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?

You buy from Home Depot or other big box stores and you get a good price with no service. The machines are assembled by inexperienced employees who  can't by any stretch of the imagination be called a technician or mechanic. They have a pretty liberal return policy but that to my way of thinking is no comfort. I want a machine to work properly the first time. I know that buying from an ope shop doesen't guarantee a trouble free experience but these numerous reports being posted here  about HDare a nightmare.Who would you want setting up your machine or trying to track down some gremlin that is infecting it-A tech like BUTTLINT or a nice polite young man who will be working in plumbing or electrical as soon as they are sold out of machines.

Finally ,you can't buy the top of the line machines from the big box stores. Not wanting to insult anyone but the difference in price between the LE and DLE models in the Ariens line is trivial when considering the cast iron gear box,limited slip differential etc.IMHO you are much better off researching which of the local ope shops enjoys a good reputation and doing business with them!

Marc

I can't get over all the snow blowers I read about that get returned to HD.  Where do you think those "defective" machines go after you return them? Back to the factory? Not a shot! Maybe they get the once over and a possible rube goldberg fix, but sooner or later they go right back on the sales floor to be bought by the next unsuspecting person.

I know it isn't always possible to buy from a dealer, their inventory is pretty limited, just remember, Buyer Beware!

well ...here i go.

im one of those guys that works at the shop that actually fixes the stuff from home depo or whereever.

we sell only the high end machines.we just dont feel good about selling the low buck stuff.

that being said we really do like the box stores because thats where most of our work comes from.

when they are under warranty we repair them and when they are a few years old we repair them some more.

i wont even tell you how many of the new mtd,s with the tiny gear box that i have piled up waiting for parts.

in my opinion you got a good quality machine ,im not sure about pricing.im from the frozen north so when i see the prices you guys pay i kinda drool.

it seems like you wont be able to return and replace it with a new one which you probably would have to take to the local shop anyway and have gone over .

so what do you do,i would go to the shop that repaired it for you with an extra coffee or 2 (around what you figure break time is) and ask the mechanic in his own opinion how he feels about your machine.

im betting he will have quite a bit to say.remember this is the guy that makes his living repairing other peoples mistakes.

bottom line is you have a top quality machine and now you know a dealer that can help you when you need it.

you should have many years service from it.

we call them lifetime units.

your kids will be trying to weasle it from you in 20 years.

later chris 

Snowshovelor is BACK !!!!!!!

                  I still shop at the box stores for screws nails or light bulbs ETC>>>>>.... but never never never  OPE ..... I got taken for a dishwasher at  LOW LOW LOWES once so anything that costs over 100.00  I try to buy from someone that can at very least stand good for it or fix it . As most know the box stores do get the lesser quality machines in many cases. then they have someone throw 50 of them together on a thursday night at 2am, not worth the hassle I'd rather see the dealers get some extra $$ and write it off as a good deal for some peace of mind ..  Quality dealers are priceless IMHO.....

             But lets face it people at the box stores need the work too. Heaven only knows where they worked before


           All in fun   Tom

sawme wrote:

colecacola,

Tell them to shove the $25 Gift Certificate and demand satisfaction. Talk to the store Manager and then go corporate.

I just made them cough up $900 for trying to F*ck me on a $3500 carpet installation. 

They made all kind of lame offers and when I would not back down they paid. 

Go for the $190 and don't back down. 

Home Depot sucks!!! 

 Give 'em Hell   and make 'em pay!!!!

                                                                         Dan

Hey to Snowshoveler........Welcome back dude

I hate HD.I return 50% of what I buy there.Lowes just opened up.I go there from now on.I bought a ryobi stringer atHD that i can't get parts for.(I need a shroud for it).Anyways,I believe HD sells a lesser quality Ariens,(I know Chris_s will tell you different).I just think Ariens uses cheaper parts in their HD's.Maybe someone like Snowshoveler can dispell this rumor.'Shovler?

When I bought my 824 i was in a similar situation, only it was november.  The local dealers had none and didn't know when they would get any, but HD had a bunch.  So i looked them over good, passed on a few that were only 1/2 assembled(loose handlebars, disconnect chute and gear selector rods, etc) and picked the one i have now.  Sure i had to run it in, and do adjustments on just about everything, but i knew i was in for that.  My opinion is this,  Ariens/local dealer stood behind the HD machine, and it seems to be working good now.  If it's the machine you want i say keep it take HD's money and buy something there you wouldn't normally get.  then take some coffee and doughnuts to the dealer that helped you out and buy a spare set of belts and some shear pins from him.  On the clearence thing, i dunno, you buy it and a couple days later they go on clearence?  that's kinda unfair.  I'd talk to the store manager and say "look, if i bring it back and then re buy it, i'll get the diff, so why not just give me the diff now?"  Ultimately they are gonna do what they're gonna do, but I'd call corporate and say yer not pleased if the SM blows you off.  My opinion is that it would be reasonable to exp[ect the difference if the time period is less than 1, maybe two weeks.

Talk to a HD manager and I bet they will give you the clearance price.  It would be silly (and costly) for them to take a return instead. 

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