Buying Advice Best riding mower

[foreman Etexas]

I believe sears craftsman is made by husqvarna. I know my 2002 gt3000 is.

I would really consider used. Check Craigslist. In our area we have to act fast because the used market us in high demand.

To me all these riding mowers are about the same anymore. I have hear say that there might be only 2 true manufacturers of lawn tractors and it is just cosmetics anymore.

Carl

Yeah I bought a used craftsman GT-5000 with 54in. cut 3yrs ago and havent had a lick of trouble out of it"bought off craigslist $900bucks". My parents have 2 snappers havent held up very well.They been using mine for cple years now when theirs are down. The GT-5000 v-twin motor sounds good too

 

[woodlandfarms]

At the end of the day they are very easy to self maintain. Parts are plentiful and easily sourced. Biggest cost would be if the engine shrapneld. Not to hard to dig into to repair.

 

[lilranch2001]

My vote is eXmark, I have a 12 year old Lazer Z with ~1200 hours on it and I have replaced 1 mule belt, and one fuel filter, and multiple sets of blade from mowing in the woods with it

Between the woods and lawn I mow ~ 9 acres

I hope it last till I die
:thumbsup:

 

[Mike476]

Coming up on 10 years on my YT 22 HP Craftsman, 1.5 acres to mow once a week, polymer trailer my wife hauls composted manure to her gardens and I use occasionally to haul gravel. Change the oil and filter / spark plug / fuel filter every spring, power wash the deck in the fall before storing for the winter. Never had to replace so much as a bulb.

For a ride on mower it's hard to beat, and no it doesn't compare to larger garden tractors but has done everything I've ever asked of it without an issue, at a fraction of the cost. In fact I was surprised how powerful it is, with my 230 lb frame and a trailer full of dirt it hauls up hills and through the trails of our property without an issue.

Who Builds Craftsman Riding Mowers? | eHow.com

 

[coobie]

Looking to buy a riding mower, husqvarna or John deere.

What size riding mower are you seeking?coobie

 

[Johndeere3720]

From my experience, most every lawn tractor is similar, I have owned them from the 70's, 80's, 90's, and up to 2005 (my currently John Deere L118). Given I have never owned a new lawn tractor, all 8 of them were used when i got them. I have to say, you notice a drop in quality in the late 90's lawn tractors, quality is sacrificed for a lower priced product. Even the 1980's Simplicity I had was loaded with plastic, a huge difference from the 70's Allis Chalmers and Simplicity Garden tractors I had which were atleast 95% metal. On up to my L118, it has 370 hours on it and still runs strong. it is on it's original engine and original transmission. Our yard is completely flat but I took it on our steep driveway last week and it climbed right up, no problems at all. My L118 was originally purchased from a local John Deere Dealer and I am the 3rd owner. First owner put maybe 50 hours on it, second brought that up to 250 I believe and was a mechanic that kept up on everything on that L118. Now I have it, I try my best to keep up with what the previous owner did, it looked almost new when I bought it in 2009. After saying this, I cant say my L118 has been a bad lawn tractor, if it is maintained on a regular basis, parts are lubricated, blades are sharpened, bearings are checked, and regular services are done at the suggested time or earlier, and it is kept clean and never put away wet, it will last you quite a while. I can say it is the last L series I will own for lawn duty but it was well worth what I got it for back in 2009.