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drifter


Joined: Oct 13, 2010
Points: 115

Total cost of ownership.
Original Message   Oct 16, 2010 12:45 pm
I'm trying to get a rough idea of "total cost of ownership" for various snow-throwers. Can you give me a rough estimate of your annual operating and maintenance costs? Oil. spark-plugs, belts, cables, shear-pins, and whatever else you'd like to include. Please include your snow-throwers' brand and model #.

Thanks
Replies: 1 - 9 of 9View as Outline
im45us


Joined: Dec 10, 2004
Points: 21

Re: Total cost of ownership.
Reply #1   Oct 17, 2010 8:17 am
I just got rid of a 28 year old Ariens 824 that I owned for 24 years. I never replaced a shear pin in all that time. I did put in a carb 2 years ago and a couple of belts about 5 years ago. Maybe 400 total in the 24 years. That was a very good blower 28 years ago. I hope I do as well with the new Simplicity I am buying.
FrankMA


Location: Merrimack Valley/Northeastern Mass
Joined: Jul 1, 2010
Points: 587

Re: Total cost of ownership.
Reply #2   Oct 17, 2010 9:10 am
I owned my Honda HS624WA for 10 years at about 30 - 50 hours of use/year on average. During that time I replaced several sets of skid shoes, 1 scrapper bar, put tubes in the tires, did an oil change/new spark plug every year and went through about 8 or so shear pins. The scrapper bar was the most expensive item at about $80.00 if I remember correctly. I put tubes in the tires because they would lose air during the downtime and trying to get the bead to seat with an air pump was impossible - the tubes solved that problem. Aside from the tubes, everything else was a typical wear item that eventually requires replacement due to usage.
This message was modified Oct 17, 2010 by FrankMA


Toro Wheel Horse 522xi GT, Honda HS928TA, Honda HS621AS, Honda HS520A, Toro CCR3000 (work in progress), Honda HS624WA (sold 08/23/2010), Stihl BR550 Backpack Blower, Stihl MS250, McCulloch MS1635, Honda EM6500SX Generator
drifter


Joined: Oct 13, 2010
Points: 115

Re: Total cost of ownership.
Reply #3   Oct 17, 2010 9:12 am
IM45us, thanks for your response, and good luck with your new machine. Sounds like your old Ariens had quite a good run.

I'm buying my first snow-thrower, and trying to get an idea of typical service requirements. I suppose depreciation should also be factored in total cost of ownership.

Thanks again.
FrankMA


Location: Merrimack Valley/Northeastern Mass
Joined: Jul 1, 2010
Points: 587

Re: Total cost of ownership.
Reply #4   Oct 17, 2010 9:29 am
drifter wrote:
 I suppose depreciation should also be factored in total cost of ownership.

I bought my Honda when it was 2 years old at a yard sale for $ 800.00 and sold it this past August for $ 750.00. I probably could have got a bit more if I held out until this time of year. Not a bad ROI - I feel like I leased it for $ 5.00/year over the 10 years I owned it!

Toro Wheel Horse 522xi GT, Honda HS928TA, Honda HS621AS, Honda HS520A, Toro CCR3000 (work in progress), Honda HS624WA (sold 08/23/2010), Stihl BR550 Backpack Blower, Stihl MS250, McCulloch MS1635, Honda EM6500SX Generator
im45us


Joined: Dec 10, 2004
Points: 21

Re: Total cost of ownership.
Reply #5   Oct 17, 2010 10:21 am
I got mine from my father-in-law when he moved south. I sold it for $300 the first day I listed it on Craiglist. Old quality blowers sell well and fast.
drifter


Joined: Oct 13, 2010
Points: 115

Re: Total cost of ownership.
Reply #6   Oct 17, 2010 11:22 am
I wish I was looking at that kind of math. As it stands here in Quebec,  those new Hondas and Yamahas I'm looking at will cost me roughly $4000. +tax,,,$4600. If I re-sell in three years, I'd be hard-pressed to get $3200 I suppose. That works out to $466./yr in depreciation costs alone. Of course, those numbers get much better with long-term ownership.

The used Hondas are very scarce in my neck of the woods. They get snatched up immediately.
giocam


Joined: Sep 18, 2010
Points: 74

Re: Total cost of ownership.
Reply #7   Oct 18, 2010 4:17 pm
drifter wrote:
I wish I was looking at that kind of math. As it stands here in Quebec,  those new Hondas and Yamahas I'm looking at will cost me roughly $4000. +tax,,,$4600. If I re-sell in three years, I'd be hard-pressed to get $3200 I suppose. That works out to $466./yr in depreciation costs alone. Of course, those numbers get much better with long-term ownership.

The used Hondas are very scarce in my neck of the woods. They get snatched up immediately.

You far from the US? Buy one across the border.
Here in NL, there is a guy that imported 15-20 brand new hs928's from the US and sold them off at $3100 each(no tax because it is a private sale). Thats a huge savings on buying locally.
drifter


Joined: Oct 13, 2010
Points: 115

Re: Total cost of ownership.
Reply #8   Oct 18, 2010 8:20 pm
I was finally offered a bit of a deal locally on the manual-start HS928. $200. off,,, so $3199. Not bad I guess. Mind you, tax adds $500. roughly.

I also got a Yamaha dealer to knock off $200. on the new YS928J, and I think that's the machine I'm going to go with. It's a beauty, and soooo quiet. $4350 tax incl. I saw used Yamaha YS828's that were pre 1995 models, and those were still selling for $2300.+ tx incl. They didn't have any of the fancy stuff you see on the new YS929J.
This message was modified Oct 18, 2010 by drifter
FrankMA


Location: Merrimack Valley/Northeastern Mass
Joined: Jul 1, 2010
Points: 587

Re: Total cost of ownership.
Reply #9   Oct 19, 2010 8:29 am
drifter wrote:
I was finally offered a bit of a deal locally on the manual-start HS928. $200. off,,, so $3199. Not bad I guess. Mind you, tax adds $500. roughly.

I also got a Yamaha dealer to knock off $200. on the new YS928J, and I think that's the machine I'm going to go with. It's a beauty, and soooo quiet. $4350 tax incl. I saw used Yamaha YS828's that were pre 1995 models, and those were still selling for $2300.+ tx incl. They didn't have any of the fancy stuff you see on the new YS929J.


You won't need the electric starter - these engines turn over on the 1st or 2nd pull every time if they are properly maintained.

Toro Wheel Horse 522xi GT, Honda HS928TA, Honda HS621AS, Honda HS520A, Toro CCR3000 (work in progress), Honda HS624WA (sold 08/23/2010), Stihl BR550 Backpack Blower, Stihl MS250, McCulloch MS1635, Honda EM6500SX Generator
Replies: 1 - 9 of 9View as Outline
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