The Deere's you are looking at are LT's. The Craftsmen are GT's. Is the question Do I want to pay the extra for a LT Deere compared the a GT Craftsman? Or Is the question Will a LT Deere do the same work as a GT Craftsman?
Or is the question Can I buy more Craftsman for the same money as a Deere?
Or is the question, Is the green paint worth more than the Black or Red?
Really, Have you looked (in person) at both, if you have, you should have a more clear question or questions.

other questions to add to steve2ski's list:

are the "hills" actually mountains, or are they flower-bed-mounds?
are the obstacles trees, or landscape features?
how long is your driveway?... is it sloped?

Another question to add to the list...

Do you want competent timely service when you have a problem?

If so, avoid the Sears products. Their service is underwhelming and usually weeks to a month away when you need it.

I'm not a John Deere fan but they do service what they sell.

Deere! Don't go cheap-you'll regret it later. Nuff said.

Thanks for the replies. The hills aren't that steep, i do have a long driveway that is slightly sloped and the obstacles are trees. also i thought the deere x300 was a garden tractor not lawn tractor. i know that the L series tractors from deere are lawn tractors. also the deere x300 is $2899 and the craftsman GT is about $2500. thanks again.

The X300 is a top-of-the-line lawn tractor.

Many GTs (even Deere's own G110) are smaller & structurally weaker tractors but still bear a GT label....

The only true reason that the X300 can not be an entry-level GT, is because of the LT tranny it has.

A quick ride on a Craftsman DSG6500 and a JD X300 will tell the story... oh yea, you can't test drive a Sears tractor... never mind.

At some point, manufacturers started selling "yard tractors". These were intended to slot between the LTs and the GTs. I don't think anyone uses that label anymore, but it might apply to the YT models sold by Husqvarna.

Near as I can figure, the X300 series fits into that YT niche. It's not a ground-engaging GT, but it's a little more capable than your standard riding mower when it comes to tasks like snow blowing, towing, and using attachments. I refer to my X304 as a "yuppietrac".

The Sears unit you appear to have your eye on is a very low end, but still handy GT. Purists will scoff at it ("It's a baby GT") but many owners claim it has useful capabilities above and beyond the standard lawn tractor.

For the mowing and hauling, you can probably get away with something like the JD LA165. That would keep you close to $2,000. However, once you mention plowing, you put yourself into the X320 or X340 range. Unless you're talking about plowing snow, in which case I'd recommend an X300 with a blower instead of a plow. The Sears GT should do all of these things, but, frankly, when I was shopping I wasn't too impressed with the way these units were put together. I think Simplicity makes better options at this price point, but Craftsman pundits will take me to task for that. :-)

I own a Deere GT, GT275, I also own a Craftsman LT DLT2000.
The Deere is a GT, The Craftsman is a LT. There is really no comparision between the 2.
The Deere was approx $5,000 new in 1996 and I have spent approx $200 to $400 (use JD service) per year in maintenance, this spring was $376.18 (I mow 3-4 rough acres with it). The Craftsman was $2,400 new in 2002 and I have spent approx $100 in parts and approx 10 hrs in labor over 5 yrs. (I mow approx 1 acre of smooth lawn with it).
I have included service parts(blades) in both units.
The JD service is great, but very expensive, to get a idea of how much go to configure your own on the model you are interested in and select service this is on the JD website.
For your reference the GT275 is equal to the X500 Deere per a JD Dealer.

It all depends on how much and what you want to plow. The X300 has a Tuff Torq K46 hydro. Certainly capable of mowing and hauling the occasional dump cart, but not rated for "ground engaging work" (read as plowing). The Craftsman you're looking at has a K66 Hydro, which is several rungs up in the Tuff Torq product catalog and rated as ground engaging.

If ground engaging work (plowing) is a must and you need to stay under $3K, you're looking at either the Craftsman you've targeted or something used. If plowing isn't that critical (say just some occasional light snow plowing, rather than plowing up a garden) you can probably get by with the X300, although there are several other quality lawn tractors in that price range you might consider as well.

I think the X304 is fine for mowing, but I wouldn't push snow around, check that, you WON'T push snow around..the K46 isn't built for that. The X is a very expensive mowing machine and it will not perform the work a Craftsman GT will perform. Consider a Simplicity Regent and buy a dedicated snow blower to solve snow issues. If you are just going to mow and pull a few things around the yard, you don't need a Craftsman GT, just get a much less expensive Craftsman LT. Service may be hit or miss if you even need it. A $1500 Craftsman LT will do the same work as an X304. It all comes down to the transaxle as every engine out there is way overpowered to begin with. Cheap Craftsman LTs use the same axle as the expensive X304. JD would have sold me an X304 if not for that one highly annoying detail.

