If you have the funds and like cutting wood then those are some nice choices for saws. I myself am old school and so I still use saws with plain carburetors.
I saw one at my dealer today along with the 462 and 661. No mid size saws. They didn't want to sell the 500 as it was the last one they could get and wanted it for display. I think they sold 3 smaller size saws while I was there.
Myself i knew i had no real need for the 500i and if someone who really has a need fore it, could not get it just because someone like me just wanted it even if it just sat in my garage i would not feel good knowing this. I really just stopped in to look at a 461 and i know i don't need one, but i do want one.
Good timing on this post. Today my neighbor had a tree company drop 2 ash trees and chip the brush. I told them I would take the wood over 8". One of the ash trees was medium sized but the other I measured at 35 x 35.5" on the stump, IMHO, pretty good sized in my book. They had one of the new MS500I an liked it a lot. It had a crazy long bar, 30" or so and it was real nose heavy. They were using it for stumping and seemed more than adequate for the task. They also had MS462. FWIW my logger buddies have run 660/661s forever. They have been extremely unhappy with the auto tune saws due to being unreliable and hot start issues. They just found out Stihl was reintroducing the 661 with a conventional carb and they special ordered 2 of them and have them in service right now. The fallers are using them and the older saws stay on the log landing bucking logs. The landing saws get a lot more time on them. I just looked on Stihl's web site, the carbed ones are now called the Magnum. https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/professional-saws/ I personally HATE the auto tune saw whether they be Husky or Stihl due to hot start issues too. I have had two 562 XPs and one 550XP. Two of the three have went down the road and still have the 562 XPG. Since that time I have replaced them with a second and third 357XP which I feel is a pretty good saw that handles and feels like a bigger version of a 346XP. A few years ago a landowner wanted me to watch over the logging being done on his property, he asked I show up and be the man in charge, so I made up a hard hat.
You might think Stihl saws "suck" but Stihl saws are not sold at Home Depot or Lowes Huskeys are sold there, give that some thought.
They do sell them (Stihl) at Ace hardware stores around my area. They usually have one guy thats been to "Stihl school" to be able sell and service them i think. Not to talk down on Ace stores, just thought it was worth mentioning.
