^^^ Lots of wisdom in that post. ^^^
Can't say exactly how many times I've heard the "It worked just fine at first, then [something happened] and it's not the same anymore". Too often the [something happened] is really something that didn't happen, like needed maintenance. Or something that was done that shouldn't have. Happens on all kinds of mechanical stuff, and leads to frustration when it no longer works as needed or as we might remember from when it was "new".
I'll point the finger of blame on the user and service manuals as much as anything. No manufacturer really wants to scare off a potential buyer with a long list of mandatory service tasks, especially a buyer who may not be able to perform those services themselves. I could probably make a nice wine-budget contribution if I were willing to make service house-calls in the fall, especially considering those services should be done in the spring, at the end of snow-blowing season.
Back to those manuals -- they tell owners a little bit of what to do but not really how. On mine, there's no discussion about oil, break-in, change intervals. Only the guidance to check the level. When? Nope. Change it? No good guidance. The included engine manual has more, but that's TL;DR territory once the engine starts and runs the first time. Until it doesn't start when needed. For the rest of the machine, "common sense" is pretty much the guiding force. Fix things after they fail I guess. I casually preach professionally that 'good sense isn't common' especially when it comes to run-to-fail strategies on critical mechanical stuff. Things never seem to 'fail' on schedule for some reason. It seems to happen most when the need for not-fail is greatest. Hooda thunk?
So what does a comprehensive PM plan look like for a snow-blower? Some combination of regular inspection and mild care during the season, another for annual end-of-season service and PM, and a third for hours- based PM services. The third one also includes a K multiplier for the severity of the duty demanded from the equipment.
In my casual judgement, there's also a serious need for a list of use 'commandments', rules that need to start with "Thou Shalt Not..." and include such bad habits as ignoring skid shoe wear, 'shifting' friction-drive speed with the drive engaged, leaving slush to freeze in the bucket, leaving untreated fuel sitting in the machine, using 'old' fuel under any circumstances, expecting the augers to break up EOD ice by crashing the machine into the berm at speed... It's a pretty extensive list when you start thinking about it. Sadly, the only way that most users learn about such commandments is the suffering after the violation. The "weeping and gnashing of teeth" stuff. What's the best way to deliver the commandments to the new owner? The spectrum of users ranges from the wide-eyed optimistic new owner, the owner who buys cheap and just replaces, the cynic who suffered with all the good that mere common sense delivered, through the pseudo know it all online experts like myself, to maybe the fanatical replace every wearing part every year zealot who can then brag up how perfect his or her equipment happens to be. I write user manuals these days based on the Reader's Digest standard, which targets maybe a fifth-grade reading and comprehension level. That's the lowest common denominator these days. Then ASSume that the reader knows absolutely nothing about the subject matter, so lots of footnotes and references are included.
With some careful maintenance, I really do expect to get $thousands in work-performed from my $hundreds invested machine. Some of those $hundreds invested are actually post-purchase, and include hours as well as the dollars. I can easily increase my longer-term margins with those prudent post-purchase investments. I hope. Just respect those commandments.