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Thread: Makita

  1. #1
    Member BCMS's Avatar
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    Default Makita

    I have had a Makita 4 stroke hand held blower since October last year. About three weeks ago it suddenly lost a bit of power and I noticed it had oiled up the starter line. I had been maintaining it as per Makita's manual with regular oil changes.
    The blower lost power on a Friday so I did the regular oil change that weekend and noticed that the oil looked suspicously metallic.
    I changed the oil and checked the air filter and spark plug and fired it up. Still down on power and the oil dirtied up straight away going a nice metallic colour.
    As the dealer I had bought it off was off work injured I had to take it to another dealer who after inspecting it sent it off to Makita. At this stage I spoke to Makita directly and they offered a loan machine if required (it wasn't, I have a couple of backups) which is a service they offer to commercial customers. A week later the blower was returned. The motor had been rebuilt (new barrel, piston etc) and it was performing as it had from brand new.
    All this was done at no cost to me under warranty.
    Makita said it was an unusual case and the first failure they had seen through normal operation.
    I am rapt with the service and repairs by Makita (not so much the dealer I had to take it to but thats another story) and have ordered another Makita blower which I hope to have this week.
    Well done Makita, great service on a great value product. I will happily keep buying Makita tools for my business
    Jake

  2. #2
    Member Of Forum MowerRob's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    So they happily rebuilt it claiming it never has happened before......hmm

    and then u bought another one even bigger ......HHMMMM

    why not the Echo or Stihl blowers which are proven machines

    Sorry but I just dont rate Makita as a contractor machine

  3. #3
    MEMBER Fred's mowing's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    Quote Originally Posted by MowerRob View Post
    So they happily rebuilt it claiming it never has happened before......hmm

    and then u bought another one even bigger ......HHMMMM

    why not the Echo or Stihl blowers which are proven machines

    Sorry but I just dont rate Makita as a contractor machine
    Do u rate pope as a contractoes machine?
    Cheers Fred.

  4. #4
    Member Of Forum MowerRob's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    Quote Originally Posted by Fred's mowing View Post
    Do u rate pope as a contractoes machine?
    Cheers Fred.


    I source all my equipment from Big W (that was a joke)

    Do u think Pope etc would be able to do 75 lawns a week plus gardening work for 2 years straight.
    Oh and how is it getting spares for these machines

    Sorry to say the only reason guys use Pope is cos they dont have enough capital to buy Echo, Stihl and the like

    And if u use the reasoning they are cheap i will just buy a new one when this breaks, what a crook

  5. #5
    Member Of Forum warren higgins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    sometimes us contractors seem to find some degree of good news with the prducts we depend on to work properly for us thats a good news story, i have found personaly that makita make a good unit in the whipper snipper, i wonder how long this will last though keep it up makita well done 300 dollars for a whipper snipper that has already out performed your usual heavier duty units such as shindawa, kawasaki that we use ,cheap parts as well.

  6. #6
    Member Redeye's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    I definitely rate Makita as commercial machines - Robin engines are almost certainly the best small engines ever made.... Stihl? no thanks

  7. #7

    Question Re: Makita

    Quote Originally Posted by MowerRob View Post
    So they happily rebuilt it claiming it never has happened before......hmm

    and then u bought another one even bigger ......HHMMMM

    why not the Echo or Stihl blowers which are proven machines
    Sorry but I just dont rate Makita as a contractor machine
    Everyone is entitled to their opinion!!
    Some people try to give their view the best they can with the knowledge they have to try and pass on reviews. Let everyone form their own opinions.
    And how did echo or stihl become proven machines???

  8. #8
    Senior Member gcsmow's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    Yeah, what he said.
    They're made in Japan, what more do you need to say.

    Quote Originally Posted by Redeye View Post
    I definitely rate Makita as commercial machines - Robin engines are almost certainly the best small engines ever made.... Stihl? no thanks

  9. #9
    MEMBER Fred's mowing's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    Quote Originally Posted by MowerRob View Post


    I source all my equipment from Big W (that was a joke)

    Do u think Pope etc would be able to do 75 lawns a week plus gardening work for 2 years straight.
    Oh and how is it getting spares for these machines

    Sorry to say the only reason guys use Pope is cos they dont have enough capital to buy Echo, Stihl and the like

    And if u use the reasoning they are cheap i will just buy a new one when this breaks, what a crook
    Hi Rob, my last pope blower outlasted my last echo blower by a considerable margin.
    My pope whippy I have stopped using on regular jobs as after many years due more to weight issues, its still going strong, but is kept 4 ferral cleanups.
    I have had just about all the so called commercial brand equiptment, some has been great, some has failed dismally.
    I agree that u should buy the best gear that u can possibly get/afford, but buying the most expensive does,nt always garantee the best.
    If this was the case, threre is no such thing as a bargain or a lemon.
    I will continue trying to buying the best value 4 money products that are reliable & do a good job. Thats where the forum discussions allow ppl to put forward their opinions, & others to consider them.
    Cheers Fred.

  10. #10
    Senior Member gcsmow's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    Those pope 33 ccs are not a bad machine at all, lots of grunt, makes my Shindaiwa 25cc C4 look pathetic. a bit heavy but.

