Buying a riding lawn mower?

[HOGEYE]

I have 3 acres with a yard that is maybe 1 acre. I would like to buy a riding mower and want to know what is the best value for the $. I don't want to pay just for the name either. What are others experience with this? It would be nice to have the option of add ons like snow blowers. Money is definetly a factor as well; I am looking for something used possibly.

[Finns]

Just one man's opinion, but I asked my wife what SHE wanted to use to mow the lawn. She picked out a Craftsman and it has worked well for her mowing grass and my plowing snow (twice a winter). Good luck. Finns.

[fishermn]

I second the vote for craftsman. I compared the lower end John Deere and the Craftsman last year, and for my money, the craftsman was definitely the better deal.

[Valv]

I cannot help much on new one, but I have a Deere 116 bought used some years back, used to mowe everything, grass, brush, small trees. The darn thing still runs, with few pieces missing and 1 tire needing to be fixed, never changed plugs, and practically no maintenance. I also have 3 acres. I am still waiting for it to give up, but so far it still runs.
Like they said, nothing runs like a Deere.

You will get great deals if you buy now, when the season is almost over, no matter which brand.

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Val Vignati

www.kvesurplus.com
[email protected]

[minneman]

my yard is close to 2 acres, I have a 316 JD, its a 1978, have done next to nothing to it except regular maintenence. the 48" deck however got bad (rusted) enough this year to retire it, they want near $1000 to replace it.
I decided to go with a self propelled pusher, 21", $289, believe it or not, It only takes 1/2 hour longer to mow the yard, and the exersize is good for me!
but if you need a rider, my vote is for Deere!

[buzzsaw]

No knock on your Craftsmen comments/opinions but I'd say John Deere hands down. I have a L110 (I believe thats the model) and it runs great, turns on a dime and has a reputation in lawn mowers that BMW has in cars. Go to Home Depot and book it! It's only $1,800 bones and for that size lawn you'll want a mower with atleast a 42 inch blade if not a 48. Of course the 42 incher will cost less... My .02 worth

[hawkeye43]

just so you know the JD's at home depot are the step down models. yes if you compare home depot to the ones at a JD dealer you can tell that they are not the same. for one thing the frames are lighter.

[fishermn]

Actually, the JD 100/110 is the model that I compared to my craftsman. Look at a comparable craftsman closly and you will find that they are almost identical, except for a few cosmetic diffenences. However, the comparable unit from craftsman is about $400 cheaper.

I will say that I originally went to Home Depot with the intent of buying a JD110 model, but after I did a bit of comparing, I saw absolutely no reason to buy the JD unit, especially when you are basically paying $400 more for an almost identical mower.

All of that said however, I would say that it really depends on how much you want to spend, and your intended uses. If you really want something that is going to last a long time, and is very versatile, I would look at the mid-range John Deere machines. Without a doubt, their mid and high end mowers/tractors are the best out there, but if you are just looking for something to mow with, and want to stay under about $2500, I wouldnt spend the extra money on the JD 100 or 110.

[buzzsaw]

If you subscribe to Consumer reports you will see a few months back that they rated the John Deere 110 model as the overall #1 product and marked it as a best buy as well. I tend to respect their opinion...
It's like anything else... you want the Jetta or the 540i

[Ole1855]

HOGEYE,

My brother has a Yardman, garden tractor, not a lawn tractor, I think it's an 18hp. He mows his lawn, and 2 of his retired neighbor's. He also mows at our hunting shack, our yard at the shack is approximately 1 acre, he mows that every other week and he also mows our meadow, approximately 2.5 acres 2-3 times per year. We also have a series of walking trails, probably 1-1.5 miles worth throughout the property, he also mows these. He has been doing this with this tractor for 12 years. He had to replace the bearings in the mower deck once and that's it. I think he has definitely think he has gotten monies worth.

Ole

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Olson Insurance Agency
[email protected]
952-224-4774

[ChuckN]

I helped purchase a Craftsman mower for my mother-in-law about 3-4 years ago. Briggs motor, I think the 12hp. It has been a great machine, and I really enjoy mowing the grass with it. The hydrostatic drive is really nice!! If I recall I paid about $1200 for it on sale?

The quality has really improved over the years. No doubt, John Deere are really nice but also spendy.

[klbowe]

I hate to jinx myself but as far as name brands go .....

About 16 years ago I made the decision to purchase a Craftsman with a Briggs engine.
Others around me were buying Toro recyclers, Ariens, and Snappers.

I just decided for the cost of the Toro I could replace my Sears mower twice. As it turned those who bought the name brands have replaced placed their mowers. Some, twice.
Mine still starts on the second or third pull.

I know it is not a rider but paying for a name brand does not mean you are getting the most reliable machine.

