This is my first winter in Minneapolis--Texas originally. I'm still trying to understand the fascination with the white stuff, but that's another story. I've been lurking here & reading for ideas/reviews/thoughts on snowblowers. I looked at all the common ones. Ariens, MTD, John Deere, Cub, Craftsman, Husky, Husquarvarna, Simplicity, pretty much the normal group. Here's what I came away with. Tell me if I made a good choice and got a good deal (because there's been no snow!) My drive is 3 cars wide, 3 cars log, paved, and I got buried by the plow on EOD already once.
For price & quality, I kept coming back to the Ariens. They seem to be built better than many, (ie more frequent welds, Auger had zerks, all steel construction, etc).
I was tossed between the 7.5HP 7524E with the OHV and the 926LE with the L head. My wife and I had looked at HD (yeah, well, price does matter unfortunately) and noticed that there was 1 926LE on the floor that the chute control didnt' seem to work right. This was on a Monday. Went back on Tuesday to look one more time and the 926 was gone. Came back on Wednesday to actually purchase a 7524 as they were getting them back in stock, thinking this was all I would need and I liked the OHV. Price was $799.
The price on the 926LE was $999. When we returned to the store, the exact same machine that was there 2 days ago was back with a sign that said $800.66, this machine only. There was a service tag from an authorized service center on it that read "replaced broken chute cable, Cable cost $5.23, labor, $23.00. All other systems checked for tolerances and adjusted as necessary."
I checked the oil & gas, The machine had never been started, but had obviously just serviced (no gas in tank or gas smell, oil clear, and all zercs ozzing grease). I call the manager over to get the story. It was the exact machine that been on the floor 2 days ago, but the chute cable had malfunctioned--it had the same adhesive residue in the same place. HD's policy is that they cannot make any repairs in house, regardless of complexity, so it was sent out, and returned to be sold as "reconditioned". The only only drawback was the L-head, but I figured that engine had been around for ever and for the price, I could live with it.
I also had a 10% HD coupon which they honored and 12mos, no interest, no payments.
Final Price, $720.59. WIth Tax, out the door for $767. $30 cheaper than the smaller unit and I got a full 3 yr warranty on it. I think I came out pretty good. What are your thoughts?
Thanks from a snow noob
