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I have a 2.5 year old STIHL - used 15 times - never dropped it. I am facing a $275.00 repair on an MS-211 that I bought for $250. I called STIHL and asked how an engine housing can crack when the plastic body surrounding the entire chainsaw was completely fine / not broken. I asked if they would stand by their product. They said "something cracked the engine housing." I said, that I'm telling as many people as I can about my experience and Kelly at STIHL tech services hung up on me. That is all FACT. I'm not a happy customer of STIHL. I will never buy their products again and I'm telling as many people as I can about this.

cba7225 said:

I have a 2.5 year old STIHL - used 15 times - never dropped it. I am facing a $275.00 repair on an MS-211 that I bought for $250. I called STIHL and asked how an engine housing can crack when the plastic body surrounding the entire chainsaw was completely fine / not broken. I asked if they would stand by their product. They said "something cracked the engine housing." I said, that I'm telling as many people as I can about my experience and Kelly at STIHL tech services hung up on me. That is all FACT. I'm not a happy customer of STIHL. I will never buy their products again and I'm telling as many people as I can about this.

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You asked if they ( STIHL) would stand by their product, Can I ask what you would like Stihl to do? Your talking about a piece of equipment that has a 1 year limited warranty for personal use and a 90 day warranty for commercial and the unit is 2.5 years old.

For once I agree with Ric, if I believed everything a customer told me about how they never did anything wrong I would and should be fired. How long do you feel a warranty should last? Please let all of us here on the forum the brand which you think will honor a 1year warranty after 2-1/2years. We are all going to switch to that brand fast, even me and I work for a Stihl service center.

Ric said:

You asked if they ( STIHL) would stand by their product, Can I ask what you would like Stihl to do? Your talking about a piece of equipment that has a 1 year limited warranty for personal use and a 90 day warranty for commercial and the unit is 2.5 years old.

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Who cares how long the warranty is. Their chainsaw should not break in 2.5 years of light use (15 times). I will post a picture of the unit to show that the outer plastic is not even scratched - I did not drop it. How can a engine casing break if the outer plastic isn't broken?

I would like STIHL to pay for the repairs. How are they not embarrassed that their product didn't make it 2.5 years (15 uses)? If it were a $75 dollar repair, I'd suck it up. If it weren't something fundamental to the product I'd suck it up.

Who cares how long a warranty goes? I care how long "the best chainsaw" lasts.

I want them to repair their product.

Rivets said:

For once I agree with Ric, if I believed everything a customer told me about how they never did anything wrong I would and should be fired. How long do you feel a warranty should last? Please let all of us here on the forum the brand which you think will honor a 1year warranty after 2-1/2years. We are all going to switch to that brand fast, even me and I work for a Stihl service center.

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Who cares how long the warranty is. Their chainsaw should not break in 2.5 years of light use (15 times). I will post a picture of the unit to show that the outer plastic is not even scratched - I did not drop it. How can a engine casing break if the outer plastic isn't broken?

I would like STIHL to pay for the repairs. How are they not embarrassed that their product didn't make it 2.5 years (15 uses)? If it were a $75 dollar repair, I'd suck it up. If it weren't something fundamental to the product I'd suck it up.

Who cares how long a warranty goes? I care how long "the best chainsaw" lasts.

I want them to repair their product.

Ain't going to happen. I'll bet more people (even those who are not Stihl fans) will side with Stihl on this one. Don't have to say it, but I will. Stihl makes a quality product no matter what you say and I doubt you will change many minds. Bye-Bye.

Ric said:

You asked if they ( STIHL) would stand by their product, Can I ask what you would like Stihl to do? Your talking about a piece of equipment that has a 1 year limited warranty for personal use and a 90 day warranty for commercial and the unit is 2.5 years old.

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Rivets said:

For once I agree with Ric, if I believed everything a customer told me about how they never did anything wrong I would and should be fired. How long do you feel a warranty should last? Please let all of us here on the forum the brand which you think will honor a 1year warranty after 2-1/2years. We are all going to switch to that brand fast, even me and I work for a Stihl service center.

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They are right they gave u a 1 year warranty 2 if u buy the oil I mean u had to do something for it break

cba7225 said:

Who cares how long the warranty is. Their chainsaw should not break in 2.5 years of light use (15 times). I will post a picture of the unit to show that the outer plastic is not even scratched - I did not drop it. How can a engine casing break if the outer plastic isn't broken?

