Advice on Sears lawn tractor

I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP with a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike

Mike wrote:

I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP with a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Mike


I've got an old David Bradley walkin' tractor, which is an old Sears
brand. It's about the same age as I am, and it's still going strong --
not the original engine, obviously. It has a 5 HP briggs engine on it
now, so the hood wouln't fit even if I still had it.

Probably doesn't help you much, but it's fun to talk about. :-)

Bob

Craftsman tractors used to be better than the other "store brands". But in
the last 10 years or so they have dropped in quality down to the level of
the ones that you buy at Kmart. Of course I don't have any factual data on
this. Just a lot of input from friends that have bought them.
I'm a Cub Cadet man myself and would buy a good used Cub for $1,200.00
before I would buy a new "store brand" tractor for the same money.
That being said, $1,200.00 for a new, 20 HP tractor of ANY brand is a GREAT
price!

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP with
a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin
cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this
is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears
tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would
be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike








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Our Crarftsman riding lawn mower is 6 years old and it's pretty beat up
already. It's poorly put together and if my husband wasn't so good at fixing
it, we wouldn't be using it anymore.

Go for a Troybilt or some other brand. Craftsman just doesn't cut it
anymore.

Susan

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP with
a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin
cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this
is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears
tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would
be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike

can't say much for the mower it's self but the motor will be an excellent
one.........briggs and stratton is bout the best around!
"Mike" wrote in message
...
I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP with
a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin
cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this
is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears
tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would
be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike

I've had no problems with mine, and I beat on it...


On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 04:13:11 GMT, "Mike" wrote:

I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP with a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike

I have two sears mowers one a 79 model garden tractor .The old gold and
white one.I also have a 99 model 42 inch cut rider that's got a kolher
engine.I have always been rough on my tractors.I get to feeling like Iam
riding a big one when I get on them hahahah A little humor there no
charge.If you take care of them sears makes a good rider for the money and
1200 not bad. I paid 1200 for my 42 inch rider and its a kolher engine which
I think is a better engine. With that said if you are looking for a really
good one try the cub cadet or John deer rider or snapper or troy built all
of which in my book are better tractors, but you get what you pay for .I
bought mine and Iam happy with them for the money I paid both run well and I
have had to work on them very little.Every man needs to know how to tinker
with something .Hope this helped you Best regards Tom C.






"Kevin Miller" wrote in message
news148D4634AFD1131.1C405BC047F74C8A.E6A676BD58F ...

I've had no problems with mine, and I beat on it...


On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 04:13:11 GMT, "Mike" wrote:

I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP
with a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin
cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this
is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears
tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would
be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike

It does sound like a great deal. On the other hand, you get what you
pay for. I hear the stories about the old John Deer that is still
running after many years, and doubt that the Craftsman will last that
long.

I've had two Craftsmans, one 15hp that lasted me 5 years and I was the
third owner. It still cuts well, but smokes on a slope that I cut and
needs oil every couple times I mow.

Last summer I bought a new Craftsman with the 17HP Kohler. The one I
have now runs and cuts well, but it was quite a headache getting to
this point. The first mower I brought home ran well, but the blades
engaged on their own when the engine was revved up. The repairman who
came out to try to fix it couldn't figure out the problem, but did
find that the frame was warped and recommended that I trade it in for
a different mower. None in stock, so ordered one and 10 days later
when I went to pick it up found that they ordered the wrong mower.
Eventually got all that straightened out and brought home the right
mower, but had to adjust the deck as it didn't cut level. Since then
I've been happy with it.

Of course these problems may have more to do with my local store, but
next time around I may just spend the extra money for a club cadet or
John Deer. Will just have to wait and seen how well this one is
running after it gets a couple more seasons on it.

On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 15:36:12 -0500, Kevin Miller
wrote:


I've had no problems with mine, and I beat on it...


On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 04:13:11 GMT, "Mike" wrote:

I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP with a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike





--
Steve Touchstone
email
home page http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html

I'm partial to Kohler engines and Gravely tractors. Though neither has
anything to do with Pontiac but Gravely was a division of Studebaker.



In article , says...
can't say much for the mower it's self but the motor will be an excellent
one.........briggs and stratton is bout the best around!
"Mike" wrote in message
...
I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP with
a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin
cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this
is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears
tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would
be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike

Yeah,
I gotta go with you on Kohler.
Roller bearings, better cylinders, etc.
There is reason that a 10 HP Kohler is twice as much $$ as a 10 HP Briggs!
I live near South Bend, Indiana and LOTS of people around here still have
Gravely mowers!

