Never owned a Stihl until....

[scully]

 So some drug addicts ripped me off ! They took my 7910 Dolmar along with a bunch of cordless tools and other things . Needless to say I was boiling . My Dolmar guy isn't around much these days and I wanted a replacement and I wanted it now ! So I do some reading and decide to go for it I bought a 661C . As fate would have it work got slow so I caught a few days in the woods logging with a couple loggers I know . Cutting hard maple ash and cherry . All I can say is WOW ! I am having a blast with this saw ! Today I cut up a 46" + maple for a friend and had the 24" bar burried for a few tank fulls of fuel .Again WOW ! I over looked the fact that I am not a fan of the breather design when I decided to buy this saw . I do not regret it at all so far ,but, as expected I have to be more dillagent in breather cleaning . I don't find the saw to be as nimble feeling as my Dolmars but again no big deal . This thing is rocking my world right now ! I gotta say IMHO Stihl has raised the bar on this one ! {pun intended}

[SLawyer Dave]

Glad to hear you like it.  I know there are a lot of haters on here, but I doubt I will ever buy anything other than a Stihl.  I've used a bunch of other brands over the years on different jobs while I was putting myself through college, and never found a better one.....at least to me. 

Have fun and be safe.

[rooster 58]

Just like the Ford Chevy debate ;D

   I'm a Stihl man myself

[scully]

Right you are About the Ford Chevy thing I always went for the Dodges myself . I think the Stihl quality is extremely good I was just never a fan . And if Husky decides to make a better saw than the 390 I will probably get one of them too.

[ScottInCabot]

Have had a number of Stihl saws, they were pretty good runners.  I'd love to come up with the change to find a 661 in my shed....


Jeeps rule :D 




Scott in Cabot

[thecfarm]

I would probably own a Stihl if I had better dealer support. I bought a Husky because of the dealer. Than another place brought them. Dealer not so good now. Found a real good Jonsered dealer,but he's in his mid 60's. I go to him to fix my Husky.
Got to pay him a visit soon. I need chains and a back up bar.

[Kingmt]

There is several Stihl dealers here that two of which is good & helpful. There is only one Echo dealer that I know of & he might sale Husky also but I'm not sure. Husky & Echo are in the big box stores here. Don't expect any help with them other than "that is $199.99. Would you like the extended warranty?".

[pine]

I have no idea what it is like in the rest of the country (back east) but out here there are few dealers for anything other than Echo, Stihl and Husky.  Finding support for Echo and Husky is spotty at best but lots a dealers sell the Husky but are not there to service it reliably.

Stihl has and I believe they still do require any dealer to also be able to support their network.  I remember talking to one company that was just starting to offer Stihl and they were telling me how they had to get their shop guy off to Stihl school before they could actually carry/sell the equipment. They also have a continuing education requirement with Stihl where they have to go back to take new classes on new equipment.  I was also told they can only carry the equipment that they have been certified to work on.  Definitely not true on the Husky dealers.  I have never even seen an Echo dealer but have been told they are around somewhere.
The Stihl dealer servicing requirement may be county wide or just our region. 
They are very adamant according to the dealers about being there to service the customer.