Susan, hubby has one and it is a Cub Cadet. It is a brute of a machine. We have had it 10 years and never had a lick of trouble with it. He usually takes it and does all the kids drives. We would hate to be without one. We have a longggggg drive.. I think back then we gave over $800.00 for it.

Hope you find one you enjoy ( if it is possible with snow) using.. They certainly save a persons back!!!!

Susie

Thanks, Susie--good to know. I saw Cub Cadets for sale here. My son will be using it. If I had to use one, it would have to have heated handles. And maybe a foot warmer. And a snack bar.

My hubby just bought one last year. He uses a toro at work and says they are well built. So that's what he got. It was not more than $500.00 so it most likely is smaller than what you want. My hubby and son love it.

"Do you have a snow thrower?"
uh, that would be a no! lol

"have heated handles. And maybe a foot warmer. And a snack bar."
hahahahahahahahah

We own an Ariens. Cost about $900. Works great.

We have had good luck with Honda's

As many times as I've used ours, I couldn't tell you what brand it is. Probably doesn't matter though, since it's about 14 years old, and wouldn't be comparable to those being sold today. At the time, it was about $900, I think.

I'd STRONGLY recommend that you get one you CAN use and learn how to operate it. Your son may not always be home, or what if he's sick. You should definitely be able to use it to help out. As I said, I've used ours alot. At one house, we have a shared driveway, the next door neighbors don't have a snow blower, so we generally do the entire thing, and all the parking spaces behind both houses. The country house has a long driveway (so long and wide, it shows up as a road on arial photos of the neighborhood, I've noticed).

Especially if it starts snowing when your son is away from home, you'll want to get out there and clear the driveway for him, so he'll be able to park when he returns home--and won't have to trudge out to do the snow, after the harrowing drive home (it almost always is harrowing in the snow, isn't it?).

They're really easy to use--don't be afraid of it.

Honda has a great reputation, but it's out of my price range. My first thought was Toro, since I like my Toro lawnmower, and I haven't ruled it out.

Sears has sales (!), so I'm hoping Craftsman owners will chime in to tell me how wonderful their experiences have been. :-)

Thanks, guys!

Susan you're not thinking large enough. This is what you need. It's the ultimate in comfort and completely enclosed so you (or Joey) will be immune from the harsh winter winds, the heater is top notch, there are headlights in case you (or Joey) are clearing snow in the dark, and there are cup holders for hot chocolate. It's even roomy enough for 2.

Maire

Here is a link that might be useful: snow clearing

By the way we have a Toro but it's not a really big one. It's worked well for 6 years. Our new next door neighbor has a huge Toto - it works so well I had to tell him that he was shooting snow into my driveway and hitting my magnolias and breaking off branches.

I just bought a cub cadet 500 series 2 stage. Still waiting for enough snow to use it, but judging from other cub cadet equipment I've had, I know I'll like it. It replaced a Sears single stage one - it might have been ok for doing a little city sidewalk, but just couldn't handle what we had here. The other one I considered was a Toro, highly recommended, but the salesman pointed out some features on the cub that will make it easier for a smaller - and rather old - person to operate. The easy turning feature, especially. It cost a little over $800. with state sales tax. It clears a 24" path, which I think is the smallest of the 2 stage ones.

Well, I've got that 4Runner, Maire. That's a start, right? :-)

Azzalea, what you say makes a lot of sense, and I rather like the idea of using that kind of machinery, but I haven't been able to participate in any kind of snow removal for years. I have Raynaud's Syndrome, and it's gotten so severe that I have sores on one of my hands already this year--one of them from peeling a cold apple. I'm sure I'll be losing a few fingernails as usual in the spring. I've invested in all sorts of glove/mitten combinations, but nothing protects my hands for very long.

My DS lives four miles away. After December 16 I won't need to get to work, so when winter weather comes I can just throw another log on the fire and watch the snow fall. :-)

Thanks, Emma!

Maire, sorry, but I couldn't help laughing at that image. Please apologize to your magnolias for me.

I have three: my husband and two boys. ;-) My next door neighbour has one, and sometimes they'll do our walk for us. I was thinking last night that we need one as DH has been off work since March with a back injury. It would be so much easier.

Nope! We have a Bobcat! Too much snow for a snow blower here! LOL

DD just bought a Sears Craftsman. Darn if I know anything about it. It was in your price range I believe. She bought it in Sept when they had 20% off I think it was? Sorry I didn't pay more attention now.

The neighbor guy came over in October and borrowed it! ;) He is a nice guy and has done a lot for her. She is going to test her snowblowing skills this afternoon for the first time. She is alone too and said she couldn't depend on the neighbor to come with this 4 wheeler and blade and clean her out all winter. He's done it since she and the boys moved 3 years ago or she'd have had to hire it done or do a lot of shoveling!
I hope its easy for her to handle!
Hope you find a good one too!

We have an Ariens and are very happy with it. It is about 7 years old now.

Toro--its 8 HP. My husband says it blows the snow into the next county!

We have a snow 'thrower'. His name is Joe, and he knows how to lift his plow a tad to clear a gravel driveway like ours! His helper shovels the front stoop.

The last time I saw a snow-blower that we owned it was in the middle of our street, where DH had hurled it after it failed to start for the umpteenth time (after having been 'serviced' that fall).

Joe is like an elf. He comes at night, and in the morning our drive is clear. He doesn't take up space in our garage or require oil, gas, or tune-ups. (Joe faces NO risk of being hurled anywhere.) Joe would plow our driveway for many years for $800, given our usual snowfall.

Sounds like a good deal, Chisue, but somehow I get the feeling your Joe would not be willing to come to PA to clear my drive during the night. Unless, of course, he happens to drive over the rooftops with a team of reindeer. :-)

Susan, isn't there some farmer's kid who'd like to make a few bucks plowing driveways? If not, how about a riding vehicle with a plow blade? Our city has these neat little things with plastic curtains to keep the driver a little warm as he plows sidewalks. They're about the size of a small riding mower.

Actually, the driveway for my car is plowed for free by a friend of my late daughter's. I heard he might be moving, but I'm not sure about that. In any case, with property on both sides of a dirt road, we have another driveway plus access to other vehicles, and all sorts of paths to be cleared. My DS has been shoveling these by hand or driving back and forth over it with an old Suburban. But we thought a snow thrower would be a better option.

I made a note the other day to explore the economics of getting a riding vehicle with a plow. We want to get a riding mower anyway, so maybe it would make sense to buy something more substantial. I'll check it out--thanks for the reminder!