Exactly what I meant it to be. The idea that the current Sears Repair Agreement is either an extended warranty or a waste of money is a concept held onto by those who either want the service departments to profit or are overwhemingly ignorant. It wasn't that long ago that a lady who visited my store got upset with me for offering to send a contract home with her so that she could read it and make an informed decision rather than relying on what she had heard. The basis of her anger- she claimed to have sold the same contract when she worked for Montgomery Ward. I'm sorry, but thinking that a currently offered contract has no difference from a contract offered 5 or 10 years in the past is ignorant enough, why add to it by confusing two different companies. Part of my job so far has been to research what offers are made by my competitors to "enhance" the manufacturer's warranty. I have found that, for the most part, what rcbe says is true- extended warranties are a waste of time and not worth considering. I have also found (both by reading about the differences and buying the contracts) that the Sears contracts offer enough added protection to be at least considered. Sears had a reputation in the past for service after the sale. Those of us now in the company would like to get that reputation back, but a lawsuit happy America has made it so that we have to have a written contract to override the manufacturer's warranty. The only other option is to increase all the prices to include the coverage whether you like it or not. If we did that, we may as well close our doors, because we want you to have a choice and not become like so many tire shops that advertise "free flat repair" when they should say "road hazard warranty included in price- live with it." I only advise that every person considering a purchase also consider the coverage. Read it, make yourself informed, and make your own choice. Just don't take your product back to the store five months after following ignorant advice trying to demand a refund. It's not gonna happen, because you decided to cut the retailer loose from all responsibility at the ninety day mark.

fcarp63, How do you like the johnny bucket setup on your GT225? I've been on the fence about buying one of those for years, and now that I'm a week out from returning home from Afghanistan, I think a johnny bucket and a hayes electric sleeve hitch may be in my future. After living in a desert wasteland for nearly 9 months, I'm pretty excited to get home and do some landscaping work (and other things). tomplum, You should tell your buddy about the piranha deck if he's considering a freedom. Do the search on the bottom of the page and you'll see the writeup I did about mine. It's a pretty amazing upgrade, and simpler than the counter-rotating freedom deck. virginacowboy, I can't say enough about the Deere garden tractors. My GT225 is by no means too big for my 2/3 acre, but when it comes to gardening chores, or pulling, it's a tank. I've pulled my 10 cu ft cart heaped over with sand uphill with no problem at all. Consider one thing when buying a mower: even on a 1/2 acre lot you'll benefit from a 48" deck, since it shrinks your uncut radius slightly and allows you to cut up close to things better than a 42". I think most salesmen would tell you that for a 1/2 acre all you need is a 42", but I would disagree. I have a 44" mulching deck on my GT225 and a 48" deck on my GT262 which is a backup workhorse on my father's property. I was not really happy with the original 42C my GT225 came with, mainly because the deck is no wider than the wheels (on the wide setting) which makes it tough to trim up against my landscaping.

Ferris builds the commercial. Simplicity doesn't make any comercial. They are already made at Ferris. Nothing will most likely not get moved there. The snow blowers are going to Tennessee to a new plant they are opening and the tractors are going to Snapper. We currently make the larger Snapper tractors at Simplicity. Like the one Brett Farve was advertising. Currently Briggs is already using thinner gageing on the hoods, side panels etc. The average worker at Simplicity has 20 years of exp. My father retired with 37. So they have a lot of ground to make up for our exp. years they will be losing. I have so much more in my head but it realy doesn't matter anymore. What is is is. Nothing I can do to change that. Just saying I wouldn't plan on Simplicity tractors to get any better. Maybe cheaper in price and therefore quality as in durablility will have to suffer.

my2014 X300 transmission just died.,.,,.230 hrs on it.,.,i mow approx. 1.2 acres and use the 44 inch snowblower.,.,.,i was told by dealer that J.d new of this transmission issue early on and then rebuilt/redesigned the tranny in the newer versions in 2018.,.,realizing that the 3/4 axles were borderline strong enough for the snowblower attachment.,.,.,$1,200 later.,.,i'm mowing again.,.,,.if your going to add attachment to any tractor maybe 3/4 axle should be avoided.,