I think the issue at Sears is that the people setting their tractors up don't have a clue ....they are assembled quickly ,and sold as fast as they can by people that really DGAS.....A dealer can loose a customer on a bad sale ,Sears just does not seem to care ....But I'l glad the JD worked out well for you ....and thanks for the input ! Good Luck Jim

You've just made the point that quality costs money. I really think that in the long run the better quality will be more cost effective due to fewer repairs and the length of time it'll last. I just mowed my yard this morning with a 35yr old Massey Ferguson. When buying a lawn/garden tractor the price is the last thing you should look at, make sure it fits you and the job at hand first, then check out the way it's built, the dealer makes a big difference here too. Congrats on your new machine, may you and it have a trouble free relationship!

Sounds like you had a "good" experiance with the craftsmen tractor compared to what ive seen and heard at my local repair shop. After my craftsmen died 4 years ago I skipped over the Home Depot John Deeres and spent almost 3K on my LT160 at my local dealer.

that makes my heart pump green blood. i am a jd guy but my dad has that same craftsman dys4500....i hate it. i have the same problem when i mow with the craftsman....just plain stops going up small inclines(i only weigh 160) so im not sure how it hauls my 225 pound dad around. and they say these things will plow snow????...with what a 2 foot snow blade. anyways congrats on your john deere :

When are you going to get to the point when the mower blew up? Sounds like you got a smoking deal on a used mower and the individual before you used it like a bush hog (happens alot) Not that Craftsman doesnt have its share of problems as with all mowers but their warranties have ruined their reputations. Individuals buying mowers for one mow and bring them back trashed. I seen a mower setting @ Sears that was returned that had a stick stuck in the deck that was at least 1/2 dia.! This is where I would draw the line. Its crazy but you wouldnt use a 3K mower to cut sticks why would you do it with a 2K mower? I guarantee you that you do that on a JD and take it back they would laugh you out of the store. Its a crazy world we live in.

Welcome to the fold! As a kid my father bought a Craftsman 10 hp suburban. Funny I have friends that swear by Craftsman. I had to push mow (gotta love the Lawnboy!) a 2.5 acre field with long grass cause the Sears tractor engine "pull start" pulled off the engine! stripped bolts and all. Since Sears changed motors in the 2 months since we bought it, they took their friggin' sweet time fixing it. Actually they never did. I put the snow blower pulley on the other side, wrapped rope on it (backwards) pulled hard and it started. Started this way for 3 years (until it died). Right then, I swore that I would NEVER EVER own another POS like that...

-gh

Sounds like Sears sold you a used LT advertised as new with all those hours on the meter . Reminds of one time a few years ago when a local Sears store had a DLT3000 on the showroom floor with fieldgrass on top of the deck and gouges all over the anti-scalp deck wheels . They were selling it for the full price of a new LT and the salesman swore up and down that it was brand new /never been used . I laughed at him and walked away . I got a good deal on a new Simplicity Broadmoor a few months later and haven't had a single problem with it in over two years . Enjoy your new X300 , it's a fine machine !

And for every story about what a POS they are, I'm sure there are a hundred more about every other brand being a POS. My neighbor cuts with a 17 year old Craftsman that has never missed a beat. I cut with a 14 year old HUSKEE/Murray that runs like a champ. My neighbor on the other side is on his 3rd Cub Cadet this cutting season from the "dealer" and still struggling to get it to; a: mow evenly (the frame wasn't straight, how did that get past quality control?, so they replaced the whole tractor), b: engine ran like garbage, (slung something off the governor assembly in the engine, damaged the inner workings of the motor so they replaced the whole tractor), and now on c: the thing will cut his flat front yard just fine, but whenever he goes around back to the more hilly part in his backyard, it continuously pops out of gear whenever he goes up a hill. Sure, I will agree that money will USUALLY buy quality, but it is cerainly no law. Glad you love your Deere. If I could afford one, it would be at the top of my list. Then I could become an JD "HOMER" too;-)

