Are those ride on mowers any good?
I didn't even look at the ad, but I'll offer my opinion on Craftsman lawn mowers in general. They are the exact same thing that you can buy at Lowes or Home Depot. They are all made my MTD-Electrolux. I sold mowers at Sears in the early 2000's. The more you spend, the better they are.. better motor, heavier gauge deck, anti-scalp wheels, electric blade clutch, better spindles, etc. The sub $1,000 riding mowers are to meet a price point... they are throw away machines, and the $3,000 ones aren't that much better.
If I were in the market for a riding lawn mower, I'd buy a quality dealer sold John Deere, Toro, Cub Cadet, etc. at an auction or estate sale. They will cost you about the same but you will be getting so much more. I could have bought a super nice 54" John Deere (real one, not big box store one) with 100 hours on it for less than $4,000 last year at an estate sale. If only I had a need for one then... I've seen several good used JD's sell for $600 to $800 at sales... such a better machine than a new $800 Craftsman.
