small riding lawn mower recomendation

[herm0016]

home depot is where you buy cub cadet!.. it IS home depot stuff..

They only sell the xt1. The 3 is available at a real dealer. Just like the green stuff.

 

[stevem5215]

Small riding lawn mower recommendation

So I find myself in a unique situation I need a small riding lawn mower I have never purchased a mower in my life. Every mower I have ever had was something I dug out of junk yard dumpster curb etc and got running. My current rider is a newer Toro on its 2nd motor and that is about to die as motor I swapped in was a Briggs from a 40 year old Murry the blades are shot and deck has tendency to change cut height at random. I'm unable to fix it due to a broken leg.

So I'm looking for new mower with deck no larger than 42 in preferably 38-40 range that has a ground floating deck, my yard has lot of small transitions and trees so width is the enemy and the deck should be as relative to the ground as possible and not relative to the mower.

I was keen on a Husqvarna. LTA18538 but I've seen they are hit or miss on quality, and I also read that they are discontinuing their mower lines.

Most other mowers are made by MTD and I have heard they are cheap garbage and are complete junk in 5 years if I'm buying mower I want something that will last.

This has led me to the John Deere x300 series with 42 inch deck which is more than I want to pay 渡ot a fan of paying for green paint and I'm not sure if are there any other brands that compete with this line or still build quality mowers. Zero turns are not an option due incline.

I was also considering used but I'm scared of getting something that has issues and I can't fix in my current state also in my area difference in price is like $200 new vs used, IE a mower with 450 hours they are asking $300 less than a brand new one of the exact same model sitting beside it.

Any other options that I can look at would be great

I would look for a clearance model this time of year. You should be able to find a lot of those around right now due to the end of summer. Even a regular tractor dealer could probably get you into a better machine with a heavier duty transmission for less. Most of the more pricier lawn tractors have bigger decks on them. You might just want to consider a cheap clearance machine just because you'll have less into it when the transmission starts to have trouble after running on it on your slopes. That said I have a Clearance Black Craftsman Pro model with a 24hp twin and the K46 tranny (which is known to have trouble) and I did have some trouble but i pulled it after a couple of years owning it (when it first started to have motion issues up hills) and put the Synthetic 20w-50 in there and wha-la it was fine since (a new drive belt too since it was apart).

That goes to show that even a problematic machine with known tranny issues can be reliable when serviced properly. So, that said. Go for the clearance section. I'd bet you can get something cheap. I saw a massive 42" 11hp snowblower at Home Depot sell for $178 just a month or so ago. So the deals are out there. You just have to be in the right place at the right time.

Steve

 

[Gary Fowler]

I generally don't recommend Craftsman mowers, but my brother in law has one that he still uses that he bought in 2008 or 2009 (Craftsman 6500 series) and it still runs strong. He isn't much for maintenance, but it just seems that mower wont die. Last year he bought a new X 540? JD because it has power steering. He uses that when he mows (which is seldom due to his COPD) but wont let his hired hands use it, they have to still use the Craftsman. His yard is about 2-3 acres with some slight hills, nothing seriously steep, and so far he has had nothing more than a busted spindle from hitting a tree root once. I want to say it cost him about $2500 new.

 

[stevem5215]

My Boss did the same thing. And had the exact same mower (similar in age maybe a 2004) Craftsman DLT with a 20hp Kohler. It was still running fine (with a busted spindle) and I bought it for $250. It is still running fine at our family farm 5 years later. The hood is gone now after my bro in law bumped into the gate and almost decapitated himself. But otherwise it's still good. Gotta tighten the bolts on it once in a while since the years of use have loosened some of them up. And we just put a new belt on the mower deck this year for the first time since owning it. I've had to weld the spindle once and one of the wheels on the mower deck too but it's still in good shape even looks kinda homely now without the hood lol.

Steve

I generally don't recommend Craftsman mowers, but my brother in law has one that he still uses that he bought in 2008 or 2009 (Craftsman 6500 series) and it still runs strong. He isn't much for maintenance, but it just seems that mower wont die. Last year he bought a new X 540? JD because it has power steering. He uses that when he mows (which is seldom due to his COPD) but wont let his hired hands use it, they have to still use the Craftsman. His yard is about 2-3 acres with some slight hills, nothing seriously steep, and so far he has had nothing more than a busted spindle from hitting a tree root once. I want to say it cost him about $2500 new.

 

[Diggin It]

A used Craftsman might be worth a thought. New? Not a chance given their situation. Many people don't expect them to be around another 5 years at most. Store closings only get a short announcement, maybe a few weeks at most. You may have a store today, but not by the end of this year.

I would need to know for sure what would happen with a warranty claim before buying there.