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

I would - but in Canada there is 13% tax (I am not moving to Canada anytime soon and I am sure they don't want me there) and the dealer charges additional $75 for ship/order fee thus $1100 machine becomes $1300 before duty tax.  So the question is "HS621 worth twice (or 2.5X) as much as HS520" - I don't think so. 

Nope.

Bought a brand  new 221QE for $599.00 plus tax.   I doubt very much that the Honda is twice as good.

(gulp) $1100 for a single stage? Ouch. Personally, no. A used one, for a lot less, maybe. But that's just me.

It looks really nice but a Toro is cheaper and just as reliable, Loncin engines aside.

If and when I buy a SS it will be the new 22" Simplicity with a 208cc engine! This thing is sick! Check it out...

That is alot of $$$ for a single stage and it would be hard to justify the cost against the amount of use it would see. I appreciate the use of a single stage for the lighter snowfall amounts and ease of use. If money were no object I guess I might consider it but I'll have to be content buying used for now.

stresst: I checked out that Simplicity - that's a sweet looking machine with a lot of really nice features and the price is reasonable.

After seeing a HS621 in person, I did not have the same fancy about it anymore.  Perhaps because I saw a really sad shape HS621 with 2-stroke like blue smoke.  Maybe the owner did not use the proven "breaking-in" method per Whoha.

No!- For the same reason I would;t shell out the $ for their 4 stroke models. Their units are always double the price of comparable equipment and certainly not twice as good. Parts are a fortune and Honda dealers always act like they are doing you a favor!!! Marc

stresst wrote:
It's amazing that you can buy the basic model for around $400.  It's only a bit more expensive than Toro's 418.

For a SS, that's way too pricey!  Maybe if it was made out of titanium, carbon fiber, and came with a 5 year/10,000 hour "handle to auger" warranty and a few oil changes. Don't get me wrong it's a real sharp machine and I'm sure it could handle most conditions you throw at it.  Honda's prices are what turned me away from them for snow removal equipment which is why I went for an Ariens.  For $1100 it better be able to handle EOD stuff which I highly doubt without some effort.  There definitely is a market for it and there are consumers who would be comfortable paying that much for a SS, I personally would keep looking.

croftwny wrote:
I think you are correct!  This is the reason why Honda stopped selling HS621.  Not sure why Honda thinks it can sell enough HS621s in Canada, where the cost of living is about the same as USA.  Perhaps Canada is making good money selling oil to USA.

While this little survey isn't exactly scientific, it goes to show this $1100 snowblower isn't going to be sold in the US for obvious reasons.  Not too many (none?) are willing to spend this kind of money on a single stage snowblower.

I'm not sure I would either, but if I see one in person at a showroom, I might be tempted to give second thought about it.  I might sell off my 12 year old HS621 to take the sting off a bit. 

It isn't 2x as good as a Toro 221Q / 421Q / 621QZ.  These are awesome performers and more cost effective options when I consider initial cost, operating costs, and maintenance costs.

Not even if it had boobs.

I think if Honda shaved about $300.00 off that price tag, they would make up the difference by the increased sales volume. People have price points in their mind and once the manufacturer gets beyond that point, the buyer simply stops buying. Keep that HS621 below say, $ 800.00, and they'd most likely have a winner all day long. Most folks know and respect the Honda brand but only at a certain price point.

MN_Runner wrote:
Are you kidding?   Cost of living up here is considerably more than in the USA.   We pay through the nose for everything by a fair margin.  Drives me nuts to see something like lumber from Canada being sold at Menard's in Minnesota for half the price of the same wood on this side of the border.  Then put 13% tax on that.   Even gasoline is usually 20 to 30 cents a liter cheaper in MN compared to Ontario.  

Honda probably only bring in twenty machines for the entire country and eventually sell every one to some technophile with more money than brains. 

You can move down to MN if you like but you will have to give up high taxes, socialized medicine and HS621.

FrankMA wrote:
What's interesting is Toro CC2000 / CCR3000 in the mid 1980's were priced $700-$800.  Translated to today's dollars that would be around $1200.  So in all fairness, this $1100 Honda (was $850 in 1998)  is mostly keeping up with inflation and devaluation of the dollar while the actual assembly has not received cost cutting measures.  If Toro or B&S were to make something equivalent in quality to the Honda today, I'd be surprised if they can do sell it for significantly less. 

borat wrote:
I don't know the demographics Canada, but brains can make money, or hard work can make money too.  No matter how's money is made, it's a freedom to buy what ever they want.

The other day, I saw up close a $120,000 Porsche Panamera.  Sat in it, played with the controls, ect.. It's a 4-door sports car.  I'm sure it's not 4x better than a $30,000 cars by a long shot.  If I had the money and kids and house are already taken care of, I'd get one.  Does Porsche care if $120,000 was made by sweat and labor of construction worker, or by a $300/hour lawyer?  Not really.  It is a ridiculous amount of money for a car for sure, but it is neither legally or morally wrong to buy one.  Technophiles or not, I'm sure I would like most companies to make products past beyond sufficient necessity and price.   Otherwise, I'd just pick up and go live in a highly socialist country, where salt is salt, sugar is sugar.

Funny I almost forgot about this forum and found the thread looking for information on the HS621. Many refer to it as the holy grail of singles. I would buy one if available in the US. I did have a Honda 724 which was sold about 7 years ago. Real pain to get out of the garage with no way to free up one tire. Aside from that definitely the best piece of equipment I owned. Put together very well and threw snow a good 40 feet. The GX engine was very nice and easy starting. Since I love the singles I would buy one to keep the Snow Commander and 3650 company. Never liked the idea that the commercial level engine was not included in the single stage end of the Honda line. Tom

Although I have a SS, and use it mostly on my deck. , for $1100  you can buy a new dual stage in many makes for that amount of money or less, and already there are clearance prices at many places.

And the quality of Honda is more perceived than a reality, like the Honda and Toyota vehicles.

royster wrote:
You're opening up a can of worms there Royster on a couple of fronts. 

Honda OPE is better than pretty much everything else out there except Yamaha and other Japanese manufacturers.   Maybe not worth twice the money but certainly better quality over all than the domestics. 

Secondly, Honda and Toyota vehicles are also better than North American brands despite their efforts to improve quality.  If it weren't for the Japanese, the domestics would still be building the same old shlock they were rolling off the assembly lines back in the '70s.  I admit the domestics have improved.  However, they're still not up to the Asian car standards.  Even the Koreans build better vehicles.  

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion,   but there has not been much lively discussion on here  lately,  A slow winter.

royster wrote:
As an owner of three pieces of Honda OPE.  My perceived perception of the quality seems to agree with reality.   I've owned Honda and Toyota vehicles, well in my opinion, it gets the job done and reliable.

But Hondas and Toyotas are boring just like this winter.

I did see this and had to only 'drop' $50:); (gloating..)

Not too shabby of a deal considering the Canadians are paying $1700 CA, and some GST and PST taxes.  :)

MN_Runner wrote:

BMW , MERCEDES, VW make aesthetically appealing vehicles. I love how they look and feel. But at the cost of reliability. German engineering....

NJhonda wrote:
If you got that for $50, then I'm calling the police, that's a steal! Nice find!!