Caldwell Hardware Plumbing & Electrical Supplies

David D.

I previously wrote a review of this place and was less than impressed. I decided to give them another try. BIG MISTAKE
I went looking for a bigger chainsaw than what I had, I looked at a mid range saw and just couldn't bring myself to buy a new one. I asked if they had any used saws. They initially said no, then the owner said he had a used saw that was for sale. The ""mechanic"" brought out the saw and after a couple of pulls it started and he shut it off. He stated that it is a good saw and that he just ""went through it"" and it runs good. I purchased it and took it home. I tried to use it once and it was extremely hard to start and then when I did have it running it would die in the middle of the first cut. I tried to figure out if their was something easy that was preventing it from cutting. I had purchased a new chain and made sure it had fresh gas and bar oil. After no luck I took it back to have them look at it. I returned a few days later and they said they cleaned the tanks and replaced the plug and air filter. I took it home and the next time I had something to cut it would not stay running and left me frustrated.
I decided to take it to another repair facility to see if they could tell me what was wrong. In less than 5 minutes they checked compression and looked inside the cylinder and told me it was useless. The piston rings had scored the cylinder and was evident that someone had tried to replace the rings and they incorrectly installed them causing the damage.
Now, if an authorized dealer (Caldwell's Hardware) had this in their shop and tried to pass this off as a viable saw they had to know it was damaged. In my opinion they did the damage.
I sent them an email and did not hear from them so I contacted Stihl directly and they contacted me and said Phillip would give me credit towards a new saw. I was not inclined to purchase something from them since they sold me something that was useless. In addition to the original purchase price they charged me $54 to ""fix"" it when I returned it to them after the first use.
How can a business expect to have repeat customers when they peddle junk. Their service department is a poor example and I would not trust them to fix anything after this experience.
I have since purchased another saw from the dealer that correctly diagnosed the problem.
Dishonest and poor customer service is what Caldwell's specializes in and if that is what you want GOOD LUCK.

Roger C.

I have purchased a lawn tractor, leaf blower and grass trimmer and also a chain saw which is why I am writing this review. They are Stihl products. The problem is I can never start the chain saw. I take it to them and about after 10 tries they finally get it started. If I have to take it there every time I want to start it kind of defeats the purpose of having one. Today I took it back down there for the same reason and wanted to just get a few bucks for it and by a electric one but the owner, Phillip, just brushed me off and basically to l me that was tough luck. They have now lost my business and any one I know and tell the story. I will drive 10 miles to Lowe's before I go back there.