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

Have you seen the junk they are now selling on the Home Depot website?It's called Sno-Tek by Ariens.It's being described as a value machine lol.Ariens will do anything to be known as the Co. that sells the most machines.They have forgotten about quality and it's all about sales.

I'm a bit confused here. How do Honda and the other Japanese manufacturers manage to maintain consistent high quality and stay in business, decade after decade?

Ariens had built a reputation of having machines built like a tank.That's not true anymore.Especially when u have machines like the sno tek on the floor at home depot.They can build whatever they want ,to quench the thirst of the ill informed consumer but they still have lost my respect.And if u think I feel sorry for the small business who probably pays his employees half on the books and half off and doesnt report all his earnings to the IRS and writes off his personal car for business use etc etc...I dont.The regular citizen just gets shocked at how much comes out in taxes every week out of his check.

borat wrote:

Not sure if I am correct but I always viewed the Honda in relation to the Snow  market the way I view the Porche in relation to the automobile market. Essentially a niche unit with a very small market share.

They also sell most of their units in Japan where the American manufacturers have to contend with the protectionist Japanese import policies.

Marc

mml4 wrote:

Regardless. The point is that they've been making top notch machines for decades and have never compromised quality just to stay in business. I'm really having trouble understanding how building inferior products will lead to sustained business success? I'm not an economist nor do I have an MBA. What I do know however, is that if I do poor work, sooner or later, I won't be working at all. Being that the domestics are already dropping their production quality, using more and more Chinese components, what's to stop the Chinese from moving right in there to capture their entire market share? Thus putting the domestics out of business? The only trump card that the premium domestic manufacturers had was their build quality. If their lesser machines are no better than a Chinese machine selling for a couple hundred less, who will buy them?

borat wrote:

That's my point- It appears the industry can find purchasers for the low end machines but finds resistance for high end units.

Long Island N.Y where I live used to get enough snow every year to warrant having a dependable quality snow blower. For the past 5-10 years almost no appreciable accumulation at all. Three years ago dealers were unloading machines in January all over the Northeastern US including the big box stores  for up to  50% off list.  Now it seems those consumers  willing to buy a machine for the most part want something cheap just in case it does snow. It appears the "market " is not willing to plunk down a whole lot of $ for something they probably won't use very much. Implicit in that decision is the mindset that quality is not that important for something that will see little use.

Marc

Why do people buy junk?  Because money doesn't mean anything to them.  Wait untill the currency falls apart and the junk starts costing money, then we'll start buying quality again.

Why do people buy junk?  Because money doesn't mean anything to them.  Wait untill the currency falls apart and the junk starts costing money, then we'll start buying quality again.

It seems to me that U.S. manufacturers have dropped the ball a bit in their own marketing.  I just bought my first blower a couple of weeks ago and didn't really know much about them.  I saw the Troy Bilts at Lowe's and was tempted to get one.  I had thought they were a quality manufacturer, not realizing that they were bought a couple of years ago by a company that cheapened the brand quality-wise to push them in quantity at big box stores.

Well, I always prefer to buy from local small businesses and so I next stopped at the local OPE shop.  He carried Simplicity and Ariens, and I could see right away that they were better quality machines.  At that point I didn't know about the specific technical things that make Ariens so good, like its 14" impeller, the bearing on the auger shaft, etc.-- the stuff that snomann lists on his posts.

True, the Lowes blowers had more bells and whistles at the same price-- things like headlights and handwarmers-- but I wanted a machine with intrinsic build quality, not a crappy POS with plastic chutes that would break or flimsy augers that would bend.

I went on Ariens website and they really didn't get into the reasons their machines were technically better than the MTB style ones.  They discussed their reputation for quality, but really gave no details.  I think that if you are going to sell against companies that appear to give more value for the buck, based on size and features, then you need to tell people why your basic machine that costs $200 more than the loaded no-name brand is actually a better value as an investment.

Ariens does still make a good product but if you want your machine to last as long as mine (1969 ariens) then you will not find one at big box store you will have to go to a  local small buiness and pay thousands for the best units what you see at home depot is not what you can get from you local supplier.I think my Dad paid about 1,400 for this unit new.

That is all on that

I would like to know if anyone have been able to free up a stuck metering rod on a tecumseh carb I think this ethonal gas is attracting water and sticking the rods on the carbs

when they set for awhile.

.

In a recession no one should begrudge Ariens for doing what they have to do in order to remain a viable independent company...and not suffer the fate of Simplicity and be bought out by a small engine manufacturer.