Thought for discussion if anybody is interested

[lawn mower fanatic]

I strongly suspect that there is a similarity to my kitchen faucet,no?

Yeah, there could be!

 

[pugaltitude]

No there usually is no difference with the engines. Different cover maybe but not the engine.
Briggs for example make approx 15 million engines a year give or take and the difference between them is usually a sticker or cover between different manufacturers.

A dealer can usually sell exactly the same product that a box store sells but usually more expensive as the box store is buying in bulk.

When it comes to buying a mower, Whats more important?
The deck or the engine?

 

[jekjr]

No there usually is no difference with the engines. Different cover maybe but not the engine.
Briggs for example make approx 15 million engines a year give or take and the difference between them is usually a sticker or cover between different manufacturers.

A dealer can usually sell exactly the same product that a box store sells but usually more expensive as the box store is buying in bulk.

When it comes to buying a mower, Whats more important?
The deck or the engine?

It won't run of course without the engine. However many manufacturers use stamped decks that won't last. I know of a guy that has a John Deere that the deck is bad on and I understood him to say that a new deck with no bearings or anything was like in the $400 to $500 range. Welded decks can be repaired when/if they are bent. Stamped decks won't take the pressure of continued hard use.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

When it comes to buying a mower, Whats more important?
The deck or the engine?

I think they are equally important. Yes, a mower won't run without an engine..........but without a durable deck, it doesn't matter if the engine runs if the deck is broken! :confused2:

 

[Carscw]

I say the deck welded is better but stamped is just as easy to fix.

Sent from my iPhone using LMF

 

[SeniorCitizen]

I once worked for a man that was one of the top 100 wealthiest people in the US. One day we listening to him talk concerning some financial things in the factory where we worked for him. His parents came to the US right after WWII as immigrants and built much wealth in industry. He made a statement that I will never forget. He said that his father who had built much of the businesses had always said, "I would rather buy 100 one dollar watches than one one hundred dollar watch." In other words many times he would buy what many people said were cheap off brand machines that would get by but not last as long many times as the expensive ones.

That carries over to our businesses like cutting grass. We are taught to always by the best name brands because they are quality...... The idea from his perspective would be buy as cheap as possible to get the job done but it might not have the longevity...... Has anybody else ever heard of this type discussion?

That thought worked for them, they became very successful.

If he had cheap labor to keep his cheep junky machinery operating why not . And I can just hear his next statement . - with tears nearly running down his cheeks, I can only afford to pay .25 cents an hour - . If his employees were union organized the probability of the original statement being modified to a great degree is probable .

 

[jekjr]

If he had cheap labor to keep his cheep junky machinery operating why not . And I can just hear his next statement . - with tears nearly running down his cheeks, I can only afford to pay .25 cents an hour - . If his employees were union organized the probability of the original statement being modified to a great degree is probable .

Actually he paid a very good wage and I worked for him for over 21 years.

In the South much industry is not Union. We made comparable wages and had comparable benefits to other mills that were union. In all of those years I was only laid off for two weeks. He is still alive but has pretty much retired and sold the mills out. Those that are still in those mills say that they are no where near as good to work for as they were when he owned them.

 

[jekjr]

I say the deck welded is better but stamped is just as easy to fix.

Sent from my iPhone using LMF

That one I disagree with. They are too easy to bend and once they are bent they are never the same. However a welded deck only has to have a piece cut out of it with a torch and another piece welded back in.....

 

[thirdroc17]

Several years ago, a friend of mine bought a box store riding mower, the same summer, I bought a used, high quality garden tractor for about the same money. 2 years later, he was buying another, 10 years later, I was still using the original set up I bought with few repairs.

The vast majority of people who get rich, do so at the expense of others. Their workers, the unsuspecting customer who is repeatedly buying yet another piece of junk. The vast majority of rich CEOs have sent the work overseas causing translation problems and laying off American workers, all for their own personal gain. Don't believe me? Look at the "made in" label on about everything you own.

Me? I'm going to stick with quality, Made in USA, whenever possible, because that's the right thing to do. Only problem is, my job was sent overseas because someone wanted cheap over quality, profits over the local economy, etc.

 

[DinosaurMike]

Everyone seemed to talk about maintenance, repair, and longevity. What about quality of cut (or whatever the item is designed to do) and operation? A lot of times the better (usually more expensive) item performs the task better than the lesser item in addition to being better built (more durable). I'm talking about such criteria as smoother cut or better clippings distribution or better mulching for a mower.