Very interesting Jack. Must be careful what I say!
I have been a loyal supporter of Briggs but only lately been frustrated with the increasingly cheap feel and poor reliability of their newer engines.
I have successfully got 20,000 plus hours out of pre 2000's Briggs engines on water pumps but since the Intek line started they're absolutely had it by 4,000 hours.
I have 3 Intek 5.5hp horizontal shaft engines sitting here that need rebuilding. None of them have gone further than 4,000 hours even though I have serviced them every 50 hours. One has thrown a rod and the two others have oval bores.
I also have an Intek pressure washer that has only done 20 hours and is impossible to start. I plan to pull it apart to see what's wrong as it is out of warranty and the owner has gone and bought a Honda powered one instead
I am very grateful for Briggs to provide me access to complete my MST but I wish B&S Australia were more easy to contact!
Because I do not have a shop front I'm ineligible to become a dealer as Australia doesn't use the 100% mobile option B&S USA have. Briggs kindly opened an account for me at one of the nearby dealers but they're very difficult to deal with at times so I tend to buy parts elsewhere.
I now find it hard to encourage a customer to buy a Chinese made Briggs & Stratton as they say 'whats the point in paying $200 more than a Chonda when they both look identical'.
Of course, Briggs will honour their warranty and claim to oversee their Chinese plant but not everyone seems to see that.
