Riding Mower

RedBag

I posted a while back that I had a John Deere riding mower that was broke. I bought it at HD and had heard that when you had to have then serviced the dealers were not real happy to work on them. Well I took mine in Thursday and the dealer was as nice as could be. However the cost to fix the tractor will be $940. The tractor is running fine the mower does not work. The thing about a JD is no one can work on then except JD dealers because no one else can get parts. I paid $2,500 for the tractor and it has 99 hours on it. I generally believe in buying quality but for the cost to fix this thing I can buy a cheap rider and replace it. I’m thinking if the quality ones don’t last why not just but the cheap ones so it won’t sting so much…..so really other than just venting a little I was wondering if anyone has had good luck with an inexpensive rider, if so what kind?

fishlessman

i dont think they make a good riding mower any more. i would be looking for an old bolens or something and fix it up if i cut grass :laugh: last place i would shop is hd though, not for a perchase this size. would also pay attention to what the lawn care guys are using, maybe even watch for a going out of business sale from one of those guys but i dont see that happening, they all have new trucks, they all seem to find work, even in these times people seem willing to pay for their lawns, i dont get that

RedBag

I wouldn't mind dropping the cash again if I thought I would get better results. Toro, Honda, Sanapper all seem like viable choices. But if they won't last either why not just spend $800 on a Murry or Craftsman and chunk it if it dies. And yes you are right about making that purchase at HD...lesson learned.

asianflava

I have a 23hp V-twin Sears garden tractor, I get all kinds of funny looks when I use it because I have a tiny yard. It just takes 6 passes to cut the yard. I guess it hasn't occured to them that maybe I had the GT before I had this yard. My old house's back yard was just over 1/2 acre. I already own the GT and I hate cutting grass so this works, I can cut the grass really fast. I ended up getting a snow plow for it this winter, which I'm glad I got.

Anyway, the one I got has a Kohler engine and so far it's been good to me, I had 125hrs on it when the hr meter died. Parts seem really easy to find because Sears, MTD, Bolens, YardMan, etc. are all made by the same company. My dad had an old Sears and it was rendered useless when the deck rusted apart. My newer one has separate spindles on the deck. You can replace the spindles or the deck.

I found a website that sells JD parts, it might be worth a look. http://www.greenpartstore.com/John-Deere-Lawn-and-Garden-Tractor-Parts.html

RedBag

Thanks for the link. I checked it out and they only have a few parts for the L120. To add insult to injury while my tractor was in the shop they left the key turned on. This causes the hour meter to run. So I took it in with 99.5 hours on it an brought it home with 137 hours on it. Not a real big deal other than it just adds to my total disgust with my JD experience. My JD has a 22hp Kohler engine….want to buy it..ha ha.

Little Steven

RedBag,

I bought a craftsman years ago at a Sears warehouse that was marked down to about half price on an end of the season deal and was pleased to find it was a 30% off day. $2200 down to $1100 and another $330 off that. Bought the extended warranty cause that was based on the sale price. I used it for 5 years and left it outside through Canadian winters. Took the deck off and still use it as a tractor. Needed a bigger cut with the new house but could still be using it.

Steve

Sundazes

For that 940, you can get a cheap tractor. I paid just about a grand for my Craftsman 17 horse Kohler 6 years ago. still runs great. But it is starting to nickel and dime me to death.
What is wrong with it? I mean the exact problem?

RedBag

I totally agree with you about getting a whole new tractor for that price. That is what I am leaning towards right now. To be honest at this point I can’t even tell you everything that they said was wrong with it. They wrote it up but when I decided not to have it repaired they did not give me the paper work. All I really heard was the price.