Greetings & Warranty issue second opinion?

[ArthurBottlesworth]

Time for local Trading standards office?

[hedgesparrow]

Time for local Trading standards office?

now consumers advice service. trading standards do not get involed untill they have. worth talking to. but think it will be what i have said they have to prove without a shadow of doubt that it was your fault. using contaminated fuel or it had water in fuel. the carb maybe up creek but whats to say it was you who did it.onlyway is to have the fuel sent away to a lab for testing will they pay for this no way. stick to your guns. let them prove it or fix it.

[GardenKit]

They do not need to test the fuel to prove that it has done the damage.

 

The diaphragms, if deformed, will be sufficient proof.

 

it would seem that the saw initially worked as it should, so it was, to use that overworked phrase, 'fit for purpose', as are all mainline saws.

 

So something has changed in the time the saw has been used.

 

The dealer has stated his expert opinion. It is now up to the OP to prove otherwise.

 

If I was the dealer in question I would not have made my statement unless I was sure of my facts. The threat of 'the small claims court' would not phase me.

 

If it was me (it's not) and I was in any doubt, I would have sent the saw ( or carb) to Huskie technical department for their opinion. It is really quite simple.

[Eddie@aspen]

They do not need to test the fuel to prove that it has done the damage.

 

The diaphragms, if deformed, will be sufficient proof.

 

it would seem that the saw initially worked as it should, so it was, to use that overworked phrase, 'fit for purpose', as are all mainline saws.

 

So something has changed in the time the saw has been used.

 

The dealer has stated his expert opinion. It is now up to the OP to prove otherwise.

 

If I was the dealer in question I would not have made my statement unless I was sure of my facts. The threat of 'the small claims court' would not phase me.

 

If it was me (it's not) and I was in any doubt, I would have sent the saw ( or carb) to Huskie technical department for their opinion. It is really quite simple.

Hi all,

 

Forget my current job.

 

I have spent 20 years working on garden machinery inc saws. 10 years at a main Stihl dealer, 7& half for myself and 2&half at another Stihl dealers.

 

GardenKit is spot on.

 

If fuel has caused the damage it is NOT warranty.

 

We need to know the facts and a breakdown of the costs before talk of law and making the dealers life hell.

 

Keep us posted as I am very interested in this case (putting my Aspen hat back on)

 

Good luck and I hope it is all sorted quickly and cheaply for you.

[2stroke-ady]

I think husky should revise the way they implement warranty work. If the product was bought mail order or from another dealer the company doing the work should be paid more because they haven't seen the profit from the original sale. Also if the repair is found not to be warranty the dealer makes a profit on the parts that are used. If the repair is warranty they are reimbursed at cost price, could this influence their decision???

[tetatate2]

What's Aspen ?

Thats why I use aspen to get rid of fuel issues

[Stubby]

What's Aspen ?

 

Ah . Someone who has not heard of aspen ! . I could answer but probably best left to Eddie .....

[tetatate2]

Thank you for your response and the information it's good to know and I appreciate your candor.

Perhaps we are jumping to judge the supplier (it is the same place where I purchased the saw)

 

I was (am) shocked by the diagnosis and the (for me) high price quoted for he repair.

I feel I have looked after the saw and used good petrol, but can I be absolutely sure non of the petrol I used had any water in it ? well I honestly can't say that. If it is my fault ,if inadvertently, I'll hold my hands up .

 

But how much water are we talking about, I know my Norton riding neighbor often suspects there is water in the petrol purchased from two local fuel stations, which, although it doesn't destroy the carb, does give starting problems, but, is it really the case with a modern Husquvarna saw they use parts in the carb that can rust - do they not use stainless steel parts in there ?

 

So coming to cost if parts have rusted then perhaps we are talking about a high price for parts than the £20 mentioned for a repair kit ( could it need a new carb?) and perhaps with the high cost of labour these days we are approaching the £100 quoted ?

 

Still this is hard for me to afford, getting on for a third of the price of the saw.

Is it work I could easily do my self?

Although I do a lot of my own mechanics , for instance I have an old series land rover I keep on the road, but I'm reluctant to delve into the fiddly innards of a chainsaw carb.

 

I, hopefully, will find out more of the diagnosis and the price breakdown later today.

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry to spoil all of this for you, but yes, stale petrol can, and does damage carburettors.

 

And petrol is deemed unsuitable for use after 30 days. Just read you operators book to confirm this.

 

So the dealer in question may be correct, he is after all, the only expert to have seen this saw. He would I guess be only to happy to find a cause that he could pass under a warranty claim, but damage by contaminated fuel is, quite simply, not a warranty issue.

 

Stale fuel will deform both the pumping diaphragm and the metering diaphragm, and the gauze filter will offer no protection.

 

But, to be honest, the fuel would have to be considerably older than 4 or 6 weeks to cause damage, unless other contaminants were present. Such as water.

 

Water in the fuel can sit in the carburettor metering chamber and quickly rust the metering arm and pin.

 

Even so, a £100 repair bill does seem a little steep, but, with respect to the OP we have only heard one side of the story.

 

And of course every customer denies having ever used stale fuel, so dealers do get a little fed up with having their leg lifted. But that is no excuse for them not keeping an open mind on every problem they see.

[GardenKit]

Hi Tetatate

 

Sadly there are indeed some dealers out their who may lift your leg, but on the whole we are a professional and honest bunch who treat both out customers, and our manufacturers, fairly and impartially.

 

Most problems we see during a warranty period are unfortunately caused by operator error and not by a manufacturing defect. Resolving these issues can sometimes cause a bit of friction with the customer.

 

Stale, or contaminated fuel is the most common fault we see on small engines. Pump petrol is chemically unstable and is generally considered to only have a operating life of 30 days before quality and performance have dropped to an unacceptable level. The high ethanol content is also responsible for absorbtion of water from the atmosphere which settles at the bottom of the tank, becoming the first thing that the fuel filter picks up.

 

Its always best to give the can and machine a shake before use.

 

Aspen fuel is an Alkylate fuel which is chemicaly stable, giving it a life of 3-5 years. It has no ethanol or other solvents and does not absorb water.

 

Aspen is pre-mixed with high quality 2 stroke oil at 50:1.

 

Aspen is the fuel recommended by Husqvarna for use in their 2 stroke equipment, and will entirely alleviate any fuel related issues.

 

Had your saw been on Aspen there would be no question of fuel related damage (assuming clean filling) and had a fault still occurred it would certainly have been covered by warranty.

 

For more information visit the Aspen website via the link on the left of this page, or read my "One reason I use Aspen" thread.

 

Barrie

[ArthurBottlesworth]

There was thread on here few weeks ago about chinese ebay chainsaws

General Advice was if you buy chinese you'll not be able to get if repaired if it breaks

Strikes me husqvarna are putting themselves in same place as chinese saws

But they cost three times the price

 

This is obviously a quality problem with husqvarna, if their seals fail when someone uses petrol fom his local garage then the problem is husqvarnas not the customers..... i recently put one into my local husqvarna agent with similar problem, he told me he had a stack of chainsaws with the same problem......

 

If your a husqvarna agent tell us "have you got lots with this problem too?"