Hard Knocks Small Engine Repair will be my go-to shop for maintenance and repair for as long as I…read morehave a mower. Here's why: I have had an issue with my Ariens lawnmower for about three years that the local authorized repair place said was "fixed" the four times I had it in there, only to have the same problem occur when the mower came back to me. The issue was the mower would stall when trying to mow uphill, but only when the gas in the tank was down by about a third (Weird, huh?). I was about to sell the thing and buy something different, but thought I would give Hard Knocks Small Engine Repair a chance at it before I did that. They fixed it. He diagnosed the problem as having something to do with a vacuum line not working like it should on an incline. His solution was to install a fuel pump and it hasn't had that problem since. I would think that a riding lawnmower would have a fuel pump standard, but that's not the case with mine. When I got it back from them, I deliberately didn't fill the tank above about half and it mowed up my steep hill without a problem. I've mowed four times since the fuel pump installation and absolutely no problems at all. This nine-year-old lawnmower runs like new! Hard Knocks had the mower for a couple of weeks, but they came and picked it up just at the beginning of the mowing season, when he was swamped with seasonal business. He called me about three times during the process, making sure I knew what he was doing and suggesting a fix and indicated that he had done quite a bit of research on this particular mower with regard to this issue. I was expecting a huge bill because I had him change the oil, sharpen the blades, fix the blade release mechanism and, level the mowing deck. But all that and installing a fuel pump was less than $300. To replace the mower with a new one would be about six times that, so win!

This company will get my small engine repair. He fixed my mower deck and gave me some good…read moreadvice on another small engine issue. The cost of my repair was less than the estimate as he did not have to replace all of the parts.

The customer service is excellent as the owner was very fast at getting back to me and attentiveread more

The man was so nice, and quick. He helped me unload and load the mower. Can't wait to use. I highly…read morerecommend him.

I needed a tire repaired and they had it repaired a day earlier than promised…read more Excellent service and the folks there where very friendly. :)

Dropped my mower for a repair was told it would take 6 weeks to fix, it took 8 weeks instead! So…read moreI'm the day it was FINALLY ready I go to pick it up wait 20 mins behind the counter for someone to ask if they could help me they finally bring the mower out, charge me $164, I take it home and it won't start! One star is simply too generous

A bad situation made worse! Do not trust this business. Zero communication. Zero follow through…read more Over the course of a 6 week period, I experienced 5 no-call, no-shows. Was only able to get Neal over to do the agreed upon engine swap, after I contacted my banks' fraud division to freeze the money I sent weeks earlier. Once that happened, Neal re-appeared at my doorstep with an old clunker of an engine, that he probably got for free somewhere. I previously had a 24hp engine, and Neal showed up with a 12.5 hp engine that was far underpowered for what my mower requires. Current state of things: The mower has been totally hooptified. It starts, but it spews out blue smoke, chemicals and fumes. Another thing thats odd, it only runs on level ground. When attempting to go up an incline, the engine shuts off. If that wasn't bad enough, Neal didn't properly bolt down the engine to the chassis. Discovered that out when I went to start it the other day and the motor almost flew off the frame! I have reached out to Neal several times to finish the job and make this right, but i have only been met with radio silence. Took my $700 and ran.

Attempted to get me to pay a deposit after booking and not having told me previously that a deposit…read morefor booking was "required". Showed up late (but did call) and had the wrong parts for my mower tune up. Did a portion of the work, left my mower in a completely broken state, saying that he would come back the next day with the correct parts to finish...from that point he never called, took my call, or returned a text message. I had to get the work completed elsewhere . Completely worthless engagement, DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY.

I have bought two chainsaws, weedwacker and blower that I love. The staff is so helpful!read more

1 star is appropriate as it's the singular finger I think of when thinking of Smitty's. I had…read morepurchased multiple pieces of equipment from Smitty's over the years (mowers & snow blower) Never had an issue until now. Last Spring purchased a Honda gas mower. Used it last season. Stored for winter. Took into Smitty's in January to be serviced as the cord wouldn't pull to start. Service department said it would be at least 5 weeks before they could even look at it. 6+ weeks later I called them back (they never called me) and they told me my mower was completely destroyed because it had an oil leak. Keep in mind, mower was less than a year old. Must have been magic oil because I had zero oil leaks in my garage nor on the mower. Smitty's said there was nothing they could do but contact Honda, which I did. Honda says my warranty is void because I didn't check oil before each use (LOL!!!). Neither Honda nor Smitty's would do anything. Bottom line, I have a less than one year old mower that won't work and neither Smitty's nor Honda will do anything about it. Thanks Smitty's for treating a "loyal" customer so well. Buyer beware....Smitty's will take your money when purchasing new equipment and take your $75 deposit to fix something, but don't expect anything in return on warranty issues. Thankfully there are other stores in town that will actually treat customers well

This is a good place to get work done on your small engines…read more I had a small generator with a bad idle so I dropped it off. They said it will be about 2 weeks but I was able to get it back in a tad over a week which was pretty amazing. The only problem is While they had my generator a button got broken and nobody fixed it or told me about it. When I got home I ran the generator to make sure it was fixed, thats when I discovered the broke button. Not to much of a big deal because I called the shop right away they ordered a replacement on the spot no questions asked. In all it was a little inconvenience nothing major and they handled it all like professionals The generator runs perfect btw and yeah I would definitely go back here because you can tell a shop is pretty great by the way they handle problems. They handled it great! everyone is really friendly and they do great work. The 4 stars isn't to discourage people it's more of a simple reminder to look over your equipment.

