Stihl dealer says"cost of repair exceeds value"MS250.I need ur opinion please.

[tcrew]

I bought my MS250c brand new 3years ago and cut maybe 15 cords of wood since. And 2 be clear,i didnt buy it from the dealer in town,and i think this might have something to do with it.The saw is like new,and has a bad crankshaft bearing. He(dealer) tore carb and clutch of and handed it back 2 me in a box,charged me half hr labor and said its not worth the fix. I paid $380. for the saw,and i have also now torn the saw down and sure enuf it has a bad bearing.Not from miss use,but from the JUNK bearings they use for these "home owner"saws.There is no damage 2 the cylinder or piston,just the bearing. So anyone have any info on what one of these,or a pair of bearings cost for this saw? Nice lightly used 250s go for $200.  I just am at a loss. I run a MS280 as my main saw(firewood) and would appreciate any info and opinions on my like new MS250. Fix or not worth the fix? Anyone else run into these "sensitive  dealers "? This guy even ran the # and the 1st question he asked me thru the door was,,"i see this didnt cum from my store,where u get it"? And from then on, i could feel he had no interest in repairing my saw or helping me do so. Didnt think it mattered where it came from,still says Stihl on the side!

**Ok,now a update and clarification on my above comment on the bearings**
I had 2 go back to the same dealer to get my new missing air filter the dealer had left behind when i picked it up in a box,,anyway, while i was there i showed him the crankshaft/,piston,rod and bearings still together as it came out of the saw,(intent was 2 really let him see i was gonna fix this saw)and i asked him 2 price the bearings and seals for me..and heres the part that backs up my feeling on these bearings being,well not good strong bearings. He says after staring at his screen for 5 minutes dead silent,,"Hmmm,thats weird. looks like Stihl had a "change in the production" of these bearings half way thru the run and changed them slightly so there are 2 listed for this saw" I thought right away,and was waiting to hear the word "recall",,but he stop short of actually using that magic word,and he said it didnt give him details of the problem,just that there was. So YES the bearings in MS250 saws have a problem on saws made 3 years ago up to all most present . Anyway, i wanted to update everyone and thank you all very much for ur help and comments. Oh, the price per bearing, $13.85 each,and seals $20.00, and Dirkco sealer 14.00... Same thing as a $4. tube of permatex red. 
I cant believe all the GREAT advise and opinions i received here! I LOVE this forum! I have learned so much in the brief time of being a member of this forum about the little "tricks and tips" on,,,,,,well everything! I see there are many guys on here with great wisdom and experience,and i plan to soak up as much as me little brain can handle..  So a BIG THANK YOU 2 U ALL
Sin,Rick(tcrew) 

[Buck]

I have always run Stihl. We have a dealer here that acts the same way. I now have a Husky in the mix and try to purchase commercial grade saws.

[bill m]

I have not heard of a anyone having problems with the bearings on a MS250. What makes you think they use junk bearings on those saws? BTW now that you have the saw broke down why not get the bearings and do it yourself.

[T Welsh]

tcrew,I feel bad for you,as you have found a crappy dealer. how on earth these people stay in business is beyond me,treating a customer like that is suicide. As for junk bearings,who knows!! take bill m advise and change it out yourself and find another dealer who treats you well. Tim

[Cut4fun]

I sold a like brand new 025 for $150. NEW  250 is $299.   I say they are worth $200 not $300 JMO.

[tcrew]

I sold a like brand new 025 for $150. NEW  250 is $299.   I say they are worth $200 not $300 JMO.

My receipt was 389.00 before tax and a 18 inch bar,chain,oil case, files. And the value i went by was just what i see them for sale 4. Thank u very much 4 ur comment.

[tcrew]

I have always run Stihl. We have a dealer here that acts the same way. I now have a Husky in the mix and try to purchase commercial grade saws.

