New to Cub Cadet

[LittleTurtle]

Concerned about my recent decision.
Yesterday I went looking for a new Lawn Tractor. I went to Home Depot. Found what I thought was a knowledgeable sales person (if that exist at Home Depot). He promoted the Cub Cadet LT 1045 over other brands. I did not buy at that time but went to an independent dealer who told me that Home Depot does not set up their machines. He said that all the greese fitting will need to be filled, and that when you buy from him the check things out and do something called burnishing the clutch on the PTO. At Home Depot I could get 10% off with opening a HD credit card. I decided to buy at HD but did not pick it up yet. After reading the horror stories on this site, which I just found today, I am worried that I made a bad choice in product and purchase from Home Depot. I would like to hear from anyone about reccomendations. Should I forget the 10% discount and go to the independent dealer, should I buy from HD and take it to the independent dealer for a prep job, should I buy a different tractor?

 

[jmt1271]

basically, you are just asking whether to use the "big box store" or an independent dealer. i would negotiate with with the ind. dealers to get my best deal and use them, unless they just wont be reasonable. i believe you will get much better service from a GOOD dealer than depot or lowes. if my only dealer was a bad dealer, i would stay far away from them, even if i had to use the box store.

 

[gamble77]

You are not suppose to be able to get the 10% discount at HD on the Cub Cadet mowers...better make sure those guys know what they are talking about. Cub has made sure that you can't get that discount to protect their dealers. Why would you not want to buy from the independent dealer? Would you buy a new car from someone who couldn't work on it?

 

[LittleTurtle]

HD made a printing mistake on their ad for the weekend. They had to honor it. I guess I was just naive and I thought a manufacturer that any concern for their reputation would put out a product that right out of the box was good to go. What concerns me is that I have read so many stories today of people who have had technical difficulties right out of the box ie. belt, brakes, pto, sluggish on upgrades, and carburator problems.

 

[JTKub]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( HD made a printing mistake on their ad for the weekend. They had to honor it. )</font>

Uh oh... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Joel

 

[QXA47E]

So what was the verdict - are HD's Cub Cadets ready to go out of the box at pick up? I guess it just depends on who sets them up and unpacks them? I can't believe that CC would let their tractors go out to box buy stores without having them ready to go (grease, etc.) I'm not sure about that clutch thing, though.

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( He said that all the greese fitting will need to be filled, and that when you buy from him the check things out and do something called burnishing the clutch on the PTO. )</font>

That's a new one "burnishing the clutch". It probably involves turning the PTO on and off a few times.

Bob B.

 

[CCinCT]

All tractors require some form of inspection/setup prior to being delivered to the customer. Whether that gets done or not, or gets done correctly, is another story. Don't blame Cub for this, because it's the same story for the Deeres and Toros on display next to those Cubs.

As for saving $200 or so, my theory is this: IF I have a problem, will the time I spend dealing with the retailer be worth less than the money I saved? I've got 2 kids, and I make a decent salary. If I had to spend more than an hour dealing with any hassle from improper setup then to me the savings wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Fordlords]

Just my 2 cents and humble opinion- I would avoid the CC 1000 series lawn tractors altogether. Reason- as someone else stated on another thread--- INCONSISTENCY! It seems you either get one with no problems that you love, or the very exact opposite. Iff you buy from the box store, you may or may not get reputable dealer service. On many of the lawn tractor rating sites and articles and what-not, the CC 1000's and 1500's are not ranked too well among the major brands of lawn tractors. If it's Cub Cadet you want, spring for one of the decent 2000 series, a much better investment.

If you just need a cheap lawn tractor in the $1500 range, to be honest I seriously think you are better off buying a Craftsman or Husqvarna at Sears. Why? They certainly are not rated any worse than the CC LT's, I don't hear of the inconsistencies with them mechanically, and there is no argument about who provides the service- Sears will come right to your house and fix it during the warranty period.

I also believe that Home Depot is telling CC Corp and dealers that they are not discounting the CC line, but in fact are, because I've read plenty of posts right on this forum alone telling of the discounts, I don't think they are a mistake, it's what the box stores exist to do. CC doesn't really complain too loud as they are still getting their money and selling many more machines through the box stores, and Home Depot/TSC owe the local dealers absolutely nothing on the sale end, but then want the dealers to provide the service, and on the 1000 series LT's there seems to be plenty of that. Very unfair /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif If I were a dealer, I would definitely check into this- not hard to do, just have someone go into HD store posing as a Cub buyer. My cousin owned a high end TV-stereo store, and one audio manufacturer (Adcom) insisted that dealers never discount their equipment or they would pull the line. But, he discounted it, mainly because he had to for competition reasons, it was all just done very quietly much the same way I think HD is discounting the Cubs.

-Fordlords-

 

[TimT]

I just bought a new 1042. Very happy with it so far. All the hype about not climbing hills is not a problem with mine. I would suggest buying from a dealer not a box store. A good dealer will have an interest in your satisfaction..hopefully. I also listened to the posts about the problems with certain units slipping and the correction that fixes that problem...which like others have said..is not a big problem. For the money the Cub Cadet is an excellant mower if set up correctly and used for what it is supposed to do..mow lawn on reasonable terrain. I looked at quite a few, Cub seems to be built as good or better than any of them in that range. They are not by any means a bad tractor, maybe poor setup or misuse are likely the problem for the people with complaints. Mine works great, and the reviews I read are not bad at all.