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

I am shopping for a snowblower and cannot find anyone with accurate reliablilty of any of the major brands. I read consumer reports, but they do not list anything about long term investment. I am leary of thier top pick as I have seen issues with that brand of motor elsewhere. I am likely to buy a 2 stage 9 horse (300cc ) as i live on a cul-du-sac adn get plowed in pretty regualrly.

I also am trying to be considerate of my 5'9" wife and her ability to use anything, and my over eager 11year old son that is 5'

Anyone that can help?

skier1 wrote:
Depends on if your wife is comfortable pushing a lawn mower and have used it on several occasions. I could not see my wife even pushing a 21" lawn mower, and even less so of her using a a single stage snowblower.

In the case of your son, he will grow into whatever snowblower you buy. Or it will be a novelty for a short while and he would never use it again.

Operating a 2 stage snowblower can be extremely dangerous and damaging to property. I would take that into consideration before letting anyone else operate it.

Reliability depends largely on how you take care of your equipment and matching it to the job. A 9 HP, 24-27" two stage would be powerful and maneuverable for residential use.

Toro is nowhere near the value of other leading brands. They cannot substantiate the exorbitant price of the machines they sell. There was a day when they were worth more, but that is no longer the case. As previously mentioned, you can get better machines for a lot less money, (Simplicity, Snapper, Ariens) are very good machines provided you buy their top of the line models. If I were going to spend the kind of money Toro wants, it would be on a Honda. I own a Simplicity 9528. It's a great machine for the money!

borat wrote:
True. The old Toros were built like brick houses. They weigh like bricks too.

It's Toro exorbitant prices that makes Honda prices less painful. $2300 for a 7hp/24-inch Honda, anyone??? *wink" ... Discount? "We'll throw in a quart of oil and an extra shear pin" Negotiations done!

aa335 wrote:
If I had no other choices, I'd bite the bullet and buy the Honda. Unless things have recently changed, the Toro is still using the ancient Tecumseh L head engine??? I'd also venture to say that little Honda would likely out-work, out-perform and out-last the Toro given equal maintenance. Toro isn't a bad product. I just find it annoying as hell how they tend to rest on their laurels to gouge consumers. The 828LXE is listed at $1699.00 USD. That's $1800.00 CDN. Put 13% taxes on that and you're looking at over 2 grand! I'd pay $1200.00 for that 828LXE. Not a cent more. When you look at the numbers, the Honda is within easy reach of the Toro.

I paid $1500.00 CDN (all in)for a brand new 2007 Simplicity 9528 with a 305 cc B&S engine. I'd have no hesitation whatsoever to put it up against that Toro in any aspect of comparison other than unnecessary gizmos. At prices like that, Toro would be my last choice.

The one thing that I forgot to mention as i started looking is that Simplicity Pro's and the other Large frame machines are very well built. After I visited my local dealer, which sells Honda, Toro, Ariens, Snapper, Huskvarna, and Simplicity, i noticed the quality on the Simplicity. I was going to bite the bullet on a 09 1528, but a glance for more options over the $1700 for the machine, I found exactly what I was looking for on Craigs list. An older gentlemen that needed something, did his research and had bought an early 09 1424 late last winter, and now due to leg problems, cannot get around well and has a grandson that plows. i am getting the blower for $1000 flat.

Best of both worlds I get all the hardware( cast gears, same box as the Pro's, easy steer...) barely warmed up for 30% off.

gotta love Craigs List...

i will keep all apprised of the usage opinion once the snow flies and we attach old man winter.

thanks for all the input and opinions!

Doug

borat wrote:
For 2009, the Toro 2 stage snowblowers are equipped with Briggs OHV engines.  Their model designation changed from LXE (L-head) to OXE (OHV).   For the average homeowner, they may not realize, know, or care about the difference between side valve and OHV.

My experience with Toro is only with 21" walkbehind mower.  It is not cheap or is too expensive.  Toro isn't the last word in robustness or power.  However, considering the price, they do make a well rounded product with some user friendly gizmos that makes operating it more convenient and enjoyable.  Around my area, Toro service support by small dealerships are everywhere, supplanted by Ace Hardware.

