Wards Power Equipment

Wards is a Great Place, the owner has integrity that is unsurpassed in customer service and knowledge, I have bought several Stihl tools from him and been Very Happy. People like
Ward are what has built this country into a Great Place to live and do business.

Stay away from Wards! This place once had a fine reputation, but my experience was horrendous. I’ll try to keep this short:
In April, I took my Toro lawnmower in for a Spring tune-​up, as it was getting hard to start. Three weeks later I picked it up (they had accurately predicted it would be three weeks) and the problems began.
When I picked it up, it was leaking gas from the carb. The mechanic took it back into the shop «to replace the gasket;» when he brought it back, it started fine and ran perfectly, but when I got it home I saw that it was still leaking gas. I took it back and asked that they fix the gas leak. The mechanic took a wrench to it with all his strength and broke a fitting on the carburetor. «Darn, now I’ll have in install a new carb,» was his reaction.
Because I was leaving town soon, I told him I really needed the mower in three days and was assured that it would be ready. Calling three days later I was told my mower was next in line for the mechanic, that it would be repaired that afternoon if the mechanic had time, but he was really busy so they probably weren’t going to get to it, and they were closed for the next two days. When I said that was unacceptable based on what he’d told me three days before, the mechanic said actually they didn’t have a carburetor for it because they couldn’t just get one overnight (which is BS; I can get one via the Internet overnight). Now, if they couldn’t get a carb overnight, why was I told three days earlier that they could and the mower would be ready? And if they didn’t have a carb, why did he tell me it was next in line and would be repaired that afternoon if the mechanic had time?
Then the mechanic told me it was my fault because the mower was in such bad shape with so many problems three days before they couldn’t get it fixed so quickly. When I pointed out that it was in fine shape until he broke the carburetor, he said, Yes, he was the one who broke it, maybe that was the problem, and he would have it ready the following weekend.
It was ready the next weekend. I had a friend pick it up (I was out of town for an extended period) and try it. The mower revved so high he stopped it before it tore itself apart. Back it went. When he got it back, it ran so slowly it wouldn’t mow. Back again. When my friend picked it up (now the fourth time it had been in the shop) the mechanic started it to show it would start, but that was the last time it started. So now, after four stays at Wards, I have a mower that won’t start, even though after the first stay there it was fine, except for that gas leak that started all the problems. Every «fix» since has only caused different problems.
And the «new» carburetor is not new — it’s the same one that was one there, evidenced by the fact that it is covered with grease and oil which was on there after the mower’s three-​week stay the first time. Evidently they were able to repair it, though I use the word «repair» with caution, since the mower really hasn’t worked since. I pulled the cover off the float chamber and found the reason for the leak: one gasket was tattered, the other broken; they clearly were not replaced during the tune-​up.
I have a new carb coming ($ 16 via the Internet; I can get one, even if Ward’s cannot). I’ll update this review when I get it installed and see if it works.
I suppose I could take it back a fifth time and ask Wards to fix it, but really, why would I do that? I was flat-​out lied to about when it would be ready, and clearly they had no desire to really fix it once they had my money. There are reputable places that do good work and are truthful to their customers; Ward’s is not one of them.
Update: I bought a new carburetor ($ 16) on the Internet, installed it (30 minutes) and the mower runs fine. I’m thinking if it’s that easy, maybe I should open a Toro repair shop to compete with Wards.

