Anonymous Poster
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- Sep 27, 2005
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The local Walmart has a Stanley 22 HP (Tecumseh)/52" mowing deck lawn tractor clearance priced at $1699. I understand that this is a Stanley-branded Murray-built product (although Murray has nothing of this size in its line). The price as well as the size of the mowing deck were major attractions. I'm looking to mow 3.5 very flat, open acres and shovel a little snow from a driveway. I have no brand biases (read prior experience purchasing or owning a lawn tractor). Value for the dollar is more important to me than getting "the best...regardless of cost" but I don't want to end up "throwing good money after bad" because this product isn't up to the task. I'm not ready to drop $12-14,000 on a sub-compact/compact diesel tractor and figure that I could always hold on to the lawn tractor for mowing the yard around the house if I should someday make the jump up. Others have suggested that 3.5 acres is too much lawn for a lawn tractor and discouraged me from counting on/using a lawn tractor for snow removal (I'm talking about with a 46" blade here) because the frame isn't built for such (although Stanley/Murray sells the blade, tire chains and wheel weights for this purpose I presume). Anyones informed opinion(s)/thought(s) would be appreciated. Be gentle, I'm just a suburbanite who fell for a farmhouse and the thought of country livin', and recognized that my 22" Craftsman pushmower wouldn't cut it! I freaked the first time I stopped at a farm implement dealer and learned the price of those "cute little compact tractors." Believe me, my gonads ache for one but my wallet/wife demand I be practical. I would be open to practical reasons to skip the lawn tractor and go directly to the sub-compact/compact tractor. I could see myself, in the future, putting in a fence and getting into some small scale gardening and limited landscaping (I'm not talking major earth moving or trenching) but could probably hire out the fence work or buy/rent a gasoline-powered posthole digger and/or walk-behind garden tiller and still come out, financially anyway, way ahead (except, perhaps, my labor time - but I look upon that as "cheap therapy" for my "real job"). Because I'm not mechanically inclined, a used compact tractor scares me (both in terms of evaluating the soundness of one as well as maintaining it without reliable dealer support, parts, etc). Thanks in advance.