I would like STIHL to pay for the repairs. How are they not embarrassed that their product didn't make it 2.5 years (15 uses)? If it were a $75 dollar repair, I'd suck it up. If it weren't something fundamental to the product I'd suck it up.

Who cares how long a warranty goes? I care how long "the best chainsaw" lasts.

I want them to repair their product.

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I agree it should have lasted longer. But man you knew how long the warranty was before you bought it.
Do I think they should fix it or replace H E L L
NO.

I was two hours past my warranty and my spindle bearings went out.
It's time to man up and stop crying about it.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Rivets said:

Ain't going to happen. I'll bet more people (even those who are not Stihl fans) will side with Stihl on this one. Don't have to say it, but I will. Stihl makes a quality product no matter what you say and I doubt you will change many minds. Bye-Bye.

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How do define a quality product? IT BROKE. after 15 uses.

K-Pro-Mowing said:

They are right they gave u a 1 year warranty 2 if u buy the oil I mean u had to do something for it break

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I didn't to anything to break it. I'll post pictures.

cba7225 said:

How do define a quality product? IT BROKE. after 15 uses.

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Then they should stand by their "quality product."

Don't post pictures, i have seen people purchase new covers from one dealer and then claim the parts under that cover broke on its own to another dealer. You asked how can an engine housing crack with no visible damage to the plastic covers. Have you ever seen a 2-cycle engine that has been run with the wrong fuel/oil ratio. Please just answer one question in a reasonable manner. If you didn't find this problem until 5 years from now and only used it 15 times, should Stihl still be responsible?

Rivets said:

Don't post pictures, i have seen people purchase new covers from one dealer and then claim the parts under that cover broke on its own to another dealer. You asked how can an engine housing crack with no visible damage to the plastic covers. Have you ever seen a 2-cycle engine that has been run with the wrong fuel/oil ratio. Please just answer one question in a reasonable manner. If you didn't find this problem until 5 years from now and only used it 15 times, should Stihl still be responsible?

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I have seen that done before to with covers

If you did nothing to cause the breakdown maybe you got a lemon. You were not guaranteed past 1 year even if you never used it. To bad but it is your loss unfortunately. I always admired my father in law as if he felt he did not get his moneys worth from a product or company, he would never complain or badmouth them. He just would never ever patronize that company again, no matter what.

This is heated ! Lol my thoughts are after the warranty is up its on you same as cars. BUT I also feel like the warranties are almost never getting accepted. I bought a blower in march 6 months ago and mayyyybe have put 3 hours a month on it and its been in the shop twice for a muffler service or something like carbon build up??? 20$ each time for a 150$ blower and stihl is not held liable for it. ***

K-Pro-Mowing said:

I have seen that done before to with covers

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The thing is that deal with switching covers, and I'm not saying he did that but it's exactly why company's have warranty's in place. If Stihl and other company's replaced there equipment when out of warranty for everybody guess what they would go broke and go out of business and then where would we be. Rivets said it right Stihl not going to fix or replace that unit and I think when girl shut down the phone call by hanging it up was a good indicator of that. The thing that baffles me is how he figures Stihl is responsible and thinks they should repair or replace this saw for nothing.

Rivets said:

Don't post pictures, i have seen people purchase new covers from one dealer and then claim the parts under that cover broke on its own to another dealer. You asked how can an engine housing crack with no visible damage to the plastic covers. Have you ever seen a 2-cycle engine that has been run with the wrong fuel/oil ratio. Please just answer one question in a reasonable manner. If you didn't find this problem until 5 years from now and only used it 15 times, should Stihl still be responsible?

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I'll take the camera to the repair shop when I pick it up and take the pictures there. Besides, I don't have to prove to you that I didn't drop it, I have to prove to STIHL that I didn't drop it - and the repair shop should be able to tell STIHL that it wasn't dropped. I didn't even re-fuel the thing. It's the same fuel from the store I bought it from - because I've only used it 15 times.

If I only used it 15 times over 5 years and I had this problem, then yes, STIHL should still be ashamed that their product didn't last that long too. I bought an expensive STIHL because it should last a lifetime.

midnite rider said:

If you did nothing to cause the breakdown maybe you got a lemon. You were not guaranteed past 1 year even if you never used it. To bad but it is your loss unfortunately. I always admired my father in law as if he felt he did not get his moneys worth from a product or company, he would never complain or badmouth them. He just would never ever patronize that company again, no matter what.

