I did a lot of reading about the Bad Boy mowers prior to purchasing a Gravely, but the Bad boys are very well thought of in the lawn care industry. Reading posts on another site by lawn care professionals who use their mowers commercially, indicate that Bad Boy offers very good value for what you get and hold up very well. I think you can buy directly from the factory, or from a dealer.
The only negatives I've read is that the mower is not always properly set-up when delivered (a dealer issue, not a mower issue). Many posts indicated that the decks needed better leveling for a smoother cut, and that engine rpm's were lower than advertised. Those who had these issues simply adjusted the deck to get the proper cut and adjusted the throttle cable position to achieve the proper rpm's.
Another thing I read was it was believed that the dealers did not have the mark-up on the Bad Boys that they have on other brands, so the dealer was not able to come off the price as much on the Bad Boy as they might a different brand. But the Bad Boy has a lower list price than most other comparable mowers.
Hope this helps.