They both seem appropriate for my needs (about 2/3 of an acre with little or no incline) and both have enough power. The Cub seems to have a few more bells and whistles for the exact same price. Anyone have experience enough to help out a first time buyer with some advice how to choose between the 2? Thanks in advance, Ferg
Cub cadet 1042 vs John deere 115
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JTKub
Veteran Member
Between the two, I'd go with the JD. You hear of less 'propulsion' issues with the JD 100's over the CC 1000's. Plus it seems like the light duty tuff-torqs are more reliable than the light hydro-gear units used on the CC 1000's. Other than that, IMO- any machine in this price range will give you the same service. Electrolux/AYP, MTD, JD.
Joel
Joel
The only reason I would recommend the Cub is due to parts being cheaper, espcially if you ever have to so an major motor work, Deere "locks" there motors so the only place you can get parts for them is Deere...which means you pay whatever they want you to pay. Good luck.
tonybada
Bronze Member
I doubt I would get the 1042 after reading most of the posts on this board. You say you don't have any hills so maybe it would be ok, but I would go with the JD unless you are willing to spend a little more for the shaft drive Cubs.
JTKub
Veteran Member
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The only reason I would recommend the Cub is due to parts being cheaper, espcially if you ever have to so an major motor work.... )</font>
Good point. There's LOTS of parts interchangeability among the MTD variants. JD 100's are pretty much all alone.
Joel
Good point. There's LOTS of parts interchangeability among the MTD variants. JD 100's are pretty much all alone.
Joel
RebelRAM
Member
There has been a lot of discussion on this board lately about Cub's belt drive systems. It sounds like a lot of people here are unhappy with them. I have a 1046. My yard is mostly flat, but I do have some rather steep ditches in the front and back yard. I have only mowed with my 1046 once since I got in January, but there were no drive slippage problems and no lack of power problems. I may have problems later as I use the mower and it has some wear on it. But the design appears to work well for general mowing. There is a known issue with the drive idler pulley, but most Cub dealers already know about that and it is a pretty easy fix.
The main thing to remember is to use the machine for what it was designed for. If you plan on pulling or pushing anything, get a shaft drive, but for general mowing on most terrain a belt drive works fine. Cubs are priced very reasonably so you can get a lot more features for the same amount of money that you would spend on a lower end John Deere. I still don't understand why John Deere's are priced so high. I guess brand recognition is everything when it comes to price.
The best advice when buying a new mower, test drive a lot of different models and pick the one YOU like.
The main thing to remember is to use the machine for what it was designed for. If you plan on pulling or pushing anything, get a shaft drive, but for general mowing on most terrain a belt drive works fine. Cubs are priced very reasonably so you can get a lot more features for the same amount of money that you would spend on a lower end John Deere. I still don't understand why John Deere's are priced so high. I guess brand recognition is everything when it comes to price.
The best advice when buying a new mower, test drive a lot of different models and pick the one YOU like.