I ran a Husky 270 for 6 years and was happy with it,all be a bit big for what im cutting,so i went 2 my local(15miles) husky dealer and picked up a small husky,a 139. Ran the 139 for a hole year before the darn hole rear handle just fell off,or broke is more like it,so i wasnt very happy..I take very good care of my equipment 2. So i went back to stihl.And now have this problem with the new 250. Funny how every saw i ever bought new broke years before the used saws i bought.  Thank u for ur input.

[tcrew]

I have not heard of a anyone having problems with the bearings on a MS250. What makes you think they use junk bearings on those saws? BTW now that you have the saw broke down why not get the bearings and do it yourself.

im sorry if my comment about "jusnk" bearings upset anyone,but this is coming from the dealer him self saying that.He said the 250 is for a home owner to prune a tree once in a while. Now thats the same dealer who has no interest in fixing it,but the dealer i bought the saw from(35 miles away) said this saw would be great for doing firewood. Im no indust logger,just own some property and heat with wood. So this is why im asking  all u. Since i get 2 different stories from the Dealers. And YES, i will be buying the bearings and fix it myself, i just want opinions from experienced users. And so every one knows, i told the local dealer the same when he asked me where it came from, i said i got a good deal on it when i bought my Kubota tractor,and he said he understood, but clearly i could see his attitude get cold and he made his mind up that i am not worthy of his service! Thank u for ur info and input on this,, as it will help push me to just fix it myself. 

[tcrew]

I have not heard of a anyone having problems with the bearings on a MS250. What makes you think they use junk bearings on those saws? BTW now that you have the saw broke down why not get the bearings and do it yourself.

I actually found a 5 part video on youtube on the tear down and repair of the exact same 250 with the same bad bearing. No blue hot marks,just the bearing feel apart on both his and my 250. And after only 3 years of very light use, and it beaks. This is why i tend to believe they are not the best bearings. I loved this saw and cleaned it after every use and so on. Just thought i should mention that. The 250 is the saw in my pic on the bottom,and its of it as it sat with bad bearing before i took it to the dealer, so u can see how nice, like new it is.    Thank s again for all ur help. I love this forum and allready in my brief time here have found the people to be GREAT and VERY knowledgeable. 

[sparky1]

Well I dont have alot of  knowlege of the 250. but i bought a 290 a couple years back. Only reason was because my dealer steered me toward that instead of the 250 for cutting bigger logs. Anyways I dont think you will find a better saw than the sihl.. I love my saw, after 4 pulls its running and hard to bog down.. so if could be get a 250 for a couple hundo id buy it in a heart beat.. I too think you have a really sh@ty dealer, and it were me, id deffinetly look else where!

[tcrew]

Since my 250 went down, i picked up a ms280 for $200 and threw a 20 in bar/RSC chain and LOVE this saw! Freakin screamer. Pretty light also. Only a pound over the 250. Glad ur liking ur Farm Boss 290. My mate has one of them. and he likes it to, it is a bit heavier than my 280,but a great saw. It just burns my bucket to have the 250 torn apart and looking all sad. I was hoping to hear" fix it" thats a good saw. And looks like some of u think its worth the fix,but at my own hand. So can some one give me a idea on what crank shaft bearings cost for this 45 cc MS250?  Just need a idea.  Thank s to u all!!!

[Ianab]

Someone else can probably give you an actual cost and the part numbers that you need, but I'm guessing less than $50 for the parts? It's that labour that would quickly get the price up, and with a saw that's only worth $200 I can believe the dealer is correct about "cost to repair vs value"

BUT, if it's our Sunday afternoon of labour, that your were only going to waste watching TV anyway, then bust out the tools and go for it.

Other option is to dismantle it and sell it for parts. Might get your $$ back selling it in bits to people with a burnt up piston, smashed covers. cantankerous carb etc.

Ian

[tcrew]

Thank u Ian, i got her torn down,did it earlier. So i will be most likely fixing the saw my self, i just didnt want to find out the parts are over the value of the saw. To me, its not. Since i shelled out the cash on it new. Im chalking this buy up as a notch on the learning post... and  maybe by the end, ill be a Stihl tech! The dealer does hammer on the labor,,,he charged me 30 min to take of the carb and clutch. I tore the hole saw down,the right way in 10 minutes! so i will take my time and fix it. And $50 bucks for such a small bearing is almost as nuts as our gas prices! but again,since i bought this new, and ran only 15 tanks thru it, its worth the fix.   Thank u for ur input ..

