Very knowledgeable and friendly. Great inventory. Glad to spend my money at a Family business rather than big box. Take your stuff here to have it done right! Kiddos loved the Stihl replica chainsaws! read more

Earl's Saw Shop - Hardware Stores Near Me - Boulder, Colorado

Great service and knowledge but sometimes in season service takes a while! One of the only lawn equipment sales & service centers left in Boulder. Prices are high but what do you expect Its BOULDER. The City of Boulder tries to run small businesses out of town as they're only interested in big chains and tech. PS: They do have a minimum charge for estimates & repairs. read more

I have definitely called with a part number I needed for a small engine. Was told they had it. Went there only to be told they didn't have it (I doubt they actually looked it up EITHER on the call and certainly not when I went in). Just a waste of time. Every arborist I know avoids this shop and relays stories of bad experience there. read more

I used them to repair a snowblower, supposedly under warranty, and low and behold it wasn't under warranty. $175 later it was repaired. Run, don't walk, away from Earl's. The worst! read more

Absolutely terrible service. Saws were dropped off in May for service. Of five saws, two have been "looked at" with no repairs made. No follow up, no communication. I try to always support small business, but avoid this place like the plague. read more

Literally destroyed my mower. They were waiting for a part for over 2 months, then decided to jury rig it. Charged me a ton of money, and due to the bad part my lawn mower seized and destroyed itself 2 days after I got it back. Incompetent, expensive, and obnoxious. No clue how they've stayed in business. read more

Stay away from Earls saw shop......They seem to be the only lawn mower repair shop left in Boulder so people are forced to go there. They are unfriendly, rude, & way too expensive. John, the owner, has his whole family working there and they don't know what they're doing. read more

My husband purchased his Cub Cadet mower from Home Depot. . When the starter solenoid went bad he was told that it had to be repaired by Ears in Boulder, even though we live in Fort Collins. They picked it up on November 10, 2020 and for 3 months gave us every excuse in the book why it was taking so long to fix. On February 10, 2021, when we finally got it back it was fixed and they charged us an additional $171.00 for doing an oil change and sharpening the blade. They said it was because their shop rate is $135.00 per hour!! There is no reason that it should have taken 3 months to fix this mower! read more

I used to shop here for all my Stihl needs, but the lady running the shop told me to take my business elsewhere! I was shopping recently for fuel and had my wife and five year old son with me. The shop-keeper had a large rottweiler in the shop who was, while friendly, pushing my son around and scaring him. When I very politely suggested she not keep a large police dog in a public shopping space, she got very angry and told me never to come back! While I try to shop local and support smaller businesses, I can't shop somewhere where the customer's safety concerns are secondary to the shopkeeper's pets. After all, it's a public business place and not your home! It's a good thing McGuckin's carries Stihl now. Goodbye, Earl's Saw Shop! read more

After reading the past and recent reviews I hesitated to visit Earl's Saw Shop but McGuckin's no longer sharpens chain saws. I stopped by Tuesday evening and spoke with John at the front desk. He is the owner. He was very pleasant. I mentioned the unpleasant Yelp reviews. He is aware. Sadly not everyone has had the same great outcome that I did. I suggest you give this shop another chance. Where else are you gonna find a small engine service company? TIP He suggested I stop by next Friday and get the Black Friday deal of 2-for-1 chain saw chain! While I was there I also purchased a sharpening kit so I could 'field sharpen' my own chain. read more

I brought my Stihl ms311 in with a broken handle to get a quote to fix it. They quoted me under $200 and said it would take a month on the turn around. I went with it because what else could I do? I go to pick it up after they finish and the bill ends up at $360 because it "took longer than expected". They never called me to ok the increase and just did it. Not that I could have done anything else if they were already into the saw. I complained to no avail. I got the saw home and realized that there was still a crack in part of the handle. I called them back and they tried to charge me even more. Take your business elsewhere if you don't want to get ripped off. These guys really need to look at their business practices. I met a lot of people who have gone to Earl's but never one who was happy with their experience. read more

