Stihl 026

[pie eater pete]

Morning all Iv just been offered an old Stihl 026 from a local garden machinery place for £200. It's getting new pistons and cylinder while it's apart. Is this silly money for one of these? Iv only got an old Mculloch at the mo so I'm thinking of upgrading?

[Stubby]

If the new pot and piston are OEM then I would think thats not a bad price ( pot and piston could easely be £150ish ) . If its an aftermarket, chineese pot and piston I would stay clear . I could be wrong on all of this as I am a Husqvarna man myself but I would say the same if it was a Husky .

[redmoosefaction]

Mmmm great little machine nice and light, 2nd hand? get a good warranty, I reckon!

[pleasant]

Lets be honest. No dealer in their right mind is going to spend £150 on an OEM pot and piston and then sell the saw including labour, vat, profit and any warranty to you for £200 are they?

 

So let's take it as read that the pot and piston are not OEM to allow the dealer some credit shall we?

 

Not all non OEM parts are sourced from china, and from my experience those that aren't are very good indeed.

 

A good 026 for £200 from a dealer is very good value even with a non OEM pot and piston. They are excellent, bomb-proof all-round saws and I would take his hand off.

 

Ones with no history that's been well used go for more than £200 on ebay. At least the one you have been offered has some credibility and re-assurances.

[Stubby]

Lets be honest. No dealer in their right mind is going to spend £150 on an OEM pot and piston and then sell the saw including labour, vat, profit and any warranty to you for £200 are they?

 

So let's take it as read that the pot and piston are not OEM to allow the dealer some credit shall we?

 

Not all non OEM parts are sourced from china, and from my experience those that aren't are very good indeed.

 

A good 026 for £200 from a dealer is very good value even with a non OEM pot and piston. They are excellent, bomb-proof all-round saws and I would take his hand off.

 

Ones with no history that's been well used go for more than £200 on ebay. At least the one you have been offered has some credibility and re-assurances.

O.K. Stand corrected . Sorry .

[pie eater pete]

Cheers for the replies gents it looks quite well used but it's just something to start me off really.

[Andy Collins]

Good sturdy little saw, tough as old boots, and reliable. Well worth the £200. Not a screamer like the similar size huskies, but good and steady.

[agg221]

I like the 026 - solid and reliable. Also made in great numbers so parts availability is good.

 

Are they offering any kind of warranty, and do you know the people in there?

 

You can pick up a runner on ebay for about £120-150 (or a bit less if you keep an eye out. There are a couple on there at the moment, one with 7hrs to go at £64. A new pot and piston will be about £40 (just checked, £42 from gardenhirespares).

 

If you take this (and postage) into account then £200 is good if there's either a formal warranty or you know them well enough to be confident that they'd sort you out if a problem arose in the near future. Otherwise, the ebay route is cheaper and no worse.

 

It's also worth checking why they're changing the pot and piston. Was it in good running order but they're changing it because it's slightly scuffed or just for good measure, in which case you might as well ask them for the original pot and piston, put them back on until they do wear out and then use the new one. I reckon you'll probably buy a new saw first unless you have a problem. Alternatively, had it really worn it out, in which case that's pretty high mileage and I'd want to check the condition of the big end bearing. Or, was the original one damaged, in which case how? If it's on the inlet side then it suggests an air filter problem which is cheap and easy to sort out. If it's on the exhaust side you want to be pretty confident that the problem has been diagnosed and fixed (bad fuel mix, carb problem, air leak etc). Otherwise the same thing may well happen again in pretty short order.

 

For comparison, I bought my 026 on ebay last year for £100 as it was badly listed. It was in good working order (although the chain was on backwards!) and it starts first pull. I also bought an 044 (to run the bandsaw mill) as a non-runner (seized) for £98. The end of a piston ring had snapped off causing it to seize instantly. Easy diagnosis, easy fix, quick pressure check and away. If the fault had been less obvious it would have been off to Spud to diagnose and repair and would still have worked out a better price than an overhauled one with no warranty.

 

Just a thought.

 

Alec

[pie eater pete]

Cheers Alec for the comments Iv not agreed anything on the saw yet just first dibs when the works done which should be Monday-I know the guy fairly well Iv always got my files and oils from him.

[Rupe]

Do you know when you look at buying a vehicle you can tell by the wear on the pedals if the mileage is genuine?

 

Well, I have found all my well used 026 have cracked and broken along the back handle, the bit that pretect you if the chain whips off is often broken.

 

Its unlikly anyone would ever replace that part so its a good way to see how much work the saw has done. No point in looking at bar wear if its got a new bar on!!

 

So if that parts all neat and tidy (and not brand spanking new) then it will have had an easier life, and with new PP and would snap his hand off, I'm after the very same thing myself at the moment.