Hello Broddam! I also had a limited amount to spend on a tractor and wanted new.I ended up getting the LA100!I prefer manual transmission and its the only model in LA series that comes that way.Went for a bagger to go with the JD which set me back $400.So i spent within my limit of $2000.In your case You want Hydro so id say the LA110 ($1650)or the LA120($1850) would be the choice for you if you prefer a deere.These are JDs low end lawn tractors but should do well for you with a level lot with some small slopes.I wouldnt get anything lower that a LA130 if you plan to do any plowing with it or pulling heavy loads.The standard transmission in many lower end riders seems to be the Tuff Torq HD K46.For some reason JD put a Tuff TorqTM T40 in the LA110 and 120 models!Not saying its a bad transaxle i dont really know anything about it!Im guessing its a cost saver.Good luck on your hunt!I choose John Deere because i always wanted one but couldnt afford one.

In your price range I'd put in a vote for the Husqvarna YTH2348. You can get it at Lowes with a 10% off coupon, or probably persuade your local Sears to match the deal (just tell them you have a coupon for Lowes, but would rather buy from them). Either way you should be out the door for under $1800.

Compared to the JD LA110 and LA120 the Husqvarna has a more powerful B&S v-twin (the LA110 is a single cylinder), larger deck (48" vs. 42") and electric PTO which is a nice safety feature IMHO. Also the Husqvarna has an 11 instead of 12 guage frame and will mow in reverse without having to mess with the RIO. The Husqvarna also has the Tuff-Torque K46, which apparently the 110 and 120 don't.

In your price range you might also check out the Craftsman Model #28728, which features a 24HP B&S V-Twin and 46" deck and is on sale now for $1700. I suspect if you go with Sears for either Craftsman or Husqvarna you'll have more leeway with negotiating the price down than you might on a similar tractor from Lowes or HD (I certainly did when I bought my Husqvarna YTH2348).

Any of these should work nicely for your intended use and all have similar reliability ratings from Consumer Reports.

Hate to say it, but went to HD for some supplies, saw a brand new L190 on sale for 1899...seems as though HD is running a sale on em...they normally run around 27-2800...ya just might want to take a peek since the guy there told me all the HD's have em on sale this week...If not go JD dealer and get yaself an L120...best bang for ya bucks in that range...

ah, some good ideas and viewpoints here for sure. Will check out the HD this week and check on those JD models. ALso, Would not mind having the Husqy either IF for aboutt he same price regular price, I can get a better mower. I dont have to have MORE mower, just looking for best quality in that price range.

Dollar for dollar, you can't beat the Craftsman/Husqvarna. They will give you the most tractor for your money. JD is the most expensive of the box store babies, and MTD with the exception of the high end Cubs is not worth considering IMHO. But the JD costs more because it is worth more. In 5 years the JD will be worth twice what the Craftsman is worth, in ten it will be worth 4 times as much.
steve

I would not be certain that the new cheapened down Deere tractors will be worth that much more than any of the other box store junk. They have only been selling them for a couple of years.

Deere commanded a "premium" price because they used to be a "premium" quality tractor. Now they are just a cheapened down mass market tractor like MTD and the rest of the hardware store junk.

They milk a brand name for all it's worth to make the quick buck but sooner or later the buying public wakes up, and the brand image goes into decline. Look what happened to Troy-bilt. Then in a few years the resale value of even the good Deeres will start to drop because Deere is a glut on the market and most of them are low end models.

I have heard very little complaining about the "low end" John Deeres, other than someone upset because a belt came off, or some other minor problems. Sometimes I think people here hope that the "low end" John Deeres fail so as to tarnish Deeres image, but I don't see that happening. When you have spent over a hundred years building an image, you are not going to ruin it by producing poor products. In their price ranges, Deeres are always mentioned at the top of the heap quality wise.

Look at the Craftsman DYS 4500 lawn tractor versus the Deere LA120 for the same money, $1,800. As sadixon49 points out you get more from Sears, Roebuck tractor: it has a heavier duty Tuff Torq transmission than the Deere, a heavier duty frame and deck (11ga steel versus 12ga), a 54" deck versus 42" deck, and the Craftsman outweighs the Deere by 90 pounds. An extra 5 HP too but that does not affect quality per se.

The engine and the transmission are commodity items these days, the Sears happens to use a higher end transmission in the Tuff Torq product line for your dollar. I don't see how the JD by using lesser offerings from the same Tuff Torq and Briggs & Stratton product lines as Sears, is going to result in higher quality in the end.

It would be as if by magic.

Remember, Deere has only been selling these tractors under their own name for a couple years. Before that it was "Scotts by John Deere" and "Sabre by John Deere" and there are plenty of issues with them.

Why worry about the resale value of a lawn tractor ten years out from purchase? If, in 2017, a Husqvarna has ~500-600 hours on it and is worth say $200 (a number I just pulled out of the air, but probably in the ball park for a well used LT), do people really think the JD LA120 with similar "mileage" is going to be worth FOUR times more, $800? It will only have depreciated half it's value? That's amazing, and also extremely unlikely.

What's the secret sauce of the LA models that would make them hold their value so much better? Is it their superior transmissions and engines (oh wait, they're both tuff-torq k-46 trannies and B&S Intek type V-Twins). Is it the frame? Both are fully welded with cast-iron front axles. The deck? The wheels and tires? It's not like one of these tractors has substantially superior parts to the other, certainly not on paper. Hmm, guess that just leaves the paint...