Paid $60 for them to tell me that I needed to spend over $200 to replace the carburetor on my 12 month old lawn mower. When I picked it up (after refusing) I was asked if I wanted to recycle it! I had one of their service people on the phone saying they ran a diagnostic ... as if the thing was computerized. I used another local service who simply cleaned the carburetor and change the oil for $25. My lawn mower is running fine. Stay away from Earl's. They are a rip off!!!!! read more

Extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Thank you John for your time and assistance. Came in with a chainsaw and was helped with finding correct chain, and maintenance. Was given excellent advice that made the use and project safer and more efficient. read more

I'm a 30+ year resident of Boulder, and a professional engineer. I had always liked Earls because they seemed to be a local, down-to-earth group in their old location on Pearl. They did several services on my mowers and saws. I brought in a small Homelite chainsaw. When I went to use it, it would not start. I brought in a simple LawnBoy mower. When I went to use it, it would not start. OK. Cheapo machines. What do you expect? More service calls needed? Then I brought in a quite nice, fully functional, aluminum-decked, traction mower to see what they would say about a few replacement parts. I figured about a hundred bucks. Their quote was well beyond $200. I said; "Please wait a couple of days, and I will call you back." When I called back the person said "We thought you did not want that mower, so we sent it to the dump." Wow! So, I lost a perfectly good mower, after already paying them the $60 diagnostic fee. I will never take any business to Earl's ever again. So irritating. read more

I don't doubt these guys are good and perhaps expert at what they do. Perhaps they cater more toward the landscaping professionals. *BUT* from an individual consumers perspective - my experience has been T*E*R*R*I*B*L*E! I will be voting with my feet on this one taking my business elsewhere in the future. They always get good reviews on being experts, small, local, etc. After three times of taking my lawnmowers and trimmers there I won't be returning. My biggest gripe is how long it takes. Right now we are going on 3 weeks for a trimmer. I called today for an update (of course I had to make the call - they weren't at all proactive in keeping me updated). I was told they hadn't even looked at it yet. The original estimate was for 2-weeks - which seemed too long for me from the start. Second is the price. I had to put down a $40 deposit for them to even look at it (against a $125 trimmer). Sometimes it seems like they have an angle of trying to sell you something new - because it isn't worth putting the $40 dollars towards repair. Invest it in something new. Feels like bait and switch to me. Finally, it's a little too loosely run and organized for me. Every time I go in or call on the phone. It takes multiple times to find my info/stuff. "What's your name again?", "What did you bring in?", "What wrong with it again?", "Can you hold please?", "When did you say you brought it in?" - "Oh yeah - here it is - not ready yet - call back in a couple of weeks....". Listen, pay attention to the details, a little customer service would go a long way. Sorry - for being so harsh - but it's 3 times now... and I can only share my experience. My $0.02. read more

I'm done with Earl's. I've done a lot of business with them over the last 15+ years, both for tools we've bought from them directly (Stihl weedwacker, Stihl leafblower) as well as having other items both serviced and repaired there (Honda mower, Husky chainsaw). A couple of years ago after having them do the work on my chainsaw, I encountered a problem where the entire case melted, leaking out the bar oil - something with the muffler in the wrong place or re-assembled incorrectly. They contend it had nothing to do with them, and to be fair I have no evidence to back it up other than that they are the *only place* I've ever had the saw serviced at, and they have done ALL the services for it. I have never tampered with the saw other than gas and bar oil so it's odd how the case or muffler could have been reassembled incorrectly by anyone OTHER than them, but there ya go. They refuse to acknowledge their responsibility. So as sort of a frustrated-customer compromise, they offered me a $50 credit towards a new tool and for the credit they "put it in their system". Today I went in to use the credit to get a new saw. The guy helping me "reluctantly" (I had to specifically ask if he would show me saws as he didn't budge from the counter when I said I was in the market for a new one) showed me the new saws and "reluctantly" (did not want to do it) looked up my account for this info on my "credit". He saw the notes related to my service issues on the saw but said without something written he couldn't help me with this $50 "credit". I told him I didn't receive anything and just got this blank stare back and a "sorry". So there ya go. Multiple purchases. Multiple service visits. Going on 2 decades. A failure of one of my tools and a dispute as to who was the cause. A agreed-upon resolution in the form of a credit towards a new tool. A reluctance/refusal to honor said credit when the time came to use it. It's a shame because they're my hometown dealer. But they exhibit "0" interest in a business relationship with me. Adios. 5/30/18 update: They finally responded to my review from 2 years ago to say it wasn't their fault and to blame me. Sorta says all you need to know when making a decision for who's going to be your longtime service provider, eh? read more