I was happy to find a company that offered pick up/delivery for my Husqvarna riding lawnmower. The…read moremower needed a new V-Belt. The cost of the belt was $29.89. Including parts/labor/delivery I paid +$425 for the repair and paid over the phone prior to the mower being returned to me. Big mistake. Upon delivery today, I noticed a cable laying across the mower deck and asked the driver, Steve, about it. Steve commented that maybe the rough drive from the shop to my house knocked the cable loose and tried fastening it to no avail. Steve determined that the cable controls the pulley that engages the mower blades. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the loose cable. When they picked the mower up there weren't any cables hanging over the mower deck! Steve called Todd, at the shop and Todd sent a photo of another Husqvarna mower in their shop with the same cable hanging over the deck. Husqvarna doesn't sell their mowers with a cable hanging over the deck and there was no cable hanging over the deck before Maisch picked the mower up. Maisch's attempt to "normalize" the condition of my mower when it was returned is beyond frustrating. A $425 lesson learned the hard way. Take your Husqvarna riding lawnmowers someplace else. UPDATE: Todd came out this afternoon and found a way to secure the cable dangling over the mower deck. I appreciate Maisch's attempt to resolve the situation and will definitely use their services again. Thank you, Maisch!

Lousy front desk. The guy goes off on a rant about ethanol before I even can get a few words out…read moreof my mouth. I explain that it is the aromatic variations in fuels potentially being a problem. He has no idea what I'm talking about. Front desk totally disconnected from the service dept. Sevice dept looked at my self propelled push mower 2X. Supposedly replace the carburetor the first time. I took it home and used it once. It died at the end of one hour use. I took it back waited two weeks and they said it would cost more to fix than it was worth. Then tried to sell me a piece of junk JD push mower. I passed. Now on to my Z245 JD. Did my own work cleaning the carburetor on my rider in my garage. Changed the spark plugs, confirmed fuel pump was working and fuel filter was clear. Called the biz to talk to service dept to ask a question. Waited over 5 min. Finally the front desk picked up again and offered to help. First thing blamed ethanol. I called BS. He admitted he wasn't a fuel expert and didn't know anything other than they switched fuel across the street. There are hundreds of ingredients in fuel and vary widely. Ethanol is not one of them. It is either zero or 10%. I've run that mower on E30 for two summers while I could get the product in South Dakota. It's a great product and 94 octane and ethanol DOES NOT make your seals crack or become brittle. It is the aromatics in the gasoline. I've done the work. I give them up to a two because the counter guy suggested I run carb cleaner direct and see if it starts. Find another dealer! These guys are the worst and not timely or trustworthy.

Anxious man hurries too fast and stubs big toe. Purchased a $7500 stander commercial lawnmower…read more The only inventory they had was the floor unit. Took it home and it broke down and was brought in for repairs 4 times in the first 45 days. Elaborate excuse seldom truth. Service dept admitted that had "non john deere parts". I demanded a new unit as replacement for the lemon and paid additional fees. Only after I contacted John Deere Corporate directly with the complaint did the dealership finally reluctantly give me a new working unit. Arrogant salesmen, like fish out of sea, does not improve with age. The dealership has no inventory and their management and salesman attitudes are lousy. If you want decent service or to buy some actual new inventory, Van Wall Equipment in Olathe can provide better service and cheaper prices.

I'm not a handy man. Hanging a simple shelf, for me, is cause for a celebration. Odds are if I'm…read moregoing to do a job (I'm going to throw around some handyman lingo, try to follow along) I'm going to find out that I don't have the right type of screw, nut, bolt, anchor, thingamajobby or whatchamagizmo. I'm going to have all my stuff out and need to run to the nearest hardware store. Hartman & Sons is not the nearest hardware store to my house, but it's the one I go to in these situations. I call it in my under $1 store, because I usually spend pocket change buying a screw. At Hartman & Sons, I just walk up to the counter, tell them I need a screw, and they take me where I want to go, quickly and efficiently and, most importantly, with a smile. I've done this over 30 times and every time the result's the same. They recommend and show me the exact thing that I need. They never try to upsell me or make me buy in bulk. If Harman & Sons were reviewing me, I'm sure they would give me 1 star. Because when I'm going to spend $20 or something, I go to Home Depot or Lowe's. I'm the jerk who only uses the store because of their excellent service. I'm a taker. Which is exactly why I'm giving it 5 stars, I'm trying to give back.

Honest quick service…read more Lawn mower broke down and these guys fixed the various problems no problem. They have a great selection of hardware as well if you don't want to travel far from Mission.