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

I was just in an Ariens Dealer today looking at the 920015 , the compact 26" model.

He mentioned a $35 fee for setup and prep - running the motor and checking the machine out.

When purchasing a new snowblower, is this normal to have a setup fee?

Just purchased an Ariens Platinum 24 yesterday and didn't pay any setup/prep fee.  Find another dealer.

That should be included as part of your purchase. Ditto on finding another dealer if that does not go away. Nit picking little things like that might be an indication of how you will be treated down the road - something to consider...

A dealer gets machines, has to unload and unpack them, then do very basic setup.  Some would break out that cost on a sales slip or ad and some would not.   A buyer is going to pay mandatory setup one way or another.  It’s probably not the best marketing idea to have a floor model with a sticker price that has what seems to be a price stuffing line item on the price display tag.

 

What’s the total cost?  A dealer may sell a machine for $700 and list free setup and another list the price as $600 plus $35 for setup for a final cost of $635.   The slip for $635 would look like added extra charges but cost less.

 

Is the setup charge just a line item on the sales slip or an optional over and above full service setup? 

 

A real service check could include many things over an above the mandatory setup that has to be done on any new machine. 

 

A through setup might include many things that take quite a bit of time.  Put in gas, run it, check the idle, high end speeds with a tack, check the tractor internals, check the levers operate to spec at the right positions, drive it around, check the speeds, check the auger operation, check the gearbox lub, check and insure all lub points have been done & etc.  A setup could be minimum to quite involved and quite a bit above the required service of basic setup of a new machine.   

 

Without knowing just what the total cost is or the detail of what the setup included it would be tough to say if it was a value or a fake price boost.

 

Since you are looking at an Ariens compact model this post to another thread might be interesting.

 

Snowmann mentioned the following which seemed to be a good deal.

If you buy on Homedepot.com, the unit gets delivered to you by a dealer from dealer stock, setup, and often fueled up with some operational instruction from the dealership. It is the next best thing to buying from a dealer only Home Depot gets a sales commission as well. I'm sure inventory arrangements are made to deliver a unit to the dealer if they have no stock.

No, he should not be charging you such a fee.

I took deliver on an Ariens this month and my dealer did the following all at no additional charge:

1-Swapped out skid shoes for non abrasive kind.
2-Delivered to my home and inside my garage.
3-Did a run through on starting, regular maintenance and end of season duties.
5-Even dropped off my old machine at my brothers ( a 5-10 min ride) saying no charge when i offered to pay.

Now i did gladly tip him a 20.00 at the end of that, asked him to please get some lunch or something and thanked him for making the purchase such a pleasant experience but he did not ask for a thing.

Your dealer should be looking to form an ongoing business relationship with you and hoping to service your machine and other OPE needs in the future, not looking to nickel and dime you for as much as they can and then move on like a swarm of locusts having exhausted their food supply..

  Ditto what others have said..   Unreasonable charge,and find another dealer.

trouts2 wrote:

+1. Very well said.  Having hauled home a sealed box from HD, I think that $35 would be a real bargain for the extensive set-up work beyond the basic assembly, if that is the case.  Also, one would have the option to say, "no thanks, I'll take it home in the box" and save the fee. There certainly is a cost for the dealer to do all this work and good for him to break down the itemization.  The customer can do his/her own math and comparison shopping.

I could have had "free" set-up thrown in for CA$1290 or CA$1295 + 13% tax at a local full-service Ariens/Toro dealer, but I feel better about the learning experience and savings of buying one (Ariens Deluxe 28) brand new in a sealed box from HD, hauling it home, self assembly and paying CA$875.16 + 13% tax.

alty wrote:

Most dealers roll the fee into the price. That's what they did with my Toro and since they also sell Ariens that's what they do with that. There are no discounts so you know the fee is included. They also include a delivery fee but roll that into the price as well. I think you need to compare what other dealers in your area are selling it for with Prep & Delivery.

Prep/setup fees aside, I'm not the expert here but based on my research and info from snowmann, I'd get the 24" deluxe instead of the the 26" compact for less than $100 difference in price.

Thanks to everyone that replied  -  [Trouts 2]  The dealer was selling it for retail price - $899.  The first time I visited

this Ariens Dealer no one mentioned any setup/prep fee. The second visit I talked to someone different - I think he

was actually their mechanic - he was the one that mentioned the setup/prep fee.

I phoned a different Ariens Dealer and asked about a setup/prep fee.  He didn't keep much stock in his store and advised

me to order a model from Home Depot and ask them about any setup/prep fee.  He also told me how he would be the

actual one that preps/assembles the unit and delivers it if your within a 10- 12 mile radius of his store.

I noticed that most all of the retail Ariens locations in my area are HD's - not many specific dealers.

[Gotoguy]  you're probably right about the 24" deluxe for a little more money - being a better 'deal'.  I just liked the smaller

size of the compacts.

Oh well - decisions / decisions!    2-stage / single stage    deluxe / compact    toro 221 / toro 421

No doubt you are buying one of the top of the line machines and unless your dealer is discounting the price and making it up on the setup charge you are getting  a snow job. (excuse the pun)  Trying to sell snowballs to a snowman is he? It takes tops an hour to put together and test out a unit and believe me, Lawnmower man is not in business to be Mr. Nice guy. It is purely a matter of economics (Your credit card = dinner on the table). The mark-up in this case to a small retail outlet is around  2.5 times the wholesale price. Larger chain retailers generally can drop their prices because they demand deeper discounts from the manufacturer in lieu of volume sales. In today's economy? ! LOL ! The biggest problem with the Amercan economy is we lost our buying power by letting peddlers take advantage and create the illusion they are doing us the favor. My advice is to shop around a little and create the illusion that you can wait and will go somewhere else. If Americans will stop being so complacent and demand a bang for their buck like they did in the 40's and 50's, they will again start to see just how inexpensively the snow will get cleared from their driveways.

Starwarrior