Let me start by letting you know this shop is nice when you walk in, heads, big scary dog inside if you are scared of dogs.. I dropped my two snowblowers (with owner John) that hadn't been used in a few years at Earls saw shop to see what was wrong with them and see if they can be started and working. They charged me $180 upfront (surprise) to do the work, put gas in them, check engine etc and said they would call me with an estimate on what needs to be done if any and the cost in 2-2 wks. 3 weeks later I called them back to hear that the carburetors were too rusty to start and they would need a new carburetor along with parts costing over $400!!!! I declined and picked up the machines. Kerry the mechanic brought the machines back out to us and said he simply took a look, saw rust and said it needed new carburetor so that was it and said he didn't even put gas in it because it took one look at the rusty carburators and knew they were not going to start. I was upset but hey ok. I got home and researched fixing the machines as it just wasn't sitting too well, something told me they had not done much if anything... I am not a mechanic or engineer or anything but I googled and I got the gas and oil, but it wouldn't start, so I bought new spark plug and guess what? It runs!!! I tried for several days and it is still running! I called John and demanded and explanation. He denied ever saying they would put gas in it. so how the hell can you tell me only by "looking" that it needs new carburetor because of rust! btw one yes it a bit rusty, but seen worse and other isn't really! The plastic covering the engine, carburetor and other on smaller snowblower didn't even look like it had been opened! (it Is very dusty and greasy and there were no signs of touching it! I then realized I had been scammed! John scammed up, lied and didn't do what he said he would. After looking up reviews I should have known better.I only took machines there because John was so helpful a couple weeks before when we bought a brand new battery operated Stihl chain saw. This business is not honest and I don't accept that behavior, I asked for refund which he declined so I told him I would call any CC and dispute charge. I will never go to this shop again. read more

To anyone who cares to read reviews, or cares where they spend their money. This is not a recommended place, this business does not respect their customers they can actually care less about anything besides your money. I returned everything I bought from them this last weekend due to what I saw today as one of the associates cold heartedly disrespected a female customer in their store it made me sick and I refuse to attend my business start up money here. read more

Place has really gone downhill. Service is incompetent; staff doesn't talk to each other. I'm done with them.

Very helpful and great customer service. Had my mower season ready for the spring and it was picked up and delivered for me. Right now they are offering free pick up and free delivery for boulder residents so I jumped on it and I am glad I did! Fantastic place and the woman behind the counter made my day! Thank you for the laughs Penny! read more

I have used Earls for over decade for service & recently bought a snowblower from them - Toro. Always a great experience including delivery. I can't explain some reviews. I guess if you don't like big dogs or want free work & analysis it's the wrong place. My experience over a decade has been ideal. I don't mind paying for great service, a shop that likes direct customer communication, and likes big dogs who are by the way very friendly & well trained. Wish more great small businesses like Earls had survived the invasion of wealth offices, out of town rich people with royalty expectations. This is old school Boulder when it was fun & hippy, not hard core Silicon Valley newcomers. read more

