Opinion on Lawn Tractor needed

[Samandothers]

I am looking at purchasing a riding lawn tractor and would like some opinions. Anyone have any opinions. I have about .75 acres that is rolling. I mow, pull a trailer and core aerator. I plan to get a small deck (42") since the yard does have some rolls and natural areas to work around.
I started by looking at the JD and Husky lawn tractors from the box stores. I also visited a JD dealer and a Husky dealer. Both sold the same mowers available from the Box stores for similar price. Neither dealer was too interested in selling the price point machines. I am really not thrilled with those machines anyway.
The John Deere dealer was pushing the X300 which was about $2800. This mower has the 17 HP Kawasaki with 4 year 300 hr warranty. The Husky dealer advised the 2042LS for about $1900. The 20442 LS has a 20 HP Briggs Endurance with 2 year warranty. Also Husqavarna has a model with a 15 hp Kawasaki model YTH1542XP 2 year warranty I believe. The YTH1542XP is $2300. I am not interested in spending a lot more than I need and can't seem to justify the X300. I am wondering about the other two. Anyone have experience, good are bad with the Briggs Endurance 20 hp or Kawasaki 15 hp or experience with these Husky machines.

I look forward to the feedback and assistance with spending my money!

 

[bigshovel]

I have a 3 year old YTH1542 with mulching deck an 1000+ hours, it handles 2.5 acres mostly hills. Great power and speed, love the hydro. I paid $2100 for it. Oil change is a snap, and i have done no other service except battery.
Happy hunting.

Brad

 

[Crash101]

Samandothers
I was looking for something similar a couple years ago. Looked at all the box store offerings (Home Depot artificial John Deere, Club Cadet, Husky, Craftsman and others) in the Memphis area and came away disappointed. I ended up buying a used (50 hours) LX266 at a John Deere dealer , found it on Used Farm Equipment & Agricultural Equipment - John Deere MachineFinder.com. It's a lot more lawn tractor than those throw away models, will last longer and cost no more. I recommend looking for a good used john Deere, LT, LX or GT series. They're out there and are affordable. There may be some used X300 models but they're pretty new and might be expensive. On another note one of the best available is the John Deere 318, but they're getting older and hard to find. Just don't get in a hurry, you'll find what you want