</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I know from experience that last year's Cud Cadet models have had some serious troubles. I replaced God only knows how many deck pulleys, belts, and engines on new Cubs, the 1550 series in particular. One case in particular comes to mind. This guy brought in his old Wheel Horse 520s (2) with more accessories than you could shake a stick at (I.E. PTO generator, three decks, rototiller, two blades, etc), and traded all this stuff for two 1554's. Two days later he comes back with one of them with about 12 hours on it. It's leaking oil. We find out the engine block is cracked, so, we warranty it out and put a new one on it. He comes back a few days later with the other one, the deck vibrates. Two of the idler pulleys were bent. THEN, he brings back the one with the new engine, it won;t move in reverse. Had to adjust the linkage. Can you imagine the money Lowe's has to put out to have all these tractors repaired at a shop? I don't blame them for telling Cub to shove off. I can go through our little mower junkyard and find about ten NEW Cub Cadet decks..all junk. I own a 1975 Cub Cadet 1650 and I love it. I would never own a Cub made by MTD. They just aren't a Cub Cadet. )</font>
I figure with all that experience you would least be able to tell the difference between an Lawn Tractor (1554) and a garden tractor (like the 1650 was), and would have the fortitude to compare the older 1650 to its comparable model from today (like the 3000 series).
Dont think for a second Deere's lineup in the LT line dosent suffer the same issues as does CUB regarding setup or returns I see plenty of those little toys sitting in my Deere dealers shop. Even Sears can be lumped in the same sad boat.
I'm not a fan of any of these machines because they cheapen the line for both Mfg. But its not to say people do not like them and have a strong following. Its always the weakest link in a product line that does the most damage across the board, so instead both MFG's help erode the price margins and price points by offering these models. They should scrap the lower end and just offer the LT and higher models. And dont bother with the box stores anymore
Duc