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

Stopped at HD and they had a Ariens 824E for $950.

Lowe's had a Troybuilt 8.5-26 for $750.

I couldn't find a new 824E listed anywhere online. Someone told me that the equipment supplied to HD & Lowe's are of cheaper quality from the factory. That's why I'm a little skeptical to buy from them.

Same guys told me that if it needs repair, some shops won't touch them.

any comments? Is the quality the same?

How's the Troybuilt for ruggedness?

I'm looking for the most HP in a 24-26 width cut. I'm a HP junkie.

  there has been discussions on purchasing from a "big box" store.  we have a shop here in minnesota.  the problem we run into is these store DO NOT send in your warranty info.  customers lose the receipt and we have to charge them all because home depot didnt do there job. and yes from all the names we service the did tell us that we reserve the right to turn away the work from these stores.  all we really do is hurt our own business by doing this.  and yes i believe the units sold thru these people are of lesser quality.  the tractors home depot sells are ALL made by mtd.  they say toro john deere and cub cadet on them  all made by mtd.  do your research.  buyer beware.  we sell the toro 826le for $1100.00

Paranoid wrote:
The quality of the products sent to Home Depot are the same you'll get anywhere. The quality of the initial setup and adjustments, well....it can vary. That isn't to say you won't get a unit that is set up crappy from a dealer, it's just much less likely...  Yeah you might get some resentment from some dealers about your HD purchase. Just bring it to another dealer. Honestly, I don't get that attitude. Dealers make way more money on service than initial sales.

Snowmann wrote:

Yeah! your right about that, sometimes I go shopping at CanadianTire and curiously i'm checking the outdoor equipment and found out that some parts are loose, bolts missing, broken plastic parts, and these item are new, some young kids working week-ends with no experience are hired to mount them, you see in a small shop its different, its like buying a car from an auction beside a dealer its the same thing.

Typically the large box stores sell the "Consumer" level of unit. As far as I've seen there are no special "cheaper" big box units, they are the same as what you will get anywhere else for the same model. Big box stores don't service what they sell, they either replace or send you to a local dealer. Whether the local dealer likes the situation or not seems to depend on the individual shop and how much money they make off of the relationship.

Dealers will also have the "Professional"  level of units which are made more robustly and have more features.

Whether the difference between "Consumer" and "Professional" is significant is a personal choice/needs thing. I lean towards the "Pro" level stuff.

You can have too much power on a blower, if all you ever clear is one 30' x10' driveway then a 1336DLE is a bit of overkill. Its also a matter of how much weight you want to schlep around, the bigger units are heavy and less maneuverable. The smaller units are lighter and more agile.