I bought a brand new Briggs and Stratton engine. The engine lost compression within 3 uses. I took it to Ralph and Helm in Elgin Illinois. They had my engine and mower for several weeks and charged me $250 for nothing. The engine lost compression and it was evidently a warranty repair. Do not buy Briggs and Stratton and do not go to Ralph and Helm for warranty repairs. total scam. They will take your money every possible way. There are other reputable distributors. Avoid this scammer. read more

We had our SnowMaster we got from Ace Hardware in Sugar Grove and they recommended Ralph Helm for service. They picked it up and delivered it back in half the time we were quoted! We rely heavily on this snowblower because we're elderly and really appreciate the quick service !! read more

Betsy, Adrian, and Dave could not have been more helpful and kind upon calling about our snowblower. The information they provided was helpful. Upon speaking with them you didn't feel rushed through your conversation, and they answered all our questions. Linda & Don read more

Ralph Helm is a lawn and snow removal equipment store. They carry Stihl, Echo, Torro, Cub Cadet Honda and more. They "Service what they sell" my husband has been going there for a few years. The service and retail employees are friendly knowledgeable and appreciative. Also a long-standing Elgin retailer. Ralph Helm provides excellent service for "regular home owners" or "commercial use" They don't try to up sell you. They just answer your queries and offer the best options to meet your needs. This is another place that is not your typical big box store. read more

Normally I get treated well at Helm but today was a little different. I took out my credit card to pay and the guy looked the card over and said "Apple Pay? We don't take that!" I tried to speak and he kept interrupting me with "No!" He finally ran the card, but over all he was quite rude. The service I needed was done well but I didn't need some tech ignorant guy on his high horse treating me like an idiot. read more

Had my lawn mower blades sharpened. Drop off and pick up next day. They do much better job than I have ever done. read more

My landscaper went on vacation and I had to trim around my 1 acre lot after cutting my lawn with my wonderful new 2 year old Toro 48" Zero turn mower. Unfortunately I had two old electric (cord) "box store" type string grass trimmers that didn't work and decided to buy a new one at a different box store. This time I chose a lithium battery trimmer. Unfortunately that was an epic mistake! When I proceeded to trim my lawn the darn battery kept popping out of the battery compartment. I had to call the manufacturer for help. They said it was a defected unit and I would be better off returning it for a refund. The box store did not give me a hassle... they gave me a full refund. Then it occurred to me that I should have gone back to Ralph Helms Lawn Equipment Center where I purchased my Toro lawn mower. Unlike my shopping experience at the box store...at Helms I actually had a (live) salesman (Dave Odman) who took the time to explain and instruct me on all the string trimmers they had in stock and recommended which one to buy. I bought an Ecco trimmer and it works great and guess what?...it isn't made in Vietnam but locally in Lake Zurich, IL. BTW, I prefer to buy American made products. Note: I am a Vietnam Veteran and was stationed in Udorn, Thailand during the Tet offensive from 1968-1969. Kudos to Helms it is a great place to shop. Rich Kruth, Elgin, IL. read more

I'm giving Ralph Helm 5+stars. Spoke to Ralph Helm himself. I was upset as the maintenance done was not done well. Ralph apologized got my information picked it up the following Monday and back to me on Wednesday that week at no charge. This is the kind of service worth paying for and his response will keep me as a very long time customer. Ralph glad to see you are keeping that name equal to service. My tractor has never run better! read more

Service dept is good, but my issue is with the quality of the Toro Timemaster 30" walk behind. I recently had it serviced by Ralph Helm and they determined that the engine needed a head gasket, and that the self propelled gear box was defective. The repair cost was $400 on a machine that is only 5 years old. These are not inexpensive machines and I expected better quality from a company such as Toro. The Timemaster is a heavy machine and in my opinion, it could use a heavier duty gear box and a more powerful engine so it doesn't bog down in taller grass. read more

We bought our first equipment from Ralph Helm in 1999 on the recommendation of friends and they have been our "go-to" for yard and landscaping equipment ever since. Although we are merely retail customers and not part of the professional network they seem to do so well with, we have always been treated as very important customers which has only fortified our loyalty. There equipment is of higher quality than what can be found in the big box stores, and their service department has been exceptional to us. Mike, Dave, and the whole crew seem genuinely interested in making sure we are choosing the right equipment for the circumstance and we have a great degree of trust in their service recommendations. Thanks to the whole team! We will continue to recommend Ralph Helm to our friends and family. read more

They REALLY stepped up for me. They do exactly what they say, We service what we sell. Had very prompt response and turn around for a repair on my Zero Turn mower. Kudos to everyone there. read more

Went into look for a new mower and could not be happier with the service and knowledge of the staff. Dave help us pick out the perfect mower and walked us thru all the features of the mower. Will definitely have a customer for life. read more

I'm torn between 1 or 2 stars, opting 1 because the service department will lie to you! Ralph Helm was cheaper by $10 (Honda electric start mower) compared to the big box stores and since I'd done business with them before, figured I'd do it again but after this experience, they lost my business forever! After a season of mowing, it was time to change the oil. Being a mechanic myself, I know you should shut-off the fuel and run the motor till it quits before turning the mower on it's side to drain the oil. I shut the fuel valve off but the mower kept running....never quit running. I had to put locking pliers on the fuel hose to run the engine out of gas. I called Ralph Helm, spoke to service and they said, and I quote, " a fuel shut off valve doesn't COMPLETELY shut off the fuel, that's the way it is". What? This is what their service department says to their customers?!! Wrong! A fuel shut off valve does exactly that, shuts off the fuel. This service person is lazy and clueless and he wouldn't even allow me to bring in a band new mower to be fixed! I'm calling Honda USA and complaining about how terrible Ralph Helms' service department is, I'm sure Honda will take care of this. Buy your equipment ANYWHERE ELSE! Don't bother with Ralph Helm because if you have a problem, they won't help you!! UPDATE: I received a new fuel shut-off valve from Honda and it works, the fuel shuts off! read more