Run the other way! This company has forever lost us as long-standing customers due to the way we were handled in our most recent repair. We have been taking our mower and other power equipment to Earl's for YEARS. We brought our mower to Earl's in the Spring of 2018 and asked for a full maintenance inspection, and repair of a hydraulic leak, etc that we knew we had. Yes, we gave approval for the repair that was done, but we were given to understand that the full maintenance inspection had already been completed, and that the approved repairs were all the mower needed to get it fully functioning. Instead, we were quoted a repair BEFORE the mower had been inspected, and then received a call that it needed another $3000 in services to make it run. Who on earth would wait for that kind of news until after they had quoted the customer for a repair? Is it any wonder we decided the mower wasn't worth investing more money into? If we had known IN ADVANCE that our mower needed over $3,000 worth of work, the original approval would have NEVER been given. That was voiced by us at the time we were quoted the additional $3,000. Our decision to simply buy a new mower was perfectly logical, given that a new mower cost us well under the $3,000 quote from Earl's. Earl's systems are critically flawed if they think it is logical to quote and supposedly perform work BEFORE running a thorough analysis of the needs of the machine. No reasonable person would find that logical. To turn around and get downright nasty on the phone with our Office Manager, who had absolutely nothing to do with our decision to abandon the machine, is simply poor business. If Earl's wanted to still be paid the $538 for a repair that should never have been completed, they should have communicated that kindly and promptly, not by yelling and accusing. I found by one quick search on Google and on the BBB website that many other people are having this same issue with Earl's. Any business that thinks that is the proper way to communicate with their customers deserves the negative reviews they are getting. read more

When "customer service" is defined as "we just don't care," you know there's problems ahead. The attitude at Earl's, (and I mean "attitude" ) is "If you don't like it, go somewhere else." Well, easy for them to say because there is nowhere else in Boulder. Poor service, expensive prices and that dreadful attitude barely rate this joint 2 stars. If you can, go to Lafayette or Longmont; the time and gas are surely worth the cost of frustration you'll have dealing with these hillbillies. When it comes to Earl's- I suggest you stay away! read more

BEWARE: these weasels charged me $55 for a diagnosis of my push motor and told me that they were backed up and needed 45 days to work on it. I never heard from them, so I called them back several times and got the runaround. Finally, some half-wit tracked down my order, and they had written down the wrong phone number (I suspect intentionally). They told me that they "got rid of my lawn mower after 30 days, which is their policy." So, they took my $55 and sold off my mower after they tuned it up. Time to call the police and the BBB. read more

Broken mower - unhelpful staff - insulting management I just paid $500 for Earl's to fix my riding mower. 30 seconds after starting it up, it broke down again. They claim the problem was unrelated and would take no responsibility. Even considering the possibility that there were two separate problems, the fact remains that they said the mower was ready to go and delivered it back to my house. That delivery cost $80, and the mower obviously wasn't ready to go. A reasonable shop would have, at a minimum, picked the mower back up at no additional cost. At a bare, bare minimum, they would have sold me the part I needed without a mark up. Did they do either? Nope, they just told me they couldn't have been at fault, and that it must have just been a coincidence that the mower broke right after they did their work. read more

Worthless! They not only didn't fix my new mower, they didn't contact me when it was done and after several months, recycled it !!! I'm out a new mower and the $60.00 you have to pay to have them look at it / deposit. Their owner wasn't compassionate and didn't give me back my deposit. DO NOT GO HERE! read more

WORST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN YEARS. Took three weeks, then didn't do ANYTHING I'd requested...main point was I had a 25 year old saw..they said $60 minimum to tune and new chain. Looked and found new saw for as little as $179. Explained that cost/benefit would be critical so that I would need an estimate as if if went too high to fix old saw, I'd just buy a new one. Never got call till done, went in and they wanted additional $84 on top of pre-paid $60. When I explained that I had been explicit about wanting to know total cost so I could just buy new one, the family member said, "wasn't in the instructions". They didn't even put new chain on, just tuned. All he offered was to take off the new parts...but that the saw which worked when brought in, wouldn't even work and old parts gone. Asked what he would do about this horrible cust exp, stood there. I said, "this is when you offer me some form of discount", crickets. At this point embarrassed I just said well you should say I'll give you 10%. He jumped at it. I really think he should have split the difference. Felt like since I was not a contractor, he didn't care. I will never step foot in there again and suggest your do not either. Corner on the Stiehl market in Boulder and knows it. ** Just read all the other reviews and see I should have researched them first. Obviously twisted family running this business...RUN, do not walk from this business** read more

