mike223
Silver Member
Yeah, where's thingy when you need him. Probably still mowing his acreage with his 12 year old Craftsman mower.
Lawn Tractor - JD vs Craftsman
- Thread starter GaryS
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Gatorboy
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2001
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- 3,138
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- Bel Air, MD
- Tractor
- Kubota M8950, Bobcat 873 SSL & Kubota ZD-331
SABULA FARMER said:
You must be new here. Not sure why you would think I have negativity towards anything other than John Deere -- I don't even own anything John Deere. Your claim is a complete lie.
thatguy
Elite Member
I think a lot of this depends on how hard the operater is on his equipment. Our old neighbor had a good size yard (it would take him 1 to 2 hours to push mow).. He went through a cheap ($125 walmart mower) almost every year.. During some of his 'downtimes' we loaded him our $400 toro self propelled and it sounded like a world war going on as he hit rocks and stumps and who knows what else. it came home with a dent in the deck, chipped blades, and a totally ruined 'accelerator' (mounts to the blade to help with air lift)... We finally would find reasons to try and not loan him equipment..
I have always heard the saying "that boy can tear up an avil with a toothpick" and I think that is so true.. Maybe the ppl that have good luck with the less expensive mowers arent as rough on them as the ppl that have had bad luck..
Brian
I have always heard the saying "that boy can tear up an avil with a toothpick" and I think that is so true.. Maybe the ppl that have good luck with the less expensive mowers arent as rough on them as the ppl that have had bad luck..
Brian
Turbys_1700
Elite Member
Joe1 said:
Best advise I've seen yet in this extensive thread.
droy
Silver Member
My $.02
In 1990 (give or take), the water pump on my Bolens G152 gave up; I actually had to wait for Mitsibishi (sp) to run off a batch of new water pumps, which I was told could be a year or more. I bought a used John Deere 118 for $1200 so I could continue mowing my 2.78 ac.
About the same time, my father bought an MTD from local box home imp. store for $1100, and laughed at me, (new machine, warranty, for less $$) He used it to mow 2.90 ac.
The following summer, after borrowing my JD a couple of times while his was in the repair shop, he purchased a second MTD, so mom could mow, (yeah, right).
The beginning of the third summer, after my Bolens got a new water pump, I sold that JD 118 for $1200 (same amount I purchased it). Later that year, I sold that Bolens, and bought a New Holland. I also helped my father haul two MTD mowers to a local dealer where he got $500 for the pair on a trade in deal for a Cub.
Learned two lessons,
(1) Quality = resale value
(2) Parts for off brand equip may be hard to come across.
My father?
Bought two Huskivarna(sp) riders about three years ago; this season he traded them both on a Cub ZTR, and won't tell me what he got for the trade.
I still remind him about those MTDs.
In 1990 (give or take), the water pump on my Bolens G152 gave up; I actually had to wait for Mitsibishi (sp) to run off a batch of new water pumps, which I was told could be a year or more. I bought a used John Deere 118 for $1200 so I could continue mowing my 2.78 ac.
About the same time, my father bought an MTD from local box home imp. store for $1100, and laughed at me, (new machine, warranty, for less $$) He used it to mow 2.90 ac.
The following summer, after borrowing my JD a couple of times while his was in the repair shop, he purchased a second MTD, so mom could mow, (yeah, right).
The beginning of the third summer, after my Bolens got a new water pump, I sold that JD 118 for $1200 (same amount I purchased it). Later that year, I sold that Bolens, and bought a New Holland. I also helped my father haul two MTD mowers to a local dealer where he got $500 for the pair on a trade in deal for a Cub.
Learned two lessons,
(1) Quality = resale value
(2) Parts for off brand equip may be hard to come across.
My father?
Bought two Huskivarna(sp) riders about three years ago; this season he traded them both on a Cub ZTR, and won't tell me what he got for the trade.
I still remind him about those MTDs.
Ledgemere Farm
Veteran Member
Main reason I have JD is because the dealer is close by and theytreat me right. I have no ill feeling toward Craftsman or anything else for that matter. Try out a few and see which one you like. I like Kohler and Kawasaki engines better than Briggs because they seem to run quieter and use less fuel.
LBrown59
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2004
- Messages
- 16,831
- Tractor
- 2003 Kubota BX1500/2004 Kubota Bx23/2005 Kubota BX1500
Not if comparing top line Craftsman [BMW] to bottom line JD[Kia].Gatorboy said:
Chuck52
Veteran Member
The low end big box riders remind me of light beer. If I'm going to drink light beer I buy the cheapest I can find since they all taste the same anyway. My son laughs at me when I buy what he calls Milwaukee's Beast light, but if it's not a decent microbrew, it's just lightly alcoholic water to me anyway.
