granville

granville,

Where have you looked for Snowblowers? Have you tried Veseys in York? They carry Toro, Ariens. Daniel Christopher sales in Tignish also carries Ariens.

You're trolling right?

I'll answer your question just the same....

They are both higher end brands but they no longer represent the leadership in quality that they one did. Ten years ago, they were among the finest snow throwers available. Toro and Ariens both built solid reliable machines that sold for relatively high but not unrealistic prices. As far as I'm concerned, one had better do their homework if thinking about buying some of their latest offerings. Some Ariens and Toro models have suffered from the box store's demands to produce machines that sell for much less than their higher end models. The quality of these lesser machines do not represent even the lower prices associated with them. They're generally far lower in quality yet still demanding a premium for the brand names. A comparable Craftsman, Husqvarna or MTD machine would be similar in quality but probably a fair amount less. Unfortunately, I've recently been seeing signs of Simplicity doing the same with entry level machines being offered at some box stores (Sears for one).

As far as I'm concerned Toro's pricing is ridiculously high for everything they sell. Ariens aren't too far behind if you're buying their better machines. I like Simplicity because their large frame machines are every bit as good if not better than Toro and Ariens and are usually more reasonably priced, at least around here. I also have a problem with the the arrogance of the local Toro/Ariens dealership. A thief with a license to steal.