Five Star Tractor

The generator was in good shape and was in running condition when I brought it to this Honda-authorized sales and service dealer for a tune-up. It started and ran as usual, but I suspected a new recoil mechanism might be needed since the recoil starter was sometimes failing to 'catch.' After ten days in their shop, Five Star called me to say that their diagnosis was that the generator needed a NEW $200 Honda carburetor. I was highly skeptical of this claim, since a carburetor is basically just a machined block of aluminum with few moving parts. Worst case, the carburetor would need a rebuild for the few adjustable/moving parts inside, or a used (rebuilt) carburetor could be installed instead of a new unit on this older generator. Upon consulting with several friends about this, they all doubted that a generator that started and ran the last time it was tried now suddenly needs a new, $200 carburetor. Honda carburetors in particular, they told me, almost never go bad. So I went to retrieve my generator from Five Star to get a second opinion from another repair shop. Five Star had disassembled the generator, and it was returned to me in pieces, with the carburetor and many small parts loose, in bags and boxes. For this, I was charged a $30 "diagnostic" fee. I took the generator and all of the pieces to a nearby independent small-engine repair shop, All Small Engine Repair in Kissimmee. They agreed that the generator probably didn't need a new carburetor, since, as they also said, Honda carburetors essentially "never" go bad. Sure enough, they reassembled the generator the next day and tuned it up, returning it to running condition, using NO new parts except a $4 spark plug. As I suspected, the carburetor was fine, and Five Star's diagnosis was faulty at best and dishonest at worst. The generator did NOT need a new $200 carburetor, as Five Star had insisted. I won't bring any business to Five Star Tractor after this experience, since I cannot trust their service technicians.