Hi all,

I have been looking into buying a lawn or garden tractor. I have looked at
most of the major brands (J.D., Simplicity, Toro) as well as some of the off
brands or cheap brands (Sears, Murray, etc). Lowes (no H.D in our area) now
sells Cub Cadet lawn and garden tractors. My understanding is that at least
in the past, this used to be a good, solid brand with decent reliability. I
know that the brand is now manufactured by MTD, but was wondering what the
longevity and reliability of these lawn tractors is now? They seem to be a
price point lower than the premium brands, but a bit more expensive than the
cheapest brands.

Additionally, has anyone bought such a large purchase from Lowes? The say
they "service what they sell". Anyone have experience with Lowes repair
service? Do they just farm out the service to local repair shops?

Thank in advance.

Bart