So....I have an MTD Yardmachine, 46" cut with a B&S twin 21hp. It has no oil filter and has the apparently terrible CVT belt-type transmission. I bouight it cheap in 2004 and have beaten it hard. I bent the front "axle" by jamming the wheels in ruts while turning tight circles at high speed. I replaced that last year and am being a little more careful about the ruts. Other than that, I've had the front wheels fall off from the same bad useage, which was what bent the axle in the first place. Since all the big box machines I looked at have their front wheels held on by what look to be the same cotter pins on my machine, I bet I would have knocked the wheels off any of them. I mow maybe 3 acres. Some of it is rough with gopher and mole hills, and ruts I make driving my truck and tractor around. I can do the mowing much faster than with my 5' Brush Hog finishing mower due to the tighter turning. It cuts the grass. I think the gas tank is something like 2 gals, and I go through maybe 1.5 tanks per full cut. Oh, I also had to play with the plastic gear on the starter motor. Some of the plastic had slivered off and turned into the shaft hole so the gear wouldn't engage easily. I had to remove the gear and shave the inside of the hole, and that fixed it. I also had mice eat some of the wire insulation and cause a short, but I would imagine they would like JD insulation every bit as much as MTD. It's got a cup holder, but I don't use it because I'm usually going fast enough to make any beverage bounce out. I can go faster than I want to if I keep the grass in decent trim, and it takes pretty high grass to bog it down. I think I paid about $1100 on sale for it in 2004, and $1100 to cut grass still sounds high to me. I'm cheap. Apparently, from these stories, I'm also lucky.
Chuck
So....I have an MTD Yardmachine, 46" cut with a B&S twin 21hp. It has no oil filter and has the apparently terrible CVT belt-type transmission. I bouight it cheap in 2004 and have beaten it hard. I bent the front "axle" by jamming the wheels in ruts while turning tight circles at high speed. I replaced that last year and am being a little more careful about the ruts. Other than that, I've had the front wheels fall off from the same bad useage, which was what bent the axle in the first place. Since all the big box machines I looked at have their front wheels held on by what look to be the same cotter pins on my machine, I bet I would have knocked the wheels off any of them. I mow maybe 3 acres. Some of it is rough with gopher and mole hills, and ruts I make driving my truck and tractor around. I can do the mowing much faster than with my 5' Brush Hog finishing mower due to the tighter turning. It cuts the grass. I think the gas tank is something like 2 gals, and I go through maybe 1.5 tanks per full cut. Oh, I also had to play with the plastic gear on the starter motor. Some of the plastic had slivered off and turned into the shaft hole so the gear wouldn't engage easily. I had to remove the gear and shave the inside of the hole, and that fixed it. I also had mice eat some of the wire insulation and cause a short, but I would imagine they would like JD insulation every bit as much as MTD. It's got a cup holder, but I don't use it because I'm usually going fast enough to make any beverage bounce out. I can go faster than I want to if I keep the grass in decent trim, and it takes pretty high grass to bog it down. I think I paid about $1100 on sale for it in 2004, and $1100 to cut grass still sounds high to me. I'm cheap. Apparently, from these stories, I'm also lucky.
Chuck
JDSkidsteer
Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2007
- Messages
- 31
John Deere 100 series was upgrade from the old Scotts by Deere and Sabers. I now sell the Deere compact construction equipment, but when I sold mowers also my answer to the question of why Deere made these box store mowers was market share. Craftsman has over all market share nation wide. Deere pretty much owned upper end mower market share. I always showed the customer the difference in the x series and 100 series and tried to size the right mower for the right yard. So many people purchase the wrong size mower and then blame the mower for their problems. In our area Deere has a large network of dealer support and ther is a Deere in 4 out of 5 yards. From the stories I have heard from customers who have owned Craftsman most have bought the wrong size mower is why they had so much problems. The same is true of the box store Deere buyers. People tend to buy on price unless they are educated. Box stores fail to sell the correct size mower for the customers needs. My sales pitch for Deere 100 series vs, Craftman in our area is 100 series is made by Deere. Craftsman is made by whom ever gets the contract by Sears. With 100 series Deere, you have great Dealer support in our area even if you buy form Lowes or Home Depot. And over all I feel they are slightly better than Craftsmsn. I you can afford a x series move up. They are awesome.