"Consider a Simplicity Regent and buy a dedicated snow blower to solve snow issues"

Agree with the Simplicity Regent and if by dedicated snow blower you mean the factory snow blower/thrower along with wheel weights and chains ditto on that.

A top quality lawn tractor will do a fine job with its OEM snow thrower/blower, weights and chains. IMO and personal experience using a plow on an LT to move snow is stressing the tractor far more than a thrower and not near as effective.

This lawn tractor threw a lot of snow for me for 10 years...

{{gwi:322796}}

And this bigger dog has replaced it and throws snow more than twice as far...

{{gwi:322797}}

I think we need to hear from the OP regarding just what type of plowing we need to consider. Garden plowing requires a GT. Occasional, light snow plowing (1-4") should be possible with a K46 equipped LT. Our OP's user name suggests residence in Jersey and light snow is all I expect he or she would see. When a blizzard wanders through once every 5 years, hire a guy with plow truck. It's much cheaper.

Justalurk, that's one mean-lookin' blower you've got there. :) The chute on it looks like the snorkel from a hummer.

Swimjim, I think the OP is looking at the X300, not the X304. I agree with you on the trans axle being the first thing to consider when weighing an LT's capability. However, at the risk of starting a color war, capability is not the only factor in buying a tractor (pardon the rhyme). Comfort, noise levels, features, service, etc. will also play a role in whether a buyer enjoys the tractor or not.

All I can tell you is what a friend of mine told me. He told me to get a Craftsman instead of a Deere, when it comes to mower.

Taking his advise might sound stupid, until you know that he's a Deere mechanic. He's not sales, so he says he doesn't care what someone buys. But when someone asks him what to get in lawn tractors (LT, YT, GT), he'll tell you to get a Craftsman because with a Deere, you're paying for the paint; especially at the big box stores.

Now when you ask him about tractors, that's a completely different story. He'll tell you exactly why the Deere is better and part of that is service.

As with any company that sells a product of service, every person that works for JD is in Sales. If they say it is not part of their job, they should be fired. Your friend sounds like a disgruntled employee that needs to find a new job (maybe Sears is hiring "mechanics").

crabjoe,

Your friend is certainly entitled to his opinion.

I wonder when the last time your friend took a REAL close look at a Craftman GT.

I wonder if he saw the paper only air filter element instead of a two stage foam around paper the manual says it should come with but doesn't.

I wonder if he looked REAL close at the dumbed and cheapened down Kohler Pro (Courage) engine that Sears specs which doesn't have the hydraulic lifters and Bendix drive starter of the Kohler Command engines.

I wonder if the JD dealer's service department where your friend works tells their customers that it will be at least 3 weeks until someone can look at their in warranty tractor and then another 3 weeks before they can get the parts and effect the repair because Sears does.

I wonder if the JD dealer where your friend works offers pre-purchase test drives before you plunk down your hard earned cash because Sears doesn't.

I wonder if the JD dealer where your friend works does a proper PDI and service before they deliver a tractor to a customer because Sears doesn't.

I wonder if the JD dealer where your friend works stocks parts and accessories for the products they sell because Sears doesn't.

I bought a brand new, top of the line Sears DGS6500 five months ago along with a snow blower, wheel weights, and chains. Got it home fired it up and it ran so poorly that I returned it all the next day.

Seems to me that you're paying for more than the paint. You're paying for service before and after the sale, parts inventory, timely service, and proper delivery and setup.

At Sears you're paying less so I guess the real question is how much less is one willing to settle for.

I am not a Deere fan BUT in all fairness comparing Sears to a real L&G dealer is disingenuous. A more fair comparison would be Sears to Home Depot or Lowes, but HD and Lowes has their JD LTs serviced and supported by the local JD dealer while Sears has their tractors assembled by adjustable wrench wielding warehouse people who do no pre-delivery service whatsoever.

justalurker,
You make a very good arguement until;
- copy from your post -
I bought a brand new, top of the line Sears DGS6500 five months ago along with a snow blower, wheel weights, and chains. Got it home fired it up and it ran so poorly that I returned it all the next day.

