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

When do snowblowrs generally go on sale. I live in central New York. Thanx, Paul

Hey guy. Winter hasn't begun. When theres only one left and no reorder till 2011.

Prices can vary a lot depending on where you live, and I don't have any specific info about New York.

However, you can generally find some smoking deals on blowers when a real mild winter follows a real nasty one. The reason? After a hard winter, stocks are usually down to nothing, and what's left you probably wouldn't want anyway. So, dealers tend to order more units going into the next winter, hoping for a repeat of the previous one ($$$). If winter turns out to be a bust, they find themselves overstocked, with the mowing season just around the corner. If you act fast, you could pick up your dream machine for (relatively) small change. Don't know when you plan to purchase, but that's one option.

In my neck of the woods (Northern Michigan), winter has been much milder than usual. If this trend keeps up, we might be looking at some good deals by March or April. We've got both Lowes and HD nearby, that's where I'd be heading if I was looking to buy.

You could try ordering online if the prices are inflated locally, but the shipping charges might cancel out any savings there. Also, you're not likely to get any service after the sale, if something should break under warranty. Same holds true with the big-box stores, but some of them will give you a replacement under warranty. Be sure to ask about return policy before buying from a big-box.

Otherwise, it's pretty much of a seller's market at this time of year. There's plenty of winter left, and I doubt if your local OPE dealer will cut you any slack. It's like buying an air conditioner in August.

If you're patient, though, you should be able to wrangle some sort of deal as spring approaches. If you need it now, just suck it up and do the best you can. I've been there.

Oldcrow;
          Thanks for taking my post seriously and for your intelligent, benevolent response. I guess you have seen times when money was scarce? We have a 4 year old son with some medical problems and I am trying to stretch our dollars as far as possible. I really don't take offense to the 1st guys comment as he probably doesn't  know our situation. Thanks again, Paul

Amazon.com is discounting a $1500 Husqvarna 30-inch machine with a 349cc B&S to just under $1290 with free shipping.  Maybe they have deals on other models as well.  But your best bet might be to cruise the Craigslist.com listings in your area for a decent used machine.  Good luck!

Paul where are you located? How big a machine do you need?

I live in Red Creek Ny  and have a small  (40') driveway. I've been looking at the Ariens compact models. BTW, Alan, I got your message- THANKS. Paul

I think your best bet right now is craigslist.You can negotiate with a lot of the sellers especially if they r moving somewhere warm or they overbought and need $$. If you can wait till March,Home Depot and Lowes might have good sales.

Paul I have a  7 hp snapper that I picked up a few weeks ago,

it's about 10 years old.Let me know if you have an interest in this machine.

Your about 300 miles from me.So I'm not sure if it would worth your while

time gas tolls etc. there is a picture of it on this website.page 2

I didn't do much to it oil,and adj. belts. Seems to run fine.

The true test would be to hit it with a load of snow but no snow here yet in jersey.

victorytea wrote:

Paul, L@@K at this link on craigs list. Its one of those good strong snapper models. http://longisland.craigslist.org/tls/1561172861.html

victorytea wrote:
My pleasure. Just trying to give back. The previous poster was probably trying to make a joke, but I wouldn't worry about it.

 I sympathize with your money situation, I do know what that's like, believe me. I think you came to the right place, though. There's an abundance of good, knowlegable folks hanging out here, it's just a matter of time before one of them points you in the right direction. Good luck, and thanks for the kind words.

Thanks everyone for your time and advice. I think I will wait for Feb and see what kind of a deal I can get from the biggies. Not much snow here in the past 10 days or so. I may be selling some property, and if I do, I will just haul off and buy a machine. Things are not dismal at all but money sure has been tight lately.  My oldest son has the Ariens deluxe but I don't think I need that much of a machine. From reading the various posts, it seems like Toro is the choice of many but I'm not sure where to get one around here. Ariens is sold by Home Depot. My son suggested the compact version with the Suburu engine. Thanks again- Paul.

I bought my Ariens in late Feb...Or maybe even the first week of March 08. I got about $200 off the $1150 price....And he had to dig it out of storage too.
T

Paul,

If you're interested in a Toro model, try a dealer lookup from Toro's website. I just did a quickie search, and came up with about 10 OPE dealers from roughly Geneva, to Syracuse, to Wolcott. If you're concerned about service after the sale, a local dealer might be the way to go.

Otherwise - Ace Hardware, True Value, Home Depot, and Target all sell Toro snowblowers. Probably others as well, but these stores I know for sure. Good chance you'll find one of the more popular models for sale, especially if snowfall has been pretty weak. If you blow paved surfaces only, and don't anticipate much over 12" daily, give one of the Toro paddle models (single-stage) a look. Excellent value for the price, even the higher-end models. Happy hunting!

Justsomeguy wrote:
Sweet deal. Where do you live?

oldcrow wrote:
Illinois. I forget if it was $950 complete, or + tax...Ariens 921001...
Tony

Justsomeguy wrote:
Just goes to show you that it can be done. Of course, it probably doesn't hurt to live close to Wisconsin, either.

The big boxes up here are already starting to put out the patio sets and push the blowers into a corner with prices coming down. It has been a mild winter to date with a smaller than normal snowfall. If the trend continues like this we may not need blowers for much longer!

Cheers

Yeah, same thing has been happening here - although that might change pretty quickly. Winter has suddenly re-appeared, we're expecting 6-8 inches over the next day or so. And brother, has it turned COLD! Looks like less time on the boards, more time behind the blower for this kid. Just when you thought it was safe...

I hope we get some snow soon.  I'm not to fond of this cold 0-10 degree weather in the "flatlander's" area.  Bring on the snow.

Know what you mean, I lived in Iowa for 12 years. No trees or hills to slow the wind, so it keeps blowing...and blowing...and blowing. Not a lot of snow, but some of the most brutal cold I've ever seen. Some pretty fair snowdrifts as well.

Then when winter's over, the tornado season begins. Ahh, life on the prairie...