I agree that there are lemons in every model line of every brand , but the more you upgrade the less chances you have of getting stuck with a POS . And I wouldn't put the Cub Cadet line of LTs in the same class as their garden tractors - big difference there . There are lots of posts about the reliability of older Murrays and Craftsmans , not so much about the newer ones - 5 years old or less . I can only atribute that to the philosphy of increased production with fewer employess that is the trend nowdays and outsourcing parts to the lowest bidder - the dreaded 'global economy ' in action . Kind of like what Briggs is doing by closing their Port Washington plant and foisting all that Simplicity production on their other facilities . Glad I got my Simplicity well before that happened , because I wouldn't have too much faith in any Simplicity made now by angry workers about to lose their jobs . And I say that as a Simplicity homer !

Lemon! Anybody that finds parts on the driveway and keeps mowing need to buy the best. I just hope the JD don't have a problem the lemon on the seat will just keep on mowing and then turn on the JD product when it breaks. As for JD products I watched the guy across the street JD get hauled off three times in two years. The guy next door toro also has had it's unexpecting trip back to the dealer. Use Cub fans so far are mowing right along with less unexpected hicups.

I bought a Craftsman in the spring of 1993.Wanted to save some money.After it started falling apart after the second use.I took it back to Sears and bought a John Deere.You might have to pay twice or three times as much.But you do get twice or three times more for your money.

My neighbor traded in his craked frame Craftsman for a John Deere recently also.He saids cutting the grass is now a sweet dream rather then a nightmare.

I agree with you 100% rcmoser.
The lemon is on the seat.
I would have been embarassed to publish such a post.
He makes a great JD spokesperson...money to burn and not a lick of sense.

So you guys truly believe that average Joe Homeowner is going to find a bolt in the driveway, and then tear his new tractor apart trying to find out where it came from?

Well maybe the bolts wouldn,t raise any red flags ,but plastic flying out of the mower deck would cause the avarage person to stop and inspect.

Well don't hey me wrong. Of course I stopped everything and took a look. Everything looked normal, and it still cut, so I didn't figure it was a necessary part, and since they were coming out to replace the "faulty hour meter" anyway, I figure I'd have them look at it then.

This is one way the box store tractors help sell higher end tractors. It takes an experience like hantra's to get some people to understand why they should "pay extra" for quality. I put "pay extra" in quotes because I think you are paying for what you get, which isn't extra, the price may be higher, but the cost is lower.

Congratulations on the new X300. As closely as I can tell,you can get a bad machine from any brand...lawn tractor,car or ice cream maker. ANY manufactured product,whether man or machine assembled,could die out of the box,or run flawlessly for years. I,too,took delivery of an X300 this morning. I studied and conversed for weeks,trying to decide what to do. My decision was made because the JD sales guy was super,and I got one year same as cash from JD. ONLY time will tell if it was a good buy. On my street,there are 5 JD's,2 Craftsman,1 Cadet,1 Husky:ALL are working well. Please don't take this green vs orange vs red too seriously. For goodness sake,it's a lawnmower. Take care of it and it should be fine.
Thanks to all of you,most of your posts were helpful,and I appreciate your thoughts.

Hantra:

Your story doesn't surprise me in the least. Sears has never been great quality, but they have taken a major dump in product quality and customer service in the last three years.

Welcome to the JD club!

a lemon is a lemon, period. there's one in every bunch...the only difference here is that Sears has more lemons in every bunch...25 yrs ago you could not say that about Sears...now you can!!!! There quality has gone down the old poop shoot..Just read all the reviews and you will see them mostly on the bottom of the list as far as customer satisfaction...Enjoy your new X300...the Craftsman was only a bad dream...

Nice story. I thought crap like this only happened to me. To those who want to bash the guy, I would have kept on mowing to. At that point I'd be so pissed that I would have road the POS into the ground.