I am nearing 62 years old and one thing I have learned is, no matter how absurd (like a joke) a saying is, eventually you are going to find out it is relevant an true. The one that is appropriate to the management at Wards is, «Don’t believe your lying eyes!»
I have to agree with Lori’s review. Ward’s is close by and they carry quality product. I have no problem with the product. But the manager or owner there is not equipped to be in retail. And people are at least as important as the product. In my case, though, I was not asking for any compensation as had Lori. I was just trying to alert them to some very bad service. My experience goes as follows, and it happened today:
Wards serviced both my Ariens lawn mower, a mower I bought from them, and some time later that spring my older MTD mower from Costco with the Honda engine, last spring, 2013. I told them that the MTD would not be used so service appropriately because I will be using the Ariens. When I paid for and picked up the Ariens it was hard starting and over the months got worse. In my mind I thought, darn, they don’t make them like they used to, assuming it was not the fault of Wards. Almost every time I stopped the engine to empty the grass catch bag I would have to re-​prime the engine. This year the Ariens continued to get worse, harder to start and re-​start, so I went in to Wards to talk to them about it. They told me it was bad gas. That was hard for me to believe since all my other equipment ran on the same fuel without issue.
Eventually the Ariens stopped running all together. I noted that a spring on the carb was not attached. Then I tried to use my MTD and it did not run either. Sweet, eh? Two mowers serviced by Wards and not one of them worked, at all. I stopped by Wards to talk to them again and got the same answer, bad gas. Well, back in the day (60’s), I used to tune cars, rebuild engines and the like, so I decided to inspect and fix the Ariens myself, if I could, since I was having a hard time with Ward’s manager or owner’s pat answer. Why would Ward’s serviced equipment be the only ones sensitive to the fuel I used I wondered? I was, and still am, pretty darn sure lawn mowers do not develop allergies or are lazy and decide to just not work. So I get my plier bag and socket wrenches out and go to work.
The first thing I did after removing fuel from the gas tank is remove the fuel hose from the bottom of the gas tank. There was something crammed into that fuel line and it was pinched. I pulled it out to find it was a crushed fuel filter. I believe that it was mis-​reinstalled by Wards when the serviced it since they do not stock them. I assume the mechanic jammed the filter down the hose instead of up into the outlet at the fuel housing. I un-​pinched the fuel filter, blew into it to make sure it was not clogged, it wasn’t, and installed it correctly, re-​attached the fuel line, filled the tank with fuel. It now runs like the day I bought it. I started it and let it run for about three minutes.
I then fixed the MTD and, since I am now doubting the ethics of Wards, checked the blade since it was to be sharpened. It was not sharpened and it was rusted (I keep it in a dry area with my other power tools like, table saw, chain saw, the Ariens. So now I am thinking Wards has at least one mechanic who is unethical and does not do what he is paid to do and what I paid to have done.
I restarted the Ariens, cold, without priming and it fired right up. Bad gas, my Ass.
I called Wards and asked the manager is he had a fuel filter for the Ariens, the one I bought from them. He said yes so I drove back out there. I went in the back room area where he was and told him about the pinched filter and that it was not a fuel issue and got the, ‘don’t believe your lying eyes’ look. Then I asked him if a sharpened blade should be all rusty and he said, yes, all metal rusts. Mind you, I had my spare Ariens mower blade in my hand that needed sharpening and there was not a spot of rust on that blade. So I asked him if that would be the same for my chain saw that I bought from them and he said yes to that. I advised him that there is not a spot of rust on my chain saw blade. I am telling you readers that there is no rust on any of my cutting blades, period. But Ward’s motto seems to be, ‘Don’t believe your lying eyes!’
And guess what next? I asked for the replacement filter and he tossed a box of the wrong filters on the counter in front of me. I had to ask him to order the correct filter for me and he seemed upset about that. When the order clerk tried to get it ordered for me the manager/​owner got mad at him and told him to take my number and find it later.
I am afraid that I have to add Wards to my list, along with built-​rite fence in Auburn, as an unethical business, as it is currently being managed. Do they treat their commercial customers the same way?

This place is the worst on customer service if you don’t fit their white bread normal customer appearance. I grew up in this area and know that Wards is a community icon, they have been servicing the community for generations. So it was a complete disappointment to find out how we were treated. We went in there to see about them tuning up our riding lawn mower that we inherited, via the purchase of our house. It was a Yard Machine, which is not the most durable or most expensive. Not something I would personally buy, but it was doing the job we needed it for just fine!
So wanting to get it ready for the season we asked them what it would cost to tune it up, sharpen blades, and replace belts. They said, esentially, that the product we owned was a piece and that it would be cheaper to just get a new riding mower, no doubt one they had on their showroom floor.
Since they wern’t interested in helping us tune up our mower we decided to get the parts and do it ourselves, via ordering a couple pulley belts. They helped us find the belts we needed and ordered them in. We waited weeks, finally we called and asked, they said they had already given them to us. Turns out they switched tickets and had called the wrong person and sold our belts to them. So they called that person and told him of their mistake, he brought the belts back and we came and picked them up. Took them home, put them on and they were all to narrow to properly seat in the pulley wheels. So we took them off and returned them, or I should say we tried to return them for the correct belts. They said they were the correct belts and that we, essentially, were just stupid girls and were not putting them on right. So we took them back home and called out mechanic friend just to make sure the ‘stupid girls’ were indeed putting it all together correctly. He found the same issue, that the belt would not properly move the pulley wheels and failed to work correctly.
Returned, once again, to just get the right belts and they said they were right and would not offer any alternatives nor give us our money back. At that point we stated that we would work with our bank to get a proper refund since they were not willing to supply the appropriate part. Thats when the young employee (he has facial piercings) started getting crazy and yelling that he would call the cops if we didn’t get out of the store and never to come back. Horrible customer service, never go in their if expect any sort of quality service or respect.

Helpful and knowledgable.

My dad has been going here for years — good reliable service!

My wife bought a Honda Trimmer and a bunch of blades at Ward’s.
The young one needs more experience. The older one got her blades and trimmer that we needed. She’s pretty happy about the whole buying experience at Ward’s.
The trimmer I guess needs a separate review since it’s a Honda…