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

Hi all,
     Went upstate this past weekend to Cortland County (near Syracuse) to visit my mother. While I was there I swung by an old Ariens dealer to see if he had any of those snow cabs for my Ariens 8526LE. When i walked in I was greated with lots of nice machines....Simplicitys all over and a bunch of Toros. But no Ariens...so I just wondered around and was really digging Toro's new quick aim snow shoot! Pretty cool! But lots of plastic.... The Simplicitys look rugged and well built. Then the salesman/owner came out to ask if he could help. He didn't have any of the cabs but they were due in a week or so....then I asked him "where are the Ariens machines?" His reply.... "Ariens really cheapend their product to get it into Home Depo" Is there any truth to this? He went on to say that warranty work was killing him...his shop was full of repairs...and mainly all with the same problems. He said that the tranys were a major problem....plastic bushings causing problems and some other things that I can't remember. He said that after the last 2 years, he gave up.

Clarks garden power supply
They carry Simplicity, Ferris, Echo, and Toro...and no longer Ariens:(

I've been making that point for a while now.  Maybe it's my eye for detail but when I started looking over the Ariens and Toros at HD, I was immediately turned off.  I know mechanical stuff.  I have tons of it.  I'm a hands on person and can readily see problematic design and deficient build quality.  After looking at their line up, I was out of HD in less than two minutes and very much disappointed with the quality of the "vaunted" Ariens and Toros they were offering.  Don't ask me to go into specifics.  I didn't take notes and I certainly did not buy either of these two brands.  And did I mention the prices?  It's not like they're knocking off hundreds of dollars from these machines.  Not in Canada.  The machines are cheaper (build wise) but not less expensive.  To me, that's the rub.  They're capturing  reputable brand names, having them manufactured at much lower standards and still demanding big bucks.  One must wonder how many unfortunate customers have fallen for this ruse?   When I bought my equivalent Simplicity, I paid three hundred less than the asking price of the Ariens and close to five hundred less than the Toro.  And the Toro had the old Tecumseh L head engine and aluminum auger drive gear case????   Maybe there are wiser people out there who can help me understand how an equivalent Toro of obviously lesser build quality can demand $500.00 more than a Simplicity that has far better all the way around construction and components?   Five hundred buck is a lot of money to pay for a name and it's sad to see those names being sullied by affixing them to inferior machines.   

Unfortunately most people look at a line of blowers from a series of manufacturers and see the same thing painted differently. They have a list of "features" which for the most part are sales features as opposed to use features, they then compare cost.

The problem is that the devil is in the details. Plastic parts can be good in a lot of places on a blower, they just have to be made well of the proper material and not as a manufacturing cost savings item. The same can be said for all metal construction, it could be tin foil, it could be 1/4" plate, its still "all metal". The point is that most people don't want to hunt up the information and find out what is important and which manufacturers do a good job. Add in that there could be variation from year to year with any given manufacturer and it really becomes a trick. It sort reminds of wine enthusiasts ... "As yes an Ariens 1020DLE from 2004, a somewhat presumptuous blower  with a traction system that just won't quit, the ones manufactured in the south plant in July are the best" .

I don't want to get into dealer support and parts availability since that can also affect "good".

nibbler wrote:

I understand what you're saying.  I would like to add that "Nothing blinds more completely than brand loyalty."   It's a fault that many seem to acquire after hemorrhaging huge amounts of money to pay for a name then spend the rest of their lives defending the action.  Go figure???   I, on the other hand consider myself to be a "value loyalist".   I'll recommend/defend a product providing it has the right stuff and also has the right price.  I will not recommend a product simply because it has/had a good reputation.  Not good enough.  Each item will be measured on it's own merit.  If it  passes muster, I'll endorse it otherwise I won't.  That's why I own such a wide array of OPE brands.  I have Husqvarna, Jonsereds, Echo, Stihl, Kubota and even a Honda powered Craftsman lawn tractor.  I don't care what the name is, as long as it's built with quality components and assembled correctly. 

Ahhhh yessss.....Muyyy Simpliciteeee comes from the Port Washington Plant in Wisconsin......a robust machine with aspirations of grandeur albeit with a dash of humility.....