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After being told by several people that Stihl chainsaws were the way to go, I finally broke down and purchased a $400 Stihl Farm Boss MS271at Ace Hardware Mills River, NC after one of my trees fell down over my elderly neighbor's driveway. The rep, Jerry, at the store added the fuel mix, bar chain lubricant, and started the saw up to show it was working and ran through the starting instructions with me. He also told me that I would need to idle the saw for 15-20 minutes to break it in and allow the fluids to work through the engine properly. <br /> <br /> Upon getting the saw home, I started it up as instructed, set the brake, and allowed the saw to idle while I worked on my neighbor's saw. Within a few minutes, I began to smell something burning. I looked over at where the saw lay to see white smoke coming out from under the saw. I though perhaps it was burning off some oil or something, so I didn't think too much of it. Within another minute, the engine had seized and I could no longer pull the start cord. I took the saw back to the store immediately. After I explained what had happened, the store rep took the chain and bar off and revealed that the plastic housing around the chain sprocket had melted. The store manager (Paul) was then brought over to look at the saw. He then went back to call the VP of the store for a recommended course of action. After speaking to the store VP I was told that it would have to be sent out for evaluation by their mechanic and they would not honor an exchange or a return until he made his determination.<br /> <br /> They claimed that the only way it could happen is from high-revving the saw with the chain brake on. I showed them that setting the chain brake was part of the starting instructions anyhow and that it even recommends a 3-second high-rev to test the brake. The saw was sitting idling when it started burning up and I was 3 feet away from the saw working on getting another started (all of which I cannot prove). I could see they were angling toward consumer misuse and that I would have no recourse or rebuttal once their mechanic made his diagnosis. I have no way to prove that I followed the instructions and I'm not privy to the inner workings of a chainsaw. My calls to Ace customer service from inside the store was a waste of time. The customer service rep told me that Ace stores are all independently owned and have their own return and exchange policies. The call to Stihl yielded no results as they're not open on Saturdays. The call to my credit card company was fruitless as well as they told me I had to wait for charges to post and then recommended I call the Ace and Stihl corporate offices. <br /> <br /> All of this transpired over the course of an hour and a half from the time I purchased the saw. I finally gave in and told them to send the saw out. I'm fairly certain I'll be looking at a repair bill for the $400 saw I bought that never saw its first cut. At that point I'll have to decide whether to eat the $400 and go home with a saw that I'll never use or pay the additional for repairs. In the future, I'll have my wife video the entire process of unboxing, starting, and using any new equipment that I purchase. It seems that's a consumer's only defense. I'll post the results of the evaluation once I get them. I'm pretty sure it's not going to go in my favor. <br /> <br /> Here's Ace's return policy on gas-powered equipment: <br /> Gas powered outdoor equipment can only be returned if oil or gas was never put into it. Gas powered items that were used may not be returned, even if the fuel has been drained.<br /> <br /> How do you discover a gas-powered tool is defective unless you put gas and oil in it and try to use it? It appears Ace would rather the consumer deal directly with the manufacturer in regards to defects, which I understand, if the consumer has USED the tool. But when a customer comes back to a store within 2 hours of purchasing the equipment (that their store employee fueled up) and it's plainly obvious the tool has never been used, I think they should step in and deal with the manufacturer on the customer's behalf. It's just poor customer service on Ace's side.