Snapper Lawn Mowers?

[ace22]

I absolutely hate mowing my lawn and now I have 2 lawns that I have to mow. I've been using an old Toro mower, probably around 20-25 years old. I have to use starting fluid to start it when the engine's cold, and the deck has a corroded 4 square inch hole in it so i'm past due on getting a new mower.

I really would like a Honda, Husqvarna, or other higher end mower but keeping the price down is important to me and considering lawn mowing is not among my favorite things there are lots of other things i'd rather spend my money on.

A local store has a snapper mower that they normally sell for $280 on sale for $200. I searched online and saw the same mower as high as $400 so it appears to be a good deal. It has good consumer ratings but i'm interested in long term reliability, say 10 years or so and that doesn't show up in reviews.

so my question is, is there anyone here that has owned a snapper mower for 5, 10, or more years and how has it worked out for you?
i'm not looking for recomendations on other brands, I just want to read the thoughts of snapper owners.

thanks!

 

[ACORN]

I have had one for 2 years with no problems if it helps. Mine is 4 wheel drive. It is quiet and is super easy to start.

 

[Faulkner]

Are you talking about a push mower?

 

[arjay]

This probably isn't relevant anymore,but I bought a snapper when they first came out in the 80s and it croaked after four years of mowing 1/3 acre.Being young and broke I replaced it with the cheapest mower that country general carried.That one lasted over 25 years [emoji1]

 

[bigolddave]

I had very good luck with my Snapper. Lasted longer than I did! If you have a lot of leaves to dispose of in the Fall, I would recommend the Snapperizer attachment. It grinds up the leaves, and in my case, it paid for itself in two years by drastically reducing the bags required for garbage pick up.

 

[loknload]

In 28 years I've had two Snapper self propelled walk behind mowers. The first one my son killed by hitting the sewer vent pipe. The replacement Briggs engine could not replace the Wisconsin Robbin engine that was on that one. I'm not a big fan of Briggs engines because of this!
The replacement mower was a Cub Cadet, my local Snapper dealer had closed.
I ran the Cub for about two years and couldn't stand it! Didn't want to start and did not cut to my likings, so I went looking and found a new Snapper dealer
The new Snapper is now about 4 years old and runs flawlessly and does a real nice job!
Needless to say, I like Snapper and I do believe they are still made in Georgia!
Hope this helps!

 

[41]

I would look on Craigslist and get another Toro. I have one from 1982 that is still running. I had to get a new coil for it this year. The aluminum deck holds up better then steel.

 

[ace22]

thanks everyone for your replies. I'm thinking i'm going to go buy it tomorrow morning.

 

[BUFF]

Get one with a commercial engine with overhead valves. My Snapper has an engine made in France, I believe, and has run great for about 20 years.

 

[crsides]

I've had great luck with Toro and will stick with it on my next purchase.

Charlie

 

[4011]

Snappers I have owned required repairs on the drive plate. Either belts bearings are complete. Had best luck with a Honda. Just bought a new Honda online. It was delivered to the door. No tax are shipping. Added the enclosed oil and some gas. Started on first pull out of the box. Dual blades and cut like a dream. Idiots controls that are required now are the only down side. I'll figure a way to get around those.

 

[ACORN]

Are you talking about a push mower?

If you are asking me, yes mine is a four wheel drive push mower.

 

[ace22]

well guys I went back to buy it Thursday morning. it was gone, the lady told me that she sold it an hour before I got there. I was very disappointed as I was set on buying that snapper.

they had 2 murray models on clearance, the better of the 2 was normally 179. marked down to 100. I had investigated them too and knew that they aren't very highly regarded but I asked the woman if she could give me a better price. she checked and told me $70, I said sold.

I took it home, opened the box, set it up and it started on the first pull. I mowed the yard and it was ok. afterwards I started it up a couple other times and every time it started right up.

I have no illusions, I know the murray is a cheaply made basic mower and how it works out is a **** shoot but nib @ $70. if I can get a couple seasons out of it i'll be satisfied. one plus is it is American made.

thanks again for your input.

 

[arjay]

Clean the air filter and change the oil every spring and it may last decades


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Rule3]

Just a FYY Snapper is owned by Briggs and Stratton.

 

[loknload]

Yep, yes they do! Just seen it on their web page!
I have a very strong dislike for Briggs and their junk! ,and now they're putting Honda engines on Snappers!
Briggs couldn't beat Snapper so they bought them!

 

[Kinman]

If you get a heavy duty Snapper with industrial Briggs and Stratton engine it will probably out live you. I splurged on one maybe 30 years ago and after 20 years went through all the belts and transmission disk, etc. put a new engine on it and took it up to the lake property where it spent another 10 years with my son mowing brush, rocks, etc. We sold the lake property and I brought the mower back and sold it through the paper and I ain't kidding nearly got the original purchase price back, my son was furious because I sold "his" lawnmower. I have been running a sweet little Honda self propelled mower for many years it was the Snappers replacement and it just keeps humming along, I've replaced the blade a couple of times and like to keep it sharp but have never touched the engine although I have replaced a throttle cable and change the oil seasonally, always running fuel treated with Sta-Bil. If I ever need another mower it will be another Honda, quality control and engineering factors are pretty tough to beat, I have owned Honda powered generators, pressure washers, four stroke outboard motors, and never experienced engine related problems with any of them.

 

[DavidWJ]

Mine's a two-cycle, front drive Toro. No problems for 14 years. Same with the Craftsman garden tractor.

 

[GrayGhost99]

I've had 2 cub cadet. They both start within 2 pulls even dead cold. Usually 1 pull unless it was run dry on gas. No priming bulb. Great cut and pushes easily.

 

[Walena]

My 12 year old Craftsman mower just quit on me this morning, about 15 minutes into mowing my yard. I think the coil gave out. Got fed up with it because I've put enough money in it trying to keep it running. When the repair costs were up to about half of what the purchase cost was, I was going to get a new one.
Sears is only a couple of minutes away, but I've had it with their poor service and lack of parts. I went to the Honda dealer which is a mile away and picked up a rear drive model. Told them that I wanted it to start cutting after I get it off the truck. And it did. Has a nice cut, and is pretty good at fuel efficiency. Did 2 yards today which amounts to about a half acre. So far I'm happy with it.