best saw for £500

[the hedge man]

'Anyway the wife suggested treating myself to a new saw as she would fit the bill as my Christmas present'

 

that doesn't happen in my house, on the contrary, she would sell one of my chainsaws at Xmas if she had half a chance

[flatyre]

'Anyway the wife suggested treating myself to a new saw as she would fit the bill as my Christmas present'

 

that doesn't happen in my house, on the contrary, she would sell one of my chainsaws at Xmas if she had half a chance

 

She only wants me to get a new saw so I can earn her more money to spend on shoes! inside every loving wife is a cold calculated capitalist trying to get out!

[Bob The Dog]

It's husky all the way for me I'm afraid! I've run a 550xp for nearly 3 years and it's been great. I've also played with a mates 555 and that's got loads of grunt, just felt a little heavier. I'm just a husky fan - as has been said before, loads of other good makes too. Mate has just bought an echo. Not sure which model, but lightweight and goes very well, for less money than H or S.

[Sawchip]

Hey folks was topping a conifer hedge yesterday, all going well until my ms250 started dying when the trigger was fully pressed, removed the cover and could see fuel spitting out into the filter on full throttle, then after lunch it wouldn't start at all, and still no sign of life this morning. Managed to finish the job with an old husky 36 I keep as a spare. Anyway the wife suggested treating myself to a new saw as she would fit the bill as my Christmas present. My local echo dealer has offered me a new cs-390csx for £400 and the local husky guy offered me a 555xp for £500. Neither of which are particularly great deals but that's what they offered. I don't do a lot of big tree felling, mostly topping or removing conifers, chopping firewood, and taking out smaller trees on occasions. Basically I need something more than a farmers saw but don't need a full pro setup. The echo seems like a good little saw but at £400 a bit steep as I have seen them for a good bit less on the mainland. The 555xp's looks had me drooling but the fact that it needs to go back to the dealer any time it needs a tune up put me off, as for Stihl, I haven't owned any modern ones but have friends who have and wasn't impressed with what I saw. Surely £500 would get a good semi-pro small to mid sized saw for regular but easy work?

How about a step to left field..You can get a very good knick 45-50cc second hand pro saw made by any of the manufacturers mentioned for way under 400. In fact you would have the pic of the bunch with that budget plus some spare change. You wouldn't regret having more saw than you need ,but you may regret having something less than !Just a thought

[Commando]

She only wants me to get a new saw so I can earn her more money to spend on shoes! inside every loving wife is a cold calculated capitalist trying to get out!

 

 

Made me giggle!👍👍👍

[Tom D]

Buy a second hand 346,350,357 and send it to Spud....

[NFG]

Forget S&H. Echo / Dolmar. I have an new old school Dolmar 115; what a saw!!!

 

Hi TCD, yes very big +1 from me for Dolmar 115 or Echo, wouldnt consider S&H as their new stuff too unreliable & expensive when it goes wrong.

 

but I do like the older 3 series Husqvarnas tho

 

She only wants me to get a new saw so I can earn her more money to spend on shoes! inside every loving wife is a cold calculated capitalist trying to get out!

 

They all love their shoes mate, my O/H must be related to Imelda Marcos!

 

 

N

Edited December 11, 2015 by NFG

[shavey]

I very often get a unofficial stocktake by the better half I always say there all for sale but often comments when the courier delivers , and is happier when Iam wrapping up rather than unpacking

[flatyre]

I'm a skinflint by nature, and my business is still young with plenty of equipment still to buy, so my natural instinct is to buy two used bits of equipment rather than one new. Gets me closer to being fully operational and I can upgrade later when funds allow. I can also capitalise on some basic mechanical/engineering skills. Problem is the saw will be the key part of my equipment, I have a couple of little husky 36's which despite being old and cheap, make great little work horses, and a Stihl 029 and 038av for larger felling work which I would rarely do. Another issue with buying a used saw is possibly buying someone else's headache. Safe to say most pro saws are owned by pros, and how many pros sell their gear when its still perfectly good. Any tree surgeons I know don't sell their gear until its totally trashed. I'd prefer to buy a better quality used saw, but at least with a new saw you get a warranty:confused1:

[flatyre]

what about this, think the rrp is a bit off

 

ECHO CS-450 15" Bar (rrp £539.00) Price £373.68

 

or

 

Echo CS-550-38 Pro Chainsaw (40cm 15") (rrp £635.00) Price £411.85

 

Anyone own either saw?