Buying advice JD vs Cub

[psunut95]

I am looking to replace my 13 year old toro 16 hp 38" lawn tractor.

I have 1.1 acres with a lot of hills trees and leaves. The lot is terraced with 3 levels and pretty steep hills between levels.

The toro had its original hydro tranny replaced under warranty after only 1 year and now 11 years later it is ready to go.

The first question I have is JD vs Cub. I am thinking 46-50" Deck is good but I need a bagging system.

Is the cub cadet direct shaft all what it is built up to be? I am most concerned with the tranny as I cheaped out the first time but don't want to spend the money for the 500 series that the JD dealer wants to sell me.

Am I better off with an older JD as I hear the newer ones are not as good. I am not looking at the lowes or HD JDs as I know they are lesser in quality.

I am ok with spending the $5k to get the right matching but it needs to be the right machine.

Any advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks and happy new year!

[jenkinsph]

Do what you want but it is much better to have one thread rather than multiple threads to deal with. I just posted on your other thread in JD buying and pricing.