BLAM!! There goes me buying another Briggs product. We never had problems years ago with the V-twins and we NEVER shut the fuel off. That is a design flaw and nothing more. Briggs said we were the cause of the rod failure and wouldn't warranty anything. I'll take a muffler over a rod any day of the week.
Bottom line - I buy several new machines every year and they will always have Honda's on them here out. Even my lawn mowers.
Greg,
I totally respect the reactionary thinking..
you experience what you experience, and you react to what you can, based on what you believe you should do, as you go.
I look at my reason for sharing in here is experience..
I take a VERY close look at every type of failure that has passed in front of me for the past 45+ years..
What you see "leads you forward" in one direction or another, as you aim at avoiding conflict, and downtime.
These chat-boards are a pool for this information to be added, mixed, and considered, to lead us ALL froward.
An opinion without experience is easily exposed to failure.
Also, there's a lot of emotion out there, obviously, from personally experienced failure.. like your Briggs experience.
All I want, for my business, is to circumvent disasters in the warrantee department,
and insure as BEST I can to help my customers GROW and profit from my leadership and collective opinion.
regarding engines.. I was burned real bad by Honda's west coast customer service skills, so I avoid giving them business,
but I have Honda, Briggs, Kohler, Kubota,
and Subaru engines in my showroom, and production area right now.
I have General, COmet, and AR pumps too..
because of personal experience, everyone has thier own opinion,
..and so.. I identify what's different in noise-level, power-output, configuration,
and certainly reliability.. ..based on product failure we see in the service department,
as we try to help every customer with every make and model machine.
The days of "THAT" is a BAD engine are almost gone.. Tecumseh finally gave up several years ago,
but the chinese stuff has come in to play, and first out of the gate, were failures,
but even so, the failures seem to be lightening up.
Along with that, I try to buy American, So.. clearly, I have an opinion too.
I just keep trying to help, based on my experience, with the customer's opinion, and if they don't mind the noise, they can buy a Honda.
If they don't mind the risk of an expensive wait to fix an ignition poblem, they can buy a Kohler,
If the want easy parts availability because "ANYthing" can happen around employees.. they'll buy a Briggs or Honda.
I just refuse to sell a name-brand only because it is the most "popular". ..Things definitely change.
I refuse to lie to the customer, saying "THIS one NEVER fails".. because ANYthing can happen..
I've found paperclips in gear boxes, sand in carbs and crankcases,
I've found a beetle in the vent-tube of a carb, causing the fuel to overflow the carb,
and ALL of the competitive engine mfrs have a "reasonable level of reliability".
Take in ALL you can from these eductional forums. and consider all you can, for the best chance at reliability,
and KEEPING THE CUSTOMER. Eh?
And Greg,
Every customer service counter has it's own way of dealing with warrantee work.
Nobody, and no machine is perfect.
That's why every TOP racing team brings ALL their tools, LOTS of spare parts, and at least one
spare car.
..And, the driver is a specialist in driving, the tech is a tech, and the tire-changers are REALLY good at tire changing.
I like to say "the JOBsite chooses what you need."
My job, is to help you make that happen, as best I can,
with your opinion intact, and as much insurance as we both can afford, for both of us,
and especially, a sustainable relationship with the JOBsite..
The TRUEST test of ALL our work, as a collective team, is a
sustainably-profitable jobsite.
