Good cheap 'leccy drill

[DominicBest]

I prefer to buy named makes of tools, but that is my prerogative the same reason I don't shop at Aldi/Lidel.

I don’t know if you can still get them but you used to be able to buy little booklets which listed Lidl/Aldi goods, named the actual manufacturer and gave examples of their own name products. You might have been surprised by some of the answers.
On the electric drill question I use a battery drill that I bought from Lidl many years ago. I later added a similar looking drill to my collection but this one had the advantage of being a hammer drill. They both share the same Lidl batteries. A couple of years ago I bought a Bosch drill locally because it’s ‘special offer’ included two Bosch batteries and cost less than the batteries on their own would have cost. I wanted the batteries as backup for various garden tools more than the drill itself. The Bosch drill is fine but when I need a drill I tend to use the Lidl ones before it. Sometimes having a ‘better’ name and costing more doesn’t mean better or more fit for purpose.

[L Austin France]

I noticed last week that my semi pro woodman pal who was helping me fell a lot of trees had a 60 cm guide Parkside chainsaw in his armoury for which he paid 190€.
He said he'd had it for a few years now & prefered it to his Stihl/Husqvarna saws.
It had never let him down & was his 'go to' saw in that size.

[Hotrodder]

I've just come indoors from a session using a little Dolmar. When I was looking to replace my defunct McCulloch (which was junk) I was hoping to find an affordable Stihl. At least with Stihl you can get genuine spares for years after. I couldn't find one cheap enough. When I was about to leave a salesman came up and asked what I was looking for. (Duh....) After my explanation he suggested the Dolmar, which was on offer at the time. He must have read the scepticism in my face wondering about this "unknown" (to me) brand. Apparently Dolmar has been linked to Makita for some years now and the Dolmar is made in Germany as well as being responsible for Makita branded saws.

[RobertArthur]

@ Hotrodder, good reviews in Germany for this model.

From a pro I understood that he used to buy Stihl. They changed to more eco-efficient models, maintenance not easy somewhere in the middle of the woods or undoable. It's now Husqvarna time for him.

[Hotrodder]

~That Dolmar in the link is pretty much identical to mine. I'm impressed by how easy it is to adjust or change the chain without tools. Very light as well.
Skill was much heavier for comparable size and used to last for years but I think in recent years they are no longer German made. Same Chinese dubious quality control.

[niemeyjt]

Last time I looked it was the "domestic" Stihls made in China. And they also make some older models no longer produced by Stihl - like 039. The rest ICE are still German-made - and battery kit in old Viking factories in Austria.

[DominicBest]

@ Hotrodder, good reviews in Germany for this model.

From a pro I understood that he used to buy Stihl. They changed to more eco-efficient models, maintenance not easy somewhere in the middle of the woods or undoable. It's now Husqvarna time for him.

After years of using cheap mowers and chainsaws I bought Husqvarna. My main reason to do so was the availability of spare parts and having a dealer in my nearest town. Years of owning badge engineered cheap sit on lawnmowers had made me fed up with trying to find mowing deck spares to fit the model I actually had. It was usually impossible. I’ve had no problem with the two Husqvarna lawn mowers I own but the chainsaw is a different matter. About a year ago it had become so temperamental, was difficult to start and didn’t like running at tick over so I took it in to be serviced. After a few days I called in to see if it was ready for collection. They hadn’t done anything. They told me it wasn’t worth servicing and that it would be cheaper to buy a new one for about €400 than repair my own. I said that I would think about it. On the way home I called in at Lidl and they are selling chain saws for under €100 so I bought one. It’s great. It’s probably a bit heavier than the Husqvarna but it cuts my firewood easily. If it starts playing up in a few years I won’t feel too hard done by if I end up throwing it away and replacing it with another. I certainly won’t be buying another Husqvarna.

[Hotrodder]

Just like finding a competent and fair garage, getting repairs at a motoculture shop is a lottery. I was having a lot of trouble with my old McCulloch and decided to save time by taking it to let someone else have a go. I got the same response as Dominic after they had fiddled with it for a few days. I said I'd consider replacing it but took it home after nearly having a heart attack seeing the prices on the new ones in the shop. I had a go at a repair myself and took maybe 15 minutes to notice the two screws holding the carburettor in place were loose. The were a bit of a devil to get at with a screwdriver but managed to tighten them. Successful repair. Motoculture shops will never even be on my radar in future. If I can't fix something I will probably resort to the Lidl option.

[hughnique]

My ride on came back with the wrong belt, lasted a good couple of hours, he didn't want to know about any of that. Another place I took the chainsaw to, B&Q brand, sat on the floor for 14 days then tells me he can't get the parts, I directed him to an optician as emblazoned on the side was "made for B&Q by Ryobi France". won't use any of those two again, in fact most of them are absolutely useless.

[L Austin France]

I had the first problem starting my Stihl MS 251C chainsaw since I bought it about 4 years ago.
I tried everything I know including fitting a new plug but gave up in the end & took back to our local Bricopro (ex Espace Emeraude) for them to sort out.
One day later I received a phone call to say the saw was ready for collection so of I went to pick it up.
Expecting a largish bill I was pleasantly surprised to find the cost was only €15 as the thing was apparently noyé (flooded).
I still don't understand this as I'd turned the motor over umpteen times with plug removed but couldn't speak to the mecho. who had dealt with it as he was at lunch.
They could have ripped me off for all sorts of things & I'd have had to accept it but fair play to 'em, they only charged me a token handling charge.