    Quote Originally Posted by Fred's mowing View Post
    Hi Rob, my last pope blower outlasted my last echo blower by a considerable margin.
    My pope whippy I have stopped using on regular jobs as after many years due more to weight issues, its still going strong, but is kept 4 ferral cleanups.
    I have had just about all the so called commercial brand equiptment, some has been great, some has failed dismally.
    I agree that u should buy the best gear that u can possibly get/afford, but buying the most expensive does,nt always garantee the best.
    If this was the case, threre is no such thing as a bargain or a lemon.
    I will continue trying to buying the best value 4 money products that are reliable & do a good job. Thats where the forum discussions allow ppl to put forward their opinions, & others to consider them.
    Cheers Fred.

  11. #11
    Member BCMS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    Mower Rob,
    You seem to be little biased against Makita going by your post here and in other threads.

    I am simply reporting on good service from a company.

    I did a lot of research before commiting to buying the Makita 4 stroke blower in the first place. I spoke to a lot of dealers about the reliability of Makita tools as I knew they where fairly new to the 4 stroke market. I made it clear to the majority of these dealers that I did not intend to buy off them but I wanted to get some background information before purchasing. I also spoke at length with Makita's technical support people and did a lot of internet research.

    Suffice to say I was happy with what I learnt.

    Unfortuneatley for me the Makita I then bought turned out to be a Lemon. Fortuneately for me Makita stood by their warranty and fixed the machine for me at no cost and offered a loan machine if required.

    I call this good service.

    I was already in the market for a replacement blower as my other blower (a pope) is getting tired and is due to be relegated to back up status. A second Makita was topping the list as I was not prepared to pay the extra ~$135 to get a Honda 4 stroke.
    After the good service i received from Makita I did not hesitate to order another one.

    Any other tools I need I will definitely consider Makita equipment.

    I am not going in to this blindly either. I own or have owned Echo, Stihl, Honda, Zenoah, Bushranger, Pope, Parklands, GMC, Mc Culloch, B&S, Baumr, Dixon and Talon power tools. And Makita of course. Some I still have, some I have worn out. Some of the cheaper stuff is still providing excellent service.

    The biggest property I do is 10 acres consisting of 95 units and a few large public lawns, there are plenty of others that are 50+ units. My tools work hard and my team and I do a lot of lawns a week.

    Previously to seeing the light and becoming a lawny I worked for 10 years in the unmanned aircraft field as a small engine specialist and pilot, maintaining, developing and flying aircraft powered by 24cc single cylinder 4 stroke engines.

    I am sorry if you think my post is suspect ( thats what I take your hmmm to mean)

    I do however rate Makita as contractor tools and I can't wait for the warranty to expire so I can pull one apart and see what the build quality is like.

    Cheers
    Jake

  12. #12
    Senior Member Bluey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    Quote Originally Posted by Fred's mowing View Post
    Hi Rob, my last pope blower outlasted my last echo blower by a considerable margin.
    My pope whippy I have stopped using on regular jobs as after many years due more to weight issues, its still going strong, but is kept 4 ferral cleanups.
    I have had just about all the so called commercial brand equiptment, some has been great, some has failed dismally.
    I agree that u should buy the best gear that u can possibly get/afford, but buying the most expensive does,nt always garantee the best.
    If this was the case, threre is no such thing as a bargain or a lemon.
    I will continue trying to buying the best value 4 money products that are reliable & do a good job. Thats where the forum discussions allow ppl to put forward their opinions, & others to consider them.
    Cheers Fred.

    Well said Fred. I have Stihl and Echo blowers as well as the Pope cheapy. The Pope is performing just as good as the Echo and a darn site better than the Stihl. My advice is don't be a snob and just buy the top name brand. Buy something that works.

    If this doesn't get Impala to bite nothing will.
    Cheers

    Bluey
    Adelaide Home & Garden Solutions
    http://www.ahgs.com.au


    "Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when everyone is watching."

  13. #13
    Member Of Forum MowerRob's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    You are right i dont rate them but thats my opinion but saying that I would rather u had makita gear than pope/talon/ozito/GMC etc it just makes the contractor look so unprofessional

    Yes I know they have the Robin engines etc etc

    But i did sit thru a Makita presentation on all their gear . Their knowledge of their equipment was disgraceful .

    I got the feeling they were trying to sell to the home owner who wanted a quality product or the small contractor

    They couldnt answer our questions and everyone attending was a big contractor

  14. #14
    Member BCMS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Makita

    I can understand why contact like that with any company would leave a bad taste in your mouth.

    I am planning to attend the Makita demo bbq being organised in Vic and I hope to have a better experience than that.

    All contact I have had with Makita has been with knowledgeable technical staff.

    I do agree with Bluey though and don't believe top name brand is always best.

    That said most of my gear would not be recognised as any brand except by professionals. Hard work and pressure washing tends to render most of the badging/decals unreadable.

  15. #15
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    Default Re: Makita

    i would rate my makita 4 stroke blower (BHX2500) up until 2 weeks ago as the best blower i have ever had(a mculloc,3 echos,a shindy and 2 hondas i hate blowers) unfortunately as i finished the 16th lawn for the day it seized (low oil)damn i now officially hate 4 stroke small engines 3rd 4 stroke blower i have done this to but a hell of alot cheaper mistake than the hondas i have destroyed now have the makita 2 stroke(RBL250) goes well starts easily not as good as the 4 stroke but still as good as or better than the other 2 strokes i have had
    Anything Ian says may or may not be garbage, it may also be his own opinion or it may not be his opinion at all, it may just be something he felt like stating anyone following his advice does so at their own risk and may be doing something Ian would actually advise against.
    And if you don't like what Ian has to say use the ignore function if you don't know how ask i will gladly tell you

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