So, I need To Buy A Riding Mower..

[Dix]

Push mowed for years, on an acre, about 2/3 is mowable.

Last year, a buddy moved out of his live in GFs, and needed to store his power equipment. I bartered storage for use He's buying a house, closing in a few weeks.

I have checked Craigslist, and used needs blades, tune ups, etc. For around $500 -$750 or so, before I put the repairs into them. Not happy about that.

How reliable are the less expensive Toro's, Murrays, etc that Lowe's or Home Boy Depot puts on sale for $700 - $1000 or so? I understand new ='s warranty, and all that.

 

[SCOTT S.]

I have a Husqvarna I bought 8 years ago for $1,300 has treated me great very few repairs. Owned a Murray before that it was a huge pile, constant repairs and if you breathed on the deck wrong you had to re-level.

 

[BrotherBart]

Mine is Husqvarna, same as Sears and other AYP made mowers/tractors. Bought it at Home Depot ten or twelve years ago and it does it all around here including lugging wood uphill out of the woods and plowing snow. No problems. After I took the first one back because it ran like crap. HD asked no questions, just replaced it.

Well, the guy that had to go get the replacement did have some attitude. Took forever and then brought one out that had broken through the pallet, dirty and the left front tire was flat. I frowned at it and he said "Only one we got. Take it or leave it.".

I told him to get the manager out there pronto. Grudgingly he did. I told them "Ya know, I really should have you put this in the trailer and leave. I can fix a flat tire. But how are you going to explain where it went when the district manager asks what happened to that tractor that sells for six hundred more than the one on my sales ticket. Wrong one boys.".

The other one was out there and on the trailer in a slow heartbeat. And mowed the grass yesterday.

 

[1kzwoman]

I have a craftsman that has been great for me for several years.

 

[TreePointer]

How wide is the deck (inches) on the one you've been using in your yard?
Is there anything you don't like about it?

 

[Dix]

The loaner is a Sears with a 42" deck..

Takes about 45 minutes to get the whole place done.

 

[JustWood]

2 things come to mind.
"You get what ya pay for"
and
" They don't make'em like they used to"
I bought what I thought to be a heavier duty model Cub Cadet 12 years ago. At 130 hours looking under the deck last weekend there are a lot of highly wore pins. I realize they are wear parts but more than I'd like to see at 130 hours.
Frame, deck , and engine are robust.

 

[firebroad]

I bought a J Deere 42" from the big box store eight years ago. I use it to cut my half acre lot (health issues), so far no big problems. I will tell you it is a BEAR to get the blade off for sharpening, and almost impossible to grease one of the zerks because it was placed in such a way that it was facing inside and blocked by a steel support rod. JD's answer was to "take the mower deck off". Yeah, like I can do that by myself, why'dya think I bought a rider in the first place?
Other than that, it has given me no problems, I have replaced the battery twice.
I think the Cup Cadet is a great machine, as well.

 

[mstoelton]

I bought a Arien's 17hp 42inch cut zero turn from home depot about 12 years ago. It has been top notch. It reduced my cutting time substantially like from 45 minutes with my snapper lawn tractor to 15 minutes with the Ariens. If you can go with a zero turn do it. You will like it.

 

[gzecc]

If I were looking for a light duty riding mower (only). I would look at the newer 100 series Deere. Find a used one on CL. It would be more important to see where it lived and how it was maintained over the last few years than the price. Expect to pay 1/2 retail price for a good condition machine. Condition would be paramount along with the person and home it was used on. Take it for a spin to cut grass before buying.

 

[TreePointer]

I bought a J Deere 42" from the big box store eight years ago. I use it to cut my half acre lot (health issues), so far no big problems. I will tell you it is a BEAR to get the blade off for sharpening, and almost impossible to grease one of the zerks because it was placed in such a way that it was facing inside and blocked by a steel support rod. JD's answer was to "take the mower deck off". Yeah, like I can do that by myself, why'dya think I bought a rider in the first place?
Other than that, it has given me no problems, I have replaced the battery twice.
I think the Cup Cadet is a great machine, as well.

