HMMM! I bought a Homelite blower at a garage sale about 5 years ago. Runs perfectly yet! Then, i found one in the trash. Fixed a minor problem, and it works good, too! Found a string trimmer in the trash--got it fixed--has been in use for 2 years by me.
I don't understand how or why they run great for me, and every one else says they are junk!

they arent one of the better units around, but better than some. it was probably a simple carb adjustment which most newer units dont have. the gas you put in it probably had a slightly different mixture than what they use at the factory. any dealer worth anything would have realized this and fixed it no charge. i was a homelite dealer for 10 years and rarely had a problem with them beyond a carb rebuild. you cant go wrong with the echo. however, the same thing can happen to the echo over time, so beware. at the end of the season put in gas stabilizer and run it until it shuts off. this ensures there is stabilizer in the carb. where it really counts.

Don't be to quick to blame the repair dealer. We used to be a Homelite warranty dealer even though we didn't sell the product. Somewhere around 3 or 4 years ago our distributor informed us that Homelite was going out of business and we could return any parts we had in stock and they would send all parts to the company which would probably sell them off to whoever bought the name or a obsolete parts distributor. We did and haven't touched a Homelite since.

Someone bought the name, probably one of the Chinese junk companies and many old line established dealers simply want nothing to do with them because parts and warranty support are iffy to nothing.

We are an old homelite dealer that still services homelite products. (Although we don't retail it anymore.) Contrary too popular belief, Homelite is the most liberal of all of the manufacturers when it comes too passing out the warranty candy.
They give us carte blanc too fix their garbage and no longer hold us too a limit 75% of the value of the unit before exchange. (Just fix it, no limits, no authorization required, send in your claim and collect your money.)
Because we are located near so many of the big junk stores we get enough volume too justify stocking things like shortblocks, flywheels and carbs that we wouldn't stock for the high end stuff like Stihl. That adds up too a quick turnaround on Homelite products and we can't give with the other products.
"I told him Homelite said it would be free under the warranty."
It really doesn't work that way. Whine-line reps cant give warranty authorizations over the phone too customers who then "pass the word" on too dealers granting free give-aways of their parts and labor. Somebody has too pay for the mechanics time spent on determining what the problem is and if its covered under warranty or not. (Nobody works for free.)
Yes, Homedepot is a very wonderful place for granting you a return on your unhappy purchase. But, they don't service anything and have nothing too do with any warranty coverage. You are still stuck with the dealer if you should have any problems with your Echo product.
Homelite is what it is.....but they do honor their warranty policy.

Perhaps it is where I live but I had trouble getting my warranty honored. Like I wrote before, the one rep wanted $50 to look at it? My gas mix was fine and works for my trimmer.