"Houseslave" wrote in
:

So the Cub Cadet is junk too?

Most of the line is, yes. Only the top of the line Garden tractors are
mostly still the Cub quality. The rest of the line is retrimmed MTD,
same as the TroyBilt, White, YardMan, YardMachines, Bolens, Atlas, ...


I still think the Troybilt snowblowers are better than average in
quality. For 800.00 you get a machine that would cost you 1k in the
Ariens of Toro.

Let me preface by saying I have NEVER liked TORO. In response to their
ad campaign of many years, "NO! I haven't done without a Toro long enough.
Forever isn't long enough!" They have even destroyed Wheel Horse, which
was once the best, bar none, Garden tractor on the market.

Although the quality of Ariens has slipped a little in the last 5 years,
and they no longer make the six blade fan or many cast iron gear boxes,
the Ariens will still outlast an MTD by at least two-fold given the same
amount of maintenance. And given the higher price up front, the Ariens
usually gets better maintenance. That is why I regularly see Ariens
machines from the late '60s. The oldest MTD I've seen recently is about
a 1985. The oldest Murray/Craftsman recently was from about 1980. I just
did a valve job on a 1967 Ariens, and the owner was so happy that I made
it start easy again. Surprisingly, the augers were even still loose on
the shaft, so the shear pins could still work if needed.



"berkshire bill" wrote in message
...

"Trader" wrote in message
t...
Matt,

You seem to do a lot about Troybilt products. Do you know anything
about
their new line of snobolwers? Are they reliable?

I can still return mine. Thanks


You get what you pay for, and in the case of MTD, that is usually the
least expensive product in the market of its kind. If you take very good
care of it, lube and grease everything every fall and spring, and USE FUEL
STABILIZER, it will last many years. That said, if you buy an Ariens or a
Snapper or a Simplicity, and do those same things to take care of it, it
should last you a lifetime!

Matt