would like any opinions thoughts criticism on the honda HS724wa snowthrower. am looking to pick one up this week for 1799 free delivery and dealer prep.

in case you care: 80' driveway, 18' wide except in front of my 3 car garage where it is 30' wide. need to blow snow a good distance to get it out of the way.

thanks...

You can get a Toro with more horses and a bigger cut for $500.00 less.

I would not be enthralled with the machine just because it says Honda on it. And I own a Honda Accord!!

You really need to do some more shopping around and comparisons. Toro, Simplicity, Ariens are three major snowthrowers.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

A comparable Toro (826) has an MSRP of $1,295.00. This means a Toro dealer has wiggle room to adjust the price. Honda lists the 724wa for $2,099.00. So based on your initial post, they have price wiggle room.

Outside of Honda's hydro tranny, I don't see anything worth the big price difference. The Honda has 2 inches less width and only can take 20 inch high snow. The Toro is 26 inch width and takes a 24 inch depth.

I have a Toro 826 that is 4 years old. I have it serviced regularly and have had no problems at all. I paid $1,000.00 from a dealer 4 years ago. My previous Toro was a 3521 that lasted 24 years.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

my dealer was not pushing honda. he was actually offering ariens or simplicity and didn't say too much about honda. but when i asked, he said they were a cut above the other brands. he we telling me that the 6.5hp 724 could throw snow 40+ feet and has similar performance characteristics to other brands with more hp.

i guess some also find the quieter smoother engine honda supposedly has to be worth paying extra for.

Had my Toro serviced last year for $75.00. That included oil change, carb adjustment (if needed), spark plug, service to tranny and augers and pickup/ delivery. This year I'll change the oil. I have mine serviced every other year. Part of the reason is because I now have a 42 inch snow thrower that goes on the tractor. I use the Toro to clear out my side of the garage to get the tractor out. Then I use the Toro to clear the walkways.

Your dealer sounds like an honest one, and that's good! He may be right that Honda is a cut above the rest but not sure that would justify the extra $500.00 for me.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

took me some time getting used to the controls...my first two stage. after a couple lengths up and down the driveway got the hang of it. takes some effort to turn it 180 and the end of the runs, but got easier after a few times. gotta put more weight on the inside wheel by pushing down on the handle and then swinging around the outside wheel with the opposite handle. not a problem, but i think there are probably more user friendly systems out there.

the tires are 8psi and are very soft. i think if they were had a little more air it would be easier to turn, but that is the recommended pressure. traction never became issue, but had some very minimal wheel spin a couple times that resolved instantly when the auger sucked the snow out of the way.

was able to shoot the snow sky high and quite a good distance. no snow piles around the driveway anymore. there is a thin layer of residual snow and it does not clean down to the bare concrete. i'm sure that could be adjusted with the skid plates.

avoided using it on my paver walkway. didn't want to deal with the possibility of destroying the pavers with the skid plates.

didn't fill up the gas and ran out while i was halfway down the driveway. without the machine running, you have to flick the transmission release switch to move it manually. but that's a joke. it's impossible to push it even with the release. i had to side step it all the way back to the garage. it was precipitating very hard and didn't want to open the gas tank and risk snow/sleet getting in.

city plow did not come by yet so have not evaluated end of driveway performance.

this weekend, it snowed then warmed up. the thin residual layer melted into slush and then froze up into a sheet of ice throughout the whole driveway. maybe this was unavoidable in this instance as my neighbor who cleaned his real well with his single stage seems to have a similar but less noticeable layer.

canlawn, i see with my setup i could try the pavers like you are saying.

For the past year I have been using a Honda HS724WA 6.5hp 24 inch path wheel drive blower for which I paid $2000. The Honda engine is quieter, smoother, and handles the heavy loads more readily. Despite having 1.5hp less than the MTD, it throws snow further. It also uses much less gas and according to the manual burns very clean.

The Honda is a no frills machine - no electric start, hand warmers, power shoot etc. All the power goes to throwing snow. Thanks to the hydrostatic drive and relatively light weight, it is also more maneuverable than the MTD. Construction is impressive. A bonafide worm gear on the shoot, a metal gas tank with a cap similar to motorcycle caps, thick metal where needed. You get what you pay for.

If you have the money, go for the Honda, you won't be disappointed. If you are on a budget, MTD/Ariens/Husqvarna will do. I kept my MTD for 10 years before having any problems, though it was difficult to start on cold mornings, and in general ran rough. My father has a 30 year old Snapper with the Tecumseh engine that he still uses.