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

Hello all,

I've read all the discussions here and have gained a lot of information. Unfortunately, I'm still unsure how I should proceed with the purchase of my snow blower. Let me give you some information so you better understand my dilemma.

I've just purchased an acreage  that has about 575' of driveway that is 20' wide. The driveway is gravel and the grade is fairly flat with the exception of 150' that has a 5 degree grade. I live in southern Alberta Canada and we generally get a moderate amount of light, fluffy snow. However, because of the layout of my driveway, the location of the trees and garage, I get a lot of drifting snow. In front of my garage door and across the drive to the door, the drifts are almost 2' high. Needless to say, I'm looking for a blower so I can park in my garage again, which leads me to my dilemma.

All the local dealers are sold out of snow blowers so I have to buy something used. Almost all the used stuff is Craftsman. I can pick amongst a handful of 9 to 11 HP and 27" to 30" Craftsman blowers that are less than 2 years old for $800 CDN. There's also a Honda HS928 with track drive that was purchased last year but has never been used (which means there's 1 year remaining on the warranty) that I think I can negotiate to $2,000 CDN.

So, what should I purchase???? I know the Honda has great reliability (I've owned several Honda dirtbikes that are bulletproof as long as regular maintenance is performed) but is it worth 2-3X as much as the Craftsmans I see on the market? I would love to get something in between like a heavy duty Simplicity or Ariens, but the dealers in my area are either sold out or don't exist so these are my only options. What would you do?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.