Five Things to know before you buy a new Snow Blower

Toro Snow Blowers at Crescent Avenue Gardens in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas isn’t too far away.  It’s November, soon to be December.  As far as snow goes, so far so good, a few flurries, but nothing that accumulated in your drive way.  But how far do you think your luck will hold out.  This is Fort Wayne, Indiana after all (average snowfall 32.9 inches), and the official start of winter, December 21st,  is only a few weeks off.

So why not prepare for the inevitable snowfall and get your new snow blower now.  The best part about buying now is selection.  That day we get the 20 inch snowfall, you won’t find many snow blowers available anywhere in town.  You’ll just take what you find, which is not the smart way to do it.

Crescent Avenue Gardens has an entire showroom filled with all of the latest Toro models.  And we have a few words of advice to share with you about choosing the right snow blower.

First, choose a top name brand.  Toro just happens to be one of the best.  Some cheaper no name brand may work out for you, but you’re really just tempting fate.

Second, buy from a place that offers parts and service.  Even though Toro is the best, they do occasionally have problems.  The good news is that these problems can be easily fixed if  your dealer has the know how and the parts, like Crescent Avenue does.

Third, don’t buy a two-cycle blower.  The top brands, like Toro, started offering only four cycle engines a few years ago.  If you even find a two-cycle blower, it’s probably a very old snow blower, even if it’s never been used.  Four cycle engines let you use regular gasoline, without having to mix in oil.  What a hassle mixing oil and gas is on a cold winter morning when all you want to do is clear your drive so you can ge to work.

Next, get an electric start.  You keep your snow blower a lot longer than you keep your lawn mower, and as that engine gets older, it gets hard to pull start.  Get the electric start. In a few years, you’ll be glad you did.

Finally, buy from people who know their products.  Here at Crescent Avenue Gardens, we didn’t just throw a bunch of snow blowers into a vacant spot between Christmas decorations and gas grills.  We work with power equipment all year, and we can help you select the perfect snow blower for your conditions.  For example, do you need a two stage or single state blower? You may not need to buy the most expensive snow blower. On the other hand, you don’t want to buy one too small to do the job.

Or, you can just hope we don’t get any snow this year.  If you do, keep your old shovel handy.  We think you’ll be using it.