Catoe's Power Equipment Service Department
Our service center is the heartbeat of our dealership. The repair center by Service Manager Matt Steadman, who also serves as General Manager for Catoe’s, who trained under our previous master mechanic, Mike Fouche, for seven years. Each mechanic employed by Catoe’s is required to be certified at the highest rank possible by every OEM and Distributor that we do business with, meaning that when it comes to your product, we practically know it in our sleep. Owner Ben Catoe also proudly holds certifications at the highest levels by STIHL, Gravely, Toro, and Kawasaki, and is integral in the daily operation of the repair center.
At this time, Catoe’s Power Equipment only works on the brands we sell – Ariens, Gravely, STIHL, and Toro (including some LawnBoy push mowers.) If space allows, we will perform engine work on Push Mowers that have Briggs and Stratton, Tecumseh, Kohler, or Kawasaki motors. We only work on STIHL 2 stroke equipment. Next day chain sharpening available. Please refer to your owners manual for standard service schedules; lack of service can and will void your unit’s warranty.
Our shop gets busy! We categorize our repairs by service/tune up work, minor/warranty repair, and major repair. We recommend major repairs be postponed until the winter whenever possible. Service work can be done while a minor or major repair is being performed, but may lengthen the time it takes to complete the repair. We diagnose every unit upon entry to ensure that you know what it will take to get your equipment back up and running ASAP. We typically will collect payment on any parts that are not standard stocking parts; doing so allows us to avoid shipping delays in these weird economic conditions. A deposit is required on all repairs. Deposits are automatically applied towards labor and represent the diagnostic check out fees for any non-repaired unit. Warranty units will always have deposits refunded.
Labor Rates
Labor Rate: $80/hour
*Emergency Labor (1 hour minimum) $150/hour
Concrete Saws: $100/hour
Diagnostics, 2 Stroke – $20
Diagnostics, Lawn Mower – $40
Chain Sharpening – $10/chain
Blade Sharpening – $5/blade
Tool Sharpening – $5/tool
Repair Times
2 Stroke (Service): 1 – 3 days
2 Stroke (Warranty): 1 – 3 days
2 Stroke (Repair): 5 – 10 days
Push Mowers (Service): 2 – 5 days
Push Mowers (Warranty): 1 – 3 days
Push Mowers (Repair): 5 – 14 days
Z – Mowers (Service): 3 – 5 days
Z – Mowers (Minor Repair) : 7 – 14 days
Z – Mowers (Warranty): 1 – 5 days
Z- Mowers (Major Repair): 2 – 6 weeks
Shop Policies
We refuel all 2 Stroke repairs with Aspen pre-mixed fuel. This is one of our favorite products for several reasons: it’s clean, it’s reliable, it barely puts out emissions, and it’s relatively cheap. The best part, you get the rest of the can to use! We used to charge this as a Shop Material fee for fuel and grease use, but now are putting a better, stable fuel into your machine to help guarantee a lasting and reliable repair. We encourage you to try the fuel for yourself – put mixing in the past!
We do not perform welding that is not approved by the OEM in our shop. This means that we do not patch decks, mufflers, or repair frames. Due to OSHA and other safety regulations, we will not accept a lawnmower for repair if its deck has holes or any scarring larger than 1” by ¼”. Additionally, we will not accept a mower with holes in its muffler or with obvious apparent frame damage. If frame damage is found during a repair, the repair will be halted immediately and the service manager will notify the customer and advise on further proceedings.
Customers may elect to either remove the deck from the machine and have our technicians work on the engine and drive system of the lawnmower, or to allow our service department to replace the deck. Mufflers with holes must be replaced as part of the repair. All STIHL equipment must have proper safety equipment installed, including string shrouds on FS String Trimmer units, handle stops on Kombi units, and working chain brakes and chain tensioners on chainsaws. Blades MUST be removed from all concrete and CutQuick units before being brought in for repair.
Units without a serial number or that have a serial number removed will not be accepted. All serial numbers are checked for warranty, original purchase information, and against theft databases. If a unit comes in that is flagged as stolen, we will contact the Richland County Police Department and, if possible, the person from which it was stolen, before contacting the customer who brought the unit in. All further proceedings will be directed by the Richland County Police Department.
*Emergency labor is not always available and is typically only offered to customers with mowers that are in warranty but do not have warrantable issues. Emergency labor is designed to be designated to jobs which are finished within 24 hours, but this is not a guarantee. Parts orders and other extenuating factors may prevent this timeline from being realistic. Our service manager will reach out to you immediately if it is determined that a repair cannot be completed under the terms of our emergency labor system.