So let me ask ... What is wrong with the lawn chief - is it something(s) that is simply going to be cost prohibitive to fix ? Compared to laying down $2,$3,$4k down on a new tractor with a blade (or snow blower attachment). After all - you already have the blade (or snow blower attachment). Thats not going to be cheap to replace with a new ride. You may also wish to factor in, with regards to buying used there is a 50/50% chance that your going to be repairing someone else's problem(s) on an already expensive purchase. Even if its the motor that's non-repairable - with a little hunting you could still easily replace the motor somewhere around $300-$700 ... Plus fix a few other things that might be broken or near worn out ? If yours is fixable at good price (compared to the $4k new option) then why not fix it? Some (a lot) of the box store units are not going to survive your routine (at least like your lawn chief did). Fix the lawn chief ? Whats wrong with it ? either way - good luck to you.

As I said, I liked the Ranger drive a bit better than the Colorado, but the Ranger they had for me to drive was a V6, I'm looking for a 4Cly. Interestingly there are many 2.3L 4Cly manual trans Rangers available. They all come with the "employee price" minus a $2,500 cash back (have to pay sales tax on this rebate), and they are giving the A/C ($850) away for free, and on the base XL model. Now we're taling some real savings. The Colorado has a similar, but less, program, and the A/C is standard. But the end result is a very competitive price with the Ranger. I am leaning toward the Colorado as I can get it with Stability Control and the Locking Differential, almost as good as 4WD without the weight and cost. I can't say I know how well it works, but in theory it looks good.The 2.8L Colorado is also more powerful, I've look it is 175hp@5+K while the Ranger is 143hp at a similar rev. And the torque: 185@2800RPM Colorade and 154@3750 for the Ranger. This says a lot more "pull out of the hole" for the Colorado. Another reason to go with the Colorado, especially if one pulls a trailer at times. Funny, I have been defending Consumer Reports in a couple of threads and now I find CR telling me the engines in the Colorado are: "a bit crude and noisy" a negative and "Cabin is fairly quiet, and the ride and handling are more accomplished than in other compact pickups." a positive. My tests left me thinking the Colorade rides like a truck too (frame) and the engine (the 5cly in this case) wasn't particularly noisy, and I have not idea what CR means by "crude". So, there is a big question in my mind on CR in this case of their testing.

Any Hyundai models 2001 and later are really fine cars. Earlier ones used left-over antique Mitsubishi powertrain and had their own quality problems. They've been making real nice cars lately at much lower price than Japanese rivals. I have had 2 late Hyundais (Santa Fe & Elantra) and 1 Kia Spectra (which is now owned by Hyundai and share the same major components) and I have had zero problems. The new Kia Spectra is just rebadged Hyundai Elantra (2.0L 140 HP). It looks compact but classified as medium size car by EPA on '06 model. Same thing for a medium sized '06 Sonata - it is now classified as a full-size car by EPA. They are roomy inside. I would buy these cares again if their relatively low price and 10 yr wty remains. The hardest thing when purchasing a Hyundai was pursuading my Toyota-loving wife!