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Oh, I'll definitely not be patronizing them again. Stating that my STIHL chainsaw repairs are more expensive than the original purchase and I only used it 15 times is not badmouthing. It is stating a fact about my "lemon."

When a customer's opening statement includes the words "never dropped it" straight away I know that the product HAS been dropped.

If you purchased a motor vehicle and drove it into a lamp post would you expect the motor manufacturer to repair it under warranty? And furthermore once it is 1.5 years out of warranty? Not even Rolls Royce would entertain your claim even if you had only done 1mile!

Bad mouth Stihl all you want, you only make yourself look bad. Those of us in know appreciate the quality that is Stihl. And just so you know, I am not affiliated to Stihl, I distribute EFCO products in opposition to Stihl and yet I'm on their side with this one!

cba7225 said:

I have a 2.5 year old STIHL - used 15 times - never dropped it. I am facing a $275.00 repair on an MS-211 that I bought for $250. I called STIHL and asked how an engine housing can crack when the plastic body surrounding the entire chainsaw was completely fine / not broken. I asked if they would stand by their product. They said "something cracked the engine housing." I said, that I'm telling as many people as I can about my experience and Kelly at STIHL tech services hung up on me. That is all FACT. I'm not a happy customer of STIHL. I will never buy their products again and I'm telling as many people as I can about this.

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What line of business are you in? I will guarantee you to give you all my business in what ever you do. Because if you expect Stihl to give you a lifetime warranty/guarantee you probably offer that with your goods or services, right?

LawnmowerJustin said:

When a customer's opening statement includes the words "never dropped it" straight away I know that the product HAS been dropped.

If you purchased a motor vehicle and drove it into a lamp post would you expect the motor manufacturer to repair it under warranty? And furthermore once it is 1.5 years out of warranty? Not even Rolls Royce would entertain your claim even if you had only done 1mile!

Bad mouth Stihl all you want, you only make yourself look bad. Those of us in know appreciate the quality that is Stihl. And just so you know, I am not affiliated to Stihl, I distribute EFCO products in opposition to Stihl and yet I'm on their side with this one!

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I'm not sure how stating that a chainsaw broke after 15 uses is badmouthing. Since we're doing hypotheticals, if your chainsaw broke after 15 uses, would you still appreciate the quality that is STIHL? I look bad... but you calling me a liar doesn't make you look bad? Uh. OK....

LawnmowerJustin said:

What line of business are you in? I will guarantee you to give you all my business in what ever you do. Because if you expect Stihl to give you a lifetime warranty/guarantee you probably offer that with your goods or services, right?

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Is it possible to break the engine housing and have the outer case not be broken?

cba7225 said:

I'm not sure how stating that a chainsaw broke after 15 uses is badmouthing. Since we're doing hypotheticals, if your chainsaw broke after 15 uses, would you still appreciate the quality that is STIHL? I look bad... but you calling me a liar doesn't make you look bad? Uh. OK....

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I would still appreciate the quality because I have 20 years experience in this industry and I know if I drop a product that is 1.5 years out of warranty is solely MY responsibility. As for calling you a liar, I was talking in general, the mere fact that you took offense shows that this general rule probably applies here, only you know the truth.

And you can deny it all you want, but you have come to a forum where experts in this field gather. If you think you can pull one over us you are mistaken, we have seen and heard it all. If you want people to believe your bull go to your local pub and run your mouth all you want. Perhaps the ignorant will give you some sympathy.

Goodbye.

Usually manufacturers do state that warranty is subject to servicing.
Now being 2.5 years old then the saw should have been serviced twice despite how many times its been used.
If serviced then the mechanic would/may have saw (no pun intended) the damage and got it repaired under warranty.
Many dealers also look after their own customers.
So if you were a good customer then they may help but if not then the dealer may think sod the customer thay are going to have to pay.
Dealers only do the warranty that manufacturers approve so the dealer gives the facts and the warranty department pay.

It comes down to this. You have a 2.5 year old saw, 1.5 years out of warranty, which is not Stihl's responsibility to repair period. It doesn't matter if you dropped it or not. It doesn't matter if it has 15 minutes or 15 hours, It doesn't even matter if it was defective from the factory or not, you have no warranty, and it is not Stihl's responsibility.

An just for a heads up I am not a Stihl dealer or have any affiliation with Stihl. Personally I think there are better products on the market, and Stihl is just an average top end product, but everybody has heard of Stihl. They advertise everywhere, they sponsor events.