- this statement counterdicks most of your arguements -

Sears doesn't do test drives with setups prior to the sale. - They just allow the tractor to be returned for credit if you are not satisified -

John Deere has the same thing it's called a 30 day promise. - the dealer will not allow test drives with out plunking down some your green for thier green.

Why is this - both retailer's have to sell the equipment as new, if you decide not to buy - by selling the equipment to you the retailer transfers the risk of your satisfaction to the manufacturer.
All the other stuff you mention can be established before any purchase or test drive -
If you feel John Deere service is great (and I do), do you know most John Dealers will service and/or repair Craftsman or any other equipment? (although in fairness they will not honor Sears warrenty issues) This service is even offered on JD Ready to Mow program.

As far as setup prior to delivery - Local Sears here does not do it period. The purchaser is responsible - if you are unwilling or incapable of setup you should look else where, Sears tells you this prior to the sale also.

If you are talking ZTR's some dealers have a demo that is allowed to be used (may or maynot) be the exact model you are thinking about - Sears does not offer this to my knowledge.
But did you know these demo models have been previously sold to commerical cutters, whom are given quite a discount for the use of them by the dealer as a demo for a specified number of hrs.

steve2ski,

We agree to a point... Sears corporate policy on small tractors is to unbox them and deliver (at a charge) or notify the customer to pick them up UNSERVICED. Their policy is that any service required to make them run correctly will be done after the fact by their on-site service force and the customer will simply have to wait.

When I picked up my tractor they refused to let me start it "because putting gasoline in the tractor would create a fire hazard". I had brought a gas can. Now, they will accept a tractor returned for a refund with gas in it and drive it around in the parking lot... go figure.

The soonest appointment I could get for a service call was 3 weeks. At that time their tech would assess the service and parts needs and order the parts. The parts would be shipped to me in 2-3 weeks and then I had to arrange for the tech to return in another 2-3 weeks to effect the repair.

That would be 6-9 weeks from the time I paid for it and drove 50 miles to pick it up to get the tractor operating properly. Too lengthy a wait for me.

I checked all the obvious stuff but it needed more than adjustments to bring that tractor to correct operation.

When I returned the tractor there was another customer returning the same model tractor for a refund with exactly the same problems as mine.

Regarding "As far as setup prior to delivery - Local Sears here does not do it period. The purchaser is responsible - if you are unwilling or incapable of setup you should look else where, Sears tells you this prior to the sale also"... please point me to where Sears informs its customers before the sale that lawn and garden tractors will be provided to the customer that will not be capable of fulfilling the tasks for which they are advertised and it is the obligation of the customer to make the product fit for its intended use.

In the US, EVERY purchaser of any product has the expectation that the product will do the job for which it was advertised, intended, sold, and purchased. IIRC that is specifically covered in the UCC.

Sears' ineffective QC and delivery without setup is not the responsibility of the consumer nor should the consumer wait 6-9 weeks to have the tractor operate properly.

Of course, subsequent repairs covered under the two year warranty are at the mercy of the on-site repair service, parts depot, and the scheduling gods.

BTW, not only are JD L&G dealers required by the factory to PDI and service before sale EVERY LT & GT they sell, but as I understand it, they are required to do the same for EVERY LT that Home Depot and Lowes sells.

And FYI Sears does not transfer any risk of customer satisfaction to the tractor manufacturer. In fact, there is no factory warranty on the tractor, engine, transaxle, nor any other component on a Sears tractor. Sears contracts for the tractors without those warranties so its customers are totally dependent on Sears for competent service and fair warranty coverage with the courts being the only remedy available to the consumer if dissatisfied.

Justalurker: You had a bad experience with a sears tractor and your word is now gospel on the subject. Let me give you another viewpoint. I bought a GS 6500 in 2006 in early November. The service mechanic set up my tractor and installed both the deck and the snowplow. I wanted to use the bagger on my tractor for one last pass in the yard. They charged me nothing for the set up and delivered the tractor for free. As far as service I have used the at home service for my walk behind snow blower and have never waited longer than 4 days. I also have 2 sears service centers within driving distance of my home and have in the past bought my 1986 sears tractor in for service. My closest JD dealer is just as far away and charges for pickup. I also have a cub cadet and that dealer charges for pickup.As far as parts I use the online service and get whatever I need in a timely manner. It is apparent in every post you make that you had a problem with your tractor and your goal is to trash them every chance you get. Some of us have had experiences just the opposite to yours and we only speak up when we hear perennial malcontents like you.

cpuritan,

Unnecessary insults aside, I wish my experience had gone exactly as yours. Truly do.