The service at Ralph Helm is simply the best! My 72" Toro mower broke down on Monday. I called and the mower was quickly picked-up, diagnosed and parts ordered on Tuesday. On Wednesday the parts were installed and my mower was returned to my yard by noon. I am a small but loyal customer, why would anyone ever shop or do business anywhere else? read more

After visiting the big box guys - again, I realized that I did not want to buy anthing from them! They have no clue about the features and specs of anything they sell. I have bought several weedeaters and lawnmowers from them and when they go bad, I find there not worth fixing. Most repair centers want $75-$95 for repair per hour. I heard about Ralph Helm and heard they had good quality brands. The kind of brands that the big guys arent allowed to sell because they have no clue about the products and these elite manufactureres will not stand for that. Whithin 5 minutes of walking in, I was greeted by a sales person. I was looking for a weed eater and wanted a good one. The sales person showed me several options. He clearly was very skilled and knew about these products. He recommended one that was $130 less than I was prepaired to spend. He walked me through long and short term care and even filled it with gas and prepaired it for use. . He completely removed all the string and then showed me how to install it. He then started it and walked me through the complete operation. I can not remember when I received service this good. Best part of it all was that the one that I had purchased was only a few bucks more that what the big box guys had.. The advise he had given me may have saved some of my other machines. Although they are about 10 miles from my house, I will make ALL my lawn equipment and will have all my stuff serviced by them! read more

After years of purchasing lower grade equipment I was tired of always needing to replace my weed wacker, or lawn mower needing repair, Chaim saw running like crap,so slowly I have replaced all of my lawn care/snowblower equipment from Ralph Helm. Have I been happy! Over the last 4-5 years I have purchased (Stihl products) a chainsaw, lawn edger, weed wacker, blower, hedge trimmer,Toro snowblower( best I've used), and a Toro lawn mower. The only things I've needed is a basic blade/Chain sharpened, oil change. I love it. Everything starts up easy and runs like a champ read more

Service is slow and poorly communicated Probably would not buy from them again There seems to be a new place opening soon on Randall Road read more

I have to say these guys are better than average for a couple of reasons: 1) I bought a snowblower from them and had it serviced where they would pick up and drop off it was serviced by them. After one year and a routine service it wouldn't start. I dropped it off and they called me up with some good news and bad news. Bad news the year old snowblower was dead, good news it was due to a factory issue and since it was less than 2 years old with them not making the model anymore I got upgraded to a newer better model. They even dropped it off fully assembled and ready to go. 2) I bought a lawnmower and wanted a certain model. The guy asked me what kind of lawn I had, what kind of lawn I wanted, how often I cut the grass. Basically more questions than I ever thought of about cutting my grass. He recommended a model that was cheaper than the one I originally wanted. Nope I didn't listen to the guy who deals with lawns all day I bought the one I thought I wanted. Turns out he was right. 3 years later I deal with the issues he EXACTLY pointed out why I wouldn't want the model and should have gotten the other one. So what did I learn? They are good at keeping repeat customers and know their domain. I'm an idiot at purchasing lawn equipment. Also if you think you're 'saving' money by buying from a big box retailer, you're not. You're buying the cheapo retail version of the product that you can get from an authorized dealer with better service in terms of asking what you're going to do with it, servicing it and generally having more knowledge then the part time big box employee. read more

Called to see if they could repair my Honda mower and they gave me a quick quote on the phone. Ran it over about 30 minutes before close on Friday night. Dropped it off and explained the issues. Just got a call 10 minutes ago on Tuesday morning that the lawnmower is fixed. The height adjustment lever broke off the rear wheels. When I explained this to the guy on the phone said it would be about $20 for the part and 30 minutes labor so about $60 maybe less. Guy who called today when I asked how much it ended up being said $104. What a jump. I would not have put $104 into a 7 year old lawnmower. Went to pick it up today and he explained the guy who gave me the quote didn't realize they had to drop the transmission to fix the part that is why it cost more. He adjusted the invoice to a fair amount. Will be back. Thank you. read more

I visited this dealer in Elgin this past weekend to see what could be done with my month old Toro lawnmower that I purchased at a big box store. I was really hoping for some advice regarding the mower's problem, and thinking seriously about trading up if they'd work a deal with me. The gentleman behind the counter really didn't seem interested at all in helping me try and diagnose the issue - he merely informed me that since i hadn't originally purchased the mower from them, I was in for at least a three week wait period before they could even look at it. When I asked about trading it in, his first words were "well, does it run?" Had you taken five minutes to listen to what the issue was, you would have known that the mower starts and runs just fine.Thanks to Google, I was able to diagnose the issue online with a great tutorial and discovered a belt was off the pulley. A very simple fix, and now the self-propel feature is humming along again just fine. I'm sure they're a very fine dealer with a very good repair shop, but their customer service from the guys behind the counter failed to make a customer out of me. I won't be back. read more