[woodyjdh]

I have over an acre to mow, and a driveway big enough for 9 cars, so many thoughts and considerations came to mind when I finally decided to go with the craftsman Garden Tractor. It has a 22hp Briggs motor, 46" cut mower, w/bagger. I also bought the 46" snowthrower, and a sleeve hitch for the rear blade attachment. Overall, I am pleased with it. But if I had to do it over again, I'd probably go with a ZTR or a front deck mower. But what I really like about this is; when I blow snow, I have the rear blade on the back to drag what the blower doesn't get. Downfalls-I live near Alexandria, so the I have to order my parts either by phone or online. I have replaced the belts (mower & blower), they are NOT cheap! Just somethings to consider; parts, cust. service,reliability.

[beer batter]

I'll third (or fourth) the John Deere recommendation.

A few years ago I was in the market for my first used rider and did a lot of research on another board asking questions similar to yours. For me it all came down to resale, dependability, and initial cost. The JD won it hands down. They do have about a 20% higher initial cost from Craftsman but you'll make that up down the road on the resale easily. Also you can't beat the dependability.

I bought a '85 JD 185 18hp with a 46" cut and it's smooth and powerful. There are several others in the same price range (Simplicity, Kubota, Husqavarna, etc..) which may run just as well but they won't hold their resale nearly as well as the Deere.

[1DIRTBALL]

Hey Nate, Are you still down in Bemidji or did you buy one acre each in Roseau,Warroad, Baudette? My lawn here in Warroad is close to 3 acres. I just bought a new Craftsman, 42in. cut mower with 17 and a half horsepower Kohler engine. That mower ROCKS! I think I paid $1399.00 for it new at the catalog store in TRF. If I'm not mistaken, I think they might even have them on sale now for less. Still haven't forgotten the kindness you showed me when I first moved up to the LOW area. Warmest regards to you and Kristina and the wee one. Almost forgot, Chewy too! Keith Forsberg

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YOU CAN'T talk AN OLD talk'ER!

[iowaboy]

One thing about the off brands Craftsman, yardman etc...You might as well run them till they quit. Go try and trade one in sometime you will get nothing for it. Thats one reason to go with a brand name like Deere, Cub Cadet etc..If I had that much area to mow I would take a close look at a ZTR front deck mower. A few yrs back we had a softball tourney on 2 diamond next to each other. Two guys fathers mowed them one on a B-farmall and one on a grasshopper. It wasn't even close I think the grasshopper mowed his diamond and 1/2 the other guys diamond. Just some food for thought I'm not an Expert or anything. Heck I have a rear engine Aerins I mow my yard with.

Good luck with your choice.

[LundExplorer]

HOGEYE,

Please shoot me an email at tom "dot" larson "at" atk "dot" com - I have recently bought a new riding mower and can help you out.

Tom Larson

[rascalP]

I've got a "98" JD LX178. Bought it used from a dealer in 2001. So far, rebuilt carb, a busted weld on one of the deck pulley's, busted belt tensioning rod on the deck. Right now, it surges at idle - a nusance, but it still runs OK - possible rebuild again( I've checked all the easy fixes). The one that bugged me was the broken weld - When you buy a JD you expect the wear parts to last. As far as the carb, I winterize and use seafoam liberally.
We have a Cub Cadet dealer near us and if I was again to spend big bucks for a mower, I would look close at them.
That said, a buddy of mine has a Murray that has lasted over 15 years with minimal repair. Who knows, maybe he got a good one and I got a bad one. Just thought I'ld throw in -- just cause you got a deere doesn't mean no problems.

[Ronsay]

I purchased a new 317 jd in the 80's with a 48" mower deck. It had problems with the kohler engine from the get go, it would throw oil out the front when it was working. When ever I would take it back to the dealer for warranty work, they would state that they could not find any problems. After a few years we had to replace the engine at our own expense. The mower deck needed to be replaced and the cost was to expensive in my opinion. While buying overpriced deere parts lately, and something not fitting properly, the partsman stated that most of the deere parts are now made in Mexico.

We just purchased a 26 hp craftsman with the briggs pressurized engine and a 48" heavy duty deck. I like it way better than the deere which we still have. We have never been able to mow the whole slope to our driveway with the deere. The first time I mowed with the craftsman, it did the whole slope. Not sure if it is wider than the deere, but it is more stable on the slopes.

IM not sure if this would be a good comparison as the deere we own is quite old.

By the way, if you have a problem with the craftsman while it is under warranty, they will come to your house to repair it.

Ron

[196thDLR]

There are only three brands of riding lawnmowers to consider. In alphabetic order they are as follows: Cub-Cadet, John Deere, and Simplicity. My brother did small engine repair in DL for 25 years. When I decided I needed to go to a rider, I asked him which of the brands he saw the least of in his repair shop. Hands down, he said Simplicity. I bought a Simplicity 14 years ago. I mow 1-3/4 acres. I have had one mechenical failure in those 14 years. A spindle wore out this spring. Cost of repair was $96.00 and four hours of my time. One deck belt in 14 years, caused by the spindle failure.