I remain impressed with the feature set of all the Sears tractors and they are a lot of bang for the buck.

I'm sure a perennial content such as yourself would be just as underwhelmed as I was had my experience with my Sears tractor purchase been yours.

thanks everyone for all the great responses. I am still not sure which way I am going. I currently have a very old snapper rear enging that is shot so I have to make up my mind soon. I have been hearing and reading some good reviews on simplicity tractors and went on thier website but they were more expensive than I thought. Again, I am not going to be doing any major hauling or plowing with this tractor but want something that I know will last a long time. I am willing to spend up to $3000 if I know it is a solid tractor that will last and do some of the little things I need it to do. i.e., mowing (with small hills and several obstacles), light plowing (when we get the occasional snow in NJ), some light hauling (firewood), and maybe some lawn thaching/aerating. I am still torn between the craftsman (either DGS 6500 or MTS 5500) or John Deere (lt 165 or x300) Question, I read a lot about transmission K46 or K66, if it says just hydro what does that mean? thanks again.

justalurker,
You had some bad experiences, I've had good with both sears and deeres, but you asked me to point this out to you, so here goes.

copy from your previous post:
Regarding "As far as setup prior to delivery - Local Sears here does not do it period. The purchaser is responsible - if you are unwilling or incapable of setup you should look else where, Sears tells you this prior to the sale also"... please point me to where Sears informs its customers before the sale that lawn and garden tractors will be provided to the customer that will not be capable of fulfilling the tasks for which they are advertised and it is the obligation of the customer to make the product fit for its intended use.

location of where this info is available:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/s_10153_12605_Lawn+%26+Garden_Lawn+Tractors_Garden+Tractor+Series

once you get to this site click to the delivery method you would like, put in your zip code, select go.
probably more than 1 store will come up, select the store you would like to use - delivery options will be shown. If you want setup prior to the sale and delivery - call that local store and ask if setup is avail at that store, it may or maynot be.
now, I ask something in return:
FYI; Go to your local Deere Dealer and ask why they are a authorized Kawasaki, Briggs, Kohler, service dealer. Then you Point me to what they say.

steve2ski,

Thanks for the URL but, I stood eyeball to eyeball with a salesperson and specifically asked about pre-delivery setup. His response was (word for word) "Sears does not do pre-delivery setup". He didn't say This Sears doesn't or we don't, he said Sears. He told me that I accept the tractor at pickup and if it has problems I either call the repair service or return the tractor. I took a shot that I'd get a Wednesday tractor and not a Monday morning or Friday afternoon one. I lost the gamble and Sears lost a $4k+ sale. Actually, on that day they lost my sale and a second tractor was returned for exactly the same problems my tractor had.

Referring back to your statement in a previous post "As far as setup prior to delivery - Local Sears here does not do it period. The purchaser is responsible - if you are unwilling or incapable of setup you should look else where, Sears tells you this prior to the sale also".

Can you point me to where "Sears tells you this prior to the sale also"?

Everyone has good and bad experiences with pretty much everything they buy or rent or use. I had a bad Sears experience with my tractor but I also had lots of great Sears experiences over many, many years.

As I said before I wish my Sears tractor experience had gone better. Have a nice day.

A correction to the preceding post...

My conversation with the Sears salesperson regarding pre-delivery setup was at the time of pickup not at the time of sale.

I was not informed or advised at the time of sale that I would be accepting the tractor at pickup with no pre-delivery inspection or service.

To Sears' credit they accepted everything in return with no restocking fee.

Question, I read a lot about transmission K46 or K66, if it says just hydro what does that mean? thanks again. - Abfromnj

That just means the manufacturer has not released the specific model. Obviously they are using a hydrostatic transmission (meaning the driver doesn't need to shift gears), but not all hydros are created equal. That manufacturer isn't telling which they use, but you might be able to find out from someone on the boards here if you tell us which tractor you're looking at.

The K46 and K66 are both made by Tuff Torq.

The K46 is a sealed transmission that supposedly requires no servicing. It is a light/mild duty transmission. If all you do is mow the lawn, it will be fine. If you start using it for medium duty towing, plowing, or mowing steep hills, it will get weaker and weaker and eventually die.

The K66 is a (older?) tranny than the K46, but it is not a sealed unit. You can, and should, service the K66 by changing the oil in it. This gives you more control over how long the unit will last. If it starts to feel weak, drain it and refill with fresh fluid. It's also a somewhat beefier tranny, built for heavier tractors that take on heavier jobs.

justalurker,

Maybe your area is different, or what happened to you was a fluke, because around here, Sears service isn't as bad as you make it out to be.

