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

I am a first time buyer of a snowblower.  I know welcome to the modern-age lol.  I am having a tough time between the ariens or simplicity decision.  I live in Buffalo, N.Y.  and we do at times get hit with some hellish snowstorms.  Although the winters are getting milder for some reason when we get hit the snow hits hard.  i will be purchasing my first blower from a reputable dealer who deals with both machines puts them together and delivers.  The blower will be working on one driveway only.  shaped like a T on its side turned right.  Two car width length is 40 feet.  For the ariens blower I was looking at the 924DLE price 1399.00 or the 824E priced at 950.00.  The simplicity blower is L8526E priced at 999.92.    Looking for quality and long life no games.  Friends around here says Ariens is the way to go.  Then when I say Simplicity everyone seems unknowing.    Searching for some wisdom. 

Hi coyote, I live in Syracuse, so we have very similiar weather and driveways (mine is 60ft, double-width, straight) I bought a Ariens 9526DLE Pro a few weeks ago. I looked at 3 brands;  Ariens, Simplicity and Toro. All have good points, for me the dealer makes the difference when all else is equal. I do like the Ariens differential the best. I was just playing in my driveway with my new machine showing my wife how easy it turns. Its amazing for a 270 lb machine. (yes, I know its 83 degrees out!) Simplicity uses a trigger system which only allows one wheel to freewheel for easy right-hand  turns. This system turned me off somewhat. My previous machine was a 8hp MTD that I bought used and I knew I wanted a little bit more power for those slushy late winter snowfalls and bad EOD (end of driveway) plow buildup. You really can't go wrong with any of these 3 brands imho. I think a 9-10hp machine is ideal for our weather conditions. I don't think the 924DLE is a normal lineup model. Search the forum for that model, maybe you can find out a little more about it and what is a fair price for it.

I checked the Simplicity web site and its the next model up that has the remote axle release. The L8526E is described as pin lock.

I use a blower that has pin lock and with the one wheel unlocked you can easily turn in either direction, it may be slightly better on one side but so far I haven't really noticed. Having both wheels locked is much nicer on the straight sections is very nice while unlocked on the turns is noticeably easier. The thing I don't like is having to stop, go around to the wheel, bend down, fiddle, go back to the operator position and then carry on. Differential or remote pin lock sounds much nicer if you want to change your mind a lot.