Re: John Deere GX335
The GX335 is a really nice tractor, and certainly powerful enough for the tasks you mentioned. As mentioned above, the Cub 3000 series and 5000 series are good choices also. The Cub 5000s would be the better choice if the snowblowing is on a very large driveway, and a bit over kill for the typical suburban lot. Toro, Ingersoll, SImplicity, Massey Ferguson (Simplicity clone), Kubota all make really good garden tractors. Perhaps one of them is more user friendly as to leg room, control placement, seat adjustment, etc. A short lefthanded person will probably feel more comfortable on a different machine than a tall righthanded person. Also check out the dealerships for what their service area looks like. Is it a professional place that you might expect quality repairs? Are the customers' machines stored indoors? Does the service department stock common parts? What is the shop charging per hour of labor? Are customers treated with courtesy and respect? These things are important on this level of machine as your brother-in-law will most likely own it for many years. It can be frustrating to buy an expensive brand "X" tractor that is an excellant machine, only to find out that the only dealer in the area is a nitwit to do business with.