When Sears delivered my neighbors tractor, they setup the grass catcher and what not for him. In addition they went over everything with him. When he got a flat tire, a Sears tech came out, the same week, to replace it.

As for the motor, if a Kohler motor is bad, it's Kohler's fault. Do you really think Sears asks Kohler to ship them bad motors, or Kohler ships bad motors to Sears on purpose? And even if Deere uses a different Kohler then Sears, does that mean the Deere will always last longer??

My guess is that the reason your so pissed at Sears is because of your bad experience. I'm guessing here, but if your experience was good, you'd be praising Sears for selling a quality product at a reduced cost.

Here's a good Sears experience. My dad had a Craftsman mower that lasted over 10 years without an oil change. It might still be running but I don't know. When he moved, he left the mower with the new homeowner. How many Deere mowers do you know of that's gone 10 years without an oil change and still ran without a problem?

"I am not a Deere fan BUT in all fairness comparing Sears to a real L&G dealer is disingenuous. A more fair comparison would be Sears to Home Depot or Lowes, but HD and Lowes has their JD LTs serviced and supported by the local JD dealer while Sears has their tractors assembled by adjustable wrench wielding warehouse people who do no pre-delivery service whatsoever."

That comment is correct on the "disingenuous" statement, but your not comparing the product. Your comparing service. My friend is comparing product (Craftsman vs Deere), based on price. So even he will tell you to go with Deere for service, but most folks are asking him about product. When he looks at Craftsman, he sees no reason to get a Deere because the both do the same thing, but the Craftsman mower will do it at a reduced cost. Remember, he's comparing similar mowing tractors here.

crabjoe,

My beef with Sears IS the service, or lack of, at my specific location and with my specific Sears. I did not take the position that the Sears DG6500 was inferior to a JD L&G tractor other than mentioning a couple "cheap down" concessions that Sears took to make their price very appealing. I was not aware or informed at the time of purchase that no pre-delivery service and poor QC, again Sears fault not the tractor's, was among the "cheap down" concessions that Sears chose.

I did point out that John Deere, the manufacturer, mandates that all L&G tractors sold by mass marketers such as HD or Lowe's will have a proper pre-delivery service performed by an authorized JD L&G dealer. That benefits both the end user and undoubtedly cuts down on warranty claims and product returns. Sears uses a different business model and now I know that.

I bought the DGS6500 because on paper the feature set was unmatched at the price and that fact is still true. I did expect to receive the tractor in operating condition.

Not everyone has the luxury of being in between two or three Sears to compare or within easy driving distance of two well staffed Sears service centers and those who do are truly fortunate.

In my area among the many Sears on-site techs there is only one that is qualified to repair tractors and he covers about a third of a large state. He is severely overworked hence the three week wait to get him out for the initial diagnostic call and then the wait to have him return after the parts he ordered show up. This information was not known to me until AFTER I returned the tractor.

Some weeks later I ran into that tractor tech and he was indeed knowledgeable and a nice guy. He told me that over 90% of his service calls are to remedy problems that should have been caught at the factory or would have been caught in a pre-delivery service and that most of the time parts are required and that means a longer wait for the customer and a return service call for him.

I sympathize with the one tractor tech who is overworked but that is not the customer's problem.

justalurker
I just had to jump into this discussion. I had much the same experience as you. I bought a new gt5000, that mowed for 15' before it quit. The local John Deere does the service work for sears. It took one week for the appointment, 2 weeks for the part, 1 week for the scheduled day of work. Guess what, there was another problem, so the entire process was started again. I also bought a snowblower and back blade, wheel weights and chains. I am extremely dis-satisfied with the summer and winter performance of this machine. Service sucks and performance sucks! I didn't return the machine, which I'm forever kicking myself in the pants for, because I believed in "craftmans quality". Maybe it was just too light duty for my purposes! For sale, if interested
1 year old black craftman GT 5000 with bagger, 46" snowblower, chains, weights and gravel blade Paid 4800 sell $2500

Hi everyone,

Thanks again for all the input. I decided to go with the x300. For what I need; a good lawn tractor that will last a while, to go up small hills, and some light pulling with small trailor I think I made the right decision. I used it the first time the other day and it was great. Had no problem at all going up the hill, it cut great, and the kawasaki engine runs really smooth. thanks again for all the input.