help with battery power ride on toys

[carolyngau]

We are looking for a battery powered ride on toy... Like a power wheels Jeep for our three year old. We were about to pull the trigger on a Peg Perego John Deere Gator when I read the reviews on Amazon... which all gave it one or two stars! People report that the manufacturing has changed on these recently, and they are flimsy plastic now that only last a few months! And for something that costs $400 (at walmart) I sure do want it to last until they're 16 ;-)
Then I saw Power Wheels (fisher price brand) Jeeps that got rave reviews on amazon.
Does anyone have some insight or know of good deals? I just *assumed* the Peg Perego would be the better one, because of the name brand and price... but maybe not?
Advice/tips appreciated!

[MamaInMarch]

I have not heard such great reviews on any brand except the FP Power Wheels. We have 2 of them, a Jeep Wrangler and a Dune Buggy. The Jeep was purchased secondhand from my husband's boss and while it looked rough (they kept it outside) it goes like a champ. It's about 6 years old.

The Dune Buggy is new and has the Monster Traction feature. It really does power over just about anything, even places the Jeep gets stuck.

I have not seen them go on any major sale anywhere. Seems like they always run about the same price and discounts aren't very large. You may want to consider Craigslist. I used the spray paint for plastics and redid my DS's Jeep to a nice candy apple red and it looks great! There is a board of dads who mod their kids' PW and I read up on the repaint process there.

http://www.modifiedpowerwheels.com/forum/

[angiesscripts]

My son has the Power Wheels Ford F-150 12-Volt Ride-On for a couple years now. It has the monster traction, and does really well. We have 5 acres or so we mow, and it gets anywhere. Walmart has a great deal on them for black friday $264. Ours was around $400.

[reneed]

We bought our son the JD ride on tractor 2 years ago and it's still going strong. He loves it. It's just unfortunate that he's now too tall for it. His knees get bruised when he drives it

[carolyngau]

My son has the Power Wheels Ford F-150 12-Volt Ride-On for a couple years now. It has the monster traction, and does really well. We have 5 acres or so we mow, and it gets anywhere. Walmart has a great deal on them for black friday $264. Ours was around $400.

Angiesscripts, where are you seeing the walmart black friday deal? I can't seem to find it (I'm looking for a two seater, and I am only finding a one seater for $149?)
Thanks!

[light-castle]

We have the Peg Perego John Deere loader with wagon. Still going strong on the original battery after 2 children & 6 years. Highly recommend.

Jennifer

[rlmomto5]

We have the FP Jeep-2 seater. It still looks new! We do keep it in the garage. My kids are now 9 & 10, and they still ride it! All the kids in our neighborhood have them.

[MSWR0319]

We have the Gator and have had no problems. It gets used regularly and DS drives it everywhere. If you decide to get the Gator, watch Meijer if you have one. We got DS's when it was $329.99 pus a $50 Catalina. So I paid for the Gator and then used the $50 to pay for groceries that week.

[KHF]

We just ordered my son this one from Meijer.com. It was the lowest price I found anywhere and right now, you can get 15% off if you get it shipped site to store (for free) using promo code shiptostore. My final total was $180. Awesome deal if you have a Meijer near you.

[angiesscripts]

The Ford Power Wheels is on Walmarts black friday add, the very last page #45. At the bottom, it is a blue two seater. It looks like it might be an online only deal, but they usually have cheap shipping or free shipping to store. It starts on Thanksgiving day.

My son also has the Gator, we got it used but it doesn't run as well as the Ford power wheels.