garydewater: That's about 1/2 the price as a new one and 135 hours is about 3 years of average homeowner use (about 40 - 50 hours/year). If it is in good condition and not been abused it sounds like a pretty good deal. You did not mention what year model it is. I have an acre and 1/4 myself and usually rack up about 40 - 50 hours/year depending on what projects I'm working on. I mow, dethatch, aerate, overseed, pull a cart loaded with rocks, firewood, etc... and mulch my leaves in the fall pulling a lawn sweeper to collect them. You can usually save a bunch of $$$ buying a good used quality tractor. Just make sure it has been well taken care of by the previous owner. If it looks rough it probably is rough. An engine coated in oil, grass clippings, etc..., faded paint, cracked seat and weathered plastic components typically indicate that it was left outside in the elements and not well cared for. Good luck!

There seems to be a homeowner spending threshold of $1499 on lawn tractors and to be honest the average home owner would likely be served fine by anything in the $999 - $1499 range if they take care of their equipment.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> JD made the decision to sell at this price point to increase sales. If truly a lesser quality machine, one would expect more repairs. Why the dealer would not welcome this extra repair revenue escapes me. My guess is that, under warranty, JD does not reimburse them at the same rate they charge regular folk for non-warranty repairs. In either event, they are shooting themselves in the foot by not playing fair with all customers. In fact, if you believe the ‘lesser quality’ $1499 model indeed tarnishes the JD reputation, you’d think the dealers would be going out of their way to treat you right to make up for JD’s ‘foolish mistake’ to sell that model to begin with. Further, the 'cursory' 20 minute inspection vs an hour at the dealer sounds fishy to me to begin with but putting you at the back of the line just further hurts the JD name by creating droves of disgruntled customers who no doubt will be coming on with their ‘lesser quality units’ that were only ‘cursory’ inspected now having to wait weeks for a repair! I really personally think the $1499 model is probably fine for your average homeowner. I t may not last 25 years but so what…your not paying $3000 for it. I think it offends the buyers of the expensive machines more than anyone else. I recently bought a Cub for $1699 after looking at a JD, an Ariens and a Husky. My preference is always to support my local dealer when possible and many times the pricing is the same anyway. The JD dealer pointed out he did not sell the $1499 HD model…’plastic tranny and crappy seat’ he said. I respected him for telling me that. Sadly he really did not want to spend more than 2 to 3 minutes with me to explain why I needed to spend $300 more for his base model…sort of had the attitude…’Bye…gotta go sell some big farm equipment’. I quickly moved on. The Husky dealer was not thrilled that Lowes sold his brand either BUT…he bad mouthed the Husky in general anyway and tried to move me to some $3500 thing I could not afford. Again, I respected that but I moved on. I ended up buying my cub at a dealer. I probably would have been just as well served by the JD or the Husky…

Blue smoke during start up/warm up, or when "cracking open" the throttle suddenly is a good indication of worn intake valve oil seals. Reason is due to the fact that the INTAKE valve stem is exposed to engine vacuum during the intake stroke portion of the 4-stroke cycle, which helps the oil migrate past the worn seal and into the intake plenum of the head where it mixes into the induction draft and right on into the combustion chamber. Engine intake vacuum is highest when the engine is idling or at very slow RPM because the cylinders are sucking against a closed (or nearly closed) throttle plate in the carb. This high vacuum draws a greater amount of oil past the valve stem seal......but the oil is not immediately swept away to the combustion chamber BECAUSE.....there is not very much air flowing through the intake plenum with a closed throttle........just the bare minimum that it takes to idle the engine. Then, when you crack open the throttle to increase the RPM, the inrush of air through the now open throttle plate sweeps the oil "puddle" into the combustion chamber.

The basic tractor is a nice little lawn tractor. However, it is the bottom of this line of LT's, has had enough use to damage the narrow 38" deck, and has no bagger ($400. if you need to buy it new). It is also older -2000 or earlier. For not not much more you can find a nice later version like an LT 150 or LT 160 with very nice hydro, more power, bagger, 42", possible even the Freedom dedicated mulching deck (unless you need to bag leaves, etc). This is coming into the season for getting some really good deals. I bought my LT160 with JD cart, Freedom deck, 64 hours for $900 over 3 years ago, in the snow.