Wife's christmas present came

[Mike476]

I paid $2K for my 22 HP Craftsman 8-9 years ago, mows 1.5 acres every week, change the oil/filter every Spring, remove the deck and pressure wash it in the Fall. Also tows around a utility trailer that my wife and daughter haul bedding / composted manure and mulch etc with. It gets a lot of use, best money I've ever spent on a mower. Don't know why anyone would spend the money on a JD, I tried them and didn't find them any more capable for my needs.

 

[deereman75]

I would buy the deere. Mow the lawn your self if you have to, better then wasting a lot of money on something that wont last.

 

[rsewill]

Have you considered getting a new wife?

 

[catdozer]

Have you considered getting a new wife?

Just made Christmas even better

 

[crazyal]

I've got a late 80s craftsman with a 14.5hp Briggs in it. I keep it so I can move the rocks and other places that will (or so I thought) kill it. The problem is I just can't kill it.

The only two problems I'vehad is the engine has an oil problem, if you bog the engine too much it will start puffing smoke like crazy, clear up and run great. Probably a bad seal or ring. But I can't blame Craftsman or MTD, it's got a Briggs el cheapo engine in it. Since they did offer higher priced models with nicer engines all I can say is I got what I paid for.

The other one was the mower deck rusting out because while my father had it he never washed the grass off. 15 Years of wet grass stuck to the bottom. $200 and a new one was at the local Sears waiting to be picked up.

At the end of the day that Craftsman has parts mostly made by other people. It's also very likely that you'll be able to get parts for it for decades. A co-worker has a Wheel Horse that the mower deck finally rusted out. Since they haven't made the tractor in years finding a replacement deck was very hard and the one dealer who has one is 1200 miles away and wants almost $900 for it.

The fact is most people will by the MTD Cub Cadet over the much nicer models they sell for a reason. After 10 to 15 years of abuse and no maintenance (not even an oil change) they are ready to replace it with a new one. Of course they are also the people who wonder why life is so expensive.

 

[brin]

I have to chime in here...I had a 70's model JD Garden tractor with a one point hitch and mower deck..I don't remember the model # but it had a Kohler engine...the engine threw a rod...after about 8 yrs. use even though it had been well maintained and the mower deck never did cut even despite the dealer and I leveling it every way possible. After I sold the JD , I bought a 16 HP. K-Grow Lawn Tractor (bought from K Mart 1994) and runs great to this day and I also bought a brand new Murray 20 HP lawn tractor with a 46" mower deck in 2003 for $999 at HD on sale and it runs great to this day...I don't know if it is the luck of not getting a Lemon or what ..but I am happy with non name brands so far.