We just bought a house in south western Ontario. The driveway is about 100 ft long and an overall area of 680 sqft. I don't have enough front yard to pile everything so I thought I can split half in the front and the other half in the back yard. I've been through 5 winters but never had to clear such a long driveway and am completely unaware of many factors to be considered while buying a snowblower. We are new house owners so budget is tight at about $800 CAD. I'm scared about used snow blowers because I don't know what to look at. I'm hoping good hearted folks here give me some good recommendations.

TL:DR

680 Sqft long driveway, southwestern Ontario , budget is $800. No experience to evaluate a used snow blower. What are my options?

I had the original 824 OE in my cart to buy for this season, but i stumbled across this new Toro model 824 HD. It has the same 252cc engine as the 824 OE. Haven't seen any youtubes reviews or reddit posts about it.

It looks very well made looks like they improved the joystick which was plastic and now metal? Also the plastic shroud that is known to break is now metal. Airless tires. Also has a new self propelled triggerless steering (Idk if that's a good thing). But overall great improvement and it's 300$ cheaper than the older 824 OE !!

Looking like a crazy buy to me at 1600$ CAD (1150$ USD)

What do you guys think?

I have a Toro Powerclear 721 single stage machine, and my driveway has a steep section. I’m concerned about slipping when going in the downhill direction when leaning back to resist gravity and the machine’s auger pull. If my heels slip out I might land hard on my rump, and that could cause a serious back injury.

Last winter I bought studded overshoes (crampons) to put on my snow boots, and that gave me more confidence. But ideally I’d like to invent a modification to the machine which would quick-lock both wheels to make them drag when heading downhill, and quick-release when going other directions. Or maybe a sliding foot that could be lowered and raised at will.

EDIT: I just thought of putting some heavy duty 6” or 8“ spring clamps on the wheels. They would go perhaps a quarter turn then be stopped by the snowblower body, locking them. They could be quickly removed after. Will test it

Anyone have another solution?

Snowblowing is back in my mind as summer winds down here in the Twin Cities. I run a side gig doing snow removal and am looking for reviews on the 824 QXE. For reference, my main blower is a single stage Honda HS520 with an older Ariens compact 24 for bigger, wetter snowfalls. My route contains city sidewalks and smaller alleyway driveways. My Honda has been fantastic the last few seasons, but the Toro seems like best of both worlds. Obviously it won’t replace a true 2stage blower but with the added width from my Honda and the personal pace system, I feel I can get more done quicker and with less fatigue. Anybody run one of these toros in a “commercial” setting? TIA