My neighbor has the same problem with blades on his Cub Cadet. He actually uses an air impact gun on those nuts. The blade nuts on my 2009 Husqvarna are nowhere near as difficult, but I have found few things that don't bow to the 24" breaker bar I use on them.

I don't know if this will help your issue, but I keep a second grease gun with a RIGHT ANGLE COUPLER on its tip for greasing that hard to access middle spindle.

This is the coupler I've been using:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/workforcereg;-tight-tolerance-right-angle-coupler-with-quick-connect

 

[firebroad]

My neighbor has the same problem with blades on his Cub Cadet. He actually uses an air impact gun on those nuts. The blade nuts on my 2009 Husqvarna are nowhere near as difficult, but I have found few things that don't bow to the 24" breaker bar I use on them.

I don't know if this will help your issue, but I keep a second grease gun with a RIGHT ANGLE COUPLER on its tip for greasing that hard to access middle spindle.

This is the coupler I've been using:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/workforcereg;-tight-tolerance-right-angle-coupler-with-quick-connect

Thanks, I have been using that with the flexible tube. My fingers still get a bit sore trying to press it on, but I can usually manage it after a few choice words

 

[TreePointer]

Thanks, I have been using that with the flexible tube. My fingers still get a bit sore trying to press it on, but I can usually manage it after a few choice words

Ah, the magic words that make inanimate objects comply. I use those at least once a day!

 

[Enzo's Dad]

In 2000 I bought a Husqvarna commercial walkbehind mower. It is the best way to cut a lawn.very easy to cut and work on....however it cant move wood.

 

[johnpma]

I have a yard that is about 3/4 of an acre. I bought a DYT4000 off craigslist for $200.00 with a spare set of blades, and a new battery. 18.5HP Briggs and does fine.

My next will be a small tractor with a mower deck and a bucket loader

 

[dougand3]

Sometimes older is better. You may find better value in a heavy duty, older garden tractor that hasn't been abused. I have a '89 Craftsman GT 44"" deck and a '92 MTD GT 46" deck. Both are solid with 18hp Briggs Opposed Twins - I love these engines. Can be found on CL for $200-$400.
One thing to note - 44" or bigger deck normally has 3 blades - more of a pain to sharpen or more $ to replace.

 

[SCOTT S.]

If you are thinking of buying a Cub,Husky,Deere,ect. try to find a local dealer instead of the big box when it comes time for warrantee work you will be there any way, and be given priority over every big box machine that comes in, also you wont have to deal with the 18 year old that couldn't find his back side with two hands and a flashlight . My local dealer matched Sears sale price and they even delivered it for free with out me asking.

 

[BrotherBart]

Been using the things since 1985. And quality hasn't changed in the mass marketed ones over that time. All pretty much the same.

 

[bassJAM]

I’d be looking for a commercial walk behind. You can buy new if you want the warranty and have the money, but you can typically find decent deals on used ones that might only need minor work. Same goes for a zero turn, but I don’t think a ZTR is worth it for less than an acre of mowing. I mow 1.5 acres with a 50” ZTR and sometimes I think it’s overkill, but I've got a lot of trees and things to mow around and it’s really nice to be finished in 45 minutes! I used a buddy's Ariens with a 36" cut when I first bought the house and it took 4 hours! A commercial mower will mow in less time than a riding mower with equal deck sizes. My grandpa mows almost 3 acres of field with his newer Husqvarna 48” and it takes him 3 hours. Granted, he’s 90 years old and mows at a slow pace, but I took my 50” ZTR over once when his mower was down and finished it all in an hour.


As far as riding mowers, I’m a fan of the older ones. The older Cub Cadet’s, Wheel Horse’s, Bolens, John Deere and Craftsmen lawn/garden tractors will be something you’ll pass onto your kids if they’re taken care of. Just about anything you buy at Home Depot or Lowes will be junk in 5-10 years.

