Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Thunder
This is the original intent of my post. The tractor/mower/snowblower you buy at the big box stores is not the same item you would buy at the local JD/Ariens dealer. For example you can put an Ariens 824 snowblower bought at HD side by side with one bought at an Ariens dealer and although they look the same they aren't. The most notable difference is the gearbox that drives the auger. In the bigbox store machines those are made of aluminum. The other one will be made of cast iron or steel. This and other unnoticeable cosmetic and mechanical changes make the machine less expensive to manufacture and therefore less expensive to buy at the BB stores.
I'm not making this up, folks. I've seen it time and time again on mowers, tractors, snowblowers and appliances.
BT
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To begin my opinion, I've seen display models in the big box stores that are different than what's in the box. So I don't put much credit in your Ariens gear box comparison.
I have also read the article that you referenced later in the thread and it does mention that the there is a difference in quality of some products sold at a dealer as compared to the dealer. I have no problem with that actually happening. But the article clearly does NOT mention that the product being compared has the same model number! The article is simply stating that a white GE washer in Baron's isn't necessarily the same as a white washer in Lowes. And it's because they are different with different model numbers and the quality may/probably differ. (Ever try comparing mattresses from store to store? Can't).
Getting off subject (I do that from time to time), manufacturers also make changes throughout production and keep track through model numbers. We are currently trying to sell our old JD Model 111 lawn tractor on Craigslist (about vintage 1985) and noticed someone up in the lakes region selling the same model (about vintage 1900's). Identical looks, no; same replacement parts, no; my exaggerated comparison, yes. But may be similar to the Ariens comparison.
Just my two cents