I agree, go with what works for you. JD makes a good solid mower, but the
actual mowing quality is substandard.
My dad has owner 6 JD mowers since 1988. 3 of those were traded in because
the motor was smoking badly after he used them to snow blow heavy snow or do
tilling work. All of them will not cut the grass while turning. They bend
the grass and leave trails of taller uncut grass. He has a 2003 345?? I
think it is...it will not mow corners either.
I have a JD 60 from 1967. It is a awesome little mower for it's age. It has
a new motor , seat, and blades. I acquired it for $125. it even has a nice
JD cover for it.
For a little 6 hp motor, it mows the tall stuff perfect
the first cut, UNLESS I'm turning a corner. Same thing.
My brother in law fixes and sells used mowers. I asked him about it and he
said, yup, that's a Deer. They can only run in straight lines.
Good quality, great durability. So so mowing.
We had a 1981 24hp Sears with a 60" 3 blade deck that could mow anything we
threw at it. Funny thing is, when you pulled up to another 24hp JD of the
same year, they were identical to the letter. Just different colors.
I
haven't seen much for mowers at Sears since that one.
Lannie
"Tom Gauldin" wrote in message
news:8Kfpa.34788$e73.21283@fed1read04...
I've had almost every kind of riding mower/tractor from a typical
Sears/MTD
in the 70's to a John Deere 650 diesel, 4WD. If I've learned anything,
it's
to try the machine out before buying and to get the least expensive one
that
does the job.
I strongly recommend the lowest end mowers- the kind that use a belt
tensioner as the clutch. They are jumpy and can flip over backwards.
Instead, consider a low end hydrostatic drive. It is infinitely variable
and smooth.
Brand means less than the weight. Horsepower means little for towing and
if
you're over 12hp, you have enough for mowing as well. Weight is important
for plowing, dragging and towing. It isn't the "go," it's the "stop and
turn" that matters, and that's where weight counts.
Cub was a darned good line in the 80's, but I am not familiar with it
nowadays. If I was going to just go buy something without much research,
I'd look at Cub, John Deere and (?) the one sold at Home Depot- is it
Husquevarna?
If you're just mowing a typical, flat, small lot, consider getting the
MTD-type of bottom end riding mowers and trade it off every 3-5 years.
The
MTD types actually do a decent job of mowing.
--
Tom Gauldin, Las Vegas NV
NEW EMAIL
NEW PHONE (702) 263-8804 voice/fax
"BRN" wrote in message
...
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