 

[TreePointer]

If you need something sturdier for a rough lawn or more acres, I do like that dealer recommendation over big box stores. Husqvarna dealers, for instance, have models with better components (engines, welded not stamped deck, thicker steel, etc.) that aren't available at BB stores.

 

[TreePointer]

The Husqvarna mowers and tractors at the dealer are the exact same ones as at Lowes. Please point out one with a "welded deck". Our Husqvarna dealer pointed me to Lowe's because he didn't have the model I needed in stock. He said he did all of the warranty work for Lowes on them.

I haven't been to my Husqvarna dealer in about a year and a half or maybe two years, so things may have changed. Up until a couple years ago, only the black deck Husqvarna tractors were available at BB stores, and the orange decks with reinforcement rods and/or thicker gauges were ONLY available at the dealer. (Husqvarna changed the reinforcement rod around the deck to a rectangular strip of steel I think in 2010). If you look at the decks a the dealer, there are some with top plates and sides that have welds on them and are not one piece stamped.

Commercial grade angines (cast iron sleeves and such) like the B&S Vanguard 23 and Kawasaki had only been available at the dealer. (Actually, as recently as 2009, the Kawasaki wasn't even an option on USA Husqvarna lawn or garden tractors.)

My local dealer is like yours. He does all warranty work for local Sears/Lowes/etc.

 

[HybridFyre]

Sometimes older is better. You may find better value in a heavy duty, older garden tractor that hasn't been abused. I have a '89 Craftsman GT 44"" deck and a '92 MTD GT 46" deck. Both are solid with 18hp Briggs Opposed Twins - I love these engines. Can be found on CL for $200-$400.
One thing to note - 44" or bigger deck normally has 3 blades - more of a pain to sharpen or more $ to replace.

I'm with this guy. I have two Case garden tractors. Both over 40 years old and both run like a beast. And you can pull with them, mow, snow blow, till. Anything.

 

[Dix]

I have been looking local. I figure soon, there will be sales. Especially the closer we get to July 4th. My Buddy does not have a closing sate yet, so I figure that's a realistic goal at the moment.

An older unit I don't think I cam maintain myself, but I've said that before.

Thank you all for your thoughts .. keep 'em coming !

 

[TreePointer]

Older units are great--more metal, heavier, strong transmission, among other things. You have to be careful, though, because a good deal on an old tractor can get expensive. Some parts are getting difficult to replace, engines can be old and tired, deck spindles can be shot for lack of lube et al.

 

[Ashful]

I have spent more time on and under lawn, garden, and compact utility tractors than most, and everyone has their opinions, but I have to disagree with some of the advice to go old or look at zero turn mowers.

New lawn tractors are indeed lightweight toys, compared to the vintage Cub's and Wheel Horses mentioned by a few above, and unlike some of these vintage garden tractors there's no way these new machines will be running when they're 50 years old. However, I don't think that matters one bit to the OP, and buying some of the older machines mentioned here is a guaranteed ticket to many hours per year in maintenance and repairs. It's fun owning old garden tractors (I just sold a 1963 Deere, and used to own a Bolens 1050 of similar vintage, a 1984'ish Wheel Horse, and a few old Deere's), but that's not going to suit the OP's needs best.

I would also not be looking at zero-turn mowers for mowing a small lawn, such as your two-thirds of an acre. I own a Deere 757 ZTrak with a 60" deck, and it's hella fun, but useless for anything beyond mowing, and would actually be a PITA in a small lawn with lots of tree roundings. A zero-turn lawn tractor is actually going to be faster and more efficient than a zero-turn mower in a smaller lawn, esp. if you have lots of tree roundings and gardens, and you can also pull a small trailer for wood hauling or gardening with the machine. That is what I'd be shopping if I wanted a small riding mower for a yard of your size.