In fact, a quick check of eBay shows a 4 year old LA120 with 177 hours and some attachments going for ~$420, it's already depreciated more than half it's value. For a lawn tractor, something that will depreciate quickly, with an expected life of more than 10 years if well cared for, why worry about "resale value", the difference at resale time is probably going to be marginal anyway. Take care of it, use it as long as it holds together, and if you get anything at the end it's a lucky bonus. Don't use resale value as a decision maker.

The thing you leave out is the service after the sale (denoted by the green paint). Granted, if you are buying from a big box you don't care about service, but some do. Make sure you buy that Martha Stewart Extended Warranty, you will need it.

Generally speaking extended warranties are a bad gamble, worse still they almost always overlap with the factory warranty. Case in point, a 3 year Lowes extended warranty on a JD or Husqvarna tractor overlaps with the 2 year manufacturer warranty, so in essence, you're paying (I think it was like $350) for one additional year of service. I'm willing to bet neither a JD nor a Husqvarna will need near $350 of work that would be covered under the extended warranty in their third year.

Provided the tractor works as it should, what kind of service after the sale can one expect from a JD dealer that wouldn't ordinarily be covered under warranty? Do they come out and change the oil for you? Wax it? Touch up the green paint? And is this additional "service" worth the ~$200-$300 premium they charge over similarly equipped tractors from Sears/Husqvarna? That's a decision a buyer has to make on their own.

It is a good idea to find out where you would have your tractor serviced, in the unlikely event it should need it, before purchase though. I know for my Husqvarna, even though I purchased from Sears, would be serviced under the Mfr's warranty at a local dealer (who services all brands of LT's), not that I expect it would need it.

No, the $200-300 premium pays off 5-6 years down the line when something is likely to break, and you're out one mower until it gets fixed. Will the AYP machines still have parts available for them? If so will you get them in a timely manner? Chances are after that same 5 years, there will be parts available for those JD tractors and the dealer will be able to get them in a few days, if he doesn't already have them on hand.

I saw a Husqvarna LGT2654 on sale at Lowe's yesterday for $1,900. 26hp B&S, Tuff Torq K-46B, 54" deck.

LGT2654

The 54" deck would be handy for 1-1 3/4 acres.

-Deerslayer

Well, engine and tranny parts are likely to be equally available, since JD and AYP/Craftsman/Husqvarna all use Briggs and/or Kholer and Tuff-Torq. What else is likely to need replacement? Belts? Blades? Tires? Should all be commonly available since these need not be manufacturer specific.

With the internet you can pretty much find most parts, and have them delivered in relatively short order. Besides, if it's really obscure and expensive, you could always just buy a similar used tractor and scavenge it for parts as needed. By the time the parts are that rare, the donor tractor ought to be plenty cheap ;-)

Normally a 42" deck would suffice for your acreage. Be careful of larger decks. Insure they fit between trees, through gates, etc.

Deerslayer...I almost bought one when they were normally priced at ~$2200. Glad I didnt! I bought a 01 simplicity landlord dlx for $2000 w/turbo bagger and i couldnt be happier!

To the orig. poster...Im not a fan of the box store stuff, years ago, craftsman was a great mower, a family member of mine has been running his sears garden tractor for 12 yrs still going strong, and he mows a little over 2 acres. I found a great deal on my simplicity, you can too, you just have to look. I would be dumbfounded if these new box store mowers would last that long, they just seem too cheap IMHO. Just my .02

Of course, it's rather unfair to compare box store tractors priced between $1200 and $2500 with a Simplicity or JD machine costing an additional $1000+. Buying used can always be a good way to save if you can find the right machine at a good price. Lawn tractors are difficult to ship though so you're pretty much limited to the inventory in your local market in that case. Maybe the right tractor is available used, maybe it isn't.

At the box store level, tractors are mostly differentiated by their selection of commodity parts (basically what tranny/frame/engine package they offer) and their price. If the budget is under $2000, the choice (at least for a new tractor) basically comes down to picking the best combination of these parts at a given price level.

Lawncrazed, I agree that used tractors provide an excellent value. I currently own a 1995 Wheel Horse 312-8 that I bought used for $669. I use it for mowing, aerating, spreading fertilizer, towing mulch, hauling firewood, and snow blading. I'm extemey happy with it.

The original poster said that he tried used and wanted new.

Here's a picture of my Wheel Horse taken last November.

{{gwi:118564}}

-Deerslayer

Engine/trans parts _might_ be equally available - depends. Not to mention the time the AYP guy spends tracking down parts for his machine ("Welp, Sears has it on backorder, let's try Joe's mower repair...nope he doesn't have it either, etc., etc.) the JD guy has one stop shopping.

Or, if the buyer isn't predisposed to working on his own equipment (which, let's face it, constitute a large number of box store buyers of OPE) and needs his machine worked on. Is Sears going to do it for him?

Many parts can be ordered over the internet regardless of tractor brand. Maintenance parts like air cleaners, fuel filters, tie rods, etc. also can be purchased through third party vendors like Stens.

I like to work on tractors so used equipment makes sense for me. I buy parts over the internet at rock bottom prices and install them myself.

If you don't want to do the work yourself, Husqvarnas can be taken to a Husqvarna dealer. Now that Husqvarna has purchased AYP, I bet Husqvarna dealers will work on Craftsman tractors too.

-Deerslayer

Does every Deere dealer always have every part for all their LA series tractors in stock at all times? Will they 5-7 years down the road? If not I'd say the parts availability is probably gonna be pretty similar...