I took my reel mower in to Earl's Saw Shop to have the blades sharpened and greased, based on a recommendation from McGuckin Hardware. They seem to have done a good job of the actual sharpening for a reasonable price ($50). The customer service was average, with a long wait to drop off my mower as other customers were served on a Saturday. I was told that it would be done in a week. I called after that week, and was told it was done. Then, when I showed up to pick up the mower (a day or two later), the clerk at the register was a bit huffy and said I should have waited until they called me, and that my mower might not be ready. Luckily it was. All in all an average experience. read more

I have used Earl's for the past 20 years for mower, saw and trimmer repairs and parts. Occaisionally they have been flakey, but NOT yesterday. My Toro mower quit working. It was pretty clearly the coil, or the kill switch system. Kerry helped me get the correct engine info, so that he could determine if Earls carried the coil. They had it! He then helped me rule out the kill switch as the defective part. The mower is running today. Great service and product assistance! Thanks! Rog read more

After reading Yelp reviews I could only wonder what was up. I recently had a lawn mower repaired at Earl's. Had absolutely no issues with them at all. Gave me an estimate, communicated, fixed it. Were kind, knowledgeable and helpful in telling me how to avoid the same problem in the future. No one was rude! read more

I wish I had read these reviews before trusting my chain saw to Earl's. Bozo's and cheats sums it up. Oh, and they treat customers poorly, too. They "repaired" my chain saw by installing a new bar ($18 part) and charged me $130. The repair didn't fix anything, of course. Yep, bozo's and cheats. read more

I've been using Earl's for a few months to help with minor fixes on my aerator. It is always a great experience when Matt is there, he is very helpful and overall has a great attitude. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the other guys at the shop, Kerry has to be one of the most rude, least customer oriented employees I have ever come across. Instead of trying to help he just acts annoyed that you're even asking him anything. I had an appointment to get my machine fixed today, so I brought it in first thing in the morning. Upon arrival, Kerry tells me there are no appointments even though I had scheduled one a week and a half ago. He then proceeds to tell me that he can take the machine but wouldn't be able to get it fixed for "at least a few days" even though it is a minor chain fix that would take less than 20 minutes. He then proceeds to tell me I should've brought the machine in when I scheduled the appointment, almost suggesting it was my fault that he refused to honor the appointment I had scheduled. Ended up taking my business to Sunbelt and they are able to put the chain on today. I like the idea of using a local, non corporate shop like this. Unfortunately it doesn't make sense to use Earls anymore because of the awful customer service I receive. If only all of the employees could be like Matt, they certainly would not have lost a loyal customer who was willing to pay more to use the small local business. Instead most of the older guys that work there are senile and completely unwilling to help. Not normally one to write a yelp review but the way I've been treated after being a loyal customer really rubs me the wrong way. read more

I took my 4 year old power washer mechanical starter assembly into Earl's to have a new cord fitted and the spring re-set. I was charged a $60 minimum charge as a deposit (which I thought was high, but I accepted it), and was assured that would comfortably cover the work, although they did say that they would let me know by phone in advance if it looked like it would come to more than $60. They carried out the repair quickly (2 days) and called to say it was ready for collection. When I picked it up I was charged an additional $29. Had I known the repair was going to cost $99, I would have made a different decision, especially considering a whole new power washer would have only been around $250. I'm all about repair rather than disposal, but this excessive cost makes that choice hard. Earls apparently charge $115/hr labor BTW. I'm not sure how Earls has an A+ BBB rating; when you look at the other reviews, the lack of communication and openness about pricing seems to be a common problem. The person at the desk didn't seem to want to discuss the fact I was disappointed with the cost, and just said "see you next time".....I don't think so.....but thanks anyway. read more

So far so good. Had four Husky chains sharpened. I knew because of Yelp to expect a long wait. They promised two weeks and sure enough called me one day before the due date and the chains were ready. They were sharpens well. No complaints here. read more

Took my weed trimmer to be repaired, turned out it was full of old fuel. In determining this Earl's took apart all the fuel lines. Now my weed trimmer no longer holds fuel, it leaked all over. Took it back to them, they "fixed" it so that my weed trimmer still no longer holds fuel. DO NOT GO HERE! Terrible service, and all around Hacks. I will not be returning. John M. Is full of shit, my weed trimmer leaks no matter the temperature. Expanding fuel? Utter bullshit. read more

