OK gang. I just moved from a small city lot to my new home, with a 1.1 acre
lot. Lawn is getting out of hand, so it's time to break down and finally buy
that riding mower.

Looking in the paper, I find this used john deere. ad reads as follows:
" JOHN DEE 111 Lawn Tractor, 38" mower, 42" snowblower, good cond, needs
engine work, $500.00 "

Now, I am going to go take a look and am leaning towards buying this one if
it looks OK.

Any suggestions on things I should be looking for? I've never purchased (or
even used) a riding mower before, so what types of things should I keep an
eye open for?

Any problems/concerns with this particular model type? As you can see from
the ad, I don't know too much about it. (Model year, etc., completely
unknown)

What about things like maintenance? or parts availabiliity etc...?

I am not TOO worried about the "needs engine work" part, as my
brother-in-law is pretty handy with small engine repair, etc. and I am
bringing him with me to check it out.

Thanks in advance for all the help!