I do agree with you that Toro prices are a high when compared to similiarly sized and equipped snowblowers.  Part of that price difference maybe due to Toro's wider service support and the inclusion user friendly and evolved gizmos that are either loved or chastised.  For whatever reason, that is a personal preference.  I don't find that Toro 2 stage snowblowers are questionably flimsy.  In fact, I personally think that they are sufficiently robust.  They are designed smartly and Toro has not chosen to go the easy route by using thicker material and adding unnecessary weight, both of which are not always a true an indicator of robustness, but more of consumer perception of quality and reliability.

With that said, I am a fan of Simplicity higher models, Toro, and Honda.  These 3 brands have good focus on specific market of consumers.  Ariens is a good name and makes good products also, but the market focus too large and diluted with a dizzying array of product lines.  You really have to research hard to find which product suits your requirements and pocket book. 

Having a broad range of dealer support might add a few bucks to the cost of producing a machine. However, I'm not buying that as a sufficient reason for their out of line pricing. It would also appear that Toro's "license to steal" attitude has influenced the local Toro dealer to act the same. Unfortunately for me, I had to buy an air filter for my Husquvarna lawn tractor from the local Toro dealer. While I was there, a fellow was looking for a bolt that had fallen off of his lawn mower. I was completely shocked when the dealer asked $5.95 for a ten cent bolt! And he did it with a straight face. I actually told the dealer that he was sticking it to the customer. How could he charge that kind of price for a bolt? He said that they go through the trouble to keep them in stock and that's what the Toro parts price is! Another guy walked in looking for a crank for a B&S motor that he was rebuilding. The dealer quoted him $395.00 just for the crank! The guy almost keeled over. He said he just missed the same brand new crank on Ebay for $30.00. I asked the dealer why so much for the crank. His reply was that B&S jacked up the prices so that people wouldn't repair the older engines and prompt them to buy a new one. Give me a break..... Consumers have to stand up to this crap. As you can plainly see, I have no use nor respect for the local Toro dealer. After those two episodes, I've never and will never set foot in that dealership again.

I would never support any local dealer with that kind of highway robbery practices. I don't mind paying extra for the convenience of not having to drive to hardware store to find nuts and bolts. But when the price is 3+ times the actual price, forget it.

I also don't care for local dealers that bad mouth big box stores. I dont mind buying throwaways stuff when local dealers are charging me for repairs that amount to 80% of a new one.

aa335 wrote:

That is an excellent, excellent point.  Unless you have the ability and/or time and patience to do repairs yourself, repairs too often do not cost-benefit.  Even Consumer Reports flat-out tells people not to bother repairing lawn mowers -- just buy a new one, they say.  The situation creates a vicious cycle where everything becomes disposable.  At that point, unit cost, retail price, and volume trumps everything.  And under such circumstances -- where the consumer has an expectation of disposability and limited service life -- the big boxes serve the market better than any small dealer can.  It's sad, but true.

Yes, it is a vicious cycle. I try not to contribute to this. But shellac happens and people learn.

My brother in law bought a used $80 Craftsman mower with a Honda GC160 engine from a garage sale. He was told it was recently tuned up, whatever that means nowadays. It didn't run or start consistently. He took it to a local OPE repair shop. $200 and 4 weeks later, still didn't run very well and hard to start. Dealer blamed it on bad gas. So that's $280 down the tubes. Now that was not the best purchase and decision to put $200 towards repair of a $80 mower. But would it serve him better if this local dealer advised him to consider a new mower altogether or a new engine transplant? Or $xxx/hr shop rate means he's not going to get an engine. I don't know what kind of service was performed for $200, but I would have walked out with just paying for the diagnostic cost and call it a learning experience.

Sorry, not to rant too much. But there are people that are not mechanically inclined that gets ripped off. In their case, it would serve them better just to throw away and get a new one. I'm sure with todays tough EPA regulations, using fresh gas and properly maintain your engines is more important than ever. How about OPE dealers educate people on proper feeding and care of their engines instead of sticking the shaft to people for their ignorance?