That's the hard part. I have a budget of $2500 and would like to buy a used, higher quality machine than I can get at the big box store. I'm trying to figure out how much machine I need. Right now I only need to mow a little under an acre of yard, slightly sloped and later do some snow removal. All the Deeres are a bit of a mystery to me. It's been fun, so far, though!Welcome. So what have you looked at so far?