I don't know all the details, so I could be wrong, however as much as I don't like it, I can't blame stihl for their position as the thing is so far out of warranty. That said, I do wish you better with your next purchase, whatever brand.

On a bit of a side note, what I did catch was a reference to nearly three year old fuel. Just a little information and I hope the op will take this in the respectful manner it is intended. Fuel, or what is passed off as fuel these days, will generally go bad in months, if not weeks. I would not trust it past a few months, even with stabil in it. These small engines don't tolerate all the ethanol very well or whatever else they might be adding to this fuel, let alone the water it seems to attract.

I might suggest for anyone using such a small amount of fuel, you might consider some of this trufuel type stuff you can pick up at most big box stores or some dealers, they have it pre mixed or straight fuel either one.

Just my take on it.

so true about the fuel,,the gunk i had in the carb of my hedge shears and how flat the carb pieces were.... i was surprised it ran as long a it did....im still looking for the pics just curious to see what it looks like

Have you told Stihl or the Stihl dealer, that your saw has the same fuel in it since you purchased it? I bet not. You want us to believe that you take care of your equipment, but have left the old fuel/oil mixture in it for two and a half years? I would call that borderline abuse. Also, did the Stihl dealer find the crack when you brought it in for non starting, due to a gummed up carb? I suppose you want Stihl to also pick up the cost of a new carb? You asked,"Is it possible to break an engine casing, but leave the cover undamaged?". As I said before, YES.

Fisherman74 beat me to it, I also caught the reference to the original fuel. I empathize with the OP, but I don't think Stihl is liable either. I have a buddy at work that broke the front axle on his 26 month old tractor that only has 235 hours on it. Guess what, it came with a 24 month/2,000 hour warranty, and the dealer wouldn't warranty it. He felt the dealer should have at least covered the parts costs with the owner, with him covering the labor costs. He didn't get what he wanted either. Back to the OP and his saw. With it having the original fuel in it, makes me wonder if somehow either the cylinder or crankcase hydrolocked with excess fuel and subsequently burst the casing. Just a thought.

All I see out of this u know what warranty is u didn't take care of it so it your flat not there so get over it man up an buy a new one or get that one fixed :confused2:

cba7225 said:

I have a 2.5 year old STIHL - used 15 times - never dropped it. I am facing a $275.00 repair on an MS-211 that I bought for $250. I called STIHL and asked how an engine housing can crack when the plastic body surrounding the entire chainsaw was completely fine / not broken. I asked if they would stand by their product. They said "something cracked the engine housing." I said, that I'm telling as many people as I can about my experience and Kelly at STIHL tech services hung up on me. That is all FACT. I'm not a happy customer of STIHL. I will never buy their products again and I'm telling as many people as I can about this.

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I agree with most of the responders - you are on your own for this one. As the (former) owner of two Husky dealerships I would love to get a dig at Stihl but unfortunately for you, I see them completely correct on this claim. Too much time has passed and too many potential variables are involved. Sorry.

i saw this guy is at a tractor forum CRYING about his saw there:confused2::thumbdown::laughing:

Yeah I found him on several lawn forums crying about the same thing, He should realize the only thing he is doing is making himself out to be an idiot because there is basis for his accusations.

He's also not tell everyone that he has never even run the original tank of fuel through the unit in two and a half years. But, he still calls himself a respondsibile user. Notice that he has never told us who found the "crack" and if it was the shop, what was it in for? You know me, troublemaker, would someone tell me which forums you've seen him on, I'd like to follow him. Yes, I know he'll see this post, maybe get an answer.

Some folks go thru life just waiting for the next reason to complain about something as they thrive on this sort of thing!
The last time that I checked, $250 was not an expensive saw in any brand. This man needs to "get a life" as the expression goes!!!
Every owners manual that I have read addresses long term storage of fuel in a product.
I have an assortment of Stihl 2 and 4 stroke and Husqvarna equipment for lawn care and I turn the equipment over periodically to upgrade.
Mad Mackie in CT

You know, what he is asking is not without precedent in US industry. I remember GM replacing the engines in some out of warranty Chevrolet Vegas back in the early 70's. Also, some car brands have repainted some makes whose paint jobs flaked off prematurely, though beyond warranty.

