Chainsaw service prices.

[GardenKit]

I have had a day servicing chainsaws, and quite frankly it has been one of my least profitable days.

 

Saws always seem to take much longer than every other machine I do, so many things to take off, clean, and check. The cleaning takes most of the time.

 

So I don't think I am charging enough.

 

What do you guys pay for a complete service including sharpen and bar dressing?

 

State if you price includes VAT or not.

 

Also if repairs such as carb rebuilds are charged extra.

 

Barrie

[Rich2484]

Hmmm a question I often ask myself there gardenkit. I'm interested in the answers you get. Wild be nice to see how my pricing stands up aswell.

[Ray1]

Home owner saw is what the majority or my business is, ie MS210 Service is £38 no vat. On top are parts, plug, filters, rope. Chain sharpen is £4.50. I never dissasemble the carb if it can be tuned ok then there is no reason too, should it need to be dissasembled for repair all parts are charged as extra. Then the repair is charged at my hourly rate.

[spudulike]

Interesting one Barrie - TBH I always prefer to do a full strip clean and rebuild that includes pressure/vac/comp tests, carb rebuild - the works - I charge....a sum:001_rolleyes: for this but it weedles out all the crap that can stop a saw working and make the owner bring it back a week later - even then one or two can play up:blushing:

 

The times I am asked to do specific jobs, they often come back with something that has failed that wasn't checked on the specific repair - last one was a fuel tank change - week later it was back - a broken clutch spring and then the recoil rope snapped just after the pulley and the bloody carb had gone wobbly:thumbdown:

 

Both would have been picked up on a full service.....Sorry Peter and hope it is OK now:thumbup:

 

I often spend longer than I should on a repair but am not running a busy business with other repair/servicing commitments like Gardenkit.

 

A service - just depends on what it entails and what the customer wants - I generally prefer a total overhaul on a non working or badly running machine, that way I end up doing the full job, charging for the full job and not having later problems I have to turn around and fix at a later date.

 

IMO - owners often don't have a clue about the gneral condition of their saws - MS200T chain brake internals for instance - nobody seems to clean them out:lol:

[mikerecike]

I'm sure Barrie probably uses such a thing - i saw on a stihl video recently a sheet that was like a checklist for saw servicing - anybody got a copy they can share?- all contributes to what's a reasonable charge debate

[GardenKit]

I agree with Ray, there is no need to dissmantle the carb if it tunes as you would expect it to. Years of experience tell you when you need to attend to the innards of the carb and when to leave alone.

For this reason I also do not include this in a service price.

 

Steves 'service' is more of a 'refurb' and as its Steves hobby from which he no doubt gets a lot of satisfaction, then that is perfectly OK.

However, in the commercial world a 'refurb' to the extent that Steve does it, would be very expensive. A 'service' is the norm, and a complete stripdown, followed by a crankcase pressure/vac test would not be done as part of this.

After all, just like the carb issue, if the saw is running well and tunes well, then there is nothing amiss with the sealing and the tests are totally unneeded.

 

I would only perform such tests as part of the diagnostic procedure in a 'repair', which would be charged at my hourly rate rather than the 'menu' price of a service.

 

mikercike's question of a checksheet..... a good idea. Mine is in my head and is instinctive, can't be bothered with too much paperwork around the workbench, too messy!

[spudulike]

mikercike's question of a checksheet..... a good idea. Mine is in my head and is instinctive, can't be bothered with too much paperwork around the workbench, too messy!

 

Pretty much the same here and very rarely find myself looking at service manuals - usually done just for specifics - plug types, carb settings or maximum revs etc

 

Yeah - most of my work is a full refurb as by the time I get the saws, they have been thrashed to 2mm of their life and changing the plug and filter won't cut the mustard - far away from a yearly service!

 

Much of what I do is from a distance so my prime goal is 100% perfection as the owner can't "pop the saw back" easily - hence the overkill approach costly in time but have only myself and the end user to satisfy!

 

If doing a regular service, I would follow Garden kits style MO but have only had a few like that in - most are buggered with the owner wanting a good but cost effective fix - out of the reach of a dealer but viable with what I do.

 

I did use a checklist for a while but it all costs time and effort to complete when all the owner really wants is a reliable cost effective repair/service - I do keep any replaced parts for the owner to see - sort of old school really!

[AlexB]

I'd be interested to see what a "pro service" consists of. Do many "pro" users have their saws serviced?

 

 

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[gensetsteve]

As a qualified hgv mechanic I should service my own vehicles and chainsaws. But I dont as I dont have the time. In my experience there seems to be 2 types of service.

 

Change the spark plug, clean the air filter make sure it runs chuck it back to the customer charge £70

 

Or

 

Change plug, clean air filter, strip carb and change diaphram, Steam clean fuel tank and oil tank replace with new filters, Remove bar clean clutch and grease bearing, dress bar and sharpen chain, Tune saw and ensure bar oils properly clean apply serviced stickers and present to customer also £70 inc vat

[GardenKit]

I'd be interested to see what a "pro service" consists of. Do many "pro" users have their saws serviced?

 

 

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Not many Pro users have their saws serviced, which may be why there have been no replies to this thread from users, only from other techies.

 

However, my service for a Pro user is the same as a domestic user.

 

Test run and check all functions, such as starter, chain brake,oiler, kill switch, AV's and state of tune (tickover, pickup, etc)

 

This gives me the 'feel' of the saw.

 

Then off with top cover, starter cover, chain cover, chain and bar. Off with the chain brake cover, and off with the clutch

 

Get the airline in and give it a thorough clean, pressure wash (with care) if required.

 

Whilst apart check Starter mechanism and rope, pawls and tightness of flywheel. Check chain brake band, spring and linkage. Check oil pump drive, grease needle brg, check clutch shoes and springs.

 

Check sprocket and bar, dress as required, and check chain, sharpen as required.

 

Change plug, check HT lead and cap, check fuel lines and breather, clean air filter, check kill wires.

 

Check AV mts again and check handle plastics.

 

Clean or replace tank filter and check fuel pickup hose inside tank. Drain fuel, and dispose of properly.

 

Put it all back together with bits in roughly the right places.

 

Fill with fresh fuel (Aspen:biggrin:)

 

Start, warm up, tune and test, retune if required until right.

 

Check all functions again, Test in big log, retune if required.

 

Let it go cold, then start and test again, retune if required.

 

Any problems found are priced up for repair and customer consulted before carrying out the repair, unless I know him well enough to carry on anyway.

 

Write out bill for £60 inc vat

 

Phew, I did not realise I did so much, so the price is going up.

 

Seriously though. most of the 'checks' are visual, and instinctive, so its not as complicated as it appears.