john deer LT 118 series

wooferlove · Jun 30, 2004

It is difficult to keep the LT118 in the running after the last post, yet would like to for I have a local JD dealer that is recommended. I am also very new to the Lawn Tractor purchase experience. I have narrowed the selection to the following four mowers - 1) John Deere LT118 2) Craftsman 26 HP ELS #27607; 3) Husqvarna LTH2042 or 4) a used Husqvarna YTH1542 XP (72 hours)

My concern is with durability - even though the JD can be serviced by a dealer that is only 2 miles from my home and the Husky dealer is less than 15 minutes, yet the local Sears store is a 30 minute drive. I do not want to be spending my time servicing a mower if at all possible. I will be mowing up to 1.5 acres primarily flat land.

I would love opinions on the mowers listed. The other thing - some mention test driving the mower - it has yet to be offered to me at any of the dealers I have visited and many have the mowers inside or still crated such as L118 which would prevent this. How do you typically get to test drive - not being stupid but I guess I could say get the mower outside for me and let me test it out or do you relay on a return policy.

MessickFarmEqu · Jun 30, 2004

A few people have referenced consumer reports. This is some personal opinion, but I don't believe a work they say. They make themselves out to be an objective source but they are not. If you do a few internet searches for different products you will find that they do tend to favor a product based on some corporate preasures and public influance. Case in point, I am an electronics nut, Bose speakers are consistantly ratted as some of the best that they review. Anyone who does some real homework knows that Bose makes some of the worst over hyped crap in the world. There is nothing to it but marketing, infact, they Sued consumer reports and several other magizines after they gave marginal reviews to some of their products. Guess what, not a sour review since.

I don't trust them in the slightest...

End of Rant.

Bird · Jun 30, 2004

I dropped my subscription years ago, Neil, because I agree with you. I actually think they do more harm than good.

wooferlove · Jun 30, 2004

I have seen little on this board in regards to the Husgvarna mowers and I am unsure of since they are the least expensive of the mowers I am looking at - would like to know where to find unbiased reviews of them. Thank you!

yellowsocks93 · Jun 30, 2004

I went to go look at them the other day and they don't have as thick of frame as the higher priced JD's or adjustable drag links on the steering. The plus is that most models feature a Kawasaki V-Twin and the price is dirt cheap. I would buy one and in fact I am just about to order in my new Husky articulating rider. I may be one of the only ones in the US with one but that's ok. If I could afford a new JD front mower I would buy one from where I work! I looked at our new JD garden tractors and they are not built as well as my GT 242 and 320 so I'll keep them and the new Husky.

bontai_Joe · Jul 2, 2004

The thing with the Deere L100 series is that they are designed to compete with what is available at Walmart, Lowe's, etc. They are built for their low price and as mentioned above, compromises are made to keep the price low. If you figure that the motor represents roughly $1000 of the price and the whole machine is sell ing for $1799 including profit for the store, profit for Deere, shipping costs, etc, there isn't much money left over for the rest of the tractor. Since the original poster was cutting only an acre of lawn, I think the L118 will do that job fine. It is when he mentions blowing/plowing snow and tilling a garden, that the machine becomes a little light in design. Unfortunately, good tractors cost good money. There is no equalivalent to a Deere 318 available today for under $2000, or $4000 for that matter. What I need to know is how much tilling is planned? What kind of snow is he dealing with? The typical 3" Virginia snow? Or the 30" typical Buffalo NY snow?

slammer · Jul 2, 2004

Hey Joe, to further illustrate your point, the trannys in the hydro models are around $450 so what do we have left? A $200 tractor? Scary!

Slam

bontai_Joe · Jul 2, 2004

I've posted this comparison before on other forums. I bought my Deere 316 new in 1979 for $2850 and a new Ford F-150 in 1978 for $4800. So if a new Ford F-150 sells for $18,000 then the equal value tractor should cost around $10,600, assuming my ratio of truck to tractor value is correct. That $10,600 will buy a REAL nice machine of any of your favorite colors, but the market seems to have $2000 as a price point for machines. And for $2000 and under, there lots of choices, but ALL are light duty lawn tractors, which isn't a bad thing, but not designed for large snow removal, large tilling jobs, or other hard work requiring frame/axle strength. Most are great at cutting grass and that is they primary design function.

slammer · Jul 2, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Most are great at cutting grass and that is the primary design function. )</font>

You give the sub 2K mowers more credit than I do. The real bottom of the barrel types (Murray, MTD) typically only cut nice for about 2 seasons. Then it seems like the decks paractically self destruct. Pre-1990 editions of these same tractors seem to be of much higher quality than the new stuff being offered today.

Slam