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In Reply to: I need a riding mower posted by Charlie on Friday, October 29, 2004:
If you plan on just cutting grass, pull a small cart occassionally, no tilling, no snow removal, then you can pretty much pick a machine in the $1000-2000 range with the biggest mower deck that will fit through your shed doors/gates/between trees. Sears Craftsman grey GT5000 with 6 speed manual tranny and 50" mower is being closed out at $1899.88 and is a good value, with the strength to plow or blow snow plus till (accessories will cost extra). Craftsman DYT4000 is on sale for $1499.99 and comes with a 21 HP engine and 42" mower. If you have a Husqvarna dealer near you they offer near clones of the craftsman tractors (made in the same factory) There are also machines available from Murray and MTD, both of whom manufacturer under several different names. If you want and can afford a stronger higher quality machine, I'd go check out Simplicity and their clones available as Massey Ferguson and Agco, Deere, Cub, Wheelhorse, Toro, Kubota, and I recommend shopping around, sitting on many different machines, check them out for leg room, belly room (if needed), ease of getting on and off, back support of the seat, ease of reaching the controls, control placement (does your leg hit stuff getting on and off?) A machine that feels great to a tall right handed person is not great for a shorter lefthanded person. Are there gonna be other operators? spouse? How well do they fit? Can you/they lift a big mower deck if it is manual lift? Will a manual lift work if using a big front mounted snowblower? heavy rear tiller? And if buying at a box store, who will service it? Will the local dealer work on a machine bought elsewhere? If buying from a dealer, what does his service dept. look like? A pro shop with big tool boxes and decent parts inventory? or his hung over brother-in-law with a bent screw driver and a hammer?
In no way am I making a judgement call here, just acknowledging there are different kinds of machine owners. If you buy a new car every 2 or 3 years to avoid having to deal with repairs, then I suggest buying a cheaper machine and treating it similarly to your car, change the oil when needed and trading it in before things start to break. If you are driving a vintage automobile over a decade old and do your own repairs, then I suggest buying a $2500-4000 quality machine and enjoy owning it for the next decade or two. I have 3 tractors and the newest was built in 1986, and gets transported in my 1991 truck, so you know which "camp" I'm in.