Husqvarna's are not crap. They still make good stuff. Yes they have been purchased by the electolux company, but many other high end equipment manufacturers hae been bought by electrolux.

Most on here probably have not heard of Target (not the chain store). They make top of the line road saws 'with big 36 inch blades" and masonry saws etc. Top of the line stuff and they too are owned by electrolux. http://www.targetblue.com/node1269.asp

The Husqvarna trimmers are very good still as well as their chinsaws.

They also make one of the few commercial grade pure 4 stroke trimmers (Honda is the other). The 4 stroke is a little heavier than a 2 stroke, but starts way easier and you can use regular gas in it. I have a Honda 4 stroke that I just love, but am thinking of getting a Husqvarna multi tool 324dx I beleive the model is. It has a quick change head system and can take a pole saw attachment and edger attachment along with a cultivator. That would be pretty handy in my book.

Please don't sell the Husqvarna's short.

The others on your list are generally the common commercially used trimmers. They are light weight and can take abuse. Very good machines. Pros like them because they are durable and light weight so they do not get tired as much after an 8-10 hour day. That is why the 4 strokes are not as popular in this segment. It's all about the weight. I like the added features of the 4 stroke and do not mind the weight as I generally only use it for a couple hour at a time. One other 2 stroke machine to consider would be Tanaka.

It might be harder to find the FS85 now as I do not think it is being made anymore. Some dealers may have some stock though. It looks like the 90 is replacing the FS85. Both have the rigid shaft but the I think the 90 is Stihl's 4-mix engine.

11 years of use is a good amount of time, hopefully you got a good amount of hours in those years.

I think you should be able to get a great machine for $350. Maybe a machine a ~$300, ~50-75 for a harness and blade kit.

Of your choices, I'd aim for shindaiwa then red max. I have a shindaiwa that will spin a blade. I haven't had any issues with the shaft breaking. It is 15 years old though, could be a little heavier duty.
Good choice to go through a dealer.

Good luck

Do not sell the Husqvarna short. I purchased the 123 model with the interchangeable heads. My son uses it in his lawnmowing business. Very reliable, light and powerful. In addition to trimming, we have the power sweeper. Wow, what a tool!

well i went with shindaiwa 242 new model. i tried it today and it works well . i called alot of lawn care businesses i n the yellow pages and 90% said shindaiwa so i choose fro m what the experts use. id rather have the handle bars but i can live without them for 50 bucks extra lol. i like the pro head to take in the line without taking apart. i like the feel of it ,i like the simple carb being on outside of housing. i will try a blade soon and report. plus i got that free accesory kit thing with it , which includes ,eyewear, ear muffs ,gloves ,extra line, in a zipup bag.

What was the rough cost of the 242? I am not familiar with the Shindaiwa line but what would be the rough equivalent in the Echo and/or Stihl line? Was the blade extra or did it come with? Did you get a harness?

Sounds like a solid machine. With the lawn services using them in your area, it sounds like you should have no problems getting good service and parts. Congrats on the new trimmer.

roughly price was 299 +tax , they did throw in a free blade, what was really weird to me is the 231 model was 320 bucks ,when the new 242 has more power and size. i compared the stihl ,echo , redmax and shindaiwa. it is like the stihl f80 but i did not like the fact the stihl did not have solid shaft and i will be using blade alot and read to go with solid shaft. the big kicker was out of 10 businesses who cut,mow and fix lawns only 2 picked something different then shindaiwa . plus the free accessory kit was also nice. the stihl was 320 in my area. i hope this helps

That's a great deal. You are right about the solid shaft. I did not realize that/dealer did not mention that when I bought mine. Free blade and I assume the mounting hardware for the blade is a perfect throw in for you.

I looked at the Shindaiwa page. Not very much info on what the model differences are. It is clear that the 242 is a larger as you said, but not very clear what the difference is between the T242, T242X and C242.

Anyway, you will probably really like using it.

from what i investigated and looked at the individual trimmers, i know the only difference between the t242x and c242 is the c242 has the handlebars.

To aesanders
I wrote to Husqvana to confirm that the 4 cycle engine used in 324 trimmers are Honda GX25 engine. So either one are Hondas. The 2cycle 326 engine is a two ringed engine made in Sweden. Just a piece of info I got from Husqvana. I am considering a trimmer also. The only thing that bug me about Honda GX25 or GX35 engine is the timing belt even though people keep telling me it is no problem.