Riding Lawnmower Update

[dboat]

For those of you that responded to the first thread on this and even those of you that didnt.. Here is the latest.. I am just about to pull the trigger to buy one. But here is my quandry.. Which one to buy? Now some of you are gonna get mad at me for wanting to buy one from a Big Box Store, but both of them (Lowes and HD) are offering 12 months free financing.. That is hard for me to pass up. The spouse is also wanting to buy a new grill at the same time.. so it is too easy to get it and just spread the payments over a year and not pay any interest..

So I am now looking at the John Deere 115 $1599, Toro LX420 $1299, Husqvarna YTH20F42T $1699, John Deere 125 $1799, Troy Built 13AX60TG766 $1299..

Here are my impressions.. They all either have a Kohler or B&S engine. They are all hydro or CVT auto transmissions (not sure of the cvt, since not familiar with it). The John Deere and Husky have the better layout for the gas pedal with reverse. The price on the Toro and Troy Built is nice, but if I dont like the way the brake and gas pedals are, not sure I wouldnt be kicking myself later (meaning every time I use it). They all have adj seat and most were pretty comfortable. Almost all of them have an oil filter, etc. Most have a timer for maintenance purposes. They all have somewhere between an 18-20hp engine, some one cylinder some two. The Troy Built has an adapter you can buy to be able to wash out the deck with a hose. (CubCadet has the best system for that, but the one I would want isnt sold by either store). Not sure about how hard they are to maintain, or get access to different parts.. Some have grease fittings for the axles, most dont.
All things considered, I am leaning towards the JD or the Troy Built. I would go with the Husky but just am not sure about the parts availability long term. JD and the rest are here and have been here for a while. Husky has been around for a long time, but just dont want long term hassles.
If you go to the first thread on this, you will see that my yard isnt big but does have a significant slope on one side. I am not small, weighing in at about 270 lbs. And I will need to measure the door to the storage room, since the tractor will need to go up the ramps to be stored there.
However, I would really appreciate any and all insight my brethren here could pass on to me.. good or bad, let me hear from you..
Thanks
Dana


http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3881

 

[l_bilyk]

OT, but the spouse wants you to buy a new grill??? NICE!!

 

[Slatewear]

The spouse is also wanting to buy a new grill at the same time..

Sure, and my SWMBO wants me to buy more tools AND get another project vehicle.

 

[KeukaDan]

The John Deere will be the easiest to get parts for and to get service on. I understand your want to go with the big box for the financing but I would recommend going to your local John Deere dealer. They will likely do a better job setting it up, and may give you free delivery. Now I get all of this plus more but I am a good customer of my Deere dealer so they like to keep me happy but I do know they will meet or beat the price and give delivery to any customer. They will also do financing for you, I just don't know how good a deal it is since I use my bank to finance our vineyard tractors since they are over $30,000 a piece.

Now back to the mower, at first John Deere dealers tried to push people away from their low line but now at least my dealer was pushing them as a good mower the last time I stopped in. Their lower model mowers still have the same EDGE mower deck as their higher end mowers, the big difference is the engine manufacturer but they will get parts for and repair it for you regardless. I love my John Deere mower along with our JD tractor mowers. JD service is impeccable, I get service on site for anything under warranty and their rates for on site repairs are not that excessive. As to parts my dealer stocks 90% + of all JD parts for anything they ever manufactured so I rarely ever needs to wait for parts. When I do they are at the dealer the next day.

Now I will say that I don't know how good your JD dealer is but so far I have had good luck with mine.

 

[dboat]

OT, but the spouse wants you to buy a new grill??? NICE!!

Well, there is a story to this.. I have a 10 yr old Ducane that got a whole new bottom end (everything from the cabinet to the burners, etc) under warranty about 4 yrs ago.. The thing is in very good shape. But some of the grids will slip and fall on top of the bricks on occasion.

She wants one of the new Ducane or JennAir (all stainless steel, with side burner and rotisserie). These have a price point of either $699 or $899. I have her talked into the $699 models since its only the two of us and the more expensive models are huge. She does a fair amount of the cooking outside starting in the Spring thru the Fall. She really likes to cook on the grill, hence her interest in a new one.. its just that she wants the best to cook on..
Dana

 

[dboat]

The John Deere will be the easiest to get parts for and to get service on. I understand your want to go with the big box for the financing but I would recommend going to your local John Deere dealer. They will likely do a better job setting it up, and may give you free delivery. Now I get all of this plus more but I am a good customer of my Deere dealer so they like to keep me happy but I do know they will meet or beat the price and give delivery to any customer. They will also do financing for you, I just don't know how good a deal it is since I use my bank to finance our vineyard tractors since they are over $30,000 a piece.

Now back to the mower, at first John Deere dealers tried to push people away from their low line but now at least my dealer was pushing them as a good mower the last time I stopped in. Their lower model mowers still have the same EDGE mower deck as their higher end mowers, the big difference is the engine manufacturer but they will get parts for and repair it for you regardless. I love my John Deere mower along with our JD tractor mowers. JD service is impeccable, I get service on site for anything under warranty and their rates for on site repairs are not that excessive. As to parts my dealer stocks 90% + of all JD parts for anything they ever manufactured so I rarely ever needs to wait for parts. When I do they are at the dealer the next day.

Now I will say that I don't know how good your JD dealer is but so far I have had good luck with mine.

Excellent post.. thanks much.. I may give them a call, but 0% for a year is hard to beat.. I have heard that if you bring in a big box bought JD, you go to the end of the line when it needs maintenance.
Dana

 

[Jared]

From what iahve heard the big box store jd's are different than the one the jd dealer sells, i am not sure on this but yu might want to research it

 

[eschoendorff]

From what iahve heard the big box store jd's are different than the one the jd dealer sells, i am not sure on this but yu might want to research it

I have heard the same thing. It doesn't seem like it would take much to check the big box vs. the JD dealers though. It'd be interesting to see what turns up...

 

[Michael]

From what iahve heard the big box store jd's are different than the one the jd dealer sells, i am not sure on this but yu might want to research it

They are the same mower. I don't know where that rumor started but people ask me that all the time. Also I don't know about other places but your not going to the back of the line for service just because you didn't buy the mower from us. I bet 70% of the L series that come in the shop were bought somewhere other than a Deere dealer.

 

[KeukaDan]

From what iahve heard the big box store jd's are different than the one the jd dealer sells, i am not sure on this but yu might want to research it

That is definatley not true, if you walk in you can buy the same mower for the same basic price. Now JD sells other mowers that the big box stores dont but the L series is the same.