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andrelaplume2

anyone care to comment on their newer dealer Toro PP

andrelaplume2
9 years ago

specificially the dealer line with the 'Toro' engine. That appears to be the only engine available now unless I upgrade to the Honda engine. My dealer says its not worth the upgrade. The $550 PP is fine they say. No more Briggs though. Funny, craftsman adds are touting Briggs engines....must be some bad blood between Toro and Briggs.

Anyway, if I buy one, can I expect it to last 10 years with normal maint. (Plug/oil/filter/blade) My current one is older than that but starting to fade. Any issues with getting plugs, filters etc. Are they priced higher than Briggs parts? Any issues with the dealer getting parts for a warranted failure?

Thoughts....

Comments (9)

  • hippy
    9 years ago

    The Toro engines are made in China. I can not comment on what the expected life span of one will be. I know a while back Toro here in the US and Canada had a massive recall on the engines due to fuel leakage and the engines catching fire..

    Parts? Who knows what the parts distribution is like. But it them carrying the TORO name you can bet that a $2 air filter will have a $20 price tag.
    ============

    A lot of companies are dumping Briggs engines. For they are not what they use to be and Briggs is trying to force anyone whom sells equipment with a Briggs engine to become a Certified and jump through a bunch of hoops before they will sell them parts.

    Our local Husqvarna dealer stopped selling anything with a Briggs engine last year. And the local Sears store stopped working on them. They must now pack up the equipment and ship it back to the factory for even the minute warranty work. Friend bought a Craftsman and had to have it shipped back to the factory just to replace a broken drive cable under warranty last year. It took over three weeks to get it back.

  • tomplum
    9 years ago

    The engine runs well but the number of serviceable parts is not that great. You could drop the model number you are looking at and toss it on the Toro parts viewer to see how they compare. I'd opt for the Honda w/o question. If you wanted a Briggs, maybe there is a non-current floating around somewhere.

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    the Honda engine model in the toro is $650...quite a bit more. I have used an actual Honda mower...don't like it...does not mulch nearly as nice as my 12+ year old PP.

    So, if you don't go Honda...what the heck do you do now a days....

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    btw, this is the Honda engine: GCV 160cc Hondaî.

    Is this the same engine on the cheapie Honda's I see at HD? Or the Honda engine I see on equip sold at Sams Club under some unkonwn name?...or is this the high quality Honda engine?

  • tomplum
    9 years ago

    I haven't looked at the new line up. The GCV 160 is a good engine, but I anticipated that they would have the 190. I have the 160 on my Lawnboy and do service them on everything from Hondas to basic Husqvarna/ MTD etc. I don't have a clue about what Hippy said on the Briggs. The quantum is a great engine and with a little searching , you may find a non current. The other quality mower that I service that I like is the Snapper made John Deere WPMs. Lowes used to have them. JS series.

  • hippy
    9 years ago

    " I don't have a clue about what Hippy said on the Briggs."

    Briggs sent a letter to our local Husqvarna dealer last year that simply put.. "You either become an authorized sales/service dealer or we will no longer sell/supply you with replacement parts." When the dealer checked into it. Briggs wanted him to stock $250,000 worth of Briggs parts. He contacted Husqvarna and informed them of Briggs demands and told Husqvarna that he will no longer sell their products that have Briggs engines and he did not care if he lost his franchise. A year later, He's still a Husqvarna dealer and not a single piece of equipment in his shop has a Briggs engine. Kawasaki or Honda. Few have Kohlers.

    Local Sears I cant say why they stopped working on Briggs powered machines. All I know is the machines are sent back to the factory that it came from for any and I do mean any type of warranty work.

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Pop had a $650 Snapper. I really did not like it. Heavy and did not mulch well.

    So essentially its a chinese engine or the honda....wow!

  • tomplum
    9 years ago

    Complete bull on the Briggs letter Hippy. There is something else frying in that pan! They may have asked him to stock engines on the floor (which pisses dealers off) or for a $2500 spring order, but no on what you were told. BTW Sears has changed servicing operations in the past years, closing or cutting way back only to ship units such as walk behinds to their service hubs -sometimes hundreds of miles away. It always used to be anyways that Sears bought engines etc w/o warranty to save a few bucks a u nit and warranty them on their own. That also kept an authorized Briggs service center from doing warranty repairs - and getting paid for it.

    Back on topic, Not all Snappers are created equal. Some are heavy cast decks like the Toro, some like the JS is steel . I think that this may be another way Toro is shooting themselves in the foot. Have you looked at their line up at another dealer or online?

  • andrelaplume2
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I have not seen the Snapper Lineup. What engines do they use?

    I have extensive experience with the Toro, Honda and allbeit one Snapper. To be honest, unless the over all design has changed in the way the Toro mulches over the past decade...to me, my decade+ old Toro mulches waaaaay better than Pop's snapper and the $399 Honda he replaced it with 2 years ago.

    I was hoping on sticking with my dealer and the Toro...but then there is that darn engine issue...