best lawn tractor???

[catjac1975]

If my old John Deere breaks down again -I will scream.
If we replace rather than repair, what is the best garden tractor? We use it for cutting the lawn, collecting the clippings, and hauling firewood. ONE THAT WON'T CONSTANTLY BREAK DOWN!!!!

 

[Dave2000]

John Deere are pretty good, how old is it and what's been breaking?

What grade of tractor are you looking for, something that's essentially a mower with a hitch hole on the bumper or a $2000++ class, or with a PTO or even hydraulics?

Don't know if I can answer your question but I'd imagine someone who can, will find your answers to the above useful.

 

[catjac1975]

We seem to have replaced everything except a complete engine job. We just need a good sized lawn tractor with a catcher and hitch. It does have some years on it maybe 10. We had a used Honda that went forever-until my husband forgot to check the oil that is! I don't think they-re made any more.

John Deere are pretty good, how old is it and what's been breaking?

What grade of tractor are you looking for, something that's essentially a mower with a hitch hole on the bumper or a $2000++ class, or with a PTO or even hydraulics?

Don't know if I can answer your question but I'd imagine someone who can, will find your answers to the above useful.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

I know that we've all heard over and over "you get what you pay for" and it is definitely true when it comes to riding lawn mowers. However it seems that even the junk is quite expensive these days. For compact garden type tractors that are more than a lawn mower I prefer Kabota brand. Over the past 50 years I have been through many different brands and models. I have been stuck on Kabota for the past 15 years and I feel that this is where I get the most bang for my buck.

Many people are confused (or misled) by the word "tractor". Almost all of the models seen at places like Sears, Home Depot, Lowes, Tractor Supply and other big-box stores are simply light duty lawn mowers that are built to look like a tractor. Many of the John Deere models are in this category, too. There is a category of garden tractors that is sorta in between a lawn mower and a farm tractor that suits the home gardener quite well but they all start at $3k and go up to $10k. That's an awful lot of money if you only need a lawn mower but it's a necessity if you're looking for something that will mow the lawn AND plow, disk, cultivate, drill holes for planting trees, run pumps, etc.

If you're looking for quality and dependability you had better be ready to open your wallet.

 

[OldGuy43]

Wrong time of year to be buying. If you can hold off 'til the end-of-season you can get some real bargains.

We bought ours about 3 years ago, a Bolens from Lowe's for under $700, including a 10 cubic foot dump cart.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_317737-270-..._s?Ntt=grass+catcher+riding+mower&facetInfo=#

They're made by Troy-Bilt and I've been really happy with it. Service-after-the-sale is great.

I don't have the bagger, but they are available.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_144100-442-...Ntt=144100&N=0&langId=-1&storeId=10151&rpp=24

Get the extended warranty from Lowe's, and they will help you even while it's still under the manufacturers warranty. The reason I know that is my own fault. I ran into something and it needed repair. They got it fixed for me.

 

[catjac1975]

Yea we fixed the JD again. One thing about the repairs they are never as bad as I expect them to be. We replaced the deck at one point and I thought it was a good value.. I'm not so mad at it today. It cut the whole 2+ acre as with out breaking down. Lets see how long that lasts.

 

[momofdrew]

Catjac, baby it along for this season and shop around in the fall after the season is over as OG suggested, I'll bet you could find a great buy,

 

[catjac1975]

We almost bought a new one last year. We found no leftovers. Seems like even at home depot and Lowe's they needed to be ordered. Companies are more careful in their orders so as not to be stuck with a lot of inventory.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Old thread, but I'm looking to revive it. With us moving to the country i'm going to be wanting a heavy duty garden tractor. Need it to deal with a few acres, haul a decent cart full of gravel and even attach a snow blower to.

Been looking At all sorts of models but I think my initial price point needs to be around $2500. As much as a $8000 Massey Furguson would be nice I think a 25 or $2600 Husq would probably be more up my alley. Anyone got any opinions from the last few years?

 

[catjac1975]

This is an old thread. We wasted a ton of money constantly repairing that old John Deer. We bought a new one from the dealer. They told us that the motor on the lowest priced model would go 25 years and the Home Depot model would go 10 years. Many of the HD models were actually more money than the dealer prices. We have been happy with the new one.