Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I recently purchased a Craftsman 5.5 Horsepower (gas), 24 in snow thrower on sale for $599 (normally $699). This unit has not been delivered as the local store was sold out and it had to be ordered (due on Dec 20th). My dilemma is this: my neighbor is selling a 1995 Toro Power Shift 824 (asking price $400) that looks to be in decent shape. He says it was just serviced last week with the intent to sell. He is retired and does not own this blower. He is merely selling it for someone else. So he doesn't know its history but he does know the owner and claims the thing has been stored in a garage for the last three years. I have never owned a snow thrower so I'm a little skeptical at buying something that is 10 years old. We are expecting a minimum of 6 inches of snow tomorrow and he is going to let me try it out before I commit. I live in South Portland, Maine. The snows here are not overwhelming and I have a very small driveway (about two car lengths long by one car wide). My problem has been the dreaded drifts created by the snow plows at the end of the drive. Should I keep the Craftsman 5.5 and will it do the drifts without a problem (last year the drifts sometimes were nearly 3 to 4 feet high in my drive). My thoughts are that the Craftsman is brand new and will be under warranty. But from what I've read on this forum the Craftsman isn't as reliable as the Toro. Sorry to be so long winded. Thanks to anyone who has read this far! Any advice would be appreciated.