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

I was at a local Honda dealer yesterday and I was stunned by the prices on their snowblowers. In Canadian dollars, they were: 928 wheels: $3000 928 track: $3400 724 track: $3400 1132 track: $3500 I know they have tracks, hydro tranny, honda engines, etc. but they're at least $1000-1500 more than equivalent toro and ariens models. Is it gold, they re making?

borat wrote:
The HS724 (6.5 HP, 24 inch) by my standard is underpowered and hardly a fair comparison to your Simplicity (9.5 HP/ 11 HP, 28 inch).  The HS724 engine displacement, blower / impeller section is sized significantly smaller than your Simplicity.   It is designed with lower volume capacity.  In fact, Honda had to step down the bucket intake height on track equipped models.  A reasonable compromise to prevent self destruction, typical conservative Japanese engineering.  I would guess that the hydro transmission and the tracks higher power requirement was taxing the small engine.

A fairer performance comparison would be the HS928 (9 HP, 28").  Even with that model, the Honda is biased towards throwing distance while trading for lower volumetric capacity.

aa335 wrote:
Dollar for dollar, which of the two, HS724 with tracks or the HS928 with wheels is the better machine or best bang for the buck?

superbuick wrote:

joed wrote:
I would pick HS928 with wheels and a light kit.

aa335 wrote:

Yeah. You're right it's not a fair comparison. However, neither is the $3400.00 vs $1500.00 in price now is it? So, from that point of view, comparing dollars to dollars, the comparison is more than fair. By rights, for that money, the Honda should be more than twice as good. My driveway is 110' x 18' with a 35'x35' turn around at the top. It also has a 10% grade. We get ice, slippery, wet snow, heavy deep snow, wind blown concrete snow and lots of it. The Simplicity does it all and does it well. So, my driveway is always clear. I do like Hondas, and I do not have Honda envy. That's for sure. However, I also like my Simplicity and really like the two thousand dollars still in my wallet.

Even if the Simplicity was $3400 and the Honda was $1500, the performance comparison would still not be fair. 

Even if you have or not have the money to spend, seldom you get 2x the performance for 2x the price.  The law of diminishing returns applies.  Also, the customer base rapidly decrease.

It may be foolish to spend $120,000 or more on a Porsche 911 GT2 when a Cadillac CTS-V offers similiar performance and carries 3 more passengers with a useable trunk and costs $40,000 less.  For the price of 1 Porsche, you can get 3 Buick Enclave, 40 cupholders, carries 21 people, and pull 3 trailers.  If someone gave me 3 Buick Enclave, I'd trade them all in for a Porsche 911.  Rational?  Not really.  Personal?  Yes.  Emotional?  Wholly yeah!   Or put that money towards a house, pay off loan sharks, have a blast in Vegas.  Choices.

There is a premium price for exclusivity.  Honda will continue to gouge customers, as long as Joe Irrational, Joe Rich, Joe I Need It, and Joe whatever continues to buy.  Apparently, they are doing well enough not to revert to cheapening their product.  Its lonely and vulnerable at the top.  Simplicity was at the top of their game, but not big enough not be bought out.  Can B&S let Simplicity to continue to deliver and target product and services to their customer base with higher expectations and deeper pockets?  Or will they keep milking the brand until people realize it is just marginally better than A, C, or T brands, and sold in the same showroom, presented by the same sales person?  Then Larry customer is going to decide based on paint colors, steel thickness, use of plastics, and features.  How is it that Toro command higher prices and still makes good sales numbers?  I don't know for sure, but I like their products.

Doesnt Toro pickup and bring back ur snowblower during the warranty period if something is not working free of charge?Maybe that is factored into the price of the blower.Around here they charge $60    5mi. or less for p/u and delivery.Even though the chance of it breaking down in the first 2 yrs is nill.

It's interesting that Honda charges so much more for their snowblowers.  I don't quite understand what makes them substantially better than other brands.  My Ariens seems very solidly built and the new B&S SnowMax engine runs strong and smooth.  What more could you ask for?

Certainly Honda doesn't get away with charging big premium bucks for its lawnmowers.  They seem priced on par with brands like Snapper and Toro.  I had a Honda mower for 6 years until last summer.  The drive mechanism seized and the local OPE  (the only one in the area that agreed to do the job) estimated the fix at $300, so I decided to junk the mower.  Not a great testament to enduring quality, though it did perform quite well up to the moment it stopped working.

Anyway, let's say Honda makes good mowers and good snowblowers.  How do they justify or get away with charging almost double the going rate for a blower, while not pulling that stunt with their mowers?

Part of the high price is for the "legendary" Honda engine and the hydrostatic transmission as opposed to a simple friction disc setup.

mikiewest wrote:

That's true. Their drive components are more sophisticated. Can't argue with that. Their build quality is top notch and engines are great. But the total package isn't great enough to get me to spend that kind of dough on a snow thrower. If and when my existing Simplicity is no longer up to the task, I may have no choice but to look at a Honda or a Yamaha. The way all the domestics are going, I can see nothing but mediocre machines from them in the future. Until that day, I will make sure the Simplicity is kept in good running condition. Have to agree with AA335 too. As long as there is a market and people are buying Hondas at that price, they'll continue to produce and sell them. I'm glad that people are buying them really. Somebody has to keep them in the snow thrower game. I certainly wouldn't want to see Honda get out of the snow thrower manufacturing business. Down the road, it looks like they might be the last place to go for a top notch machine.