Husqvarna Forest & Garden Company Received LEMON chain saw, DO NOT BUY THEIR CHAINSAWS!! Ripoff Charlotte North Carolina

In May of 2004, I purchased what was advertised on-line as a new Husqvarna 345 chain saw from Northwest Power Tools (order # 1806-0056-6264, Discover card used)in Washington state. I also purchased a case kit for the saw. The saw itself cost $252.00 plus $23.85 to ship it. Scheduled delivery by my paperwork was to be May 13, 2004, but for some reason, this saw did not arrive until at least 10 days later. I had read in Consumer Reports and other publications that Husqvarna saws were supposed to be one of the best, but in retrospect, I wish I had bought a Craftsman for a third of the price.

As I first reported to Ms. Linda Kish at Husqvarna Customer Support on August 8, 2004 via e-mail, when I first tried to use the saw, I was very disappointed. After 2 minutes of trying to cut through a fallen 10" pine tree, the engine had smoke billowing from it as if it were going to catch on fire. I quickly shut the saw off. I had tightened the chain per the instructions and made sure the lubrication system was working, but the chain would barely move upon entering the pine tree. In an e-mail response in which I have a copy (Husqvarna said they have no such record of my e-mails to Ms. Kish), Ms. Kish replies that "it sounds like your chain brake was left on. It is a safety feature. Please refer to your owners manual." I hotly responded that the chain brake (in front of the anti-vibratory handle) was pulled towards the handle, and is only applied when it moves away from the handle (actually clicks into place.) She did not seem to know much about chain saws, because the brake is either on or it is off. Anyway, I also told her I had used chain saws before, etc. After a series of communications with her, Ms. Kish recommended that I take the saw to Lanham Cycle & Turf Equipment Co. in White Plains, MD (301)645-2020, as this is the closest authorized dealer to my house. I first took the saw to Lanham Cycle & Turf (Service Order 9222697) on August 25, 2004. Here, according to their service record (some of which is illegible), they found heat damage to the clutch assembly (no record that this was replaced), checked and cleaned the oil pump and channels, greased the sprocket nose, sharpened the chain, etc. At that time, they noted nothing about the 18" bar, which did not look very good to me, but now new personnel at Lanham (Jim) state that "the bar looks 10 years old."!!

Anyway, by the time I got the saw back, it was too late in the season to use it. In March of this year, I had to cut some small dead pines in our back yard, so I prepared the saw with new gas and secured the chain, etc. Again, there was a great amount of smoke billowing from the engine and chain, and the saw could hardly cut through a small dead branch. The chain came off the saw five or six times even after retightening! This saw ran through 1 gallon of gas in less than one hour (ridiculous) and almost a whole quart of chain bar oil. As my wife can testify, this chain has only been used twice!!!

Out of gas and patience, I gave up and contacted Husqvarna Customer Support once again. I told Jacob Stowe about my previous dealings with Linda Kish, but they could find no record of my communications with her so I faxed them the e-mail from her in which she tried to tell me that the chain brake must have been left on. He could not even tell me if she still works there. In his first e-mail, he states that I should have the saw looked at by a Husqvarna dealer, and that the saw may be covered under the two-year warranty.

Three weeks ago (April 7, 2006 ticket number 863297), I took this piece of junk back to Lanham Cycle & Turf Equipment Co. to look at it. Apparently, it was not until April 24, 2006 that Lanham Cycle contacted Alan Joyner at Husqvarna. In an e-mail to me from Husqvarna, they state that "Jim at dealer Lanham Cycle...states that the bar is bent at the tip, the bar looks like it is ten years old, all the chain drivers are damaged, and the sprocket is damaged - dealer states that this is not a warranty issue." Irate, I replied via e-mail to Jacob Stowe at Husqvarna that the saw has only been used twice for a total of less than two hours. I asked how a bar that was received with the saw less than two years ago could now look 10 years old, as it is the same bar that Lanham Cycle looked at the first time when they supposedly serviced the saw.

It is should be quite obvious that I either received a damaged, used, or improperly reconditioned saw that Husqvarna tells me is no longer under warranty. I would advise anyone thinking of buying a Husqvarna chain saw to save your money and buy one for less than half the price at Sears or Walmart.

Eric
Port Tobacco, Maryland
U.S.A.