[MineralMan]

Sounds like a good move. By lowering the quality to meet Walmart's price, they'd damage the Snapper name. Sure, they could get mowers built in China for a lot less, but...reputation is big in the outdoor power equipment market.

I've bought cheap Walmart mowers a couple of times. One season is all they have in them. My current mower is a Toro, bought in 1984. Starts on the first pull every time, even now.

I've never owned a Snapper mower, so I can't really comment on them.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We're sill using the Toro we bought in the Twin Cities in 1994. I've used up more than a dozen blades but can still get replacements. My Ozarks yard is kind of hard on mowers.

[newcthem]

This story is really on the money. Our firm builds food packaging equipment. A number of our customers have been "fortunate" enough to win WAlMart contracts for their products. I would say that approximately one in three survive.

For many small producers, WalMart's volume allows them to dictate price, delivery, payment terms, and product returns and they do it to the point of destroying their vendors. When this happens, they just move along to the next domestic vendor or failing to find one, they head for China.

While there is nothing illegal or immoral about the quest for minimum price nor maximum profitability, most businesspeople believe that allowing both your customers and your vendors to stay in business is critical for your long term viability. WalMart obviously doesn't share the philosophy.

[TChris]

I've bought cheap Walmart mowers a couple of times. One season is all they have in them. My current mower is a Toro, bought in 1984. Starts on the first pull every time, even now.

I have a Wal Mart mower I bought five years ago. It still runs just fine. Starts on the first pull every time. No repairs. Only maintenance has been to clean and oil the air filter once a month, clean and gap the spark plug once a year and sharpen the blade once a year.

I used a Snapper as a teen to mow lawns for pay. But it was a fine mower too. It wasn't enough better to justify 3x the price, to me.

[Paulus Invictus]

I've had two Hondas over an18 year period and they performed great. All they need is care and new blades now and then. Sold both to a gardener for $100 each so I figure I came out ahead after so many years of service (9 years each). Oh, now I pay the same gardener to do the yard work and enjoy watching him in my retirement from cutting grass and sweeping leaves.

[epow]

I've never owned a Snapper mower, so I can't really comment on them.

My BIL bought a Snapper walk behind mower when he moved to the burbs in 1976. IIRC he had the engine overhauled after about 10-12 years and it was later replaced with a new engine. But the rest of the machine lasted until a couple of years ago when the deck finally rusted to the point where it wouldn't support the engine. If my BIL had cleaned the wet clippings off the bottom of the deck each time after mowing like the owner's manual said to do it probably would have lasted longer than he will.

[Gaffer]

I never owned a Snapper, but have seen plenty of them. My brother in law has two; one he keeps up on blocks waiting for parts and the other he tries to start once in a while. This is the extreme case because he is the worst owner of anything mechanical. Neglect, abuse and disuse are his middle names.<P.

The thing I didn't like about the classiscal riding snapper was the "you gotta pull it crank" and the interlocks all over the damn thing. No electric start (that is, cheaply) and a very flimsy front carriage. Engine in the rear gives good traction, but when I was a kid we used to do wheelies with them because the front end was too light. I now cut grass on a 30 degree hill and if I had a Snapper I'd have to do it sideways with my ass halfway off the seat. It's kinda like squatting to pee for a man....a good mower will go up that hill straight and not 'wheelie' on you.....