Some people find they like front wheel drive because the drive wheels don't drag like some rwd machines. FWD machines are generally cheaper than rwd because the drive is simpler, no clutches needed to allow turning without skidding. The downsides are weight distribution and traction. As the bag fills weight is shifted to the rear taking it away from the drive wheels where it is needed.

A couple favors you can do for yourself. First, sign up for the Craftsman Club, you can find the information on the Craftsman website. Second, wait until nest week to buy your mower. Third and final is to find one of the salespeople in your local Sears that you can talk to and build some kind of working relationship with. Remember through the process that all mowers are going to be similar, but the stores that sell them have different ideas of service. All of them, however are bound by the terms of the manufacturer's warranty unless it is overridden by a separate contract. Sears is the only store I have found that makes an actual repair plan available to the public that covers normal wear and offers replacement under so many different conditions while offering the service to be done in-house rather than through an "authorized service center" which may take you miles further than returning to the store you bought the item at. If you build that relationship this week, ask your salesperson if there are any special sales coming up on the mower. (Inside tip: there is a "VIP Event" scheduled for Sunday May 3 from 6-9 PM.) As a Craftsman owner and Sears employee, I think that you would do well with the Craftsman item #37640, based on what you said about your lawn. If you'd like the convenience of a Key Start, upgrade to item #37659. Best Wishes!

Stay away from the Craftsman extended warranties, they have awful service and are overpriced. Sears makes more money off the extended warranty than they do on the mowers and the very, very seldom pay off. I would never recommend a front wheel drive for anyone who plans to bag for the reason canguy stated above, also the front wheel drive versions tend to be very tough on the front wheels. You may want to broaden your search a bit as Toro and Lawnboy have very good rear wheel drive mowers with much better drive mechanisms.

Apparently you've either never read the terms of the repair agreement and assume it's an extended warranty, or never did the math to realize that repair costs due to wear will net more profit for Sears Repair than the service plan ever will. The only way these plans are pure profit for the company is when the uninformed or genuinely ignorant buy the plan and never use it for repair, instead opting to "do it myself until I break it." If that method of thought is followed, what is expected to be fixed is no longer wear, but consumer negligence and ignorance, something the salesperson tried to repair at the time of sale. In today's market, foregoing the repair plan states clearly that you want the retailer to help you only with returns and only for ninety days. Everything after that is out of your pocket, and in some cases may include diagnostic fees to find covered warranty conditions.

Thanks for the input.

I've updated and revised my question throwing a Toro into the mix under the posting "Sears Snapper SPV21675 or Toro 20066".

Jim: Thanks for the tip on Sears VIP event. I'll keep an eye on that. I missed the "Midnight Madness" sale last night by a hair :( That would have added an additional 5 percent to the $25 discount being offered on mowers in that price range and would have made either a good buy.

Thanks everyone again...