Lawn Tractor - JD vs Craftsman

[matthew3120]

At the time there where no other dealer around me that had anything that I wanted and the sale rep at the sear store asured me that the craftsman would de the last lawn tractor I would have to buy for a long time.the first lawn tractor i brought from sears 6 month after got it and the deck PTO would not disengage so they pick it up and that was the last time i seen it in one piece.The guy repairing it was late and was doing 80 mph down the road to get it to sears so they could drop it off at my house.needless to say he went off the road and rolled truck and wrecked the mower.To top it off they made me pay 2000.00 more for a up grade model.then i got the DLT 2000 and had more trouble with transmission paid 4000.00 and sold it for 1200.00.then got a poulan pro and it would pop a wheelie 3 ft high had no adjustment.then my John deere dealer called and made me offer that I could not refuse and am a john deere die hard to the bone for 10 yrs now.

matthew3120

 

[SABULA FARMER]

I REALLY GOT A KICK OUT OF THIS POST. I JUST BOUGHT A CRAFTSMAN YS4500 LAST WEEK AND REALLY LIKE IT SO FAR. I HAVE TALKED WITH MANY OF OWNERS AND THEY SWEAR BY CRAFTSMAN. IT IS BY NO MEANS THE TOP OF THE LINE MACHINE, BUT THEY MAKE A GOOD PRODUCT. I AM NOT A SEARS FAN NOR WILL I BECOME ONE, THEY JUST HAD A MACHINE THAT WOULD DO WHAT I WANTED TO DO AT A REASONABLE PRICE.
I HAVE HAD THREE ...YES THREE CUB CADETS, THE LAST OF WHICH WAS A GT2500 CAST IRON SERIES. IT WAS THE WORST TRACTOR I HAVE EVER OWNED. I BOUGHT IT NEW FOR $4,000 IN 2004 AND IT NEVER RAN RIGHT FROM DAY ONE. THE DEALER WAS A JOKE AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE AT CADET WAS EVEN WORSE! I WAS SICK OVER THE MONEY SPENT ON A BRAND NAME PRODUCT THAT WAS NO BETTER THAN A MURRAY! I BOUGHT THE CRAFTSMAN AND BELIEVE ME THEY ARE A LOT BETTER THAN ANY CUBCADET ON THE MARKET. I KNOW THAT THIS POST WAS ABOUT JOHN DEERE AND CRAFTSMAN, BUT BRAND NAME MACHINES ARE NOT ALWAYS THE WAY TO GO.
S.F.

 

[Alan L.]

I've had good service from cheap Craftsman mowers. The last one I gave away after 10 years, it still mowed. The current one is 4 years old. I replaced belts and blades and a bearing went out on the deck. Sears came out and fixed it for maybe $100, I don't remember.

I'd like a ZTR, but you gotta spend a lot to get decent quality.

 

[RickO]

I bought a new Craftsmans for around $2500 and had nothing but problems with it, all deck related. I finally forced them to give me my money back (only gave me 80% back but I was happy with that). It was their heaviest GT at the time.

... I have a neighbor who owns a little LT series Craftsman he has mowed 2 acres for 12 years and hasn't had a lick of problems.

I bought a new JD light LT 170 and mowed 2 acres for 9 years before selling it still running great.

I have owned JD, Kubota, Craftsman, Cub-Cadet and Now I have a brand new Hustler Commercial ZTR ... I paid $7000 for it and guess what...

.... It came with a leaking fuel tank had to go back... now it has a Squalling hydro motor and isn't acting right...

...Morral of the story.. you can get lemons in any make. I still have the Kubota G1900 and of all the GTs I have owned it is hands down the best.

 

[Joe1]

If you go with a less expensive tractor make sure it has a cast iron front axle and greasable mandrels on the deck; neither of which the are on the entry level Craftsmen. Whatever you get, after about 10 hours, I'd go over the nuts and bolts to ensure they are all tight and are all there. This could save you an expensive and bothersome repair a few years down the road. Storing it inside will also make for a longer lasting and cleaner tractor.

 

[Gatorboy]

I REALLY GOT A KICK OUT OF THIS POST.

Is that the reason you decided to SHOUT YOUR REPLY?

 

[SABULA FARMER]

Well no GATORBOY, the reason for my post is that I saw the post and thought that I would respond to your negativity towards any product other than JOHN DEERE! If you want to buy the "high end" or excuse me the "CHINEESE" made John Deere trash, and slam the others, I felt that you needed to be put back into your place. Maybe other folks can't afford the other brands? Maybe they worked their rear ends off to get what they could afford? Maybe you should congratulate them and wish them well on their new purchase rather than slam them.
Now that would be nice!
S.F.

 

[RickO]

Back on the original question... I think and truly believe that if you have a fairly smooth yard you could get years of use from most well cared for MTD, Craftsman, LT100 JD etc.

However, if your yard is rough you will be better served by a used Heavy frame garden tractor. JD300 series or higher, Kubota G series and others. You can pick up either of these two types for $2500 - 4000 depending on condition/hours.

 

[VABlue]

Interesting thread... Now I know I've used junk on my lawn for 8 years, or so. I guess I've also used it to cut paths through 2' high weeds and drag dump carts full of firewood and dirt through 2-track ruts. I even used it to clear up some tree trash at my new place! That little 18-hp LT1000 Hydro is still going strong, and I've never changed one thing on it other than oil. It needs a new fuel filter, though. Guess I'll have to take it to the dump?

Point is, I beat that thing like an old mule and it's still running strong as ever. I did replace it with a JD 2305 tractor last month because it's simply too small for loader work, tree skidding, etc. Lemons come in all flavors and sizes. Comparing a $1400 machine to a $3000-10k machine is just dumb. Be more careful, and slower, and the cheaper machines will last a decent amount of time. They are not an X-series and should not be compared to them. But they do the job they were designed for reasonably well...

 

[Fordlords]

This exact same pot gets stirred up about once a month with the exact same outcome- the Craftsmans are right on par with anything else in their price range, with excellent parts and service availability. Consumer Reports actually ranks the lower priced Craftsman/Husqvarnas above many other big, "brand names."
-Fordlords-