I wish there was another "game" in town. They do not operate at a very high level and their customer service needs serious help. I needed help with changing out a tensioner bolt and they wanted to charge me their minimum of $55.00. I took it to the McGuckins shop instead and they charged me $5.00. So much for creating good will. 'Nuff said. read more

Awful awful experience. I would not recommend going here. I brought my chainsaw in for sharpening, to be tuned up for altitude and looked at to make sure it was running correctly. It took so long I eventually called to find out what happened only to discover they had sharpened it but couldn't turn it on to tune it because there wasn't gas. I've only used premixed gas with no ethanol so I was explicit that they only use the same, which they said they would. I got the saw back, made two cuts and it was as dull as before. Additionally, an issue I'd had previously and mentioned to them was worse. I dropped off the saw again, told them what was wrong again, and was told again they would call. No call. I rang to find out what was wrong and got a super aggressive woman on the phone who accused me of using bad gasoline and something about trying to pull one over on them. Initially I assumed that she was talking about a different saw and it was just a misunderstanding but she persisted to be belligerent and to accuse me of trying to trick them. At one point she threatened to take me to court for the way I was talking to her (no idea what that was about), then she said I was messing with the wrong woman and I should come down and confront her in person. Unbelievably bizarre and astonishingly offensive. After hanging up on me twice I finally was able to talk to someone who was actually stable and able to listen. The guy apologized for the employee's weird aggressive behavior and said that what she had done was totally inappropriate, which it was. So I'm going to get this last work done, pick up my saw and never ever ever go back. Unfortunately, in reading other reviews this kind of service seems like it's par for the course. read more

You would think a small brick and mortar business would lean pretty heavy on customer service. Earl's "deposit" fee is nothing short of a scam...Here's the situation I am aware of... My neighbor (a 75 year old woman) and I share use of her lawn mower. Each year we get the blade sharpened at Earl's which has been fine. This year she took the mower in to have the blade replaced and some other work assessed. As another reviewer mentioned, she left a $60 deposit to go towards the work. When she went back in she was told parts aren't available for the mower and there was nothing they could do. Nothing but keep the $60 for the "time spent researching". My neighbor went home and as long as it takes to google the parts she wanted, found them quickly online. I am now ordering and will perform the maintenance myself. I have a number of yard power tools that I plan on getting in the next year or two. Normally I would make a point to work with a local business rather than order online. I hope Earl's enjoys the last $60 they'll ever get out of two households and as many more as I can tell about this BS practice. read more

Be careful getting "warranty" services for manufacturer's warranties - basically they cover nothing - had almost new Troybilt snow blower wouldn't start, said come in we'll take a look - over a $100 to replace what they called bad gas. Then tried to sell a new carburetor for over $200 more. No warranty coverage by Troybilt. Should have learned from that but our under 2 year old Troybilt pressure washer pump was leaking from a mold line, fractured the pump down the center. $75 to tell me what I already knew. Pump replacement $263 more to fix it, not covered by 2 year warranty, not even the $75. A brand new PW costs about $220. So think twice about taking anything to Earls, ask about what warranty covers before you waste time or money - also read the warranty on the product - cheers! read more

Have had nothing but really good service and repairs from this place. I own a bunch of Stihl stuff because of them, as everything I have purchased there has worked really well. When anything does need any service, they have always taken care of it - including getting the factory to replace the block on an expensive pole saw that wore out too quickly and was out of warranty. Need a new mower and was considering a Honda as my snowblowers are Honda and always start right up, but as they sell Toro and I know they will stand behind it and maintain it if needed, I bought a Toro there. If if there is anything I have absolutely no success working on, it is small gas engines. I see now that McGuckins has Stihl. As much as I try to support McGuckins, and I am sure they have someone to work on them, I have to go with the shop with years of experience working on everything gas engine as its primary business, and has kept my stuff up to snuff for a long time. Sorry to see the negative reviews, but they have done so much good business for so long I would guess any business that gets totally swamped while the leaves are out is going to have some problems. For me, this place has been consistent and kept my small gas engine tools starting when I need them. read more