"Bonnevilles Rawk" wrote in message
...
I'm partial to Kohler engines and Gravely tractors. Though neither has
anything to do with Pontiac but Gravely was a division of Studebaker.



In article , says...
can't say much for the mower it's self but the motor will be an
excellent
one.........briggs and stratton is bout the best around!
"Mike" wrote in message
...
I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP
with
a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin
cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know
this
is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears
tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors
would
be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike











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"Bonnevilles Rawk" wrote in message
...
I'm partial to Kohler engines and Gravely tractors. Though neither has
anything to do with Pontiac but Gravely was a division of Studebaker.

I've had a Gravely for about 6 years now and would recommend them. It's a
16 hp, 50" cutting width with PTO and NO belts. It will mow through
anything, including waist-high brambles!

Yeah,
I gotta go with you on Kohler.
Roller bearings, better cylinders, etc.
There is reason that a 10 HP Kohler is twice as much $$ as a 10 HP Briggs!
I live near South Bend, Indiana and LOTS of people around here still have
Gravely mowers!

Ditto on the Kohler. That's what I have and had no experience with the
Chraftsman so I said nothing. The Kohler is well worth it.

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP with
a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin
cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this
is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears
tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would
be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike

When our 17 year old Honda finally needed some serious service (in the
middle of the season, of course) we borrowed a friend's 20 horse Craftsman.
I don't even know how to tell you how big a joke that tractor was. It was
only 4 years old, and it was in almost inworse shape than our 17 year old
Honda. The fit and finish of the whole thing was like those godawful
Chrysler K cars. The Honda was only rated at 14 horse, but it chewed up wet
and tall grass like butter, while the 20 horse Craftsman bogged down and
quit. No power up hills, and an absolute pain to try to take off the stupid
grass catcher attachment.

Buy Craftsman if that's all you can afford, but be prepared to either learn
how to work on it constantly, or pay someone to do it, or buy a new one
every 3 years or so. It's actually cheaper to pay someone to come and cut
your grass than it is to buy a Craftsman.

BTW, after about $600 worth of parts for the Honda, it's probably ready to
go for another 17 years.

Quality is expensive on the front end. Cheap is expensive it's whole
existance.

I have one, and I hate the way it mows. The supports for the deck are too
close together and the deck shakes side to side. If your yard is flatter
than mine you might like it.

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP with
a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin
cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know this
is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears
tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would
be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike

When my 70's vintage Cub Cadet finally died for good, I bought a nice, used,
80's version (Model 1650) Cub Cadet for $750.00.
It has a 16 HP Kohler motor, Hydrostatic drive, an electric clutch for the
deck blades, and power lift for the deck and accessories. Other than a new
seat cushion and some new paint on the hood, it was ready to go!
It's REALLY heavy duty, and for the money a MUCH better investment than a
new "store brand" tractor from WallyMart!

"Sunflower" wrote in message
...

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I am about to purchase a brand new Sears lawn tractor, Craftsman 20HP
with
a
42" mower deck for $1200.00 (US) It is a Briggs and Stratton twin
cylinder
overhead valve engine. I have just less then 1 acre of land, I know
this
is
much more then I need but sounds like a great deal.

Just wondering if anyone may have good or bad experience with Sears
tractors
or the same engine. It is a 6 speed transmission. Sears is having a
special for $1200.00.

Any feedback on this tractor or even any other Sears Lawn tractors would
be
greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mike

When our 17 year old Honda finally needed some serious service (in the
middle of the season, of course) we borrowed a friend's 20 horse
Craftsman.
I don't even know how to tell you how big a joke that tractor was. It was
only 4 years old, and it was in almost inworse shape than our 17 year old
Honda. The fit and finish of the whole thing was like those godawful
Chrysler K cars. The Honda was only rated at 14 horse, but it chewed up
wet
and tall grass like butter, while the 20 horse Craftsman bogged down and
quit. No power up hills, and an absolute pain to try to take off the
stupid
grass catcher attachment.

Buy Craftsman if that's all you can afford, but be prepared to either
learn
how to work on it constantly, or pay someone to do it, or buy a new one
every 3 years or so. It's actually cheaper to pay someone to come and cut
your grass than it is to buy a Craftsman.

BTW, after about $600 worth of parts for the Honda, it's probably ready to
go for another 17 years.

Quality is expensive on the front end. Cheap is expensive it's whole
existance.






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