1929 Model A Ford, 4 dr with window shade, roll-up, style curtains on rear side windows. Color black - was there any other color? 1949 Plymouth, 6cy, 2dr, 3-sp manaul, column shifter, Blue, the last of the fast back designs. (Horrible rear visibility) 1954 Dodge, 4dr, w/ Red Ram V-8, 3-sp stick. This one was not a large displacement engine, rated only at 140 hp, but was the smoothest running engine that I have ever owned. Color: White top over Blue bottom. 1960 Plymouth Valiant, slant six, 100 hp, automatic, 4 dr, blue. Low torque engine - couldn't get out of the way of itself. Good fuel mileage. No power steering - didn't need it - very good handling. The next year, a longer stroke engine was offered with much more torque. This one was very driveable and became the engine of choice. 1964 Dodge Dart, 273 cid V8, 4 dr, automatic, white w/red interior. This one was a good compromise between, power and fuel economy and room. I wish that I had another similar car today. This one was well liked. The engine was a thin wall cast version of the 318, but with a smaller bore. The bore centers were the same as the 318, thus it was manufactured on the same engine line as the 318. Many engine parts were interchangeable with the 318. 1969 Dodge Coronet, 4 dr, 318 cid V8, blue Just an ordinary sedan to hold my growing family. EPA fix-ups began to appear and degraded performance a bit without any fuel mileage increase - lower compression and a low ratio rear end ( 2.71 to 1) Though I put 115,000 miles on it before moving on. 1974 Dodge Sedan, 400 cid V-8. EPA had struck this engine hard. It was based on the admired 383 V8, an engine upgrade option for station wagons and police cars. To meet EPA requirements, Chrysler lowered the compression ratio and installed a very mild cam. The resulting power was so embarrasing that chrysler bumped the displacement up to 400 cu in to gain back a bit of performance. (An earlier 383 in good tune would run cicles around it.) 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass, 4 dr, V8. Bought used for a 2nd car and commuter. Had to put in a valve job after 1 yr ownership. As it neared the end of its life, sold it to a junk yard. I didn't want to see this on the road again as it had become dangerous. The body metal holding the rear body mounts had corroded away. The best part of this car: The radio. 1975 Buick Apollo, 270 cid V-8 (Oldsmoblie engine), 4 dr, Yellow. The smallest V8 made by GM. Not a good car. Was purchased as 2nd car for a winter-beater and comuter. Let my kids learn to drive with this one - they were not going to win any stop light drags with it. In fact, they were lucky go to get across a big intersection before the light changed to red. I bought this car during a period of runaway inflation. It was 3 yrs old and loosing value at a lesser rate than my hard earned cash in the savings account. That became part of my rationale for picking it up for a 2nd car. 1976 Buick Estate Wagon, 4 dr, 455 cid V8, Clam shell rear gate and window; 19 ft long! This one was the family land barge and vacation machine. The family had now grown to 5 and this station wagon held us all in comfort on long trips. This was the first year that GM put catalytic converter on all of the Buick line. (GM had put catalytic converters on a few select models the year before as a field trial.) With the converter, Buick put in a better cam and iginition advance curve and got better power plus 2 more miles per gallon. I garaged this one every winter taking it off the streets just before road salting began and it stayed off until next spring after a rain had washed away the salt. I kept this one 13 yrs and it was in very good condition the day I traded it in. It was showing signs of a catalytic converter plugging up, otherwise, the engine was in fine shape. 1980 Chevrolet Citation, V6, 4dr + hatch back, green, my first front wheel driver. A fair car. Had a very good useable interior layout and driver visibility - wished there was a car with those features today. Had too much braking on rear wheels compared to the front - gave the car a tendency to swap ends while braking on slippery surfaces. Over- sped the engine one time when the tranny failed to catch 2nd gear on a downshift - it went all the way to 1st gear at 45 mph. Loosened a rod bearing. GM got the steering geometry right on this one - no torque steer. The Chrysler K-car was plagued with torque ateer. 1983 Chevrolet Citation, V8, 4dr, white Engine was de-tuned a bit, but otherwise the same as the 1980. 1981 Pontiac Phoenix (twin of the Citation), 4 cy "Iron Duke", 4 dr., Brown. A dog. Served as a commuter. When climbibng a grade, engine vibration could be strongly felt in the steering wheel - each firing of the cyliners were perceptable. No. 2 son, a new driver, burned the engine up while driving home from a days outing with the guys. He had not been watching the oil level - it ran out. 1989 Dodge Dynasty, 4 dr, V6, Light blue 1st yr for Chrysler's new computer controlled transmission. It had issues - shifting algorithm should have been revised. It was programmed to give good results on the EPA fuel mileage test, but otherwise, was bad for commuting traffic. Car was too softly spring - people riding in back tended to get car sick. 1992 Dodge Dynasty, V6, 4dr, White. A much better car. Better handling. Held front alignment very well. Shifting algorithn improved, but still had glitches. I put 90,000 miles on it and sold it (cheaply) to my daughter. She moved out of state and later sold the car to her friend. By then, the rocker panels were holed out. I saw the car two years ago and it was still running with upwards of 140,000 miles on it. 1992 Jeep Cherokee, inline 4.0 L 6CY, 4dr, with part and full time 4-wheel drive, Red. Really liked this one. Gas mileage wasn't great, but it took us all over the lower 48 states and into places where an ordunary car could not go. We photograhed many interesting scenics using this vehicle. This one was my prime winter time driver - great in snow - can't beat it. 1998 Dodge Stratus, 4 cy, dual overhead cams, 4 dr, red. An OK car - not great, but OK. Its gets very good gas mileage on trips and that is what I bought it for. Runs great. I beem garaging this one very winter and there are no rust spots. 1998 Jeep Cherokee, in-line 6 cy, 4 dr, again with part and full time 4 wheel drive, Deep Amethyst Purple (appears black under many lighting conditions). Replaces the red Jeep which was getting body rust, but ran well - had 190,000 miles on it.