$1500.00 is not a lot of dough. Personally, I would look for a good used JD garden tractor (Craig's List, E-bay in your area) which would cost upwards of $2500.00. I have a 1/2 acre lot so your 1 1/2 acres seems like a lot more to me.... and I use a JD Zero Turn 425 EZTrak to get 'er done in less than an hour, including dumping the grass clippings. I would look for (as I have said before in other posts) a JD 318, 425, 445 or 455 garden tractor. You would never regret it, and will possibly be able to sell it for what you paid down the line..... they are that good and that well built. I like the zero turns because I can get the mowing done so much quicker than the tractor riders, but that's your call and your money. I started out mowing my lawn in 1978 with a walk-behind Toro 22-in. mower,and cannot comprehend doing it that way again :)

This post was edited by larso1 on Sat, Dec 13, 14 at 18:22

I have 1.36 acres, and I use a new Toro 22" walk-behind mower. Good exercise!

Haha, good for you Tibbrix. But may I suggest doing it with a 16-in. push type reel mower. Much better exercise, plus no gasoline required! And then there is the hand clippers option of course if you really want to impress us.....

Lol Larso. I had to draw the line somewhere! It was between goats and the Toro.

But I"m telling you, this Toro is great. My old mower is a work horse Craftsman, but it weighs a ton and is so slow. I just could not do the whole property with it. But the new Toro has the big wheels in back, it's lightweight, and really moves. Vroom, vroom, vroomâ¦.

And no goat poop.

Well, I hear you Tibbrix. When I moved here in '78 I didn't even consider a rider because: 1) I didn't have the cash, and 2) I didn't have the cash, and 3) I didn't know any better. I eventually wore out the Toro, but it was a good one. Didn't have the power front wheels, just a simple push type. But as I got older, I started questioning this method of mowing and started to save for something else. After I got my first rider, a Craftsman lawn tractor, I never looked back. Today (at 64 YO), I prefer doing my exercise at the Y and getting the lawn mowed post haste. But maybe that's just me.....

One of the things that you should consider when considering a zero turn vs a riding tractor, is the ability to pull a small trailer. My wife loves to plant trees, bushes, and cement stepping stones. My back is not up to all of that dragging and carrying. It is soo much easier to hook the trailer to the lawn tractor, transfer what ever from the van to the trailer and transport it to the location it will end up in the yard.

As for the selection of the unit to mow your yard. One of the things that you need to consider is the topography of your yard. If there are steep grades that need mowing, that is one thing. If your yard is as flat as my table saw that is another. For a flat yard, a lighter tractor will probably more than handle the job. I have a John Deere LT155 that is about 14 years old that has mowed between one half to and acre of flat yard all of its life. It is still going strong. If you have a lot of mowable, but steep slopes, the transmission may not hold up.

I would not rely on the online sales sites. The John Deere dealer always has used lawn tractors, locally or at one of the other branches. Their used items have been serviced and inspected.

The last thing and I am sure you know this there is a direct relationship between the life of the tractor and the routine service it gets. If you don't take care of the tractor it will died sooner.

While on the service side I have found that for parts from the spring tune up kits to larger parts the JD dealer is competitive and lower than the big box store and hard ware in the area. The JD Dealer also is familiar with all of the problems that you may encounter since they do the warantee service for all JD tractors sold in the area, whether from their show room or the big box store that supposedly has the best prices.

I don't have steep grades, nor a lot of heavy hauling. I think a simple and basic tractor would be enough. My real dilemma is weather to buy new...and accept lower quality...or find a good used Deere...and face the issue of unknown service history and the risk of high cost repairs. I could spend a bit more than $1500, but $2500 seems excessive for my needs

Thanks to all who responded

John

If you're sure that you're not suddenly going to want to push snow, haul cords of wood up out of the woods, etc. a regular "LT" (Lawn Tractor) should be adequate. After all, that's what they're designed and built for. Problems appear when folks who have a LT with light duty rear end, etc. suddenly decide to use it for "GT" (Garden Tractor which is heavier built, heavy duty rear end, etc.) uses.

Buying a used machine is always "iffy." Are you mechanically inclined to do your own repairs, do you know enough to adequately evaluate the used machine prior to purchase?

You might consider going to someplace like Lowe's who will have some good sales coming up in the spring and offer (or used to) a reasonable service agreement. Obviously, you can buy them at any "big box" store, but I'd pay very careful attention to who does their service.

You mention Craftsmen, I have two of them and they're great. However, Sears is getting some very bad PR of late and it doesn't seem they'll be with us (in their current state) too much longer. The good thing about Sears though is when you buy one of their machines, the "critical" stuff, engine, trans, etc. parts are readily available elsewhere.

Good luck,

Ev

I stopped by my local Deere dealer, who essentially said you are crazy to buy a 15 yr old used tractor when you don't need the performance or features. He claimed that the bottom of the line Deere lawn tractors are very reliable, a step up from Craftsman, and that parts on Craftsman can be a problem. He said 10-12 years from a new low level Deere Lawn Tractor is likely...just don't push it beyond capabilities. This makes sense to me. I am nervous about the feature of Sears, who does service, and how to get parts. Seems like this is a smarter way to spend $1500

I would agree for just mowing. The Husqvarna built tractors, which includes the 917. XXXXXX Sears are real comparable in build quality to the D series Deere. Look under the seat for the model number. Parts are readily available, but Deere is tough to beat in the parts department. The Ariens at Home Depot are also built by HOP, but may have the old steel axles but are pretty good value for the $. On the plus side, maybe to ugly to steal!

I would go for a JD over Craftsman.
I mow about 3 acres regularly when it's growing season. Over bumpy ground, and some hills.

I didn't have the money for a JD when it came time to get my lawn tractor- I ended up with an Airens/Husqvarna. Still a pretty darn good machine. But I wish I had had the extra few hundred bucks to lay down on a JD instead.

IMO, JD has always been JD- same quality, same service. I see JD tractors a hundred years old doing it's job. But Craftsman? I've seen a change in some quality in tools over the last 30 years- I don't mean a decline or better, it just seems to change sometimes.

Having a JD dealer close by is worth a lot. Sears is dropping like a stone. Even though I believe Craftsman makes a decent quality tractor, I would also pay a few hundred more for JD brand

Much to my surprise, found an apparently good used engine for my LX 178. It had a bad head, and I thought it was not repairable. For about $500, it has new life...and no need to be replaced

Thanks to all for helpful comments. This thread should be valuable to others

John