[tcrew]

meant to say off, not of. sry.  and this dealer i could see the half smile/grin on his face when he handed me my saw back in a box. Anyway,, thanks again. Have a nice night.

[tcrew]

Oh, i didnt mention this,but after he tore it apart,he offered me the $24 to buy the saw that he charged me to diagnose it.. I get home to find my brand new air filter missing from it. I just bought it from him a week prior, and i asked him is all my parts in there? oh yes he said. I called him and told him it was missing,and he said, oh sorry,, i have allot of saws im working on. But the day b4 when i dropped it off,his wife was at the counter and i asked her how long until he could take a look, and her words "we dont have any saws back there now,so it will be soon".  Funny how a day changes things. Thats SHADY at best and now im glad i didnt buy a saw from him,and never will. And the saw had a brand new 18 inch RSC chain on it also,,so $24 for everything?? What a guy!  Im learning from every one on here that they have had similar experiences with their dealers also, and i need 2 find a good one and stick with him. Prob is, we only have one in town,,(Crook Dealer) and the next is 35 miles over the mountains.   

[Cut4fun]

Seals $15 for set. Bearings $25 for set.


He must have charged you retail for case. They usually give that stuff away when buying.

Stihl MS 250 Chainsaw
Amick's Price: $299.95    The Stihl MS250 comes standard with an 18" bar.   

      
   
Stihl MS 290 Chainsaw
Amick's Price: $369.95   The Stihl MS290 comes standard with an 18" bar.

[Al_Smith]

Well here ya go .You're going to shell out between 50 and 60 bucks an hour for repairs in a shop and pay full price for the parts .In addition the repairs may be figured using a "flat rate " book which is always in favor of the dealer  regarding the price charged .

They're going to charge you whatever than book says .You get to adding it up it might be for example have a hundred dollars to rebuild a carb you could do yourself for under 20 and about a half hour of your time .

Now that's just the way many do business .So you either learn how to do the repairs or you pony up the money or buy a new saw .You're ran out of options .

[Al_Smith]

I guess I just don't get it .I've seen countless amounts of people buy these 025's ,029's and other consumer grade saws brand new and pay in my opinion outragious prices for them .Then 2-3 years late complain they go on the fritz .

They could have taken half the money bought a good used pro grade firewood sized older saw like an 026,028 even an 038 and with proper care it would last a life time unless it were abused if only used for casual firewood cutting .

Then again without any malice intended I am rather opinionated about this stuff ,do as you choose .

[SwampDonkey]

I said i got a good deal on it when i bought my Kubota tractor,and he said he understood, but clearly i could see his attitude get cold and he made his mind up that i am not worthy of his service!

That just don't make sense. It would suggest that the dealer believes he would be working for free or something. Whether you bought it from him or someone else would not matter when the repair bill was rung through the cash register. 

[SwampDonkey]

It just burns my bucket to have the 250 torn apart and looking all sad. I was hoping to hear" fix it" thats a good saw.

I don't have the same experience and different type of saw, a brush saw. I have a lot of miles on a 2007 FS550. It threw a crank bearing after a couple hundred acres of brush cut (that's every square inch of an acre) and I replaced the bearing and at the time put a new muffler on it and dropped a new piston and rings in to. Now a dealer would only offer about $300 for this saw, in tact and working. The parts alone outside of the power unit would be worth $300 as used spare parts. New it is $1500 with taxes. So, darn right I fixed it, and by myself. Since the rebuild I have cut another 160 acres on it in two years. I intend to put the old girl into service this spring for another season.  It's real easy on gas to, I can go for 1-1/2 hours in light cutting. Less of course in real thick stuff because you have to keep the rpm's up. The first spring after the build I cut 2.5 acre strips of aspen with just 4 tanks of  gas, low rpm's. Love it.