How reliable and durable are Craftsman Lawn tractors?

[KiotiKowboy]

I had a Craftsman rider for several years. As "budget" riders go - Craftsman was as good as anything else. Eventually, I broke down and parted with the cash to get a Deere. The difference is night and day. The JD steel is much heavier, rides better and cuts better. It has lasted over 10 years - so far - and was well worth the money. Now that big box stores sell the JD mowers, you can get a really good price on them. I haven't really looked at them, so I'm not sure if they are as well constructed as when I bought mine.

 

[IslandTractor]

My Craftsman LTX1000 has been going strong for thirteen years now. Just needed to rebuild the deck last fall after mangling it on a stump but otherwise everything still works. Still on original belts too although I'll change those with the deck rebuild. It has only failed to start when the battery died (on the second replacement battery now) and has never required anything but oil changes. Still on original spark plug.

I don't doubt that some of the JDs are better built but it is hard to argue with an investment that amortizes out to less than $100/yr so far and is still running strong. I think my generation of Craftsman was built by Husqvarna IIRC.

 

[kingsville]

I will be buying a new lawn tractor to replace my 8hp Snapper RER which is 28 years old and just went bad on me. I guess I should not complain . My price range is $1500-$2000. My lawn is 3/4 acre and basically flat. Up to this point, I have not considered the Craftsman lawn tractors because I always heard homeowners say they had a lot of problems with them in the past. Could you guys talk about the reliability and durability of these products? What suggestions/input can anyone give me on this matter? Has anyone experienced any reliability/durability problems with this brand as a whole? How has anyone found Craftsman manufacturer/retail support in the event of a problem? Who makes Craftsman lawn tractors and are they basically the same as Husqvarna tractors? Does anyone know anything about Columbia lawn tractors? Thanks for your help!

I am starting my second season with a Craftsman Zero turn mower. I have the 54 inch deck. So far all is good. It replaced a 20 year old Craftsman GT6000 that had a gear box failure.
Parts are available. The mower I bought seems to getting discontinued by Sears. They have another model that is built by Husqvarna taking the 54 inch place in the line up.
The mower I bought is equivalent to a Cub Cadet RZT 54 with the Kohler engine. I got it online at substantial savings. I considered the Cub Cadet but when I inquired at the web site of the local independent shop I received no response. No need to spend an extra $600.00 when no one gets back in touch with you.
Mower arrived set up ready to run. I paid and extra $10.00 and they took the old mower with them.
I was able to arrange the whole transaction online.
I bought a hitch for the mower from Home Depot, they sell Cub Cadet, and I am able to tow my Sears lawn aerator and Sears Lawn sweeper without any problems.
I believe the Sears/Craftsman model I purchased was a good value. I know people that have spent $4000 to $6000 on zero turn mowers. They are awesome mowers but I get my one acre lot done in less then an hour with this mower.

 

[SPIKER]

I bought a GT6000 in May 2011 & yesterday it went over 137 hrs. I have had 6 or 7 service calls on the thing & have generally been unhappy with it's performance. It is hydrostatic drive & 26 hp Kohler eng.

I had to have the eng replaced at 33 hrs as rings never seated and it burnt oil & hever had much "Power" to mow or roll yard. The NEW eng has 100 hrs on it and STILL is not powerful enough to MOW and ROLL on anything but down hill and or flat ground. I have a 4'x24" roller so big one but can only have it half full with this GT6000 tractor.

I had to have the Drive Belt idler pulley replaced, Plus 2 other parts failures on it already. This is the Huskvarna built unit & NOT one I would buy again for the $2700+ price tag. As it runs now I think the Hydro transaxle might be taking a downward turn.

my 1999 Murry 20hp briggs can still out pull the GT6000 even with it's busted toothed peerless transaxle (it is geared not hydro.) The Murry is 46' cut and the GT6000 is 54"cut.

Mark

 

[davesl708]

I don't remember what model it was. My friend bought a Craftsman 25hp in 06 when she bought her new house. Good thing she bought the extended warranty. Between 06 and 10 she had to have Sears come out five times for broken parts, bent sheaves, spindles locking up and several other issues.

She sold it in 2011. Good riddance.

 

[MoMower]

Purchased a LT5000 in 2009, cut half my yard and the deck came apart (flying pulleys). Back to the store and they made good, even trade for a GT5000 excelerator, used it on 2 acres of grass until 2014 when I bought my Massey GC1710. Sold it for $1000 to a friend and it's still going.

 

[dougbthom]

I bought a Craftsman YS4500 (24HP) in 2008. It was built by Husqvarna. It has been an excellent performer with no problems whatsoever. Mind you I do over service all of my equipment such as oil changes, plugs etc. and always use premium fuel in all my equipment. Great machine!

 

[woodlandfarms]

As this post keeps coming up now and again, I found an interesting failure part that seems pretty common.

From the engine and mower deck pulley system on our 3 blade craftsmen. In our models design the engine drives a pulley at the end of the mower deck, so the belt is required to do an L. The pulley on the mower deck, us a cup looking pulley with a star pattern hole for alignement.

Well it turns out this item is a wear item. The vibration tends to shake the metal cup around to where it breaks. Takes a few years but I guess it is very common. $30 I think was the new pulley price. Shop I bought it from suggested I put on a spot weld when attaching, he feels that the bolts tend to loosen here from the vibration and that is what causes the cups to fail. i did not weld this time around

 

[Harry Palmer]

In the 36 years I've owned my place (one acre lot with pecan orchard) I've owned four Sears lawn tractors plus a couple of push mowers. The early models were great; I usually got about ten years usage. The one I use now is only three years old and I'm starting to have issues. It replaced one which I owned for three years and the engine threw a rod. I've looked at the latest models and I don't think they are worth the money. All seem to be made in China with cheap parts. Myself, when I replace my rider, I will look at a better quality mower. If it will last I get my monies worth. I have Bermuda grass and mow once a week starting in February. I don't stop cutting until October. I spend about 1.5 ~ 2 hours mowing. Picking up the grass is an option, depending on my mood. :2cents:

 

[Joebklyn]

My Craftsman LT 1000 is going strong after 17 years. I've had problems but they were solved with the help of kind folks from here and other websites. BTW it has a Tecumseh engine