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

Based on recommendations from this forum I purchased an Ariens 8526 in late December. The local dealer, at the time, did not have any in stock, so I bought it at Home Depot.

I read the manual and did the break in procedure. All seemed ok. With about five inches on the ground (I have a large driveway (triple wide garage) and live on a corner lot)), the 8526 traveled, in 1^st gear, about ten feet and then stopped. Wouldn’t move…

Rather than fix the machine, I brought it back to Home Depot and upgraded to the 11528LE (for about $100 more than the 8526).

I also did the break in procedure, and with eight inches of snow on the ground, with drifts up to 28 inches, it took about three minutes of operation before the impeller stopped turning. It squealed like a pig on crack.

I spent four hours going through the manual and checking everything, but couldn’t get it to work. So, I bypassed Home Depot (sick of changing machines), and called the local Ariens service dealer. They picked it up the following day (yesterday), and said that a washer/bolt broke internally but it should work from now on (the person relaying the info didn’t have the specifics, and I hope to track down exactly what the problem is at a later time).

They dropped it back at my house this morning, and I went home over lunch today and removed the snowdrifts that I couldn’t move on Saturday (back pain and ticked off). Today, the temp was about 38 degrees, the 11528 shot the heavy snow about 15-25 feet. I’m guessing this is normal performance for the conditions.

Home Depot, because of two machines not working at no fault of mine, is offering a $25 gift certificate (rather than give me the $$ difference between the price I paid for the 11528 last week and the now clearance price). They say it’s corporate policy to not honor recent purchases against clearance items (only sale items).

Snowblower gurus, what would you do…am I out for blood and needlessly taking on a big corporation by demanding the difference between the price I paid and the clearance price (about $190)? Or, take the $25 gift certificate and call it a lesson learned?

I usually buy from box stores, even at the same price, because I'm much more comfortable  with a purchase if I know I can return it.   Also sometimes I find employees in the independent dealers can be even more clueless than in HD.   Anyway I doubt dealers have their best mechanics doing the routine set-up work - probably use kids from the same high school as HD.  Not much value added there.   -Bob

Thanks for all the input. Here’s an update…

I took the forum’s advice and before going to back to Home Depot, I looked for a Toro 828LXE and Simplicity, but they too were nestled in home/business owner garages. 

I also had a productive talk with the local Ariens dealer who serviced the 11528 (the mechanic and the owner). They said the machine I bought from Home Depot is exactly the same as what they receive. Also, the repair they made was a factory defect, and said it will not affect the snow blower’s future performance.

I said I regretted not initially buying the snow blower from them (even if they were out-of-stock when I was ready to buy), and they replied that they are happy to see people buy Ariens, nonetheless, since they profit from service more than they do the initial sales (that’s why they receive a limited shipment compared to Home Depot).

Also talked about the 926DLE (thinking I may return the 11528 and buy the 926 from the local dealer next fall). The owner said the differential is a nice feature, and the cast-iron gear case may last a little longer, but the 11528 is a heck of a machine, especially with the extra HP and wider housing. (Frankly, when I did finally get to blow some snow on Monday, I thought it was easy to turn.)

Then, I went to Home Depot and asked for the manager, who had a Texas drawl and looked cold. I again explained my situation, and to make a long story short, he agreed the $25 gift card was not sufficient, and refunded me a decent portion, so I ended up paying less than $1100 (including free assembly and delivery for the 8525 and 11528). 

Bottom line: I have an Ariens that suits my needs, bought at a decent price that a dealer, who I now know fairly well, has gone through, and now I hope it snows.

       Congrat's on solving your problem,

Nobody welcomed you here , so I will.

 Welcome to the best forum on the net!!

The reason you did not get a welcome, I think, folks here were to busy trying to help you!!

Welcome again!

                                                                             Fred  

Welcome to the group!

You done GOOOD.

Marc

nice to hear you got the GOOD deal after all.

and also good that you have a good service spot in the unlikley event that you need somthing in 10 or 15 years.

i would say you got the 3 goods...

good machine

good price

good service...

now bring on the snow

good luck.

later chris

Thanks everyone for the great advice and welcomes! I look forward to learning and contributing.

To top it off, tonight I called Home Depot corporate headquarters, for the heck of it, to tell them about the situation, and without me asking for anything they volunteered to mail me an additional $100 gift certificate.

Now, I hope the reason why we’re hearing about Ariens’ factory quality control problems is because there are more owners to report problems…

Cole