TimTheWiner
New member
I have done plenty of research so far on multiple forums and other sites. I need a riding mower that could potentially take light duty implements down the road, but most likely will only see mowing about 1 - 2 acres of yard. From most of my reading I have concluded that I don't really want most Lowes/Home Depot machines. I was looking at a few older Deere 212's, but they lacked the tight turning radius and some of the creature comforts of the newer models. With a $1k budget for a used machine and searching CL for many machines (including Simplicity and other brands as well), I arrived at either a 2006 Deere x300 with 535 hrs on the ticker. One thing that makes me nervous about this is that (although it was purchase from a Deere dealer) it still has the K46 transmission which I have not read great things about, but most of the issues seem to be with working it too hard or long or steep grades. Of course it has the Kawasaki motor and a 42" Edge deck with mulching kit. She is asking $1,200. The other machine is a 2013 Craftsman GT6000 with only 120 hrs. It has a G7 hydro which from what I hear is a solid tranny, however with an albeit powerful 26 hp engine, it is a Kohler Courage which I have not heard great things about. Everyone says takes "courage" to buy one, and the older Kohler Command are far superior. Any comments or suggestions? I lean towards the Deere as I have all Deere "stuff", including a nice 4x4 510c TLB for stumps and heavy duty work. Decisions decisions.........