stvman,
Good point on the gravel driveway! I do indeed have a gravel driveway, but I figured I could adjust the height of the blower so that it was about an inch above the gravel surface. Perhaps I was wrong. In any case, I've decided against the snowblower option. It looks to me like the front loader is much more versatile overall for both summer and winter.
With regard to dealer names, first I should fill you in on how I go about shopping for any big ticket item. My first job is to become as knowledgeable as possible about the product I am about to buy. I do this with cars, computers, large appliances, etc. So I spend time talking to dealers (no discussions of rock bottom prices!), surf the net, purchase magazines, etc. In short, I want to make sure that I fully understand the capabilities, limitations, tradeoffs and approximate ballpark pricing differences of each product, each model, each manufacturer, and each dealer.
From this information, I'm able to narrow down my choices on the model selection and also on the pros and cons of each dealer or amnufacturer. I'm an engineer by trade so I quickly gain a technical understanding of just about any product. What I'm looking for when talking to dealers is a sense of honesty, enthusiasm for the customer, in-house support and repair capability, in depth product knowledge, etc.
Once I have all this information in my head, I then start shopping for value. Please notice that I did not say that I was shopping for the lowest rock bottom price. There is a big difference! All in all, I would much rather deal with a local dealer on any product if the value of his service is appropriate to my needs.
What I carefully weigh is my experiences with the individual dealers, as well as internet prices, etc. I've found that sometimes dealers who are knowledgeable and cordial for my preliminary investigations are not so cordial when it comes time to discuss price and they know that I've done my homework. In fact, they are sometimes downright arrogant. That's OK because I their attitude becomes part of my formula for calculating overall value.
More often then not though, my discussion with just about any dealer would go something like this... "Hello Mr. Salesman who I've gotten to know over the past several visits. I want to buy an XYZ model product that you sell today. I can pay cash. I would prefer doing business with a local dealer but I've found a substantial price difference between your list price and this price that I've gotten from the internet. Is there anything that you can do to close this gap?". Generally speaking, they'll all come down in price. Also generally speaking their price will be somewhat higher than the internet price. Once again, I'm looking for overall value, not price.
If I decide that their overall value (not price) is within reason, I'll make the purchase from them. If on the other hand, they ar rather put off my my doing my homework and are arrogant, that attitude goes into my overall calculation of value. A huge price difference for an internet source might persuade me to purchase over the internet if the local dealer is being totally inflexible. Any product sold in New Hampshire must meet the basic warranty of merchantability and fitness. If a product requires warranty work and the local dealer is unwilling to deal with me, I then go to the manufacturer who somehow must make good on his product. If he doesn't make good on his product, then the manufacturer gets to deal with the State Attorney General or my attorney or small claims court.
In short, I have spoken to many dealers recently. Some are local to our geographical area (Plaistow, Colebrook, etc.). Others are not so local. I've seen no point in discussing rock bottom price with any of them so far. I'm still in the process of understanding all of the technical aspects as well as understanding the value of what I'm about to purchase.
--Wayne