Sometimes there are class action lawsuits about a particular repeatedly defective model. I had a Dell Inspiron laptop whose power plug kept shorting out! There was a settlement in such a lawsuit. I had had the extended warranty, and twice during the warranty they sent a technician to replace the motherboard, as that was the only way to fix the thing where it would charge, but it wound tearing up again after the warranty ran out....

I am not an expert on such equipment. However, I fail to understand how it could be placed in storage on a shelf, intact, in a an environment that has some amount of protection from sun, humidity, and rain and then you pull it off and found the housing is cracked. That cracked, no matter what, had to have had some help, either routine or not-so-routine use.

If I were Stihl, I would document the complaint, the unit serial number, but not offer any replacement. If I were Stihl management and discovered complaints about other units of the same make and manufacture run were having the same trouble, I might reconsider. Who knows, they may find some type of pattern with quality control of the manufacturing materials or processed used on that model's particular run.

It took echo and Stihl a real long time to come to grips that they had bad fuel lines on their units a decade or so ago, they kept blaming "bad gas". I would call up the dist. as a tech and tell them that the fuel line had cracks before I gave it it's first startup as a dealer tech. On other forums I have requested pics, as they are worth 1000 words. He has not provided any.

He is just a "revenge " member, that joins all of the forums he can find to try to hurt Stihl, who has wronged him, in his mind at least. I am
realistic, and would gladly go to bat for his cause, but I haven't seen 1 pic yet!!!

looks like copy n paste doesnt work

Wow this is to funny people are really quite dumb. I have a 1989 jeep blow a head gasket last year according to this guy I should have cried to the dealer and demanded that they fixed it. Jeep should build quality products and should have lifetime warranty on everything I can so to the "no I never over heated the thing."

No I replaced the gasket and dealt with the bad radiator.

This is ridiculous he used it 15 times in 2.5 years assuming he used it an hr at a time 15 hours so for 21900 hours it sat somewhere getting dusty and he thinks he should be the exception to the limited warranty why? Why is he so special more than likely it was his fault and he should just get over it

comes back looking for the pic of the saw:thumbdown:

exotion said:

Wow this is to funny people are really quite dumb. I have a 1989 jeep blow a head gasket last year according to this guy I should have cried to the dealer and demanded that they fixed it. Jeep should build quality products and should have lifetime warranty on everything I can so to the "no I never over heated the thing."

No I replaced the gasket and dealt with the bad radiator.

This is ridiculous he used it 15 times in 2.5 years assuming he used it an hr at a time 15 hours so for 21900 hours it sat somewhere getting dusty and he thinks he should be the exception to the limited warranty why? Why is he so special more than likely it was his fault and he should just get over it

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You may be in luck. Maybe cba7225 owns a Jeep dealership and he will repair you blown head gasket under warranty. I suspect that if he demands a lifetime warranty from an entry level, domestic use chainsaw that he must offer a lifetime warranty on his product!

cba7225: BTW where are the photos you promised us all? The longer it takes for you to post them the worse the rat starts to smell. Badmouthing 101... have the facts and evidence to back you mouth!!

It just seems like no one is on your side. Yes for sure Stihl should give you a break on this. I just don't understand why the it cost more to fix the saw then to buy a new one? If the crankcase is cracked they should be able tell the different between it getting hit and a defect and if so why shouldn't Stihl stand in back of its product. Just maybe you should try a different dealer?

:laughing: the way the cry baby is acting here ,,,,,wonder how he treated dealer and stihl

reynoldston said:

It just seems like no one is on your side. Yes for sure Stihl should give you a break on this. I just don't understand why the it cost more to fix the saw then to buy a new one? If the crankcase is cracked they should be able tell the different between it getting hit and a defect and if so why shouldn't Stihl stand in back of its product. Just maybe you should try a different dealer?

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Naw, I have been open to be on his side... If he would at least put up a pic of the damage, but he has not done so on any of the forums that he has joined...

If he is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Stihl or the dealer I don't think he will get anywhere on this. Now if it is a true factory defect pictures or not I don't see why Stihl can't give him a break on the repairs. If it cost more to fix then the price of a new saw I can't see the reason to fix it. I would guess also who took the saw apart? I have got cheap chainsaws in my shop and have ran across where parts cost more then a new saw. I hand the saw back to the customer and refuse to fix them. I have three of them chain saws sitting in my salvage scrap pile now and one is a Stihl.

reynoldston said:

If he is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Stihl or the dealer I don't think he will get anywhere on this. Now if it is a true factory defect pictures or not I don't see why Stihl can't give him a break on the repairs. If it cost more to fix then the price of a new saw I can't see the reason to fix it. I would guess also who took the saw apart? I have got cheap chainsaws in my shop and have ran across where parts cost more then a new saw. I hand the saw back to the customer and refuse to fix them. I have three of them chain saws sitting in my salvage scrap pile now and one is a Stihl.

