Byron Small Engines

While Byron Small Engines was very fast, picking up our equipment on a Thursday and returning it the next day, the service was expensive and sloppy. They refused to power wash the mower deck claiming that was not part of annual servicing. The riding mower was returned with a pinched fuel line and would barely run, they did come pick it up and fix that at no additional charge, but I had to help the driver push it onto the trailer since it didn't have the power it needed to drive up an incline. They also replaced the battery and didn't notify us they were doing it, so the mower now has a battery that cost as much as a good car battery. When we began using the 2-stroke snowblower later in November the engine reved so high when it wasn't under load we were afraid to use it. It's an older model that still has a hand crank for the show chute that we love and it would be almost impossible to replace. We just had the 2-stroke snowblower repaired by Blain's Farm & Fleet in Freeport, IL by a very competent and friendly mechanic. The problem was a broken bolt on the muffler, which was half off and causing a back pressure problem. The bolt had been broken for some time and should have been found when Byron Small Engines was servicing it. $605.31 is an outrageous amount of money to pay for servicing this equipment, we have never paid more than $400. And it was the worst service I have ever experienced. Apparently we were victimized because our equipment wasn't Cub Cadet for which they are a dealer.

The company was hired to do a yearly tune-up on my lawn tractor (oil change, spark plug, belt and filter changes). My tenant dropped off the tractor for me. She contacted me after, stating that the owner was very rude and the services were being overcharged. I contacted the company and the owner stated that he did not like the woman who dropped off the tractor and that he could charge whatever he wanted. He ended up charging $375.00 for labor alone. I feel that not liking the person, does not warrant an overcharge such as this. I requested to just pick up the tractor without doing work, but he had already started the job without my approval. I certainly would not have approved that!