since the New Holland/Kubota dealer 2 miles down the road was a VERY established, full line, top level Stihl dealer with great service.

I only know of three remaining shops within a reasonable drive:

• One is  logging and heavy equipment repair guy who got in to selling & servicing Husqvarna chainsaws at the request of his logging customers. I see he does not come up when I click on the Husqvarna dealer finder, so I'll have to touch base to see what's up.
• The other is a reasonable drive and listed on the Husqvarna Dealer finder as "Servicing Locations – Service for repair and warranty work" but the business's web site does not even mention Husqvarna.
• The third is listed as Husqvarna Crown dealer, but is an hour's drive away, and reportedly does not carry much of the Husqvarna line. I've never been there, but plan to stop in and check the place out if I'm in the area.

In the 20+ years I've lived here, we went from 4 GOOD servicing dealers within an easy drive (15 - 25 minutes) to none that I consider a solid, convenient source.

Husqvarna used to dominate sales among the pros in our area, but that is changing.

My mom is a full blooded Swede. I have relatives (not close relatives - 2nd or 3rd cousins, but we stay in touch) in Sweden who are pro loggers. I might be disowned if I make the switch to some other brand.

[Al_Smith]

This is what happened in this area a long time ago .This info came from a long time dealer who carried many brands over the years .Husqvarna made a power play saying the dealers would either drop Stihl or they would drop the dealer ,they could not sell both brands .
The dealers basically told them  to stick it where the sun doesn't shine but Husqvarna would not buy back their inventory .That is why there are no stocking Husky dealers in this area .You can find the consumer grade saws at places like Lowes or TSC but no pro grade saws nor repair parts .Those who buy them unless they are knowledgeable are up the creek without a paddle if they ever need repairs or parts .

[Al_Smith]

As an example of the above late last summer I repaired two Husqvarna consumer grade saws for my nieces live in .Nice guy but not very mechanically inclined .Actually for small saws they did pretty good once I tweaked them .I think it might have just been the carbs needed rebuilt and one had a funky fuel line .He could not find anybody willing to work on them .Good old uncle Al to the rescue once again. Otherwise they never would run again.
 

[SwampDonkey]

I go in to the couple reliable shops, which are basically the same business owner here, for spark plugs, blades chains, maybe a bar once in awhile, air filters, gas line filter that kind of thing all stocked. If I need a handle bar or a blade guard, will have it in 2 or 3 days, not something that they would sell much of. Can't even order anything at local John Deere. The guys down river that run Stihl's go to a old guy in another town down there. I'm 10 miles from the Stihl shop here, they are an Ag centre and sell orange tractors. I actually bought my Stihl off the shelf at different orange tractor place when others said they were not available. No trouble at all.

[Seachaser]

My Stihl dealer sold Husqvarna until a year or so ago. Told me they buy their Husqvarnas everywhere else and expect him to warranty them. He couldn’t compete with the big box stores.  

[ehp]

Another dealer is on its way out here. This time it's a husky and stihl dealer and one of the better shops around .  If this keeps up were not going to have any good saw shops left in my area