DeltaSierra

There's a 2001 Ariens 824 for sale for $750,  little used.

What is an 824? It seems like they have Classic, Compact, Deluxe and Professional, but what did they have in 2001?

It doesn't show up in the profile apparently but I live in Manchester, NH. We get around 60-100" of snow a year, with individual storms of 1" to 24". It probably snows 10-20 times a season, including dustings.

I have to clear a driveway with a little slope, not bad, 75' or so, and some walkways. Notably, one of the walkways is between a building and a fence, so the blower has to be powerful enough to throw it over the fence (almost straight up).
My very old Ariens is having trouble doing that.

The local dealers don't have any snowblowers left but there are some good deals on used machines. I'm a mechanical engineer by trade and have done mechanical work up to replacing the transmission in a 1969 SAAB but typically bring my power equipment to an excellent local dealer, Stihl Turf Depot, as they charge less per hour than I do....Middle-aged used models seem like the best deals, there are people moving South....

Found this site surfing for Snowblower reviews.

I'm in the market for a used mid-sized snowblower for a driveway and walkways. 24" (because of some tight corners) and 7 or 8 hp. Looking around in the papers and such I see 3-5 year old machines for $400-600. Most of them are Ariens, Craftsman or Toro but there are a few Simplicity units and some other brands like MTD or Murray that seem to be "department store" brands. There are also a few Hondas but their owners are very proud of them!

Does it matter? Amongst my friends they own 2 Ariens, 1 Craftsman, and 1 Toro, they are all happy and they all say the older ones are better made than the new ones.