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That's why it's worth doing it yourself.......particularly in the Winter time when work is quiet..... the basic routine servicing is really very simple and straightforward, particularly with the Stihl equipment.You also learn what's what in the machine so that you can diagnose any future faults easily, saving dealer visits and time down, during the growing season.
I do the oil and filter changes, sharpen the blades on the mower, sharpen the hedgecutter blades, that's about it. I'm useless at servicing the two-stroke stuff so that all goes in if needed.
Given that the mower gets serviced at least once a month in the busy season, and the blade sharpened/bag washed probably more like weekly, I couldn't afford not to do some of it myself!
Thats what I like about 2 strokes.... they really need minimal maintenance.... in fact I've still got the original air filter, fuel filter, spark plug on my BG86 blower that I bought 4 years ago...... not quite sure what they actually do on a 2 stroke service other than change things that don't need changing! Even the 4-mix engines only need an extra 10 minutes max to set the valve clearances. Agree with you there Paul, the amount they charge I couldn't afford not to do it myself + I'm confident the necessary work has actually been done rather than just ticked off on a sheet.
Do all my own servicing, it really is a no brainer with the 2 stroke and/or 4mix engines, also my Etesia pro46 is easy to sort out.
I do an annual service on stuff thats used regular, changing plugs and filters as a matter of course and then checking, cleaning as needed during the busy season.
Only time anything goes to the shop is if it breaks down, and a bit of tweaking on my part wont cut it!
a good service brings the mowers back to working condition like new