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Has anyone looked to see if there was a service bulletin or recall? On his

exotion said:

Has anyone looked to see if there was a service bulletin or recall? On his

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No Stilhl won't pay and they wouldn't stay in business if they did. BUT:

Unless you have unlimited disposable income, you better get some mechanical skills and a shop manual. My "dealer" Ace
Hardware was talking to a customer with a trimmer that wouldn't start. First thing he said is that a carburetor rebuild would be one hours labor ($75) plus parts. So even on a $250 tool, you start to look at them as disposable if you can't fix them yourself. If the OP doesn't have tools, or skills, or extra money, I can see why when you buy a "name" brand
you expect more. It's not a $100 MTD after all. Yeah, the "names" build lesser quality products, but if the story was as told, I would be PO also.

GregGA said:

No Stilhl won't pay and they wouldn't stay in business if they did. BUT:

Unless you have unlimited disposable income, you better get some mechanical skills and a shop manual. My "dealer" Ace
Hardware was talking to a customer with a trimmer that wouldn't start. First thing he said is that a carburetor rebuild would be one hours labor ($75) plus parts. So even on a $250 tool, you start to look at them as disposable if you can't fix them yourself. If the OP doesn't have tools, or skills, or extra money, I can see why when you buy a "name" brand
you expect more. It's not a $100 MTD after all. Yeah, the "names" build lesser quality products, but if the story was as told, I would be PO also.

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Being annoyed and angry is one thing. Expecting stihl to pay for no real reason is another. If his posts were true I would be angry to but I can't expect the world to bow before me....

exotion said:

Being annoyed and angry is one thing. Expecting stihl to pay for no real reason is another. If his posts were true I would be angry to but I can't expect the world to bow before me....

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I agree. I didnt' read all of his posts. Now that I have, he needs to get rational.

cba7225 said:

I'll take the camera to the repair shop when I pick it up and take the pictures there. Besides, I don't have to prove to you that I didn't drop it, I have to prove to STIHL that I didn't drop it - and the repair shop should be able to tell STIHL that it wasn't dropped. I didn't even re-fuel the thing. It's the same fuel from the store I bought it from - because I've only used it 15 times.

If I only used it 15 times over 5 years and I had this problem, then yes, STIHL should still be ashamed that their product didn't last that long too. I bought an expensive STIHL because it should last a lifetime.

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Do you think maybe you fuel was bad and caused the damage, did you run any stabil in your fuel, was their gunk in your carb?
Did you get the saw hot and cold water by any chance?

Man Stihl is the best made, I have owned them counting my dad purchasing them for little over 30 years and we have never had no issues other than one weed eater had to get a new carb.
Change the spark plug, air filter, run good gas with Stihl quality fuel mix and Stihl products will run darn near forever.

cba7225 said:

I have a 2.5 year old STIHL - used 15 times - never dropped it. I am facing a $275.00 repair on an MS-211 that I bought for $250. I called STIHL and asked how an engine housing can crack when the plastic body surrounding the entire chainsaw was completely fine / not broken. I asked if they would stand by their product. They said "something cracked the engine housing." I said, that I'm telling as many people as I can about my experience and Kelly at STIHL tech services hung up on me. That is all FACT. I'm not a happy customer of STIHL. I will never buy their products again and I'm telling as many people as I can about this.

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Sometimes. it is how you "communicate" with Customer Service. I have several Stihl products...2 chainsaws, blower, trimmer and cultivator...and will buy No other brand. 3 or 4 years ago, I was tilling the garden with my MM55 cultivator, and the engine seized. After I quit cussing, I took the motor apart and found that the connecting rod had broken. I sent Stihl an e-mail describing what I found, and the next day a Stihl rep called me. I calmly and politely described what I found, and he asked me to send him the broken parts. I did so, and about a week later, I received an apology for my "inconvenience", and a check for about 2/3rd's the cost of a new MM55. Since the cultivator was well out of warranty, I felt this was excellent customer service and support.